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Steve Roth & Meredith Brown perform "Beautiful Addiction"

Group Name: Steve Roth/Meredith Brown—but we’re starting to use the name Thread for different shows.

When/Where playing this week? This week we’re playing the coffeehouse at Faith Wesleyan Church, (4600 Union Rd., Cheektowaga) Friday, April 21 at 8pm, and Pizza Plant, Main St., Williamsville (in the Walker Center) Saturday, April 22 at 7:30pm.

Band members/names/instrument…

Steve Roth - acoustic guitars, vocals/harmonies, percussion Meredith Brown - acoustic guitars, vocals/harmonies, percussion.

When did the band form? Sometime in the Spring of 2004. I had been doing the solo, singer/songwriter thing for a few years prior. Meredith started coming to an open mic I was running and we hit it off, having a lot of the same musical interests and goals. We started out as basically two independent singer/songwriters backing each other up. Now it’s apparent we’ve grown into a “band,” and it’s a blast to bounce things off each other and have those extra layers to the music.

You might like our music if you like… Acoustic, indie rock with elements of folk, alt-country/Americana, tight, rich harmonies, and a “neo bohemian” vibe. Kind of along the lines of Indigo Girls, with pieces of Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows, Jennifer Knapp and Joan Osborn thrown in; we’re fans of the “unplugged” rock genre.

List of Recorded Releases

Steve Roth - Beautiful Addiction. Meredith came along toward the tail-end of production on the CD but was able to fit in on couple of the tracks. We’re currently working on a demo of new material for late spring/early summer that will feature songs written by us both, and even an obscure cover or two.

Upcoming events:

Buffalo Folk Rock Freakout with Chris Squier and Dee Adams Wed., May 3rd at Nietzsche’s; Cinco de Mayo, May 5th at Coyote Cafe in Hamburg; Clarence Center Coffee Company May 6th; the grand opening for Seattle’s Best Coffee at Borders, Walden Ave., Cheektowaga on June 17th.

Worst show the band ever played: About a year ago we went to do a few songs and audition for a gig at a local open mic run by a blues band. Before we even took the stage, the host told us that if people start leaving he’d pull us off. They put our acoustic guitar through an amp set up for an electric and refused to make any adjustments. They kept my vocals in the monitors and panned Meredith’s hard right in the mains. It was obvious they weren’t interested in us before we even opened our mouths. (Some time later the venue went down and changed ownership, which made us feel somewhat vindicated).

Best show the band ever played: Earlier this year we were one of the featured bands at Music Is Art Live @ the Center at UB (to be shown this fall on WNLO 23). Just a great vibe and atmosphere with a totally pro crew. It’s a lot more fun when there’s positive energy to feed off of.

Anything else you would like our readers to know about the band? You can catch the track, "Beautiful Addiction," in regular rotation on 107.7 FM the Lake, other tracks on 97 Rock’s Homegrown Show, and the occasional bump on the Tom Bauerle Show on WBEN 930AM (feel free to email or call the stations to request us)…In addition to playing conventional venues, we’re starting to schedule house concerts, which is nice and intimate and a lot of fun (just email us if you’d like more info)…Beautiful Addiction is available at our shows, Borders Books and Music on Walden Ave., Cheektowaga, and at www.CDBaby.com. And while we love having our friends and favorite hang-outs close by, we’re making plans to move to Nashville later this year as we try and figure out how to make music a full-time gig.

Contact information: steve@steveroth.net; meredithbrownacoustic@juno.com; rothsongs@earthlink.net; myspace.com/steverothmusic; sonicbids.com/steveroth