Mark MagnusonRiver N' Roots - Band Bio
River N' Roots
River and Roots is Bob Cole and Mark Magnuson. Childhood friends since sixth grade in a town outside of Minneapolis.
Amongst lesser activities young lads pursue, both were respectable band geeks by junior high. A natural outgrowth of learning brass instruments was later playing guitars and rock music. Bob was the early adopter, learning to sing and play songs on his guitar. Soon after he loaned Mark a cheap acoustic and a Beatles songbook, saying “learn this…we’re starting a band next week”. The fuse had been lit.
The pair gravitated toward electric guitars, amps and drums, played together with friends and mentors, grew along the way. Five or six band names, various lineups, they played cameos at proms, talent shows, living rooms and basements, driveways, garages, local town halls, fundraisers, small dance gigs, parties. In their early 20’s Bob built an impressive recording studio in his home basement, where they wrote, played and produced two releases together. These were the days before vinyl was vintage, and before rock was called classic.
Now decades later, “Retrospect” celebrates two friends who love music, enjoy playing together, and release stories out to the world. Some of these songs were written years ago, some written days before the studio sessions, some are favorites from early influences. The album highlights styles in Rock, Americana, Folk Pop, Indie, even Rockabilly Swing. Songs were written, updated, laughed over, shaped and sculpted in the way songs often are during the artistic percolation process. Lyric themes circle around love, heartache, encouragement, hometown, having fun…roots and rivers alike.
“Listening to Beatles records over and over and studying how their voices sounded the same but unique, taught me to recognize and learn harmony”, Bob reflects. “Mark and I lean towards a lot of harmony, and each of us has our own strengths instrumentally and in the writing and recording process. The most fun part is when one of us suggests a musical idea and the other already had the same thought. That’s how this project came about. After decades since our last record, a conversation led us to suggest working together on a new album. We spent a fantastic week recording in Florida, and now have some songs we hope you’ll enjoy as much as we did in making them.”
Mark adds, “When writing or producing together, we tend to enjoy and create vocal harmonies reminiscent of our early days. When playing live, we're two voices and two guitars. In the studio, it's anyone’s guess which of us will play a given instrument. Bob writes bass parts that really shine, and we both usually sing on each song. It’s less about prowess and more about feel. We both play, engineer and produce, yet new lanes emerge on each project. These emotive songs are an expression of our own experiences or observations, and the greatest joy is when they resonate with others on their personal journeys.”
