Video Premiere: Rossonian, Live From a Rooftop

Denver band Rossonian occupies a now-unusual musical space that would have been called alternative rock in the early ’90s. A decade ago, the sound would have been lumped in with indie rock. But the Ross likes to refer to its particular brand of pop-and-rock as "electro-sensual rock and roll." On July 18, 2015, the band played a gig on the roof of Knew Conscious Gallery and arranged to film the performance in a two-camera shoot as well as record the audio of the event for posterity.

The Live From a Roof EP, which captures three of the finest moments of that rooftop show, was released five months later, but the video footage, shot with a crew from Lauren Winton and Winton Media, has been more or less unused until now. “Way to Find a Way” doesn't appear on any of the band's previous releases and is also not slated for release on the group's forthcoming full-length, Late Kids. The video itself is simply the band playing in high form on the rooftop, which is what singer and guitarist Seth Evans wanted to capture. “There's so much music coming out, I feel like [you might get the impression that] people don't play live,” comments Evans. “I think it's cool to show that you can get on stage and throw down a little bit.”

With an animated video in the works for the eventual release of Late Kids, Rossonian will release the two other live videos from the Knew Conscious rooftop sessions in the coming weeks. Each will demonstrate that Rossonian is not solely the creation of a studio — despite the level of electronics in the band's songwriting — and that the conflicted emotions of its songs are not an affectation.

“It's this millennial thing, and in not so many words, the songs deal with straddling that line with having been raised and told by your parents and Mr. Rogers that you're so special,” offers Evans about the songs to appear on Late Kids, echoing the words on the album's promotional video. “Simultaneously, we had and have access to this giant web of information where we can see what everyone else is doing and realize our insignificance.”

The live video betrays little if any of this tentative spirit, but it does show off all the willing energy to confront it, carve out a niche and imbue one's life with significance. The band is currently shopping Late Kids around; all interested parties can contact Evans and Rossonian through the website rossonianmusic.com.

Catch Rossonian live at the Westword Music Showcase, Saturday, June 25, 2:45-3:45 p.m. at Bar Standard.