Long-time indie rock favorites Rookie Card have released their first album in 18 years, Us and Them. Formed in 2001, the band has built a following through their live shows, using a mix of ultra-catchy originals, inspired covers, and an often over-the-top stage approach. Make no mistake, a Rookie Card show is always an EVENT and a lot of fun.
Us and Them is the band’s fourth album overall, following 2006’s What’s On Second. Recorded at Mike Kamoo’s acclaimed Earthling Studios in El Cajon, Us and Them features frontman/guitarist Adam Gimbel, lead guitarist Dylan Martinez, bassist Kevin Gossett, and drummer Andrew McNally, alongside a slew of musical guests including founding member, guitarist John Andrews, Robert Lopez (El Vez), Bart Davenport (The Loved Ones), Kyla Vera and Mani Metales from Metalachi, singers Marie Haddad, John Meeks, and Elsa Martinez, guitarist Alex Watts, pedal steel player David Berzansky, Daniel Ezra, violinist Jeremy Cooke, and San Diego Padres organist Bobby Cressey.
The ten-track album will be available digitally, with a 7” vinyl single from the release, “The Murph” b/w “All I Want Is Padres Baseball,” also due out soon.
The Inspiration Behind Us and Them
What inspired the release of a new album? “We got to open for a band called the Baseball Project, an REM side project that sings about baseball, so I wrote a song, ‘The Murph,’ about Jack Murphy Stadium for the occasion,” explained Gimbel. “Playing for that crowd was like preaching to the choir so I don’t think I’ve ever had such a flattering response to a new tune before. We thought we’d record it, and it was just the excuse to finally do an album of originals and covers called, Us and Them. I’d had the idea for years.”
Us and Them collects songs penned over the past two decades, as well as a few country-styled covers by the likes of The Motels and The Pretenders. “I bring the songs in pretty finished, but I love what the other Rookies bring to it,” Gimbel said. “They’re more musical than me, so I love when they can move the song some way I can’t.”
A Unique Take on Covers
As for the covers, Gimbel shared his thoughts: “Recording a straight cover always felt pointless,” he remarked. “But we’d done a few countrified tunes that I always wished we’d done for posterity.” Each one has a different reason and story. “We did ‘Love Vigilantes’ (New Order) at our very first show, but we did ‘Hells Bells’ (AC/DC) at a Padres game recently and decided to add it just before we went into the studio last year. My friend’s Bay Area band, Tucker, used to do ‘Only The Lonely’ (The Motels), and when John Meeks started playing solo, we would do ‘When Will I Be Loved’ (The Everly Brothers). I hated to see those arrangements never see the light of day, so hearing them again is justice. Marie had sung ‘Back on the Chain Gang’ (The Pretenders) with us a time or two, but making it a duet was a last-minute idea that worked great.”
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Gimbel plans on “putting together some really fun lyric videos for every song, but that’s just a warmup for a music video for ‘My Avenue’ which will be shot all over my namesake street (Adams Avenue) with all of my favorite friends and local characters. Should be done in another 18 years,” he said good-naturedly.
It’s taken nearly two decades for Us and Them to come together, but Gimbel is happy with the results. “It’s a non-stop family affair,” he said. “Every song features a different person I adore, and the Rookies really knocked it out of the park, so to speak.”
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Don’t miss out! Discover the full magazine of this issue#10!
Don’t miss out! Discover the full magazine of this issue#10!
