-- by Joe D'Angelo, with additional reporting by Matt Paco
Unlike the bumbling "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" principal who they took their name from, everything's going right for the band Rooney.
Together just three years, the Los Angeles newcomers (guitarist Taylor Locke and keyboardist Louie Stephens are only 17) have secured the kinds of connections that older bands would give their right arms for.
For starters, frontman Robert Carmine's brother is Jason Schwartzman, and it was the Phantom Planet drummer/actor who got his sibling into playing music. Both the acting and musical bug must be genetic, as Carmine has also appeared in the film "The Princess Diaries," under his given name, Robert Schwartzman.
Rooney also count Weezer leader Rivers Cuomo as a fan, and one with some industry clout to boot. "Rivers has our demo, and he really dug it, so he wanted to take us out on his tour," Carmine said.
That the band was grateful for the nod was an understatement.
"Weezer was totally our Beatles," Locke said. "Definitely my favorite band. One of the first live concerts I ever went to was Weezer, and now a few short years later we're doing a show with them and they asked us if we wanted to go on their tour. If you could say who would we tour with, of any band in the world right now, they probably are our number-one choice."
Before the demo ever got into Cuomo's hands, Locke converted his parents' garage into a studio with his bar mitzvah money and the band began building its fanbase through word of mouth. Just as things began to swell, though, Carmine left the band to attend college in New York.
"I love school and I love learning," he said, "but it's tough when you just find something that you really want to do and it's waiting for you back home."
So Carmine dropped out to resume his burgeoning musical career. With Carmine back in the band it was like he never went away, and the reunited Rooney (whose lineup also includes drummer Ned Brower and bassist Matt Winter) were able to pick up where they left off, even selling out the Roxy in West Hollywood without having released a record.
Rooney signed a deal with Geffen Records in March and hope to release their debut album in February. They're now in the final stages of the LP's production, but Rooney, like Weezer, held the perfect pop song in the highest regard throughout the process.
"It's hard to write a really catchy song," Carmine said, "a really well-written catchy pop song, like a single. It's easier to screw around and put a few chords together that are fancy and cool, but it's hard to write a song that will last for a long time. Something that is memorable."
They've succeeded in at least striking a partial chord of familiarity with "Pop Stars," the tune expected to be their first single. The song's opening lines bear more than a hint of resemblance to some other unforgettable songs.
"Hey, baby, hit me again one more time," Carmine sings before following up the Britney-esque lead with "You said to me bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, good bye." An inversion of a Mandy Moore lyric immediately follows: "Well, I don't want to be with you tonight."
"The chorus is 'These are the words of pop stars,' " Carmine explained. "I wrote that song when we were at the peak of Britney Spears and 'NSYNC and I couldn't take it anymore, I just had to express myself."
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