Meet Roscoe James Irwin. Indie Pop's suspiciously energetic Mr. Nice Guy.
Born to a classical soprano mother, and a folk loving father, Roscoe was raised in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. He spent the first 8 years of his life climbing trees, running barefoot with dangerous insects, and strutting around in gumboots and no pants. Then, at age 9, welcomed into a Brady Bunch-esque stepfamily of brass players, pianists and conductors, Roscoe's musical life was born in his home. Learning from his brother in-law, Roscoe showed early talent as an instrumentalist, and very quickly developed as a jazz deviant, starting torrid love affairs with greats like Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Louis Armstrong. By the time Roscoe had turned 15, he was already working professionally as a jazz and commercial trumpeter, playing pubs, restaurants and clubs (with a note from his parents of course) with musicians twice, and sometimes three times his age. Nothing more than a little ratbag with baggy suits who looked like he needed a solid meal and a dose of Valium.
Within another year, Roscoe had started to make his mark as a writer and also began to fall in love with the sounds of 60s pop, folk and psychodelia, and being a human that is easily bored, the little trumpeter was morphing into something much more difficult to define.
Since those early days, Roscoe has never looked back. Aside from his solo career, he has had huge success playing, writing and recording with a multitude of artists including his main touring bands The Cat Empire and The Bamboos, as well as Harry Connick Jr, Paul Kelly, Belle and Sebastian, John Butler, Washington, Brian May and Roger Taylor (Queen), Angus Stone, Regurgitator, Miami Horror, Lanu, Karnivool, Gin Wigmore, Dan Sultan, Brooke Fraser, Thirsty Merc, Carl Cox, Nic Cester, Ella Hooper, End Of Fashion, Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Tex Perkins, Tinpan Orange, Eddie Floyd, Syl Johnson, Joe Bataan, Betty Harris, James Morrison and many more.
Roscoe has firmly defined himself as much more then just a simple songwriter or instrumentalist, and as a result, has ended up working as a multi-instrumentalist and sideman with artists like Washington, Brooke Fraser, Magnolia and Tinpan Orange, as well as a co-writer, arranger and producer for bands and artists like The Cat Empire, Lanu, Felix Riebl, and The Bamboos.
"The Hunting Road" is Roscoe's debut solo record. Having a clean break of heart in 2009, Roscoe headed to the Canadian mountains, rented a house on the lake and made friends with the creature and a cheap nylon string guitar. After 3 weeks of late autumn cold, another Yankees world series and many sing-alongs with the local folk and country misfits, Roscoe returned with the songs that became "The Hunting Road", an album recorded by producer/engineer, John Castle (Washington/The Bamboos).
Having worked and explored in over 150 cities spanning 24 countries, his songs tell of walking strange roads, green-eyed night creatures and after dark catastrophes. They're modern pop songs, but not as you know them. They're tinged with an old school folksy charm and thoroughly blended with something that cannot be easily defined or explained, something glorious and unrestrained. His vocals can be fragile, yet joyous and powerful. His lyrics can be sweet, yet sometimes scathing and dry. He looks good in a tight suit, and he can run really fast (but chooses not to). He's a danger to himself and others, but your parents are gonna love him. But don't call him nice to his face or he may just throw you out the nearest window to prove a point. Although, he's just as likely to buy you a whiskey and dry and ask you what your favourite Hank Williams song is.
