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Rooney
Biography
The retro-leaning pop/rock band Rooney is comprised of Robert Carmine (vocals/guitar), Taylor Locke (guitar), Matt Winter (bass), Louie Stephens (keyboards), and Ned Brower (drums). Inspired by the Beach Boys, ELO, Superdrag, and the quintet's hometown of Los Angeles, Rooney held their earliest practices in Locke's garage in 2000. From the start, however, the group enjoyed connections that most garage bands lack: Carmine is the younger brother of actor/ex-Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman (not to mention the son of actress Talia Shire, cousin of Nicholas Cage, and nephew of Francis Ford Coppola), and both he and Brower had previously enjoyed acting careers (Brower briefly starred opposite Katie Holmes in Dawson's Creek, while Carmine enjoyed moderate-sized roles in The Princess Diaries and The Virgin Suicides). The connections paid off, and Rooney made their live debut opening for Phantom Planet in 2002.

More live dates would follow, including tours with Weezer and the Vines, and it wasn't long before Rooney enlisted the help of Keith Forsey (Billy Idol, the Psychedelic Furs, Simple Minds) to record material for their first full-length album. Spring 2003 saw the release of Rooney's sunny self-titled debut, whose sales spiked considerably when the band appeared on The O.