Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide

---Kody Ford

Jonathan Taylor Rose is on a mission—to bring passionate, poetic rock and roll to the masses. His drive for success is ravenous. His instincts are keen. And the crazy part is, he may just pull it off.
When he moved to Fayetteville, he came armed with an acoustic guitar and a handful of songs that resembled singer/songwriters like Damien Rice and Iron and Wine. However, after being mentored by party rocker Benjamin Del Shreve, Rose realized that one-man, six-string laments weren’t his style. He began piecing together a full band and dramatically altering his music.

Two years and many gigs later, he is releasing his new EP entitled “Beauty’s Only Envy” on April 4 at the Gypsy in Fayetteville. The CD features seven new tunes, a collection that draws from influences ranging from Keane to U2 to Kings of Leon.

Though Rose may be young, he possesses a mature sound that rivals many music veterans. His songs are passionate, rocking, and show a dedicated attention to detail. Armed with a Rickenbacker guitar, he displays charisma and showmanship on stage.

“As I’ve matured in writing music, I’ve found that many more options exist for eliciting emotion,” said Rose.

His journey began in his hometown of Mena, AR, not far from Shreve’s home of Hatfield. Growing up, he knew of Shreve’s success with the band GS Megaphone and looked up to the singer. However, several years passed before Rose and Shreve met in person and Rose played his new friend several songs. Shreve enjoyed them and encouraged Rose to write more.

“After I heard Benjamin’s acoustic music and Damien Rice’s first record [“o”], I started writing music a lot. Something about their soft, poetic sounds inspired me. Then Benjamin’s encouragement literally became the driving force for my creativity. I might not be playing today if it wasn’t for him.”

Shreve convinced Rose to move to Fayetteville. He quickly packed his bags and headed north to settle into his new home. Rose opened for Shreve on a tour later that year. However, something about Rose’s new songs didn’t feel quite right.

“I’ve always wanted to play arena rock,” said Rose. “I never thought of music as a part-time gig. I dreamt of making my mark on the world.”

Over the course of the next year, he began writing new songs, adding band members, and experimenting with the music to find his own unique sound.

“Many of these songs were started about two years ago,” said Rose. “But it wasn’t until I had a few days off between gigs and got stranded in Tulsa that I realized what kind of music I really wanted to make after hearing Ryan Adam’s ‘Rock N Roll’ album.”

Rose used Adam’s harder sound as a starting point and moved from there. His new songs such as “Dear Delilah,” “Damn Good Night,” and the title track “Beauty’s Only Envy” feature an epic rock sound similar to Adams but incorporate many effects and loops to give the music a broader, more atmospheric range. Lyrically, Rose describes the songs as being “about life lessons, mostly about girls.”

He is backed by guitarist (and childhood friend) Robert Geiger, bassist Danny Klein, and drummer Casey Grimes. The band members come from a variety of musical backgrounds. Grimes played punk rock, Klein played in the ambient indie pop band Mar, and Geiger’s guitar playing evolved with Rose’s songwriting.

Geiger is pleased with the new direction Rose has taken.
“Since we’ve been making music together, it’s been a work in progress,” said Geiger. “At first we sounded like Pete Yorn but [Rose’s] songwriting has gone in a different direction as has my guitar playing. I’m following his lead.”

And Rose is leading the band to the release of a full-length album this fall, which like the EP will be produced by the go-to guy on the Fayetteville scene Adam Putman. Rose enjoys recording with Putman and described the experiences as a “painless process.” In the meantime, Rose will be touring to promote the new EP and writing more material. With his ambition, versatility, and youth, Rose is certain to make his mark on the world.

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