Brandon Twp.-‘Cold Coffee, Warm Beer.?
It may sound like a nightmare to some, but to the two members of Home Soon’Aaron Rohde and Jana Rotarius, it’s a song about friends and how when you’re with them, time flies. It’s one of the first songs the musical duo wrote together.
It was just more than a year ago when Rohde, a township resident, was driving past Seymour Lake United Methodist Church and saw the sign for the SLUMCity Coffee House, where musicians play once a month. Rohde, a guitarist and the music director for Living Word Lutheran Church in Rochester, told Rotarius, a preschool teacher at the church about it. They decided to audition.
‘We just came in and asked to play something,? Rotarius, an alto, said. ‘It was bold.?
‘Our voices really mesh together,? said Rohde, a tenor. ‘I knew if we sung together it would be a good thing.?
The audition was a success and they signed on to sing at the SLUMCity Christmas benefit concert last December. A duo was born.
In the year since, they have written eight songs together and have sang at various bars and restaurants in Michigan, including the White Horse Inn in Metamora. They have also traveled to Indiana to sing.
Their families are supportive. Rohde, 33, is married and the father of two young boys. Rotarius, 38 and a Dryden resident, is the mother of four children, aged 8 to 15.
‘In a year, we’ve come a long way in growing as a group, in knowing what we like to play,? Rohde said.
They describe their music as two-part harmony and ‘acoustic folk rock? and have been influenced by bands such as the Indigo Girls and Crowded House. They play cover songs of lesser-known artists, but have also covered the Eagles, as well as Crosby, Stills and Nash.
‘We play what we want to play and we figure if it’s good, people will like it,? Rohde said.
Home Soon’s next goal is to produce an original CD, but in the meantime, Rotarius said they just want to continue having fun traveling around and singing at different establishments.
They will do just that at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, when they return to the Seymour Lake United Methodist Church to sing at this year’s SLUMCity Coffee House Christmas benefit concert.
They won’t be singing ‘Cold Coffee, Warm Beer? at the Christmas concert, they’re saving that for when they return in the spring. But they will be singing three Christmas songs, as well as leading sing-alongs. Tickets to the SLUMCity concert are $10, with all proceeds going to the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund. Details: (248) 628-4763.