Crowds filled East Washington St. for Ann Arbor’s annual summer festival, Top of The Park. Families and friends of all ages moved through the maze of food stands, grassy picnic areas, various activity tents, and stage area. Community High (CHS) students Clarence Collins III and Emily Tschirhart — rising sophomores at the time — strolled together near the University of Michigan Graduate Library. They walked around talking about their plan: they were creating a band.
The Inspiration
For Collins III, Tschirhart, and their eventual band members, other local student bands were large influences on them in their early high school years.
“Popularity was a thing, but really what it was, was [their] professionalism,” Collins III said.
Their role model bands included The Euphorics, Creel, and The Stellars, groups which were mainly composed of CHS seniors.
“I was like, ‘why can't there be more of these [bands], because they're going to be gone next year,’” Collins III said.
In search of a band name, Collins III created “Rosewood,” inspired by an Ann Arbor street sign. Despite its lack of significance, the name has caught on throughout the group and some of the community’s youth.
Rosewood’s goal was, and still is, straightforward: become the next big Ann Arbor high school band and continue the cycle of upperclassmen providing inspiration to underclassmen musicians.
The Band
Aside from Collins III and Tschirhart, the group’s original members included Sam Uribe (saxophone), Mei Semones (guitar), and Mason Cox (drums). Later on, through the Neutral Zone — which is a youth center in Ann Arbor dedicated to artistic expression, community leadership, and more — the group met Huron High School (HHS) student Jamal Harding and was taken aback by his talent on the bass guitar. His skill earned him an invite to join the band.
Rosewood went on to audition for Live on Washington 2016 (LOW) and received a spot. Curated by the Neutral Zone, LOW is an annual outdoor teen music and arts festival held in downtown Ann Arbor. After a successful performance, the group temporarily dissolved during the summer due to various scheduling issues between its members.
As the following school year got underway however, Harding resurrected the group and brought his friend and fellow HHS student Sterling Robinson on board as Rosewood’s new drummer, replacing Cox. In need of a pianist, HHS senior Lawrence Rowley joined the fold. However Rowley graduated the following year, and Saki, Semones’s twin sister would go on to take his place.
Throughout the school year, the group played consistent gigs and concerts, eventually partaking in the Neutral Zone’s Battle of the Bands (BOTB). This yearly event consists of several youth bands competing against each other through multiple rounds of performance while being judged by renowned musicians within the community. Rosewood was awarded first place and concurrently rewarded with a spot to play at the next LOW. Another one of the BOTB prizes was free studio time to record a single with The Neutral Zone’s record label, Youth Owned Records.
As underclassmen, the group's goal was simple: play music, and lots of it. With every passing month though, Rosewood’s members gained more experience, and with experience came maturity. They started making their own music and gained a sizable following. It took time, but once they figured out the basics and became more organized, Rosewood began to thrive. For many of the band’s members, the band experience taught them to be leaders, harder workers, and to carry these lessons with them into the community.
“I would say playing any sort of improv music will make anyone a leader,” Collins III said. “When you are taking a solo in any sort of music, you kind of end up being a leader in that aspect and the dynamic of the group at that time… Making music is such an intimate and expressive art form, so if you are not making sure that you are conveying your message the way you want it to be conveyed then it is not going to sound good. Just being in the band helped make me more confident in my goals and aspirations and trying my hardest to get somewhere.”
The Community
“It's exciting, it's amazing,” said Veniece Session, a Neutral Zone employee who has worked extensively with Rosewood, helping to produce their music. “They're such talented artists and people. They happen to be teenagers who are in highschool… To have a full seven-person band that’s creating original material, that's influenced by jazz and R&B and hip hop, it’s such an amazing experience.”
Session is just one of many adults in the community who have had the pleasure of indulging in, learning from, or working with Rosewood and their music. Their appearances on WCBN — one of the many rewards for winning Battle of the Bands — and at LOW have helped get Rosewood’s name on the radar.
During the band’s airtime on WCBN, many called in to express support and interest in the group. People were taking notice. Later, WCBN put the 45 minute clip on their Soundcloud account. With several thousand streams, that clip is now the station’s most played.
Despite the publicity, several band members still believe there is a prove-it factor when it comes to the adult audience.
“There is... to be frank though… we have a lot of things under our belt,” Collins III said. “I more so want the adults to not just think we are the Ann Arbor band. I feel like even with all the accomplishments, we can still be blanketed under the Ann Arbor teen band that just plays some music.”
While Rosewood’s musicians have worked diligently to gain the respect of the adult community, their focus still lies with Ann Arbor’s youth, especially promising young musicians. Another local band, The Left Lanes, has caught the eye of several Rosewood members. Comprised of four sophomores and a junior, some of which go to CHS, the group has taken a similar path to that of Rosewood. They meet consistently, write original music, frequently perform local gigs, and have started to build a following of their own. This is exactly what Collins III was hoping would happen when he envisioned the band almost three years ago.
“I hope we are having that impact on the underclassmen, because I am already seeing a couple [of underclassmen bands],” he said. “It is more so like getting it out there, and if we are doing our job right, bands will come out of the woodwork.”
The Future
Spring has finally begun in Ann Arbor and school is almost over, which means Rosewood’s final months are coming. Given that all but two of the group’s members are seniors, this summer will be the last chance for the group to write, play, and record music together before they go their separate ways in the fall. Several of them plan to continue their musical careers as they transition to college. Collins III will attend The New School’s music program, while Mei Semones is headed the Berklee School of Music.
“For me, what it has meant, besides [being] a great time, is that it has been a great life experience with people,” Uribe said. “It's just very bonding to be a part of our own group.” This is really us putting out some objectives for ourselves, and doing [them] for ourselves.”
One of those such objectives is to complete their eight-song debut album and release it before graduation, as they now have a full partnership with Youth Owned Records.
“I really want to make as much music as possible together,” Collins III said. “Just in general, I just want to have more original music that is played within our band… I'm glad and excited for what we can do, but it is going to be so short. I want people to see that we can be what I envisioned us to be.”
Along with their album, the group hopes to land as many gigs as possible. Several are already in the works, one of which is particularly special to them. Early this summer, Rosewood will perform at Top of The Park. Some of them have dreamed of playing there for years, and now they have finally gotten their chance. Rosewood’s journey will end right where it began.
Before they won Battle of the Bands, twice; before they released their first original song; before they signed a contract with Youth Owned Records; before they performed on WCBN; before Rosewood was Rosewood, it was an idea, it was a vision, it was a goal.