A cross-country road trip is a rite of passage for any young adult trying to find himself -- in the movies, at least. For the New York-based band Streamline, going cross-country during the summer of 2005 was all business.
The band, formed that summer in Rochester, spent last summer in Seattle and Los Angeles, recording at famous studios with industry professionals such as Brian Ireland (Something Corporate) before heading back east to play shows at colleges across the coast.
Streamline guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Mike Hogan, 21, describes his band's continental trek, during which he and two other members drove through 19 states while crammed into a Ford Windstar with all of their equipment, as a fun experience.
"We took our time going out," he says. "We got there on the fourth day; we stopped at a bunch of places. It was a good time. But the ride back wasn't as fun."
The members of Streamline got their feet wet when they entered a radio station-sponsored "battle of the bands" and won a spot opening for Lit in a Rochester charity festival in 2004.
Not too shabby for the band's second show.
With a start like that, it makes sense that the band's members have left school and relocated to New York City to pursue the band full-time.
"This [band stuff] started getting pretty crazy," Hogan says. "We were coming down to New York quite a bit. It made more sense to relocate down here and really take a shot at it, so that's what we've been doing."
Hogan describes the band's sound as somewhere between Dave Matthews and Matchbox 20 with a unique live show.
"We try to take it to the next level live," he says. "On the recordings we have more of a mainstream sound, but live we really take songs in different directions. There's more embellishment of the songs. We jam them out a little bit, make them a little more interesting."
Streamline's college tour continues, stopping at BU Central on Saturday, Jan. 28 with The Alternate Routes. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.
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