Rustic Overtones

Rustic Overtones
The Rustic Overtones play at the 2007 Maine Lobster Festival
Background information
Origin	Portland, Maine, United States
Genres	Rock
Years active	1993–2002, 2007–present
Labels	Ripcord Records, Arista/BMG Records, Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records, Velour
Associated acts	Paranoid Social Club, As Fast As, Seekonk, Soulive, Lettuce
Website	Official Website
Members	Dave Gutter Jon Roods Kyle Hardy Michael Taylor Dave Noyes Gary Gemmiti Jason Ward

Rustic Overtones is a rock/jazz/funk band from Maine active from 1993–2002 and 2007–present. They were the first group to perform live on XM Satellite Radio, and their 2007 album Light At The End was the fastest-selling local disc ever in the state of Maine.

Rustic Overtones started out in the early 1990s as a three-piece cover band known as Aces Wild with Dave Gutter, Jon Roods, and then-drummer and close friend Matthew Esty, playing small bars. This lineup produced the very rare Smile album. The Rustic Overtones gained popularity during the mid to late 1990s in the Portland, Maine, music scene, although it had many self-financed tours throughout the country, mostly the northeastern states. After the release of the band's 1998 album Rooms by the Hour, major record label Arista signed the band spurred on by then-president Clive Davis. The signing lead to "Hardest Way Possible," a song from Rooms By The Hour, which was featured on the soundtrack of the Rob Schneider film The Animal. Arista hired legendary producer Tony Visconti to produce what became the band's 2001 release, ¡Viva Nueva! However, after disagreements with the label, and a shakeup at Arista that saw the band's primary supporter, Clive Davis, depart, the record deal fell through. The band was shortly picked up afterward by Tommy Boy and released the album in 2001, which featured guest appearances by Funkmaster Flex, Imogen Heap, and David Bowie. However, Tommy Boy's deal with Warner Bros. Records ended in 2002, which once again left the band without a record label. The disappointment of two major record deals falling through proved too much for the band members, and they went their separate ways in 2002. Its final performance was a three-hour show at the State Theatre on May 11, 2002.