Rotundos Is Ready to Be Your New Favorite Band

With close to 40+ gigs under their belt, Chicago band Rotundos has emerged as a formidable presence in the Chicago DIY Scene. In fact, that scene was responsible for the formation of the band. “We all met in the Chicago DIY scene. Jake and Jose (who share singing and guitar duties), grew up together. Juan and Henry (bass and drums) jammed in his attic and that was the first time they met. Henry heard Jose’s debut single ‘9/13 in Chicago,’ and the four banded together to play as Jose’s backing band. It made more sense in the long run to share songwriting duties than have one person write everything. Thus, Rotundos was born.”

Because of their vast number of influences, Rotundos is a band that is hard to peg in one particular genre. This aspect makes them unique to say the least. “We have a very diverse set of influences. Jake and Juan like party music and Mexican traditional ballads. Henry and Jose enjoy alt-country like Pinegrove and Wilco. We all enjoy heavy music like Pierce the Visio and At the Drive-In. We meet in the middle of pop and rock by sticking to the roots of both. The best part about music in 2023 is that there is a renaissance happening in our generation. Most artists now are multi hyphenate, like the artists we enjoyed growing up. As far as modern sounds, There’s a hint of shoegaze, hardcore, and off-beat reggae rhythm in our song ‘Sky Train.’ I’d say that song is our sound.”

For Rotundos, cutting their teeth on the live circuit has not only given them a wealth of experience, but also brings them a great deal of enjoyment due to the interaction with the crowds. “The highlight is definitely playing shows. We played one show in September 22’. Then our 2nd show sold out at Bookclub w/ the bands Dystrophy, Joe Glass, & Surf Candy. Then we got invited to Urbana to play a college gig in Champaign. When we played two gigs in February 2023, we had none booked for the rest of the year. Now at the end of the year, we’ve done just about 40 shows. This is all thanks to people at these gigs recommending us to come back! It’s awesome that we have had this boost in our career thanks to the people and the power of word of mouth.”

One of the lasting impressions of Rotundos is that they are talented, unique, and have a goal to take world domination to the next level. “We stand out wherever we go. When we played Madison Wisconsin this past weekend, we kept getting a lot of stares and pointing. I guess it’s just that kinda town but we were in a McDonald’s, so I’d probably point at funny looking (but well dressed) dudes in public if I was them. We want to be famous. We want to tour with Movements. We want to see the world.”

Catch No Shelter at Bassline Chicago on Thursday, November 16th. Tickets are still available at this link.