Your community connector

"Let Them Roar": The Band Formerly Known as "All The Pretty Horses"

Locations: News Published
When Carbondale band “All the Pretty Horses” announced the retirement of their old name at their Dia de Los Muertos concert in November, some folks drew comparisons to Prince’s 1993 moniker change. But by the time this issue hits the stands, fears that the band will adopt an unpronounceable symbol as their new name will have proven unfounded. After nearly two months of input and discussion; Oliva Pevec, Mateo Sandáte, Ashton Taufer, Frank Martin, Aaron Taylor, and Sophia Clark will be known collectively as “Let them Roar”. 
The announcement is scheduled for their New Year’s Eve bash and CD release party at Steve’s Guitars, which falls after the Sun’s holiday press deadline, but we were able to catch up with several members. “This whole process was really exciting,” guitarist Mateo Sandáte told the Sun earlier in the week, “We opened it up to everyone. Each band member came to the table with a bag full of names.” The old name was selected without much competition, and is shared with another band out of Minneapolis, as well as the novel and its film adaptation. In the end, both Sandáte and drummer Aaron Taylor claim to have come up with “Let Them Roar” independently. While the coincidence might be related to Katy Perry’s recent single “Roar”, Sandáte said the idea of a big cat’s roar didn’t even occur to him. “What roars? It’s the river. It has a deep tie to nature for me.” The local connection for a group from the Roaring Fork Valley is one reason they chose it over some of the other options. Lead vocalist Olivia Pevec, meanwhile, emphasized that the ‘them’ doesn’t necessarily imply an ‘us’. “As we grow into the name, it’s something we’re going to explore”.
The choice of venue for the announcement is no accident. Although the Horses have played nearly every venue in 81623, they got their start at C-Town back in 2009 with just Pevec, Sandáte, and Mike Spring. They added Taufer and Taylor during another performance there and played with Frank Martin at Steve’s Guitars’ 10th Anniversary show in 2011. “We just asked him to join us and he never left,” Pevec recalled. “We’ve met here. We played here.” Sandáte added, sitting below a wall of guitars at Steve’s. “It’s not just a performance space- it’s a creative environment.”
With the new name comes a new album- five original tracks recorded at Echo Ranch Studios and mastered at Misery Loves Company Records. Titled “All the Pretty Horses”, the EP is intended to serve as a bridge between the band’s old identity and the new and includes upeat “Miles Down the Road” to thematic “Derrick Lights”, a slow rendition of “Ruthie’s Song”, mostly instrumental “Broker than Broke”, and genre mixing “Thank Goodness”. The physical copy comes in a suitably artsy origami-style case, and will be included with admission on New Years’ Eve. Whatever’s left will be available through ‘local distribution’- “If you see us walking down the street, let us know you want one!”. Barring small town serendipity, you can also preview and purchase the album online at letthemroar.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-pretty-horses.  
▲Top ▲Top