The Rogers Sisters keep it in the family -- mainly. Comprised of siblings Jennifer (vocals, guitar) and Laura Rogers (drums) and Hawaiian-born Miyuki Furtado (vocals, bass), the post-punk three-piece knows what it means to rock hard. Anthemic numbers like "I Dig a Hole," "Zero Point" and the ironically iconoclastic "Now They Know (XOXO)," in which Furtado name-drops British music rag New Musical Express, contain exactly the right combination of self-conscious bop and bare-bones melodies that appeal to a scene where bands can blow up -- and be used up -- in a matter of months. "It's weird how you've got to manage your image," says Jennifer. "We're careful, and we've only just released our first record."
Purely Evil (Troubleman Unlimited) is the Brooklyn band's 28-minute-long debut, a striking collection of bubbly, "Rock Lobster"-ish songs that address themes like rock-star hype and political hypocrisy. But the message doesn't manhandle the music; unlike, say, Fugazi, the Rogers Sisters just want to have fun.
The sisters grew up in Michigan and moved to New York to play together in Ruby Falls, a celebrated indie foursome that disbanded in the late '90s. Shortly afterward, Jennifer (center) and Laura (right) auditioned Furtado (left), recorded their album and kept it low to the ground. The sisters and Jennifer's boyfriend Greg Anderson, who plays drums in another local act, Dan Melchior & the Broke Revue, also own Daddy's, a bar in East Williamsburg. After years of waiting tables for other people, they decided to pony up and founded one of the best drinking establishments in the borough. The band just finished a short West Coast tour, practicing for their forthcoming trip to Europe. "We're a little concerned, actually," says Laura, who notes that they're rarely heckled on stage. "In Britain the verb 'to roger' is still in common use, and we don't want people getting the wrong idea."
JONATHAN DURBIN
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