Patrons at the Mellow Mushroom were treated to a blast from the past Friday night as Red Line Annie continued its return from a two-year hiatus.
Formerly known as the Bob Ross Experience, the band began playing under the name Red Line Annie in 1999.
After the band’s lead singer was accepted to medical school in New Orleans, the remaining two founding members, Justin Monjure and Ryan Brach, took their time replacing the missing singer. The two held auditions for the position this summer and decided on Dina Stine, a former backup singer on their 2002 album “Back to Three.”
Members said trying to get their name out as a quality band has been hard.
“Baton Rouge is a cover town,” said bassist Ryan Brach, who is in graduate school at Loyola in New Orleans. “We do play a lot of covers, but there aren’t many bands who can play everything from ‘Here I go again,’ by Whitesnake to the Gin Blossoms or Better Than Ezra.”
Refitting for a female voice has been hard for the band, whose songs were dominated by their male singer. Stine’s range, though, has helped the band expand.
“We don’t have a style anymore because of her voice,” said Justin Monjure, the band’s lead guitarist. “Some of our songs had to change, but now we can play even more songs that we just couldn’t pull off before.”
Red Line Annie’s show Friday night impressed many younger listeners who weren’t around for Red Line Annie’s prime.
“I think they’re great, I love that they play a lot of 80’s music,” said Lauren Tanner, a business freshman.
The band is not the typical size, either. With six members in the band, observers were impressed at their ability to play almost any song.
“They had everything, even a keyboarder,” said Scott McLemore, an accounting sophomore.
Monjure and Brach bring age and experience to the band, but Red Line Annie’s members cover more than one generation. Lead singer Dina Stine is a graduate student in audiology, Michael Koerber, a music freshman, is the band’s keyboarder, and drummer Jeff Despommier is a psychology sophomore.
Despommier said an older band didn’t frighten him, and neither did the fact that he is Red Line Annie’s eighth drummer in six years.
“When they told me I was the eighth, I wasn’t shocked; I’m happy to be the eighth, let’s hope there’s not a ninth,” Despommier said.
Since their reunion, Red Line Annie has had a humbling experience booking gigs.
“People don’t know us as well as they used to,” said Monjure. “I got a whole lot of blank stares.”
Red Line Annie will play Wednesday at the Caterie and at Bogie’s on April 25, along with many other private parties. For more information, check out its Web site at www.redlineannie.com.