Rocket Transfer Warehouse

History

Originally formed as a covers band, Gary Maragos (guitar and vocals), Aaron Shadis (guitar), Mario Buscemi (bass guitar) and Chris Beall (drums) first came together in 1991. The group played in and around the Fells Point area of Baltimore and Towson State University during the early 1990s doing mostly college radio favorites and some classic rock. It did at one point perform some original material live but never recorded anything from this period.

Sometime around 1994 Buscemi left the group causing a splinter effect. Shadis, Beall and Buscemi later formed Another Tricky Day which in turn became Barfly Celebrity minus Buscemi. Buscemi then went on to form All Fall Down with Another Tricky Day vocalist Joe Petri, guitarist Rich Bialek and drummer Ron O' Mally.

In 1996, Maragos however persisted with RTW for a time enlisting musicians from Salisbury, Maryland for version #2 to record Grand Opening. Grand Opening was full of the do-it-yourself production and alternative leanings of many 1990s bar bands. The album featured two vocalists, a formula which Maragos would explore with more detail on the next album. The real charm came from the directness of the performances and recording in a style similar to Toad the Wet Sprocket and The Lemonheads .

Upon receiving an invitation to perform at the first International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles, California, it was decided by Gary and the musicians he was currently playing with brother Greg Maragos (bass guitar and vocals) and Mike Ward (guitar and keyboards) to keep the RTW name and develop new material. Dave Buckner (drums) was added just before the band recorded a four song demo tape which was followed up with the Arrival album. Harmony vocals and lush sound textures are what drive the album as well as generally more adventurous arrangements. The group was most active both live and on record during this period. During this time, singing and songwriting was split between Greg and Gary.

After meeting at an RTW show at the 8x10 Club, Shadis, Maragos and Buscemi stayed in touch. Beall was present, but showed little interest in reforming. Maragos decided to ask Shadis and Buscemi to help record as RTW with the addition of Mike Ward from version number 3 and Pete Kuhn from The Beltways on drums, resulting with Band with the Golden Arm, bringing the group almost full circle.

Band with the Golden Arm was for Maragos a second go at making Arrival, however the chemistry of this unit was to yield more tension and an edgy sound not heard before on record. The disc is stripped of all Arrival's production and very brief. This album seemed to be more guitar driven and at least as far, as RTW is concerned more rock and roll. The harmony vocals are downplayed, and the instrumental mix is up front and dry, almost raw compared to Arrival. The feel is somehow intimate like Grand Opening, a quality that Arrival lacked all together but no less polished.

An appearance at the 2005 International Pop Overthrow festival in Chicago later followed. In late 2008, Gary, Greg, Mike, and Dave played a one-off show in Baltimore reuniting the Arrival lineup.

Maragos and Shadis have continued to perform as RTW in an acoustic duo format.

Discography