Nearly eight years ago, Robbing Mary formed from the ashes of other bands that had either outlived their time or gone awry. Initially, original members and longtime Clevelanders Dan Mills (vocals/guitar), Jennifer Vilimonovic (vocals/violin) and Steve Keefe (bass/guitar) poured their hearts and countless hours into scoring a broad array of original material. Not long after, lead guitar player, Rom Cullers was recruited to lend additional vocal, guitar and songwriting depth and cohesion to a growing catalogue of both originals and unique interpretations of some of the greatest songs ever recorded - some well known and some overlooked gems. With the addition of the experience and professionalism of expert drummer Wil Jones in 2008, Robbing Mary has emerged as one of the premier indie/rock/alt-country bands in Northeast Ohio and beyond. Robbing Mary's concerts are simultaneously powerful, dynamic and memorable, and the band is flexible enough to deliver exceptional performances in shows ranging in length from 45 minutes to 5 hours.
At the outset, choosing a name for the band became a difficult task. During early rehearsals, ideas were pitched and ultimately the name of the band was drawn from a hat. It fictitiously refers to a casanova type who has the key and has stolen the heart of his mistress.
In August, 2009, after 5 years of making obsessively arranged homespun recordings in their basement practice space on Groveland Road in the Heights, Robbing Mary took to the studio and released its first official recording -- an EP suitably named "Groveland." Groveland was recorded and engineered by Matt Curry at Anteup Audio in Cleveland and mixed by well-known producer, recording artist and guitarist Eric Ambel. Among many others, Ambel's extensive history includes production credits for Steve Earle, The Dukes, Ryan Adams and The Bottle Rockets. During the recent past, fueled largely by positive feedback from the Groveland project and some noteworthy gigs and festivals supporting that release, Robbing Mary expanded its recording budget and is currently putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive full-length studio album. Joining Robbing Mary on this project and at various gigs in the past and future is Hammond B-3 ace and multi-instrumentalist, Dave Drotos, a Cleveland native currently moonlighting in Nashville.
Both musically and lyrically, the body of Robbing Mary's work explores the fluidity of life and nature at its very extremes, with a focus on the complexity and frailty of the human condition in the face of adverse self inflicted and environmental factors that confront us all. The simultaneous dissonance and harmony that results from those conflicting forces is both reflected and expressed in Robbing Mary's music and live performances. Robbing Mary's creative momentum shows no signs of slowing. The band continues to write new material, with much of it being drawn from or inspired by improvised interactions with new audiences.
