A clear product in the image of both their members and fan base, The Results are exactly that: the results of people, life experiences and art. Longtime friends guitarist Ben Toland and lead vocalist Bryan Flanagan met in the attic of Toland’s tenant house in Rochester’s South Wedge to make music in 2009. At first it was casual—there was no formal band and no talk of shows—until Toland’s housemate Jenni Pruner volunteered to play drums.
Since former drummer Pruner had never played drums before, her ability was questioned at first. According to the band, she had received a bone transplant in her foot and the deceased donor had been a professional percussionist. “All of a sudden she could drum,” guitarist Spencer Curtice said. “She was compelled.”
The Results had found its style in a blues-meets-punk sound that at first might vaguely remind you of early White Stripes (except larger), of early Strokes (except louder), or of Jet (except not as awful).
Sometimes pinned as garage rock, The Results’ brand of rock and roll is quite the opposite. It breaks conventions in unassuming, sincerely artistic ways. The newest member MC DMack, who raps on their songs both old and new, exemplifies this. This free-spirit mentality yields music that is respectful of the tried-and-true nature of rock tradition, but that is also smartly non-committal. This delightful paradigm appeals to an increasingly rabid fan base.
“We definitely created some new sounds that none of us had heard before,” Curtice said. “That’s what we were always about; being as original as possible while still rocking out as hard as we can.”
The band became notorious for bringing large, recklessly hyperactive turnouts from Rochester’s counter-culture into venues. A Results show isn’t just a performance; it’s a contemporary Dionysian celebration, often ending in intimate shoulder-to-shoulder stage rushes.
“The shows are a lot of fun,” DMack said. “We like the music but it’s just as much about the party.” The band has even had a performance been shut down by city police at one of their shows in Rochester’s East End. “They had to come and shut down the awesome rock and roll, sweat, love and madness in the basement because it was just a sea of awesome,” Toland said. “That night was out of control.”
The recording of their self-titled debut album released in April through Nasty Records was a relatively smooth effort. The band worked with producer Nate Davenport, now of Harmonious Recording Solutions.
“[Davenport] made it easy,” Curtice said. “He was kind of the magic man who was working with our disorganization.” Oddly, while the album is for sale on The Results’ Bandcamp website, they do not press their album with much effort. They said they want to remaster the tracks, an endeavor still in progress.
The Results has faced the loss of their drummer and bass-player as members. According to DMack, they are on hiatus now but the band is looking to replace the positions, hoping it will be business as usual. Their music can be found on theresultsroc.bandcamp.com.