Junro

The American alt-rockband Junro was in a tough spot living in different states. By using Elk LIVE they save four hours of driving to every rehearsal/session. Now they just need to explain the sweating and panting to their partners. ”I can understand if people are reluctant, because it’s like, “There’s no way this works.” And I'm like, “No, I’m telling everybody right now, it works,”says bass player Daniel Roellke.

First off, very nice to meet you Dan! Tell me about your band

Sure! So, we’re Junro, a 3-piece like alternative, like almost progressive alternative rock. I live in Massachusetts. The other guys  live in Connecticut, so that’s a couple of states away from me. It’s about an hour and 45 minutes, sometimes a 2-hour drive. 

‍Did you already live in different places when you started the band?

Yeah, so I was living in Mass-- Dave, our singer, was living in Massachusetts at the time, too, and then he ended up moving back to Connecticut, where he’s from. And I was like, “Oh, this might be tough.” But we stuck with it. We’ve been playing together since 2016. And then enter Elk, which is great, you know. Finally! 

Yeah, how did you get started with Elk?

My singer saw a gear review that someone had posted -- We’re like, “Yeah, there’s no way this thing really can work.” Right? 

Cause we’ve been trying to figure out a way to do this for so long, because it’s tough. A two-hour band practice for me, means like six hours out of my day. Because I’d have to drive for two hours to go meet up with these guys and then two hours home. 

But we did it!  I was so excited to even just try it because I’m the one driving super far. And it was great! We were like, “Wow!” I mean, they’re like two states away. 

I would stand right here with my big screen and I could see their whole room at the same time, so I kind of felt like I was there, you know. And as I’m playing and I’m closing my eyes, it’s kind of like I was playing there with my in-ear monitors, which was incredible.

You honestly forget that we’re not in the same room. If I’m playing and I’m closing my eyes while I’m singing and everything, I feel like I’m right there which is wonderful. I was really surprised that it worked as well as it did. Like honestly I was shocked! It worked out super well. 

‍Yeah, once you get into it the experience is kind of what its always has been playing music

Yeah, an awesome feature by the way, is that you can have your own mix very easily, which is an awesome feature of Elk. I love how it’s like, alright, Dave wants his vocals in his ears like a lot louder and I’m like, I need to turn him down a little bit and turn my bass up a little, you know. I can do that without affecting anybody, which is fantastic.

Yeah there is definitely a great convenience aspect to Elk LIVE

Yeah, especially at my age now, we’re all at the age where we all got a lot of stuff going on. And this makes it so great because I can, “Oh, we have band practice in 20 minutes?” To set up its like two seconds. It’s so easy. I just plug right into the front of the Elk and then, I’m connected, ready to go.

I use my Sony headphones that doesn't fully block out the sound when I’m playing so I can hear my kids if they need to come downstairs, if they need something. Not a big deal, I’ll just like take care of it and then get back to it, I’m gone for two minutes, you know. It's great.

Thats brilliant!

I came upstairs just like panting and like sweating, my wife’s like, “You alright? Were you like moving furniture around down there?” I was like, “No, I was down there playing band practice,” you know. 

I’m happy to hear it works so well for you

I’m your biggest salesman here. I’m telling everybody about this thing. And I can understand if people are reluctant, because it’s like, “There’s no way this works.” And I'm like, “No, I’m telling everybody right now, it works.”