Power trio Rofo Audio are like unofficial ambassadors for the Spring-Ford Chamber of Commerce.
The two music videos for songs off their sophomore album “Reach” prominently involved local businesses. “Fold” was shot at Limerick’s Bon Homie Adult Day Center, where singer/guitarist Raymond Short’s wife works. Nearing completion is a video for the song “Inked,” which has a plot involving a small-town girl starting to find her way in the world (and a subplot about a returning military veteran), and is loaded with scenes around downtown Royersford, including Annamarie’s Place Restaurant, Sweet Ashley’s Chocolate, Integrity Tattoo (the song is called “Inked,” after all), plus Spring City live music venue Chaplin’s.
“Everybody just climbed on board,” said Short, who produced and posted a 30-second commercial for Sweet Ashley’s to the band’s Facebook page Aug. 7 that was culled from footage recorded for the music video.
The band also features Erik Lindenmoyer on bass and Andy Mihalcik on drums. Mihalcik and Short were previously in a cover band called The Nameless Few.
Both Rofo Audio albums were produced by Bret Alexander, formerly of Selinsgrove, Pa. roots rock band The Badlees, who rose to national exposure in the mid-’90s. A Spring-Ford alumnus, Short said that when he was studying music and video production at Bloomsburg University, he interned at a recording studio where Alexander was the chief engineer.
The band’s name, which references the colloquial abbreviation for Royersford, is actually “a good conversation piece,” according to Short. Mark Rogers, the host of the “Hometown Heroes” show on 93.7 WSTW in Wilmington “spent a lot of time here, and he knows,” according to Short.
“Does anybody know what Rofo means?,” Rogers reportedly once said while working an audience at a “Hometown Heroes” live show.
Besides the “Inked” video, a Christmas single, with an accompanying video, is slated for November release. “There’s no record deals to be had out there. Everything is just do-it-yourself. The question is how bad do you want it?,” said Short, who is 50 and married with children. “I feel lucky to be the age I am and making the music I make, and having the artistic avenue I have.”
Rofo Audio’s music is on all streaming services and available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com. On social media, there’s the “Rofo Audio Official” YouTube channel, www.facebook.com/rofoaudiomusic and @rofoaudioband on Instagram and Twitter.
They’re also performing a “drive in concert,” with food catering services, Aug. 19 at Parkhouse Nursing Center.
