Common Rotation is the ingenious combination of Adam Busch and Eric Kufs. It took them quite a way to this recent line-up and after some heavy rotation with various bandmembers they are now playing "back to the roots".

28 Orange Street - The Beginning
No band is born over night, however, it seems that thanks to his dad, a jazz pianist, Adams interest in music was there from the start. His favourite musician was Elvis Costello. According to the Long Island Press, Adam met another Elvis Costello fan during an art course at the East Medow High School, Long Island, New York, named Eric Kufs. That and their general interest in folk-music started a deep friendship that still lasts.

Like with every other band, their first steps together weren't really smooth, but hey, we're pretty sure Picassos first drawing also ended pinned to mommys fridge only. At this times, 28 Orange Street was formed by four members (f.l.t.r): Chris Elsner Jr. (bass), Adam Busch (vocals), Eric Kufs (guitar/vocals) and Ken Beck (drums).

Ken Beck, who already as a kid started drumming on everything that got in his reach, played in the school jazz band, where he met Adam (he played sax). After their first drummer got kicked from school (he stole the drumset) the Professor started playing with 28OS.

In various interviews they stated that they played their first official shows around the time when they where 16. They played some bars in New York, but after a while they got tired of playing in front of a drunk audience that was more interested in beer and the-hot-chick-on-the-right than the music.

Even during their time in high school, the band had a very devoted fan base, and after playing various shows in cafes and folk-clubs (and the more intimate atmosphere there) the number of fans grew even bigger. They started playing at every open-mic-night they could make, but after a while they where successful enough to play at Scotty Dees or The Broadway Beanery on a weekly basis. Especially the Beanery gigs are legendary among fans and The Wetlands should play a major part in the future.

Thanks to Adams gift to change lyrics on the fly according to what happens on stage or in the audience - whoever heard "Fortunate" live knows what we are talking about - , Booking Agent Ed Schneller came to recognize 28OS. Schneller, who usually organized tours for the Broadway Company, began managing 28OS which led to the release of the debut-record "Common Rotation". The band played together for three years then and the record was sold more than 4000 times.

The CD was produced by Rick Birmingham, who also added to the sound by playing guitar and bass and singing. Jason Crosby played the keyboard and Jordan Katz could be heard playing the trumpet. You can still see some of these guys playing with Adam and Eric on some shows.

The name for the record came, according to their own saying, from the first song that Eric ever wrote, "Common Rotation". At the release party they played at a sold-out Wetlands, but admittedly, John Pepper (Blues Travellers), God Street Wine and Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers) played on this evening as well.

28 Orange Street becomes Common Rotation
With the new millenium, the year 2000 brought major changes for the band. Adam Busch, who already at high school was a very talented actor, was rejected for a role on "Angel" but instead got a recurring part on Joss Wheadons hit show "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" that run for five years on WB and two years on UPN.

Since the part of "Warren Mears" got quite big Adam had to move from New York to Los Angeles. A year later Chris Elsner jr. left the band. It is not known if Chris left the band because he couldn't/wouldn't want to move to L.A. or if there where other reasons. In August 2001, almost two years after the release of "Common Rotation", the band had their last gig together at The Wetlands. This show was perfectly staged. In the middle of it, Chris openly anounced that he quitted, and left a seemingly puzzled Adam, Eric and Ken on stage. Adam, with his talent to improvise, didn't waited for long but asked the audience for someone who's able to play bass. Geoff Gilkes came up on stage then and finished the gig together with the band. At the same night, the band changed their name to "Common Rotation", the new website with the new name went online and the first merchandising was up for sale.

A few days later, someone calling himself "the Insider" wrote on the official 28OS message board that Chris already left the band in June/July, and that Geoff was casted as new bass player then. Well, from a realistic viewpoint it's highly unlikely that Geoff could play all songs from scratch, and a website doesn't write itself, too. A few months later Geoff was history as well, the new bass player was Mike Uhler!

Common Rotation stumbled accross Mike by accident. Mike played for a band called "Guiro Mama" for a few years then. They played regularly in a Beverly Hills club called "CAVA". Mike later told the story that Adam brought his Grandmother to the Hotel (right above the club) and from the bathroom heard Mike playing "So Fresh, So Clean" from Outkast. He liked what he heard and pestered Mike long enough to convince him to join Common Rotation.

The Big Fear
After a successful tour as opener for "They Might be Giants" and a quick trip accross the pond by Adam and Eric, they recorded the second studio album "The Big Fear". The material that Adam and Eric wrote in L.A. would have been enough for like three records, but they decided to use 10 songs (and one bonustrack) and released the rest with the Union Maid. It was produced by Dan Weinkauf and Brian Speiser (TMBG), and Jason Crosby, Jordan Katz and Rick Birmingham joined in again, too. The CD was released in April 2003 at the Bitter End in New York.

Thanks to the down-to-earth-attitude of the band members, their love for music, an incredible stage presence and their unique sound, they reached fans accross the US borders as well and they now have fans not only in America or Europe but in Asia and Australia as well, the number growing daily. Wherever the guys play, there's no one who can resist the CoRo vibe.

Clear Channel - Back to the Roots
Shortly after their first european gigs with the full band in 2003, there were some more changes. Mike Uhler and Ken Beck were no longer playing regularly with the band and at the end of the year their names and pictures where removed from the official website. Common Rotation are made of two members since then, Adam and Eric. But even if Mike and Ken are no longer an official part of the band, a lot of fans miss them and will forever see them as part of Common Rotation, no matter what band line up there will be in the future.

Always in for surprises, and as a protest against Clear Channel, Common Rotation started their "Living Room Tour", where they played in the living rooms of their fans throughout the country instead of clubs. The most famous fan and host of a living room gig would be Danny Strong, who together with Michael Bacall hosted a "John Kerry Fundraiser Living Room Gig".

But they didn't just played the various living rooms, they also toured again with TMBG, playing as opener for them on the big stages in the US.

For the band, 2004 was quite an active year. They did over a hundred shows, almost always accompanied by Jordan Katz, and hitted the 300th "song in progress", better known as "The Union Maid". Together with Brian Speiser they produced their third studio record (Clear Channel) and pulished their fourth live CD. And on almost every gig throughout America and Europe they where accompanied by a videocamera to capture every gig and every fan and every moment for their upcoming DVD.

2005 the guys didn't calm down either. Common Rotation, now officialy comprising of Adam Busch, Eric Kufs and Jordan Katz, released their eighth CD with "Live @ the Bitter End Vol.2". The Union Maid reached it's 400th track and Eric Kufs (finally! ;-) ) did his long awaited solo record "Dust Bowl O'Cherries".

For us european fans, 2005 was very special, we had the luxury of two tours in one year. The last scenes for the DVD were shut in September, although because of the huge amount of material and the plans to tour some festivals with it first, it may take a while for it to be released to the impatient fans. But then again, compared to how long we waited for Erics solo album, it will probably be out quite soon. ;-)

2006 seems to go likewise. The first gigs have been played, and rumor has it that there will be a new studio CD in summer. No european gigs have been announced yet, though, so we'll see! ;-)

March' 06