At one time, they could all be found roaming the halls of Chaska High School. But today, Patrick Stover, Ian Nygaard, Eric Carlson, John Walker, Nate Palmquist and Michael Roser can be found roaming stages around the Twin Cities.

From the Fine Line and the Turf Club to the 7th St Entry and the Kitty Cat Klub, the sextet – better known as Colder in Moscow – is making a name for their fledgling band in the Twin Cities music scene.

Photo by Wright BraudtThough they didn’t spend much time together at CHS (where most members graduated in 2006 and 2007), last year the band came together quickly, finding not only a shared school history, but also a shared love of music.

“We all knew each other,” said Eric Carlson, of Chanhassen.

“Eric and I were writing songs,” explained Michael Roser, of Chaska. “We wanted to put a band together.”

Drawing inspiration from the Beatles (“Paul McCartney more specifically”), The Hang Ups, The Jayhawks and Neil Young, Colder in Moscow was born.

Last summer, after only playing together for a few short months, they released their first recording entitled “Great Speculation.”

“It’s some kind of rock music,” explained Carlson of the sound. “A mixture of rock and pop music.”

“We like groovy,” offered Roser. “We do like to bring groovy-ness.”

The album was recorded in just two sessions as the band rushed to complete it before their original drummer headed off to college.

“We liked how we were sounding,” said Carlson. “It was very much just ‘hit record.’”

Roser wrote most of the lyrics for the album. “The initial idea comes from how the music feels,” he said. “I write a lot of questions.

“This whole thing is about being confused,” Roser continued. “I can’t wrap my head around society.”

The result is a collection of songs designed to be left up to the listener’s interpretation, Carlson and Roser said.

“It’s very easy to misinterpret,” said Roser. “That’s why I like it.”

Carlson and Roser suggest the songs “Draw,” “Canary Rose” or “Titanic Calawsys” as good introductions to the Colder in Moscow sound.

That sound is already evolving, though. “I was an idiot when we started this band,” said Carlson. “We were pretty fresh at it.”

These days, Colder in Moscow has a better idea of what they like. “We’ve grown up a lot,” said Carlson. “Our voices are developing.”

“We expect to make the music more dynamic, more interesting,” he added. “We want to try to be as original as possible, we want to experiment.”

What trajectory their band will take is a question yet to be answered. Colder in Moscow already has a number of gigs scheduled in the Twin Cities for January and February.

“We’re focused on the smaller successes,” said Roser.

“We want to take it as far as possible,” chimed in Carlson. “To as many people as possible.”

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer