When the sound of Hey Romeo spills out of speakers, and it could be those in a car tuned into a local radio station, a couple of high end pieces of audio artwork paired in a home stereo, earplugs in a ipod, or massive bins in a concert hall, one thing always factors into the equation at hand.

Quite simply, the bright, soulful sound of Hey Romeo becomes the soundtrack for everything else that is going on in day-to-day life.

It’s a sound, where classic country phrasing and sentiments like honky-tonk heartaches, dovetail beautifully with the slick steps and bounce of upbeat urban adventures.

Stacie Roper, Rob Shapiro, and Darren Gusnowsky are the collective heartbeat of Hey Romeo and over the past eight years, this trio of accomplished musicians have put in the required hard work, to make the group one of the “real” rising star acts in Canadian country music.

Along with the prerequisite of superior talent, Hey Romeo is a combination of unique and likeable personalities and perseverance. Those ingredients came together in Alberta in 2002, after Stacie, Rob and Darren had all spent their formative years figuring out who they were musically.

Kick-starting a band is one thing, keeping it on the rails and pointed in the right direction for any length of time is another. From the outset, Shapiro remembers that, “there was a unique tone to what we were doing with Hey Romeo and one that deserved our commitment.”

That they had all grown and survived in the very competitive Alberta music scene was one of the calling cards that enabled the group, which initially worked under another name, to stand out from the pack.

Although market circumstances make it much more difficult to perform on a regular basis than back in the mid-nineties when countless venues with stages were the order of the day, this trio consistently stitched together performance itineraries that were the envy of their peers.

Thanks to the that drive and determination, and willingness to work in almost any setting, an identifiable vocal sound began to take shape quickly. At the same time, the group was earning a reputation as an engaging act that could quickly win over audiences at rodeo dances, in casino showrooms, and country bars.

Within a couple of years Hey Romeo started to receive the kind of regional and national attention, and acclaim, that was pointing the way to future successes.

Before the first decade of the new millennium rolled to an end, Hey Romeo had been honored with Best New Group award from the Canadian Country Music Association.

If the prestigious award in 2008 came as a “bit of surprise” to members of the group, it certainly didn’t to the movers and shakers in the industry who had either been spinning Hey Romeo singles, or booking Hey Romeo onto the stages of events like The Big Valley Jamboree and the Bud Country Fest.

Songs from the self-titled Hey Romeo disc had found their way onto both traditional and contemporary country stations and successes came with both original tunes and a tasty take of the Fleetwood Mac gem Second Hand News, that was given a wonderfully spirited ride by Roper.

But there’s always “the next plateau” and “what lies over the horizon” for a band that is making its way in the congested world of music, and the “one step at time” rule has served Hey Romeo well.

An introduction to ace Nashville producer, Byron Hill, who also happens to be a ridiculously successful tunesmith, - just ask George Strait or Reba McEntire, - was the foundation for creating the new follow-up recording.

The latest album That’s What I Am, yielded a successful top 20 single in Searchin’ For You, which was co-written by band members and Nashville songwriter Victoria Banks. That single, released in early 2010, preceded the release of the album by a few months and was a great springboard for the full length Royalty Records disc That’s What I Am.

Searchin’ For You was climbing the Canadian country music charts as Hey Romeo worked its way across the country as the opening act on Deric Ruttan’s major 2010 winter tour.

“The work with Byron, who pushed us hard and got the best out of us, the dates with Deric which were really well received, and the continued positive reaction from radio with the new material has set us up for a great run,” figures Shapiro, who was also name Keyboard Player of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association in 2009.

Combine Roper’s top-drawer vocals that slide between playful and sultry, the tasty production whipped up by Hill and Hey Romeo band members, the great vocal blend of the three, woven into songs that are perfectly polished gems, and it’s no wonder the Hey Romeo is pumped about taking their music to audiences at home and abroad.

As Shapiro says, “We’ve got so much to look forward to, whether it’s headlining at the Nashville North stage at the Calgary Stampede, or playing a major country music festival in France.

“Stacie, Darren and myself are proud of That’s What I Am, and we’re more committed than ever to Hey Romeo and really making our mark on the scene.”

STACIE ROPER

A woman who sings from the heart and shoots from the hip, Stacie Roper knows exactly what sounds and artists have been an inspiration to her over the years.

"I love the harmonies of the Statler Brothers, the feel of The Mavericks, the voice of Alison Krauss, and the strength of Martina McBride," states Roper who has also taken a few cues from eighties ladies like Cyndi Lauper and Debbie Harry, at least when it comes to connecting with an audience.

Roper’s gift for injecting the spirit of country music was apparent not long after she first started performing in front of audiences as a young singer. At a talent contest where she chose to sing a number from a Broadway musical, Roper turned heads for a number of reasons. Not only did she get everyone’s attention thanks to a impressive reading of the tune, Roper still laughs when she recalls that one of the judges figured she had injected "a little too much country twang", into the number.

That sensibility of Roper’s is front and centre in Hey Romeo and after working with Rob and Darren for a number of years, Roper has no doubts that she’s made the right professional and artistic decision in staying in "this" band, as opposed to opting for a solo career.

"They are my best friends, family, and business partners all rolled into one. I love them and what we are doing, and it seems that a lot of other people are loving what we’re doing to."

ROB SHAPIRO

A schooled musician, Rob’s tastes cut a wide swath in contemporary music. Anyone who has had the opportunity to converse with Rob for a while understands that the piano playing singer-songwriter adheres to the Duke Ellington philosophy that, "there are only two kinds of music, good and bad."

"I guess I have one foot in neo traditional country music like dwight and the mavericks and the other in really good rock and roll," says the keyboard player who was schooled in jazz music at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton.

Rob figures that he first realized he had a deep connection to country music when he heard Townes Van Zandt. There is also nothing he’d rather do than write a song "that touches people and is a hit", although he’d probably settle for two songs that cover those bases.

That said, Rob Shapiro is one who thrives off of the energy that is generated when he, Stacie and Darren are delivering one of their new songs to the hey romeo faithful.

He considers Hey Romeo winning the CCMA Top new Group of the Year award and CCMA keyboard player of the year as the highlights of his career thus far, but he would like nothing better than to reach the point where he and his bandmates are considered the Blue Rodeo or Tragically Hip of country music in Canada.

DARREN GUSNOWSKY

Another musician who is in it "for the long run", guitarist, singer, and tunesmith Darren Gusnowsky loves the country-honk of the Exile On Mainstreet era Rolling Stones, and the seamless harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in their prime.

There’s nothing like setting the bar high. So just to add another key element into Darren’s musical personality, he has no problem remembering that it was his mother turning him on to Ricky Skaggs, which convinced him he should pay more attention to hardcore country sounds.

"Here I am all these years later, winning an award with Stacie and Rob at the CCMA’s, hearing our songs on the radio, and standing side stage at show we’ve opened for the Kentucky Headhunters and Marty Stuart," says Gusnowsky, with an "it doesn’t get much better than this" inflection.

Another team player, Gusnowsky figures one of the lessons left to learn, or at least to put into effect all the time is to, "listen twice as much as you talk."

For this musician who is proud to call Alberta home, the end goal is to create a sound that is consistently identified as one that can only be that of Hey Romeo.