It didn’t take long for the local media to catch wind of The Roosevelt (***) after their conception in 2006 and the release of their EP. This hidden gem of the D.C. music scene presented a finely crafted and extremely catchy first album, with comparisons in sound to mainstream acts such as Wilco and Elliot Smith.

Although 2007 was met with a few unforeseen circumstances holding them back, Jon Mosher (guitar/vocals), Sam Mitchell (guitar), Scott Remley (bass) and Chris Carney (drums) have recently recorded a slew of new demos – which you can hear on their MySpace page – and they’ll be performing one of their first shows of 2008 at the Rock & Roll Hotel Saturday night with a lineup of top local acts. But these new beginnings also mark an end for their drummer, as this will be his final performance with the band.

It had been a while so we took time to catch up with Jon Mosher and see what was up The Roosevelt before their show on Saturday.

The last time DCist spoke formally with you guys was way back in 2006. Can you fill us in (briefly) on 2007? How was the past year for you guys as a band?

Last year was something of a disaster, but in the best way possible. Our drummer got in a fight with a mountain and lost – that was back in August 2006 – requiring shoulder surgery in early 2007, and then I got sick this past summer knocking me out of action for the remainder of the fall. The silver lining was that it forced us to focus on fine-tuning our older songs, and gave me loads of time at home where I just started writing and writing a slew of new songs.

So it’s now 2008. We’ve got a ton of new tunes to play. We’re very excited to get back on stage.

Have you found a new drummer, now that Chris is moving to San Francisco? Do you want to take this opportunity to say a few parting words/reach out to any potential replacements?

Yeah, the word is out – this will be Chris’ last show with us. We’re going to miss him tons; mostly, the dynamic among band-members will change, I think. We all have gotten along so well. It’s been great having him part of this for the past two years.

A friend of mine, who is a long-time member of the DC music scene, has graciously offered to fill in on drums as we move into the spring. We don’t have any plans for a region-wide search for a new drummer, but we’ll let you guys know the second we’re accepting auditions.

What sort of feedback have you guys received on your EP? When do you begin recording the full length album?

The EP still gets widely positive reviews, which is always nice. Local support has been great – blogs, press, radio. It’s really been wonderful.

We’ve actually already started work on the full length. Most of it is being recorded in my apartment – and to my neighbors, we are most grateful. So far, we’re thrilled with how well some of the early demos came out (we posted a couple on our MySpace page), and we hope to have it all tracked in the next couple of months. No release date in mind yet, but hopefully sometime this year.

Who writes your songs, and is there any particular inspiration/theme for the new album?

I take the lead in the song-writing duties, but the final product has more of a collaborative feel than the way it sounds to me while I’m strumming the guitar on the couch. We spend a ridiculous amount of time bouncing ideas off of each other, trying out new things, before we feel we can say, “Yes. It’s done.”

I think the themes for my songs have remained relatively unchanged since I started writing a bunch of years back. And the album is no different. Most directly, I focus on capturing things I feel at the time – anxiety, love, boredom, or whatever is on my mind. What I like most about playing in this band is: here’s this abstract mood, something that everyone’s felt at one time or another – let’s try to turn it into a song without being exceedingly moody. That’s been the best part about working on the album. We are trying to fit together sometimes conflicting emotions into a cohesive collection of songs. It’s a challenge, but it’s so much fun.

What can fans expect from the show on Saturday?

I encourage everyone to come early. The bands going on before us represent something of a best-of for groups we’ve played with in the past. We’re really excited about it.

We, The Roosevelt, are going to play as many songs as we can fit into the set as is possible. You’ll hear some older tunes, maybe some really old tunes in there too, and of course you’ll get a taste of things to come on the album. And for those who don’t yet have a copy of the EP – here’s your chance to pick it up. Owning one is, like, a state law or something…

Any other exciting things coming up for The Roosevelt in 2008?

If we can finish this album, that will be exciting enough for me. Then I’ll just spend more time bowling or something.

The Roosevelt will be at the Rock & Roll Hotel with Gary B & The Notions, Kitty Hawk, The Beanstalk Library and Alfonso Velez. $10, 8:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy The Roosevelt.