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Steamboat Springs — The three members of Rose Hill Drive agreed to grow out their hair until they got a record deal. The result wasn't pretty - at least for drummer Nathan Barnes.

"Growing your hair out is a pain in the ass, and I had to wear a hat for nine months because it looked terrible," Barnes said. "Mine was down to the middle of my back before I cropped it seven inches."

The experiment came to an end last August, when Rose Hill Drive released its first studio CD. The album was co-produced by Nick DiDia, who has produced CDs for bands auch as Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine.

Barnes and brothers Jake and Daniel Sproul started playing together eight years ago in a garage on Rose Hill Drive in Boulder.

They were forced to find a new rehearsal space after three years when the neighbors threatened to call police, Barnes said. Three rehearsals and seven cop calls later, Rose Hill Drive now practices in a little shed outside of a farmhouse, where it can play as loud as it wants.

Those shed sessions have led to performances with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg and Bad Religion. Rose Hill Drive also has opened for Van Halen and The Who.

Rose Hill Drive considers itself a power trio that plays a unique version of rock 'n' roll. The band also has been classified as a jam band and a throwback band - not necessarily labels that its members always agree with.

"We are trying to make modern music, not retro anything," Barnes said. "But it's a compliment, because some of the greatest bands ever were from the '70s, and we can appeal to multiple generations."

The band members feel fortunate to have tapped into the jam band scene.

"We have been referred to that probably as a reference to improvising on stage and are really grateful to be able to attract those fans because they will keep coming back," Barnes said. "If that's what you like and think that's what area we are in, that's cool with me."