About

When a beat meats a melody…

David and Erin Rose (Rosey for short) met in the summer of 2012, at an open mic at Benny’s Bagels on Broadway in Vancouver. They played in the 5 piece indie rock band The Cattails for about a year before deciding to go out on their own and formed Jitensha. Their first album “Buck Moon” was released April 29th 2014.

That summer they traveled the whole perimeter of the US, living in their Toyota Sienna and playing at every open mic they could find.

They eventually landed in Montréal, and began their life as “métro rats” performing often in the eclectic subways. That summer they threw their hat into the sunny streets, singing oldies covers in the old port of Montréal.

In autumn 2015 David and Rosey toured Eastern Canada with the Hamilton, ON based non-profit Live Different. They survived gale force winds in Newfoundland, the bus falling into a ditch in Cape Breton, and a devastating house fire in P.E.I. It was an eventful, breathtaking trip that filled them with further musical inspiration.

The following spring the pair made their way to Brisbane, Australia to begin their new life as a lounge duo aboard P&O Australia’s Pacific Dawn. They would end up doing three contracts with P&O, traveling much of the South Pacific and making countless friends and connections. Their EP “Vol. 2” was released in 2017.

Wrapping up their life at sea, in 2018, they set to work on their second album. They took a break that summer to tie the knot in Colorado.

2019 saw the duo pick up steam as they started to tour in Ontario and Québec. They released their second album “Periscope” that summer and celebrated with a 32 date cross Canada Tour.

In 2020 their first US tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were bummed but used the free time to write many songs, livestream and explore the beautiful province of Québec.

In 2021 Jitensha released two new singles “Sojourn” and “Diwa.” They attended Canadian Music Week for the first time.

2022 saw two new singles, “Psychotic (What Are Friends For)” and “Cou Cou.” They completed their first US tour July - September and made many new friends along the way! The pair then took 6 months off music to learn to surf and volunteer on organic farms in Japan.

In 2023 they toured the US yet again, 13 states and 80 shows and released an Acoustic EP “Vol. 3.” Afterwards, dying to release new music they rented a little house in the woods in Mont Blanc, QC, where they recorded their 3rd album “Closing Statements” - Available now on all streaming platforms!

Musical History

David

“I’m classically trained in piano and guitar but that feels like ages ago. In university I was in my second year at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, in a double degree program taking on a BA in music and Bachelor of Education. It was actually the summer before going into second year that I started thinking about dropping out and trying to pursue a career as a solo singer songwriter, but I wasn’t completely sure, so I said I’d give myself another year at Laurentian to figure it out. But halfway through the year I had already been resolved, I wasn’t coming back next year. Most of my work that I do now on the electric guitar is self taught, I can’t say I’ve had a formal teacher.

A big turn in my development as a performer happened when Rosey and I got hired to work on a cruise ship as the lounge duo. We had to learn so many songs and playing everyday really kicked my butt!”

Rosey

“My parents taught me some guitar very young. They played music professionally up until around the time I was born and there were various instruments all around the house. I would bang around on the piano. I got a mini, red, electric squire guitar and would pretend to be Tom Petty or Mark Knopfler. Around age 9 I started to play the cello. I did that all through high-school, eventually being in the Colorado state youth orchestra. I have these early education opportunities to thank for teaching me harmony and rhythm. After that I taught myself various other instruments.

Musically, I’ve taken a lot of turns in my life but it’s always been inescapable. The only thing that has always stuck is singing and now I’m quite happy playing the drums too. Bur mostly I just love hanging out with Davo!”