Chris Riemenschneider: The hippest string quartet in town

They're the string quartet for people who usually ignore string quartets, but their cinematic instrumental music wasn't really inspired by old Spaghetti Western movies. Not even close.

" 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' has some of the most sophisticated soundtrack music you'll ever hear," swears Mike Rossetto, leader of Spaghetti Western String Co. and a buff of the old children's TV show.

"The use of pacing and pauses on that show in relation to what was on screen is better than most people would ever know."

Rossetto, 26, isn't kidding. He wrote his thesis at the University of Minnesota on this very subject matter.

He even got a personal letter from Fred Rogers. The music in the series, he said admiringly, "gave kids time to imagine and react."

Using their own imaginations, local music fans have been reacting to Spaghetti Western String Co. since the group started performing in small clubs like 7th Street Entry and the Uptown two years ago. In those kinds of venues, where bands usually play with ample volume and electricity, Spaghetti Western's quiet, romantic yet oftentimes daring string music is like a $100 champagne bottle being served to Pabst guzzlers.

Talking after an appearance on KFAI-FM last week (where he discussed movies), Rossetto visibly winced at the suggestion that -- like the music on "Mister Rogers" -- Spaghetti Western might be too sophisticated for rock clubs.

"We love it when we can hear the bartenders clanging bottles, and people are choosing to either listen to us or to talk," said Rossetto, who plays banjo and guitar in the group (other instruments include violin, cello and mandolin). "It can be more rewarding when people aren't being forced to pay attention."

He even said of tonight's gig at the more attentive Cedar Cultural Center, where the group is promoting a new EP, "It scares the crap out of us when we know people are listening that intently. But it's a good kind of scare."

Rossetto started the group on his own in 2003, taking a cue from good friend Martin Dosh's experimentation with tape loops and spliced-together instrumental music. Spaghetti Western's name and a lot of its first CD, "Do Right By People," was inspired by Rossetto's Italian heritage (both his parents were born in Italy, and his uncle had a killer collection of traditional Italian records, he says).

Rossetto's "company" really became a group before the recording of its new "Quiet Mob EP," featuring songwriting and performances from each of the members. A version of the Italian folk song "Luna Marinara" even finds cello player Nick Lemme showing off his legitimately operatic tenor (he has performed with the Dale Warland Singers).

None of the electronic touches of the debut are found on the EP, just straight-ahead acoustic tracks that the quartet can all play live.

However, as with the EP, the tracks on "Quiet Mob" still sound like soundtrack music for movies yet to be made. Rossetto describes each track with scenes in his head, comparing the up-tempo, staccato-noted "Draisienne" to "biking through streets in Europe" and the serene and chilly "Merton's Woods" as "someone reflecting or praying."

Spaghetti Western really came into its own this summer with two back-to-back gigs that proved its eclecticism.

The first was at Orchestra Hall, where they played to blue-hairs and trendy urbanites for the Day of Music. They were "the surprise hit of the event," said the orchestra's director of presentations, Reid McLean.

"Most people had no idea what to expect, but everyone stayed to the end of their set," McLean recalled.

A night later, the foursome performed to dreadlocks and hemp shirts at the Green Man Festival on Duluth's Spirit Mountain, alongside trippy freak-out bands such as Particle and Cloud Cult. There, they played their all-original score to the classic kids film "The Red Balloon," one of two silent-movie scores they've written.

After that weekend, Rossetto said, "I knew we could play just about anywhere."

Too bad Mr. Rogers' neighborhood isn't booking any more bands.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658

SPAGHETTI WESTERN STRING CO.

Opening act: The Pines.

When: 8 p.m. Fri.

Where: Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $12-$15. 612-338-2674.