Mosquito Fleet is a rather new, albeit brilliant, band made up of four Midwestern dudes. Josh Carroll, Alex Mrakovich, Phil Rode and Joel Yoshonis came together during the 2008 - 2009 academic year at Indiana Wesleyan University, which - despite the band's naval-referenced name - is located in landlocked Marion, IN. The group's handle, in fact, comes from a sailboat fleet of British civilians that heroically fought to rescue 300,000 members of the Allied troops ...  read more

Mosquito Fleet is a rather new, albeit brilliant, band made up of four Midwestern dudes. Josh Carroll, Alex Mrakovich, Phil Rode and Joel Yoshonis came together during the 2008 - 2009 academic year at Indiana Wesleyan University, which - despite the band's naval-referenced name - is located in landlocked Marion, IN. The group's handle, in fact, comes from a sailboat fleet of British civilians that heroically fought to rescue 300,000 members of the Allied troops during WWII. Just as resilient, though with less charming accents, these four guys hope to one day be considered so brave...

Josh and Joel (percussion/background vocals and lead vocals/rhythm electric guitar/acoustic guitar/Rhodes piano, respectively) formed the first incarnation of Mosquito Fleet after they decided they had seen enough of performing solo at open mic nights and local coffee shops. The duo proved a forward-moving force once united, picking up guitarist, Alex, and a temporary bass guitarist, and winning the university's Battle of the Bands along the way. That competition was a springboard for the then "Joel and the Rippers," earning them a spot as the guest band on IWU's Friday Night Live - a crowning achievement for these Marion townies-at-heart.

After recording their début EP, performing locally allowed Mosquito Fleet the chance to showcase original songs, wowing crowds at the Spotted Cow Music Festival. The self-titled record is made up of Via Salutis, rearranged from the original song/title Oxygen, Times Are Changing and Back and Forth. Once complied, these tracks took them on an unscripted summer tour around Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, allowing Mosquito Fleet to collaborate with the likes of Justin VanHook (for a second recording session in Muskegon, MI) and now-bass guitarist and auxiliary drummer, Phil, who - after joining their summer circuit - finally rounded out the band's lineup.

Mosquito Fleet is categorized as an "indie" band because of personal lyrics and a rock meets rhythm sound, but also by the surprising fact that the band remains unsigned. Regardless, the boys wear the title as proudly as they do their V- neck tees. Other things Josh, Alex, Phil and Joel are proud of: their danceable melodies, their first full-length album – All Those Who Wander Are Not Lost, and the Brits who saved all those people in sailboats... obviously.

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