PHOTO CREDIT: PAT JOHNSON

by Paul Freeman [ Jan. 2011 Interview]

One of the world’s foremost slide guitarists, Roy Rogers, grew up in Bay Area. As a musician, at 60, he’s still growing. After all, in blues circles, 60 means you’re still just a kid.

“There’s always lots to discover, in anything, especially the blues,” Rogers said. “Roots music is as deep as you want to delve. It’s a never-ending story. It’s never a finite thing that you’ve accomplished. If you think you have, you’re sadly mistaken... or fooling yourself, one of the two. There’s always something that you can learn. If you think you’ve done it all and you’re there, then you might as well give it up.”

Far from giving it up, Rogers looks forward to playing in a variety of venues across the globe.

“It’s a struggle for a lot of live venues these days. And I’m known for my live shows, so I always look forward to returning and playing a place that I’ve had some great times before and see that it’s coming back.

“With the radical change, if not the demise, of the record business as we know it, vis-à-vis no record stores and people not buying as much music as before, live music is the life bread of all of us these days. That’s across the board, all demographics, whether it’s for young or old or in between. So keeping these venues alive is crucial.

“I’m happy to say that I have a nice fan base to pull from and I play a lot of places in the world. And it seems to be the case everywhere - live music is where it’s driven now. That’s fine for me. It’s all about live performance and always has been. We sell recordings at gigs, because there’s really no distribution, to speak of, for your recordings these days. You don’t have record stores. Radio airplay is not as important a factor, unless you’re a major pop group or what have you. So that makes it all the important to have a good live performance, so people will want to come back and see you.”

Rogers relishes playing overseas, where Americana music is much admired. “That’s our greatest export, our culture from the States. Everybody is aware of jazz and blues and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s everywhere. People appreciate that in their own fashion, wherever they are, whether it’s Scandinavia, Italy, even China. In China, they didn’t know much about it, but it’s the energy that you bring, however you do something. People pick up on that energy. It’s a human trait. That’s something that’s easily discerned by people. It’s wonderful to be able to communicate. Even if there’s a complete language barrier, people are able to communicate musically. And that shall continue to be so. And that’s a good thing.”

Rogers (Yes, he was named after the King of the Cowboys) was raised in Vallejo, Ca. He began playing guitar at 12 and a year later, joined a rock ‘n’ roll band. When his older brother brought home a Robert Johnson album, Rogers found himself hooked on the blues.

“Music can delightfully open people up to something other than they’re used to. That’s why I was excited about blues to begin with, when I was a kid. I said, ‘Why do I feel so cool listening to this guy Howlin’ Wolf? I have no idea, but I dig it. And I want to play like that.’”

Slide guitar in particular captivated Rogers. “The slide is one of the most expressive ways that you can play the guitar, because you’re mimicking, basically, the human voice. So you can display a lot of emotion through that type of playing, the bending and the subtlety of it, the in-between notes and so forth.

“That really speaks to a lot of people. And there are a lot of instruments around the world that are slide-like, that have that type of approach to hitting the notes, slurring the notes and that type of thing. It’s a very familiar sound, more familiar than you might imagine.”

Rogers rose to prominence in the San Francisco blues scene and, in 1982, was asked to join John Lee Hooker’s band.

“I was already pretty steeped in John Lee’s music when I played with John Lee years ago. What you learn from hanging out with guys like John Lee Hooker, you learn about life. Life is music and music is life. So you learn a whole lot of stuff, besides music. And that’s important.

“I’ve been playing music since I was a teenager. I wanted to implement music as a career, but didn’t know how. It always has been so difficult to make a living in an artistic way. So I had a vision. But I was 32 years old when I went on the road with John Lee Hooker. I’d always been playing music, but it was at that point that I gave up the day gig. That’s 28 years ago.

“I was working in shipyards and I was working at an office for some kind of supply firm. And then I got the call to go on the road with John Lee Hooker and I said, ‘You know, if I don’t do this, I’m going to kick myself in the ass for the rest of my life,” he said, laughing. “So I quit and the rest is in the history books, my history.”

Rogers went on to produce Grammy-winning albums for Hooker and also recorded acclaimed albums with his own band, The Delta Rhythm Kings. The latest, “Split Decision,” broadens the guitarist’s horizons, hinting at country, pop, rock and jazz influences, as well as blues.

“I started out as maybe a little more of a traditional player. But always, from the beginning, I wanted to push the envelope, see where you could take the music, how far you could take it. It’s partly using different instruments, different kinds of songwriting, collaborating with different people. It always serves your music well to expand your ears.

“I’ll always be known as a blues guy of sorts, because of my association with John Lee Hooker and so forth. But I’ve always looked to expand my musical envelope, because you have to stay true to yourself and what you want to accomplish. Sometimes, if you don’t open your ears, you don’t know where that can go, do you?

“It’s always going to be blues-based, of course, because that’s where my influences come from, for the most part. But it’s what you do with it. I borrowed a line from somebody. I don’t know who said it or I might have said it. But I used to say, ‘It’s all borrowed stuff. It depends how you put it together.’ It may sound trite, but, ultimately, you make your mark by what you contribute.”

He plans to continue to push the parameters, blurring genre lines. Rogers has completed an album with Doors keyboardist. Titled “Translucent Blues,” it will be released this spring.

“We’ve performed as duets over the years. Again, it’s expanding the envelope. We just let it flow, the songwriting and playing together. He was a Chicago guy. He grew up in Chicago. So, regardless of The Doors’ sound, he knew much about the blues and the roots stuff. And it was really a symbiosis of playing, as it always is, with approach to music. It’s not consciously thought out. You just play it, see if it’s copacetic. I’m not a real thought-out kind of guy. I like to play and, if it comes out in the playing, then it’s there. If it doesn’t then it doesn’t.

“If you’re set in your ways and say, ‘It’s got to be this way,’ okay, if that’s what you want. But, for me, it’s exciting, trying new things. If it doesn’t work, then okay. It’s like when you fall down, you get back up and start walking again. Simple as that. You can’t be afraid to fail, to go off a cliff sometimes. That’s part of the process. For me, certainly, artistically, it’s about that.”

Rogers would like to make a big band jazz record. “I would love to do slide guitar in a big band. Slide guitar can function just like a horn, the lead instrument kind of thing

“I don’t make a record to tour. I make a record when I feel that I have material strong enough to do it, ideas that have gelled enough. I don’t feel that you need a new recording to be touring. Sure it helps to have a new record out, but it’s not a necessity.

“I always have a new take on old material. It’s part of improvisation. That’s the joy of improvising, especially in the trio format, with drums and bass. We go in a lot of different directions. And I’m known for that. My live shows, we’ll take some twists and turns.”

He and wife Gaynell, who raised their children in Marin County, now live in Nevada City in the Sierra Foothills. He is currently filming an HD PBS special for to be aired during national pledge drives.

Rogers survived a battle with prostate cancer two years ago. “I took it in my stride. I’m fortunate that everything turned out okay. I’m fine. I’m in good health. I’m lucky to be here and still doing what I love to do. A lot of people are not.”

One ongoing goal is to let the guitar do the talking.“ That’s what you strive for, my friend. Don’t think about it, just play it. Getting there is another case in point.

“The older I get, you want to have it together musically, but really it’s about experiencing the moment and letting it go and having confidence enough in what you can play and contribute to whomever you’re playing with, that it’s going to make a contribution to whatever music is happening. You just give it your best shot. You let it go and it’s either there or it isn’t. The grooves especially, can be elusive animals. Sometimes the grooves are there for bands and sometimes they aren’t. If you don’t have a groove going with whatever you’re playing, you don’t have much, in my book.

For Rogers, music still holds a sense of adventure. “You meet great people. You get to make music with some great folks. I’ve had some great times, made a lot of recordings. I’ve traveled the world over. I’m very fortunate to be able to do what I’m doing.

“It’s fun. It’s work and fun. But we’re pretty lucky to be able to create stuff and actually make a living at it.

“The excitement is still there for me. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that. When you’re sailing with a band, riffing, and everybody’s in the same groove, the audience is with you, it just seems like everything is all together. There’s nothing better than that. If my excitement for that ever goes, I’d better give it up. But I don’t think that will ever change. It can only, hopefully, just be enhanced by new things that come about.

“We’re always trying to get back to that feeling, because, if you did it all the time, you wouldn’t appreciate it so much, would you? You’re always trying to get back to that moment. What did the poet Browning say? ‘A man’s reach must always exceed his grasp.’”

For the latest Roy Rogers news, visit www.roy-rogers.com.