Joe Rohan
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Interview With Joe Rohan By Chris 3/5/06
Joe Rohan is a country singer songwriter.
After hearing his latest album These Days
I knew he was worth an interview.
Expect him to be around for a long time so read on.
If you haven’t read the review of his album on this site do
so.
1. How did you get into music?
Music got into me when I was 5. I heard Jimi Hendrix
singing Purple Haze and I thought it was about the greatest
thing I ever heard. Drums came first. I was banging on
Tupperware until I was eight and my parents got me a set of
drums.
2. Who were your idols growing up?
So many…. most of the early ones were drummers. Stewart
Copeland from the Police was my absolute favourite. I
learned to play drums playing along with the Police, Rush,
Zeppelin, etc.
3. Who were your influences?
Musically, I grew up listening to bands in the beginning so
early influences were Police, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, a
lot of classic rock. By the time I started writing songs
(which was a LOT later) I listened to just about everything
but it was then that I really started getting into
songwriters. I think that’s where the blues and country
influences came from because it wasn’t how I started out.
John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett were my favourites early on but
now there’s a ton of favourites.
4. What have responses been like to the album?
Pretty good for the most part. I was actually surprised, as
we didn’t make this record going after critical acclaim.
This one was a lot more personal and not much attention was
paid to making it sound current or cutting edge. Audience
response has been great and
5. What inspired you when recording the album?
I think the recording process itself was the most
inspiring. We really focused on the performances on each
song and the parts themselves. The contributions of the
players were a HUGE part of it all. As an artist, you’ll
always listen back rethink the mix, the mastering, the
arrangement, etc. I wouldn’t change a single part of the
performances or the performers themselves. They made the
recording.
6. Has the Internet helped with your music?
In small doses, I think it has been amazing and I still
have a lot to learn about it’s potential. I love looking
online and seeing that someone in Japan has purchased my
music, or that a certain song is getting more and more
download in the UK, etc. I’m still learning the monster for
promoting it but just working with CD Baby and ITunes, etc.
has opened up a lot of doors.
7. Do you think tools like MySpace are useful?
I’m still learning the MySpace thing and I think it has a
lot to do with your audience and demographics. Up until
last month, it wasn’t really doing much. However, I just
returned from playing a bunch of college campus shows and
suddenly I check and my traffic is going crazy. Like
everything with promoting your music, I think that it’s
important to find where your audience is and then use the
right tools. There are a lot of them out there.
8. Who you would most like to tour with?
Tough question. There’s so much good music out there now. I
just saw K.T. Tunstall at House of Blues in Cleveland. Blew
me out of the water. I’d also love to tour with one of my
heroes like John Hiatt.
9. If you could work with any one, who would it
be?
That’s a really timely question. With the last CD being
self and co-produced, I’m really ready to work with someone
else’s vision. I’m proud of my own efforts but at the end
of the day, you write a song with your voice and your
instrument, that’s it. The rest can be interpreted in a
million ways and with my own style changing and the next
batch of songs coming up, it’s the right time to bump into
the right person.
10. Have you had much press about the album?
We’ve done OK in the independent market. Reviews have been
favourable both online and with independent press. You
always want more but when you’re starting out, it’s
important to be thankful for what you get. I’m not on the
cover of Rolling Stone I’m not sure I’m ready for that
anyways. I’m still learning how to write songs and make all
this work. It’s a great ride so far.
11. Have you had much response from radio?
A little here and there, to be honest, I’m not sure that
I’d call this a “radio” album. This is a “Pop it in on
Saturday afternoon and Must Have for the Road” CD. There
are a few songs getting some spin in different areas. The
biggest challenge, as with so much independent music is
that so many people just haven’t heard it yet.
12. What inspires you when writing music?
Ha. Everything event that passes by the window if I can
just hang on to it long enough. I wish I could say I have a
formula. A lot of my songs write themselves over a stretch
time where some just show up and almost spill themselves
onto the page (I wish that happened more often). More
recently, a lot of my material comes together while I’m on
the road.
13. What has been your favourite gig to date?
There are two that come to mind. One was the CD release
party at House of Blues in Cleveland (the band was SO on
that night). The other I just played. It was a small campus
in Nebraska in a small room. I played acoustic solo and
most of the students were gone for a holiday. But about 30
students showed and I didn’t want to stop playing. Sold my
whole bag of CDs and still getting emails. Sometimes the
little victories are the best.
14. What is on your stereo at the moment?
Some new and some old, KT Tunstall, The Alternate Routes (A
friend in Nashville turned me on to them), Jeff Buckley,
Black Crowes.
15. What are some of your favourite musical
artists/bands?
Where do I start? It’s always changing. In addition to all
the ones I’ve mentioned earlier, these days I’m listening
to a mix of rock and old jazz, Everything from Red Hot
Chilli Peppers to Radiohead to John Coltraine.
16. Have you had much response from labels?
No deals on the burner at present and I’m OK with that. I
don’t have a chip on my shoulders about the commercial
industry like I see a lot of artists getting. It’s just a
faster track than I’m on right now. I think it’s at the
point where I know who they are and they know who I am and
we’re both keeping an eye on each other to see what happens
next. That stuff all comes around in it’s own time. For the
moment I’ve turned a few heads and there’s more music
coming.
17. Why cover Ring Of Fire for the album?
Didn’t actually plan it. Johnny Cash is a timeless hero
among me and my circles but it wasn’t a planned part of the
CD. I got up and sang it for somebody’s birthday one night
and what came out was a kind of frenzied version, like you
hear on the CD. After that, people demanded it every time I
played live. Once the band got a hold of it, there was no
turning back. It was the most fun of all the tracks to
record. Even worth almost dying underneath a 500lb. Hammond
Organ…. but that’s a story of it’s own.
18. How did you get into country music?
Funny thing is, I’m not really sure. As a drummer with a
hard rock background and heavy influences of Jazz and Latin
styles, who’s mother raised him on Chopin; I’m not sure how
all of this came about. I think that a lot of the modern
country and alt-country has actually absorbed a lot of the
Classic Rock influences that I grew up with. Right about
the time that I started writing songs (not so long ago) I
was watching a lot of bands in and out of Nashville and
drumming with players that listened to a lot of country and
bluegrass. It kind of worked its way into my system. Even
as my style is evolving and changing, I like the influence.
No telling where it goes from here.
Thanks for your time any last words
Thanks again for the interview and helping spread the
word.
