Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Jun 21, 2011 14:28:47 GMT
The Jess Roden Band: Jess Keeps His Hat On
"I JUST couldn't wait to get out of my stage uniform and into a pair of jeans...I may have wasted time, but I sing what I believe in..." Jess Roden, deftly hand-rolling a cigarette, casts his mind over a decade of memories.
A few weeks ago I asked if Peter Frampton was the last of the great Sixties talents to flower.
But there is one more name to add to the honoured list of artists who served their apprenticeship in the club scene of long ago and went on to create today's rock industry.
A fine performance by the Jess Roden Band at London's Crystal Palace Garden Party was a forceful reminder of just what potential Jess has, and sucoess, when it comes, will be all the more deserved, for he has matured vastly since his teenage days.
Two years ago I met Jess for the first time in ages at the Who's Charlton bash, and he talked excitedly about a new band: at last, the Jess Roden Band! A concert at London's Lyceum Theatre converted many critics and impressed the crowds.
Since then they have released Keep Your Hat On, their latest album for Island, and toured the Continent. But work is hard to find and the great rock public are still not aware of the talent in their midst.
Did Jess think there really was an audience in Britain for the kind of music they're playing?
"Well, the old college circuit where bands like us would break through with a good following – well, we've done that three times and it's just not what it used to be. And, of course, the death of the club business is tragic. We did three nights at the Marquee a month ago and it was a FAN-tastic atmosphere, just like the old days.
"But in our position we can't go out on, say, one of Harvey Goldsmith's promotions because we can't guarantee that we can fill those 4,000-seater halls right now. So we're in a state of limbo really as far the places we can play are concerned.
"We've done most of our work in Holland because the record did pretty well over there. We can work in those Government-sponsored youth centres which are more like dens of iniquity – really great!"
But you're really playing the music of the Sixties right?
"Yeah – rhythm and blues. It's always been the same with me, although I went off at a tangent at one stage. I suppose it was what happened ten years ago to black music. It's happening now to a degree. The record companies of these artists cash in on a good thing, stylise it and do it to death. It becomes boring in everybody's mind.
"When I was with the Alan Bown set, that happened to me. It all seemed to have gone wrong, and I wanted to get out and change direction entirely. Probably wasn't the best thing to do because I know what I'm best at now.
"I can't get away from what I was brought up on and trained as. So I've been back at that for three or four years now."
"I just want to keep moving on in the R&B structure, making modern music out of what roots I have. That's the same for everybody in the band. They've been at it for ten years most of them, playing the same sort of music."
What direction did Jess take on leaving Alan?
"That was Bronco. What happened was, when I was with Alan I had no responsibility. All the material was written for me and all I had to do was sing.
"When I got into Bronco, not being a London person I went back to Worcestershire, and got together with the young people that I knew. We went into a country-ish, very sleepy sort of thing.
"Stoned? Definitely, too stoned. I don't regret it as a great experience, but those days were a bit silly. We got stoned and wasted a lot of time really.
"I used to know Robert Plant very well, and in the old days we were in THE Birmingham blues bands. We had a running battle to steal each other's lead guitarist of the week. You had to get the man who was happening in Worcestershire of the time.
"He's a good lad is Robert. I think we're exactly the same age actually. But after the blues things I was desperate to change my ideas. Nothing ever really came of it. Two years with Bronco was just a great big lack of direction and I found everything awfully hard.
"A lot of it was my fault, because I wasn't strong enough to be a director of a band. Consequently, it got nowhere. I was what you call wasted, really."
Jess says that producer Geoffrey Haslam helped the new Jess Roden Band find their direction by carefully studying their assets and giving sound advice.
"We found that we were a 'live' band at heart and the next album will be recorded set up as a performance."
"After five gigs with the band though, we were so tight, we were almost sterile. We used to take ourselves so seriously as musicians.
"Obviously we take the music seriously nowadays, but we're not so serious about ourselves, and we've all become much better players for it. You make mistakes and blunders, but the whole thing roars with much more excitement than when we felt we'd played all the notes right.
"We'd had it pointed out to us, but we knew it because we'd started to get bored by the tenth night. The material had got so tight, there was hardly anything for people to feel free on. We enjoy it more now and that's what will keep us going in the future.
"After all these years, it's the first time I've been with a band and really felt, even if the record company kicked us out, I'd still wanna be with this band. It's the best I've been in, personally and musically. The longer we can do it, the better we'll get. We all have enough ability and ideas to progress.
"We have to depend a lot on what happens to us in America. We've delayed going, but the album is getting national break-outs on the radio. We'll spend a concentrated period there with a lot of material under our belts. I might go over for promotion to get us some work because we're desperate for that."
I mentioned the success of the Average White Band after going to the States.
"A lot of people compare us to them, because we've got horns, and because our roots are in black American music. But I don't' think we're much alike. They're very sophisticated and we're a bit more gritty. We don't want to become part of the funk machine. That's not our style. We could jam for three hours on a funky riff but it goes nowhere musically."
It seemed surprising that Jess wasn't snapped up by a major group during his limbo period with his renowned vocal ability.
"I've had two or three offers in me time from well-established groups, basically heavy metal things, which would have made me a lot of money but not a great deal of satisfaction.
"I have to realise that although I seem to have wasted so much time without achieving a great deal of recognition, I could have done those things three or four years ago and now be back to what I'm doing now. I dunno – something in my head won't let me do that. It doesn't seem right.
"I have strong beliefs about what I do, without being a purist or a music snob, but what I've got now is really good and satisfies me. So I've done a lot of wrong things, but I'm happy with what I've got.
"I've just been offered a job with a heavy-metal army but you mustn't say who it is. You can probably guess who it is, but I couldn't handle it."
I wondered who the dickens it could be, but, as Jess said: "I've worked so long on this band, it seems ridiculous to chuck: it in. We may never succeed as big as the other group, but at least I'll have had a certain amount of satisfaction. People are interested in it now and it'll pull through sooner or later."
Could Jess have been a "Pop Star" – a solo artist like Rod Stewart?
"I suppose I could. I've always been very stubborn about my career and I've chopped and changed a lot. I did Bronco and a solo album, then went with the Butts Band, and then I did session work, and had offers to join heavy bands...I seemed to change my mind so many times. At last I've found something and I don't want to change again!
"I suppose I could be a pop star in about 20 years time when I'm old and fat. If I've still got my voice I'll still stand a chance of having people hear my music on a large scale. So it pleases me when contemporaries like Rod Stewart and Peter Krampton get on.
"It was the most satisfying thing to see Peter get success and I don't see that he has made too many concessions along the road. We've been told many a time that hit singles are required but we can't just sit down and write one. We write some beautiful songs but we're waiting for a gem."
Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 August 1976
"I JUST couldn't wait to get out of my stage uniform and into a pair of jeans...I may have wasted time, but I sing what I believe in..." Jess Roden, deftly hand-rolling a cigarette, casts his mind over a decade of memories.
A few weeks ago I asked if Peter Frampton was the last of the great Sixties talents to flower.
But there is one more name to add to the honoured list of artists who served their apprenticeship in the club scene of long ago and went on to create today's rock industry.
A fine performance by the Jess Roden Band at London's Crystal Palace Garden Party was a forceful reminder of just what potential Jess has, and sucoess, when it comes, will be all the more deserved, for he has matured vastly since his teenage days.
Two years ago I met Jess for the first time in ages at the Who's Charlton bash, and he talked excitedly about a new band: at last, the Jess Roden Band! A concert at London's Lyceum Theatre converted many critics and impressed the crowds.
Since then they have released Keep Your Hat On, their latest album for Island, and toured the Continent. But work is hard to find and the great rock public are still not aware of the talent in their midst.
Did Jess think there really was an audience in Britain for the kind of music they're playing?
"Well, the old college circuit where bands like us would break through with a good following – well, we've done that three times and it's just not what it used to be. And, of course, the death of the club business is tragic. We did three nights at the Marquee a month ago and it was a FAN-tastic atmosphere, just like the old days.
"But in our position we can't go out on, say, one of Harvey Goldsmith's promotions because we can't guarantee that we can fill those 4,000-seater halls right now. So we're in a state of limbo really as far the places we can play are concerned.
"We've done most of our work in Holland because the record did pretty well over there. We can work in those Government-sponsored youth centres which are more like dens of iniquity – really great!"
But you're really playing the music of the Sixties right?
"Yeah – rhythm and blues. It's always been the same with me, although I went off at a tangent at one stage. I suppose it was what happened ten years ago to black music. It's happening now to a degree. The record companies of these artists cash in on a good thing, stylise it and do it to death. It becomes boring in everybody's mind.
"When I was with the Alan Bown set, that happened to me. It all seemed to have gone wrong, and I wanted to get out and change direction entirely. Probably wasn't the best thing to do because I know what I'm best at now.
"I can't get away from what I was brought up on and trained as. So I've been back at that for three or four years now."
"I just want to keep moving on in the R&B structure, making modern music out of what roots I have. That's the same for everybody in the band. They've been at it for ten years most of them, playing the same sort of music."
What direction did Jess take on leaving Alan?
"That was Bronco. What happened was, when I was with Alan I had no responsibility. All the material was written for me and all I had to do was sing.
"When I got into Bronco, not being a London person I went back to Worcestershire, and got together with the young people that I knew. We went into a country-ish, very sleepy sort of thing.
"Stoned? Definitely, too stoned. I don't regret it as a great experience, but those days were a bit silly. We got stoned and wasted a lot of time really.
"I used to know Robert Plant very well, and in the old days we were in THE Birmingham blues bands. We had a running battle to steal each other's lead guitarist of the week. You had to get the man who was happening in Worcestershire of the time.
"He's a good lad is Robert. I think we're exactly the same age actually. But after the blues things I was desperate to change my ideas. Nothing ever really came of it. Two years with Bronco was just a great big lack of direction and I found everything awfully hard.
"A lot of it was my fault, because I wasn't strong enough to be a director of a band. Consequently, it got nowhere. I was what you call wasted, really."
Jess says that producer Geoffrey Haslam helped the new Jess Roden Band find their direction by carefully studying their assets and giving sound advice.
"We found that we were a 'live' band at heart and the next album will be recorded set up as a performance."
"After five gigs with the band though, we were so tight, we were almost sterile. We used to take ourselves so seriously as musicians.
"Obviously we take the music seriously nowadays, but we're not so serious about ourselves, and we've all become much better players for it. You make mistakes and blunders, but the whole thing roars with much more excitement than when we felt we'd played all the notes right.
"We'd had it pointed out to us, but we knew it because we'd started to get bored by the tenth night. The material had got so tight, there was hardly anything for people to feel free on. We enjoy it more now and that's what will keep us going in the future.
"After all these years, it's the first time I've been with a band and really felt, even if the record company kicked us out, I'd still wanna be with this band. It's the best I've been in, personally and musically. The longer we can do it, the better we'll get. We all have enough ability and ideas to progress.
"We have to depend a lot on what happens to us in America. We've delayed going, but the album is getting national break-outs on the radio. We'll spend a concentrated period there with a lot of material under our belts. I might go over for promotion to get us some work because we're desperate for that."
I mentioned the success of the Average White Band after going to the States.
"A lot of people compare us to them, because we've got horns, and because our roots are in black American music. But I don't' think we're much alike. They're very sophisticated and we're a bit more gritty. We don't want to become part of the funk machine. That's not our style. We could jam for three hours on a funky riff but it goes nowhere musically."
It seemed surprising that Jess wasn't snapped up by a major group during his limbo period with his renowned vocal ability.
"I've had two or three offers in me time from well-established groups, basically heavy metal things, which would have made me a lot of money but not a great deal of satisfaction.
"I have to realise that although I seem to have wasted so much time without achieving a great deal of recognition, I could have done those things three or four years ago and now be back to what I'm doing now. I dunno – something in my head won't let me do that. It doesn't seem right.
"I have strong beliefs about what I do, without being a purist or a music snob, but what I've got now is really good and satisfies me. So I've done a lot of wrong things, but I'm happy with what I've got.
"I've just been offered a job with a heavy-metal army but you mustn't say who it is. You can probably guess who it is, but I couldn't handle it."
I wondered who the dickens it could be, but, as Jess said: "I've worked so long on this band, it seems ridiculous to chuck: it in. We may never succeed as big as the other group, but at least I'll have had a certain amount of satisfaction. People are interested in it now and it'll pull through sooner or later."
Could Jess have been a "Pop Star" – a solo artist like Rod Stewart?
"I suppose I could. I've always been very stubborn about my career and I've chopped and changed a lot. I did Bronco and a solo album, then went with the Butts Band, and then I did session work, and had offers to join heavy bands...I seemed to change my mind so many times. At last I've found something and I don't want to change again!
"I suppose I could be a pop star in about 20 years time when I'm old and fat. If I've still got my voice I'll still stand a chance of having people hear my music on a large scale. So it pleases me when contemporaries like Rod Stewart and Peter Krampton get on.
"It was the most satisfying thing to see Peter get success and I don't see that he has made too many concessions along the road. We've been told many a time that hit singles are required but we can't just sit down and write one. We write some beautiful songs but we're waiting for a gem."
Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 21 August 1976