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Compilation CD
Joe is on my label first release a compilation CD.

Joe Rohan

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.

Joe Website

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.