6.15.13: A Chitchat With Derek Rogers + Steam An Unreleased Track
Derek Rogers is one of those dudes who’s musical offering quality level is consistently in the green. Green being at the top of the chart (it goes: red, orange, blue, violet, magenta, silver, green. green is best). It’s all really good is what I’m saying. I’d use up all of Tabs Out’s bandwidth listing the labels that have released cassettes for Derek, among them being Stunned, Cloud Valley, D’Artagnan, Goldtimers, Fabrica, Deep, Ghetto Naturalist, Anathema Sound, Hooker Vision, No Kings, Tape Drift, Bathetic, and my own 905 Tapes imprint, and he knocks it out of the park every time.

Now, normally I hold an unwarranted grudge against anyone with actual musical talent. Or money, or good looks, or anything positive going for them with their lives. But Derek seems like a swell guy. I noticed he was on Facebook, and so was I, so I just started chitchatting with him for what I knew would end up being this interview. He did not. It went like this…

 

Tabs Out: What is your day job?

Derek Rogers: I’m a production assistant on commercial shoots. Besides being creepy, what’s yours?

Tabs Out: N/A. Ever meet any notable people and give them a tape of yours?

Derek Rogers: Rollins. No one else

Tabs Out: What commercial was he doing? Something for MTV Sports?

Derek Rogers: No, it wasn’t at work. I met him at the LA Zine Fest a year ago or so.

Tabs Out: Ever hear back from him?

Derek Rogers: No never heard anything. I’ve worked with some celebrities but none that would have given a shit. I should’ve given a tape to Glenn Kotche though. He was super nice.

Tabs Out: You don’t think Jamie Lee Curtis would wanna jam something after an Dannon Activia® shoot?

Derek Rogers: Haha. She was so great.

Tabs Out: You could get her into drone and it could ripple through that world. Pfeiffer. Streep. Holly Hunter. That could be your thing.

Derek Rogers: Yeah Sigourney Weaver fucking loves Panabrite.

Tabs Out: I actually heard that somewhere.

Derek Rogers: Hahahah.

Tabs Out: Which actress over 50 do you think could put out the sickest tape?

Derek Rogers: Tilda Swinton.

Tabs Out: Who’s that?

Derek Rogers: C’mon.

Tabs Out: I’m not good with names.

Derek Rogers: Google that shit.

Tabs Out: I’m an Ask Jeeves guy.

Derek Rogers: She was in the latest Bowie video.

Tabs Out: Oh, you mean Katherine Mathilda “Tilda” Swinton. Born 5 November 1960. Why her?

Derek Rogers: She’s a badass.

Tabs Out: Hey, did you even notice that I just started interviewing you for Tabs Out?

Derek Rogers: Ummmm.

Tabs Out: It was stealth.

[long pause]

Derek Rogers: Keep going.

Tabs Out: Don’t worry. If you said anything racist or fucked up I’ll edit it out.

Derek Rogers: Don’t think I did (this time).

Tabs Out: So did you move to LA for work?

Derek Rogers: I did. I have a buddy here who works as a VTR on commercial sets and he got me onto one of his crews a couple years ago. My wife finished her Master’s in Austin and basically said, “You helped me get this, now what do you want to do?” I spent 11 years in the restaurant industry and kinda hit a wall and was ready for a career/scenery change.

Tabs Out: Are you originally from Texas?

Derek Rogers: Yeah. Grew up north of Dallas and spent 9 years in Austin.

Tabs Out: Was it a huge change moving to LA or did you just kind of go with the flow?

Derek Rogers: Kinda both. Goes without saying, but LA and TX are vastly different. My wife had lived here before and it’s the biggest city I’ve called home so it was definitely an adjustment.

Tabs Out: I feel like you’ve been sorta quiet on the release front this year. Was there anything other than that cassette on Bridgetown to come out?

Derek Rogers: The Jehu & Chinaman tape. That might be it. My job has severely cut back my recording opportunities.

Tabs Out: The title of that Bridgetown tape (“Don’t Stop Bereaving”) might be the best casssette title I’ve seen a while.

Derek Rogers: Oh thanks man.

Tabs Out: Your titles are usually more “serious”. You don’t get a lot of puns based on 80’s pop songs from you.

Derek Rogers: I’m a silly motherfucker sometimes.

Tabs Out: And pretty fucking multi-instrumental, right? Your setup seems to vary a bunch.

Derek Rogers: I’m terrible at a lot of things. Synth, piano, guitar, but I’m a pretty good drummer.

Tabs Out: Did you play drums in bands growing up?

Derek Rogers: I did, and I was in the drumline in high school. Played the oboe for 6 or 7 years, then played drums.

Tabs Out: Did you wear one of those huge fuzzy hats?

Derek Rogers: Oh yeah, we had plumes.

Tabs Out: Is that what those are called?

Derek Rogers: The feather part, those are plumes.

Tabs Out: That would be a cool project name. You’re a dude who does a bunch of collabs. You should call one of them Plumes.

Derek Rogers: If I name it that you’re getting credit. Plumes – 905 4 Lyfe C30.

Tabs Out: I’ll take it! Let’s talk about some of your collabs. Cause there seem to be a bunch. We played a Great Slave Lake tape (on Episode #24) that just said “Derek from Texas” on the insert and I jokingly said it was probably you. And it was.

Derek Rogers: Yeah GSL. I wish I’d kept in contact with Al. He’s a great guy who just disappeared.

Tabs Out: He did the label Scotch Tapes?

Derek Rogers: He did. Batchawana Bay, Ontario.

Tabs Out: Was there traveling involved for that one, or did you guys handle it by mail?

Derek Rogers: No that was a mail collab. I’d send him tracks and he’d use them with his stuff. He was a commercial fisherman and ran the label on the side. Quite successful too, especially up there. Then one day he just stopped responding. We used to talk on the phone and all. That was like 3 years ago.

Tabs Out: Is he totally MIA? Any traces at all?

Derek Rogers: Yeah, no one knows what happened. I’ve asked a handful of people. It’s weird. Nothing. Even on message boards, people have asked, and nothing.

Tabs Out: Man, that’s a bummer.

Derek Rogers: I just hope he’s ok.

Tabs Out: Yeah, I hear ya. Maybe he’ll read this and get’s in touch. I’ll feel like Tabs Out has an actual purpose.

Derek Rogers: That would be great.

Tabs Out: Any other one-off collabs out there that might not have your full name on them? Little known odds and ends?

Derek Rogers: Thresholders with Eric Hardiman, Matamoros with R. Lee Dockery, a great poetry/music collab with Bill Shute. There’s an unreleased collab with Lee Noble we just finished that is pretty amazing. Synth and modulatr synth, sounds great. Steve Dewhurst (Jehu & Chinaman) wants that one. I also have an unreleased collab with Marcus Rubio that doesn’t have a home yet. I played mostly piano and he’s on guitar. We both processed in real time through Ableton. It’s a stunner too. I also did an early collab with Mike Khoury that is great, and one with Andrew Coltrane too that I’m really proud of.

Tabs Out: Whoa, I don’t think I ever seen the Khoury or Coltrane collabs. Have they been released?

Derek Rogers: The Khoury collab was part of a tape split with Fossils on Middle James Co. The Coltrane collab was released as a CD-R on Hermitage. We called it ‘Fuck The Dead C”. Haha.

Tabs Out: Ha. Nice.

Derek Rogers: Let’s see, I did a lot of collabs early on, back when I was wading through a lot of noisier sounds to get where I am now, musically. Interstates, Etc. (Brandon Greter) was another good one. Sparkling Wide Pressure too, we did a 3″ on Kimberly Dawn

Tabs Out: I always find collaborations to be satisfying in a unique way. I make choices that I wouldn’t normally make if I was jamming alone. What are your thoughts on collabs. Why do you find yourself doing so may?

Derek Rogers: Well back then, it was all mail collabs, which were cool, but now I prefer playing in the same room. And yeah, I agree, it pushes you to make hard decisions in the moment, which I think can make you a better player. I also have some incredibly talented friends here in LA, and I think I’m a bit more confident in my own playing moreso than before.

Tabs Out: If you were in a wrestling tag team with one person you’ve collabed with, who would it be and what would the team be called?

Derek Rogers: Hmmm… This is tough

Tabs Out: It’s called penetrative journalism, Derek.

Derek Rogers: Oh I’m feeling it. I’d say R. Lee Dockery, and we’d be the “…I’m More Of A Sound Artist Now” Warriors.

Tabs Out: Face paint, I assume?

Derek Rogers: Spiked Football Pads.

Tabs Out: Oh shit, Road Warriors style.

Derek Rogers: Hells yeah. But I’d totally rip off Ric Flair anytime a mic was put in front of my face. “To be the MAN, you got to BEAT the man! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Tabs Out: I’ll settle for you saying that on a tape sometime. How about solo stuff? I know you said work has got you cut back on time, but are you working on anything for the near future?

Derek Rogers: Yeah, I’m cobbling together tracks right now for a few releases. I love doing tapes but I’d really love to put out more vinyl.

Tabs Out: Whatya got on deck?

Derek Rogers: A couple of splits, one with Sindre Bjerga that doesn’t have a home yet. I’m not being vague, I just can’t think of anything concrete right now. It’d be a dream to find a label home and really focus on two or three releases a year, but people aren’t beating down the door to put out the next 44 DR releases.

Tabs Out: Well let’s find ya a home! Tabs Out Match Maker session. We can do a missed connection. “I have glasses, facial hair, and a strong jaw line. I record magic sounds. I saw you on the internet releasing pro-dubbed cassettes in editions of 100 with really nice Jcards. I thought we shared a look. Did we?”

Derek Rogers: Haha, love it.

Tabs Out: And then we can put your cell phone number and see if any labels call. Seriously though, what cassettes labels have you been digging lately?

Derek Rogers: Bathetic does great work for sure. You know, the truth is I don’t listen to a whole lot of “cassette” music these days. I love everything No Kings puts out and Tape Drift too. Those are probably my favorites. I think if I had a tape deck in the car it’d be a different story. I mostly listen to podcasts.

Tabs Out: I think there is a cassette podcast.

Derek Rogers: Yeah I heard about that.

Tabs Out: Might be a rumor though… You know how the internet is.

Derek Rogers: I’ve listened to Tabs Out. I dig the conversational approach, and having 3 people there makes it interesting. It’s like you guys found a box of these artifacts and you’re trying to make sense of them, it’s great.

Tabs Out: Go on… Keep praising us. It will be the only part of the interview I use.

Derek Rogers: Fair enough. I really love the intros.

Tabs Out: You did one of the very first ones!

Derek Rogers: Why do you think I’m a fan? DUH.

Tabs Out: I’m going to bill this as “Tabs Out talks to Derek Rogers about Tabs Out and maybe some other shit… Who knows?”

Derek Rogers: “Tabs Out talks to Derek Rogers about Tabs Out and maybe some other shit… Who knows?” is the title.

Tabs Out: Did you ever notice that the image on your No Kings tape cover (“Informal Meditations”) was on a Black Dice 7″?

Derek Rogers: Really?

Tabs Out: Yeah, I think it was called “Semen Of The Sun” on Gravity maybe?

Derek Rogers: I think I have that one at home.

Tabs Out: Not Gravity. It’s was on Tapes Records. It’s on the back cover.

Derek Rogers: Fucking Lee Noble!

Tabs Out: Hah! Just something stupid I noticed. So what are you listening to these days?

Derek Rogers: Oh man, all kinds of stuff. Recently, Microstoria, the new QOTSA, Rambutan, Tom Waits, Marc Ribot, Oval, the new Coltrane “Sun Ship” Complete Sessions, Califone, Fennesz, Neil Young, Patty Griffin, Skullflower, Baptist Generals, the ‘Alien’ Soundtrack. My tastes are all over the place.

Tabs Out: I know it’s a total cliche to ask “what influences yet”, but with listening to so much stuff that sounds nothing like what you record, does anyone of it worm it’s way into your brain when you are recording? You think there are any Derek-Roger’d QOTSA riffs in your music?

Derek Rogers: Oh absolutely. I’d like to think certain chord structures or melodies that have an emotional resonance are filtered into what I play, but it’s almost too abstract to explain how it works. Bands like QOTSA that have huge guitars and huge drums appeal to the 12-year-old inside of me whose world was shattered when he heard Led Zeppelin for the first time. I’m still chasing that dragon.

Tabs Out: Do you write stuff or mostly do improv? (and have you ever literally chased a dragon before?)

Derek Rogers: A little of both. I’ll usually improvise until I get an idea or a theme I can woodshed and reduce to its core elements, then I record it. Almost everything I do is rehearsed and recorded without overdubs, so I guess that’s the writing part. It’s always been important to me to be able to recreate live what I record at home, so I’ll rerecord a piece numerous times until I nail it in one shot.

Tabs Out: And what about the dragon? Why are you ignoring that question? Do you have some sort of fantasy life people don’t know about where you go shirtless and wield a sword?

Derek Rogers: Ummmmmmmm.

Tabs Out: Don’t worry, I’ll handle the Photoshopping

Derek Rogers: I hate shopping!

Tabs Out: Is that how you want to leave us, or do you have any other closing words?

Derek Rogers: I’ll leave you with a joke: How many people does it take to make a Tabs Out podcast?

Tabs Out: Is this a joke or are you actually asking?

Derek Rogers: Three. One to bring in a tape, and two to argue about sand bars in Brooklyn.

Tabs Out: Okay, so it wasn’t a joke.

Derek Rogers: Ok that was terrible. Sorry I’m at work, my heads not in the game. Don’t print this.

Tabs Out: I won’t. It will be on web 2.0.

Derek Rogers: Ok I’ll leave you with a joke: ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■(REDACTED)■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Better? Still pretty terrible.

Tabs Out: I’ll censor that out for you.

Derek Rogers: Haha. Please do.

Tabs Out: Perfect! Now just say “Thanks so much for letting me talk to you, Mike. It was an honor” and we can end the interview that way.

Derek Rogers: Listen Mike, most guys, they just don’t get it. I’m not sure you do either but at least you’re clever. Namaste. One love, big up.

 

Stream “Deferential Signalling”, an unreleased collaboration between Derek Rogers & R. Lee Dockery. High Bias & Chrome Donators to Tabs Out can download the track, plus an extra unreleased track, by clicking here.