Music editor Zac Hunter talked with Randy Rogers recently about Entourage, vodka, grueling road schedules and Nashville. Listen to the audio or check out the full transcript below.
Versus Magazine: Rolling Stone said your tour was a must see of the summer and Playboy rated your album best country album of the year. As a guy and as a musician, which was more satisfying?
Randy Rogers: Haha. I’m gonna have to say the Rolling Stone mention as a musician was definitely more satisfying than Playboy. But if I was going to brag in a bar, I’d probably brag that we were voted Best Country Album in Playboy Magazine.
VM: Have you used that to make it out to the mansion yet? If not, why not?
RR: We didn’t get to go the mansion but we got to go to dinner with the editor not too long ago in Chicago. That was nice, a real treat. We asked about the mansion, but we got rejected.
VM: Maybe next time. Can you tell me about your experiences on Leno and Letterman?
RR: The experience we had on Letterman was our first national TV experience and we were all a little nervous. Plus, it was about nine degrees outside, and inside the studio it was about 35 degrees. You know you read and hear about the Ed Sullivan theater being cold, and it’s true — it’s freezing cold. We all had to like rub our hands together before we hit the stage. I think it was really neat that Letterman came over and shook our hands after. And Clint Eastwood was on the show, so that was a humungous thing for us, to be on that show with him. He’s a living legend.
And then L.A. was the exact opposite; it was 75 degrees and beautiful outside. They were shooting an episode of the TV show Entourage on Leno that day so we got to be around that show all day, watch them film it, watch all the stars play their parts. So by the time we played that show I think were a little bit more relaxed.
VM: Is that the show that aired this season?
RR: Yeah it’s the first episode of the last season. When Ari’s walking through the hallway to go check Vince out those are all our road cases up against the wall. They’re blue. We didn’t make it in the shot — we tried a couple of times. But our road cases made it.
VM: Speaking of road cases, you play 220 dates a year? That’s quite a lot.
RR: Yeah, it’s been about 5 years now that we’ve been trucking it on the road that much. It’s something we’re proud of. As a band we’ve probably played 1400 shows together. This is our 9th year being together, and we’re working on our 7th record. Lots of miles, man, millions of miles.
VM: I went to the Exit/In for the first time last night and saw the wall of names of people that have played there, including everyone from Johnny Cash, to Kris Kristoferson, to the Police and the Talking Heads. How do you feel about playing in a venue with that kind of past company?
RR: It’s a great feeling. Anytime you get to do a show in a historic building is always just a treat. One comes to mind, Cains Ballroom in Tulsa. The Sex Pistols played there, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, you know, that was their home. It just means a lot as a musician to grace that stage that so many have before that you look up to.
VM: “Better Than I Ought To Be” — is that about the current success you’re enjoying?
RR: Well it’s about a kid that came up to me after a show and I asked how he was doin’ and he said, “Well I’m better than I ought to be.” And I said, “I’m gonna write that.” This guy had a unique outlook.
VM: “We’ll Never Be That High Again” is about the fun you have on the first time, whether kissing a girl or taking your first drink. Have there been moments in your career that are like that?
RR: Gracing the stage at the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry. I remember feeling that night afterwards “I don’t know that I’ll ever have that feeling again.” That sense of accomplishment. It felt so good to be on that stage (which is another one, like you said earlier, just of all the great people who have been on that stage). I remember thinking: “There’s nothing I can do to top this right now.”
VM: What do you do when you’re in Nashville?
RR: I write. I’ve been writing a ton for this record. Most of the time when I do come to town its business and it is usually co-writing. And then, you know, I hit the bars. I go to the Exit/In and check out whoever’s playing.
VM: Radney Foster is quite the legend. What was it like working with him?
RR: He did our last three records, actually. He’s been basically my mentor, in life and in music. I’m very thankful that he’s been a part of our career. I wouldn’t say our success is solely because of him, but he’s played a huge role in developing this band and helping us become the players that we are.
VM: How did you catch up with him in the first place?
RR: I stalked him, pretty much, haha. We opened shows for him, and every time we did I made myself visible to him and let him know that I was serious about wanting to write with him and wanting to pursue this as a career. He finally listened and we got to be real close friends.
VM: What did you listen to growing up?
RR: Lots of Christian music. My dad is a Baptist preacher. But he also had a badass record collection, so I got lots of Rolling Stones, Beatles, Don Williams, Merle and Willie and Waylon and Cash, and The Who and The Guess Who, and lots of Creedence Clearwater Revival — that was my dad’s favorite.
VM: What’s a song, not one of yours, that you love to sing?
RR: I’ve always been a big fan of Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up” ... “Take me out, fuck me up, steal my records.” I like jamming that one out.
VM: What do you like to drink?
RR: Vodka-soda. And cold Bud Light beer, our wonderful sponsor.
VM: What are you listening to right now?
RR: Well I can tell you before we go on stage every single night in the front lounge it’s Merle Haggard. Can’t get enough of Merle.
VM: Like I said, we’re excited about the show coming up in Nashville. Anything else you want to say on that?
RR: Love the Exit/In. Gonna be making our record in Nashville in the next few months, with new music coming in early 2010.
