I really want to thank so many folks for weighing in on my 38th sobriety date. Although not perfect, it is progress and not perfection. That being said, it has been an amazing journey. Having played in a touring band that had probably the biggest bar tabs ever in the Southeast in the seventies, it came to the point two weeks after my thirtieth birthday in 1983, that this just could not continue. Now, just two weeks after my 68th birthday, I can’t describe the gratitude I have along with the wonderful life that has been given back to me. All could have been taken away long ago and almost was. That’s not to say that I am not capable of sliding back into an old way of thinking consisting of negativity, resentments, complacency, and the whole “woe is me” scenario. I pray daily to have all of those character defects removed. Some days are still better than others. The list of blessings is too massive to attempt to document here without leaving something or someone out. Although it does include my two wonderful sons from my first marriage (who weren’t around for the sh*t show), my current marriage, my music and broadcasting career opportunities, and the fact that I had a choice whether to live or die. Many since have not had a choice.
As far as the music goes, it is how my mind works. I’m constantly thinking in musical terms, as well as thinking about songs. My guitar instruction career had me sitting down with well past one thousand folks, one on one for forty seven years beginning in 1972. Sitting around teaching constantly for days on end allowed me to develop my style and technique. While being nothing close to a prodigy, playing my guitar was just fun. I did it starting out not caring if anyone was listening or not. While I was influenced from many directions, the blues were what really ignited the spark to keep going. After walking away from what was taking me down, I decided to change the focus of my songwriting to being grateful as opposed to emphasizing the down and out point of view. Of course, I would record my own version of blues and rock & roll classics just because they were fun to play. I was just a white kid from Jersey who never worked sunup to sundown in a cotton field, nor did I ever think about selling my soul to the devil. My experience in the music business has been up and down, but overall I have survived. Even though I was passed on by some agents and venues, I still toured over a million miles.
Any respect and inspiration I received was mostly from the musicians themselves, whether or not the industry even cared.
The next CD I release will be a collection of spiritual songs I wrote in the early to the mid eighties after realizing that I was given a second chance. The artwork will be of an award winning painting of Atlanta’s All Saints Episcopal Church that my grandmother created in the early sixties. I got involved with All Saints online during the Covid 19 pandemic and joined there in 2021. We are hoping for a release date of November 1, 2021 for this CD, physically and digitally. In addition, I will be releasing a new Christmas single entitled ON THIS CHRISTMAS NIGHT very soon. Please stay tuned. I appreciate each and every one of you!
Roger