Sweet Roger
Montréal, Quebec, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
Press
“Ouvreur d'huitres dans la vie, David Rozon a aussi une voix originale et une nonchalance qui ont intéressé les deux coachs Lapointe. Il va poursuivre l'aventure avec Pierre.”
“Oyster shucker by trade, David Rozon also has an original voice and laidback charm that piqued the interest of the two Lapointes. He’s going to pursue his adventure with Pierre.”
Photos 12-13/32 - Canoe.ca/Samuel Pradier
Folk, blues and Americana were just a few of the aromas to emanate from Sweet Roger‘s music as he opened the festivities for the evening. Alone on stage with his two guitars, the Montreal based singer/songwriter managed to monopolize the audience attention as they followed him through a genuine musical performance. - Canadian Beats
What is your name?Sweet Roger
What is your genre of music?
Is singer-songwriter a real genre? It’s definitely on the folk-rock side of the spectrum.
Give us a little bio about you.
Grew up in a suburb of the West Island of Montreal with my two brothers and my dad. I don’t like the word dysfunctional because we functioned quite well – though there were some crazy moments from time to time – but there was definitely a lack of structure. We weren’t a normal family and we knew it, and it was that lack of structure, normalcy, and sense of free-falling that has played an enormous part in my decision-making in life. And, of course, that translates to my creativity as well.
What made you go in to music?
One of my older brothers got me into guitar. He was playing In My Life with a friend and I was in awe. I guess it just clicked that you could do what The Beatles or Nirvana or David Bowie did. It was not only possible but it also sounded good. I had to do it, too.
Are you a signed?
Not yet. I’m hoping this debut album coming out will change that. It’s always a good thing to be supported. But I’ve learned a lot being an independent artist, too, which I might not have acquired had I been signed right away.
What is the Album called and describe it in three words.
You’ll Always Have Yourself. Real. Homespun. Intimate.
You have pre-released four tracks off the new album , can you tell us more about them?
These songs were the beginning of a persona, or voice, I developed for this project. There is a lot of melancholy and angst that’s met with a stolid kind of hope and resistance to despair. And that hope and resistance is fuelled by love and an inner-solidarity. My assessment of things is that hard times are coming, and “Put Out the Fires” is the anthem to prepare for that. “Conditions”, I think, is the most honest, or straight-forward, song I’ve ever written. It basically says to the world and it’s bullshit, “I’ve got love. What the hell do you got?”
What else will we expect off the rest of the Album?
Some great guitar solos!! I’m also very exited about a song called, Loon Lake. The song is very much inspired by The Tragically Hip and I wrote it while I was up north and surrounded by trees, water, and the call of loons. Another song, something kind of bluesy, features a great singer and friend of mine Stefanie Parnell. She’s got a sweet voice.
Will you be heading out on tour, maybe a home tour or further a feild?
I’m applying to festivals and started to book shows in Canada now. I’m taking this music as far as I can go without going broke!!
Who was the first person you showed your record to once completed?
My girlfriend. She’s heard the music at every stage.
If you could perform for 5 people in the music industry who would they be and why?
Gord Downie would be at the top of my list. He is an excellent song-writer and has the most distinctive voice. I respect him a lot. Afie Jurvanen, or Bahamas, would be there, too. I love what he does. Gillian Welch as well. She really stands out as a country singer and she’s an honest yet crafty lyricist. Nick Cave would be someone I’d really like to work with. I love how dark and sweet he can get all in the same record. Finally, R.E.M. They were my favourite band growing up. I still listen to Automatic for the People as though it’s brand new.
Do you play any instruments?
Guitar. I mainly play acoustic but I’m proud to say that some of the solos you’ll hear on the album are mine.
Who are your influences?
Many. The Tragically Hip, REM, John Lennon, and Tom Petty are just a few. Really, I like a lot of different bands and it all filters into what I do eventually.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Allow yourself to feel as much as you can. I think we’re taught to suppress a lot, especially anything disturbing or uncomfortable. I also like stories. Absorb every conversation, glance, remark, or phrase you encounter. Pay attention and you’ll discover a lot.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Touring hopefully. I’d like to make another record after this one. I’d also like to make music for film and television.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Read. Walking around town with no direction. And now I’m starting to gain an interest in photography. I don’t know where it will go but I’m enjoying this new fascination.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
It couldn’t have been just one song. But I have to say Automatic for the People made me want to write my own music.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
It’s very important to finish something. Even if you’re not crazy about it. Even if you’ll just put it on the shelf forever. Finishing what you’ve started gives you the confidence to try again.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Surround yourself with people who are better than you but don’t make you feel that way.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Fail. Fail again. Fail better.
Where is your dream venue to perform?
Massey Hall.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Breathe. Picks. Water. Capo. I’m worthy.
You just come back off tour,back in your hometown;
1/ where do you visit first? Coffee around the corner
2/where do you eat first ? Probably breakfast at Greenspot.
3/who do you see first? My girlfriend no doubt. - Music Of the Future
Discography
You'll Always Have Yourself - LP (release date February 14, 2017)
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/youll-always-have-yourself/id1205575602
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1nSWqdVmQ0IxWBEYDShsi5
Photos
Bio
It’s pretty much the protocol in today’s music industry: make a record and hit the road. Bring songs and stories born in one place to somewhere new.
But Montreal-based singer-songwriter Sweet Roger took the opposite route, travelling the country, sharing and collecting stories and experiences, and finally returning home to appease his reinvigorated creativity. The result is his first full-length record, You’ll Always Have Yourself.
Seamlessly spinning folk, Americana, and alternative influences into lush arrangements ripe with melodic hooks and poignant lyrics, Sweet Roger delivers a debut that betrays the term, sounding instead like the career-defining album from a road-worn artist. And there’s good reason for that.
The musician now known as Sweet Roger picked up the guitar as a teenager, inspired by his brother’s basement jams. Diving headfirst into the three-chord catalogues of early-‘90s Sub Pop staples, he soon started writing his own songs – admittedly rough but necessary precursors for what was to come.
Out of high school, he took to the highway and travelled across the country, free of any obligation. “I just took on a bunch of odd jobs and kinda floundered for a bit,” he says candidly. Consciously or not, he was collecting bits and pieces of the people and places he encountered – fodder for future songs.
When he returned to Montreal, he started an open mic night at a downtown watering hole and got back into writing. “I was absorbing a lot of music at the time,” he recalls, “and every new artist I came across would push my writing in a new direction.” From Elliott Smith’s mastery of melody to Ben Harper’s emotive energy, he was constantly adding new cutouts to his sonic collage, but eventually, he grew discouraged of continually wiping the canvas clean and starting anew.
Temporarily replacing songs with essays, he studied English Literature at Concordia University, earning his BA and Master’s degree. Now a late graduate without prospects for employment, he was drawn back to his instrument as an escape from discouraging circumstances.
“And then something started to develop,” he says, and that something took on the name of Sweet Roger. “It was a musical voice, a persona, that felt like something real.” And there it was. Out of humbling conditions, he was free to make inspired, imaginative art.
In early 2016, producers with La Voix – Quebec’s version of The Voice – came across a demo of “You’ll Always Have Yourself” online and reached out to invite him to audition for the show. After much contemplation, he decided to go for it. “I was flattered and intimidated at the same time,” he admits, but it ended up working in his favour. He logged some screen time, turned some chairs, and ultimately left with an armful of new contacts and encouragement about his craft.
Enlisting the aid of engineer and longtime friend Paul Edwards (Simple Plan, Krief), Sweet Roger set out to record an EP with his top cuts, but even through the sessions, the songs kept coming. Eventually, they were sitting on an LP’s worth of material.
With a close-knit group of handpicked musicians, You’ll Always Have Yourself took shape. Sweet Roger’s dulcet vocals and cultured poetry are anchored at the forefront of the eight tracks comprising the album, and the collection sits perfectly balanced between traditional and contemporary, familiar but fresh. It’s the quintessential soundtrack to a day on a still dock or a night around a campfire with a bottle being passed around.
The lyrics are original, captivating, and yet intimately homespun. Sweet Roger wrestles weighty subjects in a simple, straightforward fashion. “That’s something you learn from great songwriters like Springsteen or Tom Petty or Ray LaMontagne,” he muses. “You can tackle big and complex concepts, but you don’t have to present them that way.” As a result, the social commentary isn’t condescending, the love songs aren’t plodding, and the raw emotions remain pure and powerful.
Even the album title sits between opposing poles. It’s true that You’ll Always Have Yourself, but that can be as burdensome as it is beneficial – and nowhere is that more clear than in Sweet Roger’s own story.
But now, with an impressive debut album to his name and an inspired outlook on his art, Sweet Roger is ready to take to the road and share that story and many others far and wide, with some newfound friends.
Band Members
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