Roger Jaeger

Roger Jaeger is a singer/songwriter/instrumentalist based in Nashville, TN. After a long journey spanning two continents, discovering heartache and joy, enduring sickness and healing, laying down dreams and picking them up again, he is preparing to release his full-band debut album, "Beacon." As his first release since 2004, it has been a long-time coming. The songs stay very true to Jaeger's own life experiences, dealing largely with brokenness and recovery.

The CD gently takes to flight with rocking intro piece “Not the Same”. This song serves up infectious rocked out guitars painted against mesmerizing vocals, hypnotic lyrical content and driving rock rhythm that quickly lead you by the hand down the path of impassioned musical indulgence. Track 2 “Beacon” keeps things rocking with its methodical musical build, passionate groove, impressive keyboard and Piano accents painted against a grand mosaic of vivid vocals. The passionate musical flow and subject matter of this piece brilliantly moves like an ocean across the ears. All in all one of my favorite pieces on the CD. Track 3 “Dragons” is an impressive electro-earthy piece that is quite dynamic, full of dynamics and musical peaks and valleys that flow and ebbs its way through to emotional fruition. This piece is remarkably striking to the ears as well with its Alternative Rock touches and hypnotic vibe. As the CD slowly unfolds I can hear many musical influences reminiscent of a classic Coldplay, Jeff Buckley, Death Cab for Cutie and even John Mayer, Live to Muse. I would classify this music as Alternative Rock with a dash of Earthy Folk and Singer/Songwriter with a College Rock flair. The CD presents brilliant flashes of theatrical rocked out ambience and all things life related. You will also notice rich layers of instrumentation layered along the way full of dynamics, Keyboards, Piano, Acoustic guitar, well placed harmonies, low end rhythm section and enticing melodies. Jaeger showcases some impressive singing with an appealing vibrato, warm falsetto and impassioned feel that comes straight from the heart. His signing works well across the board and at times he actually reminds me of Chris Martin (Coldplay). Roger Jaeger is a very capable singer/songwriter and he has clearly proven himself with this latest release. It’s melodic, it’s catchy, it's thought provoking, re-imagined and reinvigorated. From upbeat “Other Side of the World” to methodical In the Driest Place” to hypnotic “No Clouds In Our Way” to rocking “The Words You Said” this CD has something for just about everyone. The CD ends with “Where the Roads Meet” the perfect finale statement for a CD of this caliber.

All songs over 3.5 minutes tend to drag you to the finish-line. CD is a bit short with just 8 tracks. Perhaps 3.4 more songs are needed to make this a fully loaded CD release. I also wish there were more solo type segments on some of the pieces.

Roger Jaeger’s latest release Beacon is a compelling musical journey. Its strong suit is its consistent song for song musical flow. Jaeger gals gets high marks from me for their brilliant musical approach bringing in his life experience. Above all he is armed with some powerful life's journey to write about. This CD will be a real joy for those listeners out there who want flowing poppy ambience to fill their sonic space peacefully and unobtrusively. This poppish somewhat earthy format makes for a great extended play experience. I recommend you just hit play, close your eyes and see where the passion takes you.

Cyrus Rhodes - Cyrus Rhodes

Singer/songwriter Roger Jaeger’s latest album is called Start Over, while the latest video/single from the album is “Elevator.” Since Roger was performing in Texas, and I’m in California, I asked his PR people if we might do an email interview. They said, “Yes.” And Roger did, too.

The result is below. Enjoy!

What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?

I wasn’t too crazy when I was younger. But I do remember running late to our high school musical one time because I spent too long at my girlfriend’s house. I was driving a little carelessly and the roads were slick from a fresh rain, and I ended up driving my van into someone’s fence. Oops.

What are the five things you can’t live without?

Airplanes, curry, sunshine, rain, coffee, curry. Wait did I say curry twice?

What’s your favorite song to belt out in the car or the shower?

I randomly sing the theme song to the TV show “Doug” all the time. It just comes out. I don’t think I’ll ever get away from. But I’m okay with that.

What kind of guitar do you play? And why?

My electric is a Fender Telecaster. The story goes like this: A few years ago I got dumped by a girl. Three days later I woke up on a below-freezing morning to find that my rear driver’s side car window had been smashed in and someone had stolen my Strat and pedal board out of the back seat. About $2500 worth of gear. It was shaping up to be a pretty horrible week! The next day I drove out to a used music store in Nashville and saw this guitar hanging on the wall. I had never had much interest in Teles, but this particular model seemed sexy, even with the slight wear. It played well, sounded great, and I decided to try something different. And so there you go - that guitar is in a couple ways a symbol of starting over.

What musicians influenced you the most?

My early music days were influenced by CCM - The Newsboys, Jars Of Clay, DC Talk. I remember a friend telling me about Coldplay one day when I was in high school. He said I’d probably like it because their chill style sounded like stuff I might play. I took offense to that and wanted to prove him wrong, but turns out he was correct. Coldplay helped soften many of my musical edges, and I was soon digging into Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, Sting, and others, and finding musical depths I hadn’t known before.

In my review of “Elevator,” I described your musical style as “pop-rock.” How would you describe it?

I generally tell people “‘pop-rock’ with a little sitar thrown in here and there.” I don’t know that “pop-rock” perfectly encompasses all the things I do, but the music industry wants you to have a short answer nailed down so that they know how to categorize you, so currently I think that’s my best answer.

Where do you find inspiration for your songs?

A lot of my songs come from life experiences. Even these days when I’m more often writing with other people than not, often song ideas start with “hey, what’s going on in your life? Oh really? Want to write about that?” One of my favorite things to do is then ask whoever I’m writing with to just talk. I’ll say “hey, tell me about that situation. How does it make you feel?” It’s a little bit like a counseling session. But sometimes they’ll say profound things and those words become lyrics. I love it.

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What is your songwriting process? Does the music come first and then the lyrics?

I’ve written songs many ways, but yes, often music comes first. I call it “fishing.” I’ll sit at the piano or with my guitar and just play away, trying random chords and lines. Eventually something lands. I start singing over it, find a melody, and then will bring that musical idea into a writing session.

So far, has “Elevator” been well-received by the critics? By listeners?

I would say so! I haven’t seen any down votes on YouTube yet so that’s a good sign. But really, from the first time I performed it live people have seemed to really like it. Having the video now takes it to another level - all of the reactions I’ve seen have been very positive. People seem wowed by the footage and can relate well to the story of someone chasing after adventure.

Will you be touring in the near future? If so, where?

In fact, as I am writing this I am on the road for a run of shows in Texas! We’ve been playing at Red Gorilla Fest in Austin. I’ve also got some dates on my calendar in Georgia, and I’ve got some West Coast and possible UK dates in the works.

Are you working on any new songs? And when might your fans expect another album?

Yes! I’m writing once a week or so, and am about to increase that, because it is getting close to time to begin working on the next album! I’m looking at probably a January 2018 release.

Have any major labels expressed an interest in your music?

I haven’t had any talks with labels at this point, but I also haven’t sought them out. I think that’s changing this year - I may actually be playing my first label showcase in a couple weeks!

Did you study music in a formal setting, or pick it up on your own?

Both. I started guitar lessons as a kid, but also would spend hours and hours just trying things on my guitar. I would create my own chords, listen to songs of bands I liked and try to figure them out. I finished two years of a music degree in college, which gave me a foundation in jazz and classical guitar. I’ve also had piano and voice lessons, and studied with a sitar teacher in India briefly.

The production values on “Elevator” were superb. Who produced it?

Right?! We have my good friend, Ryan Poole, to thank for that. He was in Nashville for a few years, but now he’s back home in San Diego. He both produced the whole Start Over record and made the videos for “Elevator” and “Start Over.” He’s one of the most talented and creative individuals I know, and I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with him.

Find out more about Roger Jaeger: http://rogerjaegermusic.com/ - Huffington Post - Randy Radic

Q) How do you describe your sound?

A) I’d say it’s sort of a pop-alternative hybrid with the occasional sitar part thrown in.



Q) I have been listening to your songs and for me they sort of have a rare blend of indie and alternative music. What artists have influenced you as a musician?

A) Yeah! I’ve got various influences – artists like Coldplay, Jeff Buckley, Sting, John Mayer, Jonny Lang, Ben Howard and more.



Q) Your single “It’s My Time.” is set to release on Jan 29th, talk about the story behind it.

A) I wrote it with a guy in Nashville named Tripp Weir. We were inspired by our shared musician/music industry lives, how you often can work for years and have little to show as success to the public. The song is in many ways a declaration – “you know what, it IS my time.” I like it because I think it can relate to different people on several different levels, be it career or relationships.



Q) I know the song was recorded in Nashville under Producer Paul David, whom has worked with artists like Johnny Lang and Sister Sledge, how was it working with him?

A) Working with Paul was enjoyable. We’d done some smaller things here and there together, but recording the single gave us more time together and we really grew in friendship. Paul has great ideas and really pushes to create the best product he can.



Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans will connect to?

A) It’s a weird time to release a song like this. I think many of us feel somewhat beat down and at the very least uncertain of what life in the near future holds. So, I guess I’m hoping that people will latch to this song since it sort of flies in the face of our collective pandemic woes.



Q) You have traveled all over the United States as well as to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Britain. Is this something that helps with songwriting and creating your music?

A) One interesting thing about traveling the world is that it can tell you how much we’re all alike. The guy in Australia has also been dumped by a girl he’s in love with and would do anything to get back. Or the guy in Ireland who married his high school sweetheart and has stuck it through for the last thirty years. Or there’s someone in India who hasn’t seen their kid in twenty years because of a strong disagreement. It’s all human stuff you can relate with and draw from to write. As far as sound though, India may have the most, since I lived and studied Indian music there. It showed me a slightly different way to look at music and to build melodies.



Q) Your music has been featured on MTV, the Discovery Channel and Nascar. Did they approach you directly or what was that process like?

A) I hired a music promotions company that specializes in a few different areas, but we focused primarily on college radio and tv licensing. Their guy landed the contracts with 15 or so shows on all those different networks, but unfortunately those contracts meant that the songs went into music libraries without guarantees of actually being placed. As far as I know, the songs were never actually put in any of the shows and it was a very devastating realization for me! It was; however, one of the life experiences I drew from to write “It’s My Time.”

Recently, my song “Playing to the Wall” got picked up for a movie called Lights, Camera, Romance!,” so that was exciting! Maybe it’s my time after all!



Q) Who would you like to collaborate with on a song?

A) Ryan Tedder. Maybe Chris Martin. Those guys are amazing



Q) I have been listening to your album Fall off the Earth, my favorite songs are “Love´s Not Safe” and “For Better or For Worse.” Which ones were yours while recording them?

A) Hey cool! My personal favorite song from that album was “Forgot.” It’s odd in that it’s over six minutes long and the second half of it is a jam. The length wasn’t planned that way originally – we tracked it live and when we got to the end of the song we just kept playing until it felt like time to stop. We tracked the vocals and sitar in India a month later and convinced my friend Jose Joseph (who I like to claim as my “Indian dad”) to record some Indian classical vocal runs. I just really love the way it all turned out.



Q) Any plans for another full EP coming?

A) The short-term plan is to record a couple more singles this year, but ultimately move towards a new EP. Gotta keep developing that sound!



Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?

A) Thank you. It means so much to me that people would listen to what I’ve created. I hope you are touched and inspired! - Starry Mag - Jennifer Vintzileos