Guitar superstar slides into Carson Valley: Roy Rogers helps the area follow its dream

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Tim Parsons, tparsons@tahoedailytribune.com
April 25, 2008

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Pay attention when Roy Rogers offers a helping hand, because the slide guitarist has the quickest hands in the business.

Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings close out a public-awareness and fundraising winter concert series Thursday, May 1, at the CVIC Hall in Minden.

The Carson Valley Arts Council has the ambitious goal of transforming the old Copeland Lumber Building downtown into an 18,000-square-foot, 500-seat visual and performing arts center for the fast-growing community.

"There's a real need for the many homeless arts organizations in the community," said Brian Fitzgerald, president of the Carson Valley Arts Council. "The concerts are not as much fundraisers as they are for public awareness. We have a $4 million renovation project ahead of us, and we are in a desperate search for donors and grants."

The council's vision gained legs in December when Big George Ventures donated $400,000 to put a down payment on the Copeland building.

The CVIC Hall is a couple of blocks from the Copeland building and has been the site for the winter concert series. It is a classic town hall that will have 240 folding chairs set up for Rogers' show.

The last concert at the CVIC Hall was Shana Morrison, who, coincidentally, recorded an album, "Everybody's Angel," with Rogers in 2000. Rogers has just completed another duet album, "Ballads Before The Rain," with Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek.

"It's so ironic because I wasn't a fan of the Doors when they were around; I was more of a Stones fan," Rogers said Tuesday by telephone from his Nevada City home.

Lake Tahoe Action was fortunate to connect with Rogers, who had arrived home that day from a tour in Denmark. After a day off, he was slated to play in Washington state before traveling back to California to play a concert at Chico's Sierra Nevada Brewing Company celebrating his 24th wedding anniversary.

Rogers, who has never previously performed in Minden, said he was happy to help the local effort.

He said his collaboration with Manzarek came from an idea from a booking agent who works for both artists.

"He knows that I'm always looking for ways to stretch the envelope in a lot of different directions," Rogers said. "Ray was doing a solo gig at Healdsburg. He invited me to sit in, and it was like 'click.'

"We played together, we liked what we heard and felt like there could be a dialogue between the instruments (acoustic grand piano and electric guitar) and low and behold we started doing some gigs together as a duet. We thought 'this is good enough that we should think about putting some of this on tape, and we did.' "

Rogers said he and Manzarek will perform some more live shows later this year. Manzarek's primary project is his band Riders on the Storm.

"We are probably more bluesy at our live show but the record is almost jazz, like Erik Satie, the classical composer from France in the '20s. And we do some Doors covers and some originals. It's still going for the throat, but in another way. It's softer. It's much more listening kind of stuff."

Thursday's show will be classic Rogers, who masters the guitar with frenzied dexterity. The rhythm section is bass player Steve Ehrmann and drummer Billy Lee Lewis.

The trio had a rousing performance at the Blues Summit last month before a sellout crowd at the Crystal Bay Casino. Although Marcia Ball was the headliner, the crowd kept Rogers and company on stage for an extended encore set.



If you go

Who: Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings

When: Wine and cheese reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1, concert at 7

Where: CVIC Hall, 1604 Esmeralda Ave., Minden

Donation: $15 requested at the door.

Benefit: The Carson Valley Arts Council is raising money for a visual and performing arts center in downtown Minden