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NIGHTLIFE/Best of WNY
107.7 LAKE LIGHTHOUSE ROCK RAPPORT
by Ross CAT

While the LAKE guides are a compass to the vast timeless rock catalog over the airwaves; the LIGHTHOUSE Rock Report will be a vessel to a more in depth scope to the artists and their music. Each month we will bring you a cargo of interviews, local and national concert previews with photos, and a cool current of what is news in Rock and Roll. We look forward to setting sail with the LAKE listener ship.

Concert Preview: BAD COMPANY
                                  Casino Rama
                                  Orillia Ontario
                                  Wednesday August 4th 2010

Interview: PAUL RODGERS

     CAN’T GET ENOUGH….That’s what fans have been chanting across the globe since the surviving original members of BAD COMPANY reunited in August of 2008 at the Hard Rock Seminole in Florida.

     Celebrated front man PAUL RODGERS, universally referred to as “The Voice” by fans & peers alike; has dominated the Rock Radio Airwaves for over forty years fronting some of the world’s most influential Groups. 

     His soulful & soaring voice embodies the music of FREE, BAD COMPANY, THE FIRM & most recently giving BRIAN MAY & ROGER TAYLOR the long overdue opportunity to once again perform the music of QUEEN.

     The multi-faceted musician was recently presented with the “Classic Songwriter” award by JIMMY PAGE and JEFF BECK at the annual Classic Rock Magazine Roll of Honour. Rolling Stone named Rodgers one of the “Top 100 Singers of All Time,” Classic Rock UK placed him at #2 on their “50 Greatest Singers in Rock” list and England’s Planet Rock Radio fan poll placed him at #3 on their “Greatest Voices of Rock” list.
     His colossal musical contributions are without question worthy of Hall of Fame consideration on his merits alone.

    While RODGERS has touched so many through his music for over four decades he and his lovely wife CYNTHIA quietly inspire those to give through their tireless efforts with their affiliations with more than thirty charitable organizations worldwide.

     Please be sure to visit www.paulrodgers.com for information on how you too can contribute to make this world a better place while adding some Rock ‘n’ Roll memorabilia to your collection.

    The Rock Rapport once again had the honor of speaking with PAUL RODGERS as he was preparing for his final solo show of the summer this past Independence Day Weekend were he performed in front of 50,000 elated fans in Philadelphia.

Ross CAT-Hello Dr. RODGERS, great to speak with you again, Thanks for taking time out of your busy summer to chat with the Rock Rapport.
     So much has happened since we last spoke on your visit to our region in Canandaigua NY with BAD COMPANY last summer.
     Following your Proclamation from U.S. Congress in 2008 you received the “Classic Songwriter Award”, and most recently you’ve been honored in your hometown with an honorary doctorate from the University Teesside, tell us about that honor?

PAUL RODGERS-Hello Ross it’s nice to speak with.  It really is a wonderful honor, although it is an honorary degree, so I do take it with a pinch of salt.
     That being said I’m extremely honored that they would recognize me in such a manner.
      I left school at the age of sixteen and basically hit the road, so most of my schooling has been through playing music.
    The fact that the University has chosen to honor me for doing something that I Love to share with people is truly a humbling experience.

Ross CAT-Ironically enough I think you were touring with QUEEN when BRIAN MAY received his honorary doctorate.
    There must be some good humored ribbing going on between the two of you.

PAUL RODGERS-Yes BRIAN was very proud of his honorary degree as well, we did share a laugh after I received mine commenting that if anyone came around asking if there was a Doctor in the house at one of our shows we could say “We’ll Yes actually there are two”. (Laughter)

Ross CAT-As always your one of the busiest guys on the Planet starting out the summer with some solo dates then kicking off the BAD COMPANY North American Tour in Mid-July.
    Talk about what it takes to tour at such a high level after so many years on the road?

PAUL RODGERS-I’ve reached a point in my life now were I no longer want to be on the road for months at a time; I’ve learned to be selective with my energy & my lifestyle.
    I still LOVE to play Live, but I don’t want to do it to death or over do it.  I’m fortunate to have a beautiful Home on the Lake were I can retreat and write songs meditate & stay healthy.

Ross CAT-You’ve amassed a stunning body of work as a singer/songwriter fronting some of the World’s Foremost & Influential Bands.
    Tell us about the set selection process when performing a PAUL RODGERS solo show, which by the way fans can enjoy on DVD with the Certified Gold DVD “Live in Glasgow”?

PAUL RODGERS-When I go out with BAD COMPANY it’s strictly BAD CO.; when I go out solo its all that plus the wonderful songs I’ve been part of throughout my career.
     Being able to perform my Solo material, songs from the FREE catalog & songs JIMMY and I did with THE FIRM along with the Blues Music that has had such a profound influence in my songwriting is what still inspires me to perform live.

Ross CAT-With so many accolades bestowed on you in recent years one might think that your in the twilight of your career, yet its quite the contrary, tell us what’s on the PAUL RODGERS docket following the summer tour dates?

RODGERS-Your absolutely right there’s a lot going on for me; songwriting has been and always will be a constant passion for me.
     The Music Business has changed so much, I try to get myself into a situation were I can surround myself with the right Band and the right songs which I’ve been fortunate enough to achieve over the years.
     The biggest challenge is finding a good Record Deal so that the music that I put out there is properly distributed; I’m in the process of putting that all together.
     It’s interesting you used the term “twilight” of one’s career I’m actually sixty years old and I still can’t believe that, it’s an age that I never dreamed attainable its somehow in the midst of yonder time for me.
     When I look at my life I’ve proceeded on two fronts, there’s been sort of an internal life were I’ve been trying to be successful in the world around me and succeed at what I Love to do. 
    On the other hand you try to find yourself the person that you truly are within.  At this stage of my Life I think those two things have finally come together and I have a much better picture of who I’am as a person which has given me more clarity on the direction I want to go musically.
    It really is a Good Time for me in my life and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter has to bring.

Ross CAT-It’s Great to hear there’s no “Swan Song” on the horizon for PAUL RODGERS.
     I’ve had the pleasure on witnessing first hand over the past few years how this zone your in has translated to your live performances, to say that your at the top of your game would be an understatement.
   Many of your World-Class Colleagues concur after seeing BAD COMPANY tour this summer:
    JIMMY PAGE proclaims, “PAUL RODGERS has been, and still is by far, one of the finest talents of our musical genre…absolutely brilliant.”
    Ted Nugent Singer/Guitarist DEREK ST. HOLMES raves, “BAD COMPANY was the best Rock show I’ve seen in a decade”.

PAUL RODGERS-Well Thank You.  That really does come with age, there were periods in my life were I was reckless on a personal level with my health & my own sense of self worth.  The only time I felt truly comfortably with myself was actually making music and performing.
    No matter what I may have been struggling with personally to put on the best show that I could throughout my entire career has been paramount to me.
    Success to me is seeing and hearing people sing along to my songs around the world it’s what inspires me to continue to create.
    As I said this really is a great time in my life because I’m able to go out as a solo Artist and play all of my songs from all the different Bands and still present new material.
     At the same time I’m able to take BAD CO. out with MICK & SIMON along with HOWARD LEESE & LYNN SORENSON and put on a pretty crackin show.

Ross CAT –BAD COMPANY has been in high demand since reuniting; as a matter a fact it was so well received by fans & critics alike it led to a chart topping DVD release.
    Talk about your feelings when you see how relevant this music is still to people worldwide?

PAUL RODGERS-The response has been amazing it’s really heartwarming to see how our music still unifies people; the positive energy at our shows is contagious.
     Last summer we did a 10 date U.S. run with our very good friends the DOOBIE BROTHERS, this past spring we did a U.K. tour with JOE PERRY’S solo Band as Special Guest which was a great time.
    Now this summer we are back in North America for a string of dates including a couple of Canadian Dates; one being at the breath taking Casino Rama venue as well as a gig at the Dog’s Nest of Great Bend in Great Bend, Ontario on August 14^th

Ross CAT-If I’m not mistaken that was BAD CO’s first visit to the U.K. in over 30 years which was recognized by Live Nation with the “Attendance Record Award”.
    I understand the Wembley Stadium show will be released on DVD at some point.

PAUL RODGERS-Yes thankfully we did film & record that particular show during the tour. I have to say the Wembley Stadium show was absolutely electric; what made it even more special for me was that fact that my son STEVEN www.myspace.com/steverodgers  who’s an up & coming singer/songwriter opened the show, I couldn’t have been more proud. He’ll also be supporting BAD COMPANY in Japan this fall.
   It really was a wonderful evening, sometimes when you’re planning on recording a specific night you can never be sure all the ingredients you need are going to be there.
     There are so many things left to chance to assure what your capturing is worthy; is the Band hitting on all cylinders, is the audience into it?  Those issues you have a bit of control over, but then you have to factor in the production side of things it’s hit or miss some nights.
    Fortunately all of the above came together and it was a magical night; as a performer you always shoot for a ten, after that show someone came up to me and told me that night was an eleven.
     We’re quite happy that show will be available to folks who couldn’t be there in person; more importantly it’s a permanent representation of BAD COMPANY that we can all be very proud of for years to come.

Ross CAT-Another very cool concept the BAD CO. has embraced is the Live Recordings of their shows which is available to fans immediately following the gig, will those be available for this North American Tour?

PAUL RODGERS-Yes we’ve had the good fortune to work with a couple of great companies; the U.K. dates were recorded by Concerts Live www.concertlive.com, they are offering three of the U.K. shows individually or in a package.
    I’m also glad to report that the U.S. shows will also be available through Abby Road Live www.abbyroadliveus.com.

Ross CAT-You mentioned being out with JOE PERRY last Spring; I have to ask was there any truth to the rumor that you were approached to step into the lead vocal role with AEROSMITH before STEVEN TYLER recently rejoined the Band?

PAUL RODGERS-Yeah actually JOE did talk to me about that; it was as simple as STEVE not wanting to go out on tour while the rest of the Band was ready to hit the road, JOE looked very poignantly at me and said “we need a singer”.
    I said well you know I really don’t join Bands if you look at my past history I formed FREE with PAUL KOSSOFF, I formed BAD COMPANY with MICK RALPHS and JIMMY PAGE and I formed the FIRM.
     The situation with QUEEN was kind of an exception for me to actually step into someone else’s entire catalog the way I did.
     The QUEEN collaboration happened organically in the sense that we had played live together first at a benefit and there was a special spark.  If I would have gotten a call from BRIAN or ROGER out of the blue I would have hesitated a lot more then I did before joining.
     I said to JOE that AEROSMITH is such a special Band & you and STEVEN have such a great thing going your focus should be on being the Band that everyone Loves; thankfully that’s what they ended up doing.
   As a result of that I got to know JOE really well so I invited him to be our special guest on the BAD COMPNAY U.K. tour with the JOE PERRY PROJECT, so that was the upshot of that.

Ross CAT-Great words of advice; as for your time with QUEEN those were entirely different circumstances for obvious reasons.
    Your presence gave BRIAN & ROGER the opportunity to resurrect the music of QUEEN & FREDDIE MERCURY while preserving & nurturing the legacy of their music.
    BRIAN MAY has often pointed out that FREDDIE frequently mentioned how fond he was of your vocal prowess & showmanship.

PAUL RODGERS-QUEEN is like an exotic piece of machinery that needed a special part to run and I was honored & happy to do that.
      I have a tremendous amount of respect for FREDDIE, even more now then before I started with the Band if that’s even possible.
     Looking back it’s hard to believe we ended up touring & recording for over four years the time really flew by.

Ross CAT-That collaboration also resulted in a great collection of new material with the release of “The Cosmos Rocks” in 2008.

PAUL RODGERS-Thanks we really had a blast making that record it was a very creative time.  I have to say that BRIAN & ROGER also played my songs brilliantly, they took “Feel Like Makin’ Love” to a new level, “All Right Now” was absolutely stunning I remember playing Hyde Park we tore the place up with that song.
     I hope in retrospect that I did their music the justice its due and that’s were we’ve left it.  We’re all still excellent friends and we’ll maybe do a charity show down the road together again.
    As wonderful as the experience was touring & recording with QUEEN it’s really great to get back to my roots & my music.

Ross CAT -While BAD COMPANY is packing Arena’s and selling DVD’s worldwide, your recent CD release “The Very Best of Free & Bad Company Featuring Paul Rodgers” has just been Certified Gold in the U.K.
     Moving 100,000 copies is no small feat in the Music business and today’s economy congratulations on that.

PAUL RODGERS-Thank You again; to me it’s more of a tribute to the fans who are still willing to lay down their hard earned money; for that I’m very grateful.

Ross CAT--Will that particular CD be available in the States anytime soon?

PAUL RODGERS-Yes I believe it will be, there are also some very cool obscure download bonus tracks that are available when you buy the CD.

Ross CAT-Lastly PAUL; I recently read that you’ve had some collaborative jam sessions with MICK FLEETWOOD & JOHN McVIE of FLEETWOOD MAC fame, talk about that interesting project?

PAUL RODGERS-Yeah we did kind of hook up recently over in the U.K. and one thing lead to another as they say.
     Strangely enough JOHN BONHAM’S sister DEBBIE was the catalyst of that meeting.  She’s a mutual friend to all of us and had mentioned to us what big fans we are of each others music and said you guys should really hook up & jam together.  While CYNTHIA & I were in Hawaii we ultimately ended up meeting with MICK & JOHN and had a really nice jam session together.
    While I Love FLEETWOOD MAC now, I really enjoy the original PETER GREEN material they played some really serious Blues, so we certainly have that in common.
    We discussed trying to do something together but once again it’s all about timing; if you’re going to commit to doing something you really want to give it every opportunity to be something that’s special.
   So for now it’s on the back burner but it’s definitely something I’d be thrilled to explore further down the road; they are really superbly talented musicians.

     As always the Rock Rapport would like to THANK both PAUL & CYNTHIA RODGERS for sharing their valuable time.  We would also like to Thank Chris Crawford from Millennium Management & Paki Newell of The Lippin Group.
     Be sure to visit www.paulrodgers.com & www.badcompany.com for News & upcoming Tour information.

*******************PEACE & Harmonies******************
 

BUFFALO MUSIC AWARDS PHOTO'S AND LIST OF WINNERS
 

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