Quick Q and A with Garnet Rogers
 by Kathy S-B  ·  24 September 2010

Garnet is one of our all-time favorite performers and we love when he comes to town. His gentle demeanor and witty stage presence — not to mention his fantastic musicianship — make for a night to remember! Check out this video of one of his signature songs, “Night Drive.”

Check out who Garnet’s very first friend on MySpace is and listen to some cool music from the new album here.

You generally travel with a carload of instruments — do you have a favorite or is that like asking a parent to name their favorite child?

They are all favourites, some I’ll play more, and then switch to another, but they all have their characters. I keep them in different tunings too, so this means that I don’t have to spend much time on stage changing tunings. That’s how I justify it anyway. ;)

Your style is pretty eclectic — does that drive any of your traditional music fans crazy (especially when you crank up your electric guitar and use reverb to the max)?

You might have to ask them that! I think perhaps some look with fear and loathing at my amps and electrics, but no one has thrown anything yet, and everyone seems to like it.

Do you have any favorite ‘on the road’ stories? (Keep it clean!)

Sorry, that would take a book. Literally. So, I am writing a book of on the road stories. Don’t know when that will be done though.

You do quite a few covers songs in your repertoire. What is it about songs like “Blood Brothers” (Bruce Springsteen) or “Oh How Happy” (Shades of Blue) that make you want to play them?

There are so many great songs out there, that I wish I had written. I consider Bruce Springsteen the great American songwriter. “Blood Brothers” is a great tune, and it fits perfectly in my thematic ‘triptych, with “Night Drive” and “North West Passage.” I recorded it on my last CD, Get a Witness. Needless to say, there are a number of Springsteen songs I wish I’d written.