JESSE ROPER – ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND INTERVIEW

Interviews

2022-10-10

JESSE ROPER – ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND INTERVIEW

Canadian rocker Jesse Roper is a breath of fresh air. He just released his brand new album, Horizons and it delivers thirteen prodigious tracks that carry the day. His soulful voice and funky aura transports the listener back the the illustrious heyday of Motown. These new songs contain some of Roper‘s best work to date. His songwriting is extremely elevated and with the help of producer Gus Van Go, his arrangements reign supreme.

Horizons dispenses some amazing tunes. “Cool Whip” exemplifies Roper‘s ability to conceive dynamic songs that even though sounding familiar have a modern flair. The beat is eclectic and Roper‘s vocals are full of esoteric meanderings. He has your fingers snapping and your feet tapping. The capricious cadence is wonderful. “Hold On Me” brings the heartfelt rock and roll. The guitar riffs are marvelous and the horns blare with authority. Everything pops with boisterous revelry. Every composition on Horizons has its own flavor. Roper manages to design a superb piece of art. He’s the real deal!

Since emerging nearly a decade ago, Roper has been a relentless showman, touring across N. America, supporting artists such as Keith Urban and Tower of Power, hitting the Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, with his sophomore LP, Red Bird nominated for a 2015 West Coast Music Award, for ‘Best Blues Recording’.

Jesse Roper was kind enough to sit down and give AMP this fascinating interview.

AMP: Tell us a little about your latest release, Horizons. Do you feel there is a growth in musical style from your previous material?

JESSE: I did this album with a new producer. In the past, it was always with the band and several different studio mavericks. Management and I had a discussion on where do we go next since it appeared things seemed to hit a plateau. I put out a record in 2015 entitled Red Bird. The album was well received but I couldn’t break out of my geo area. So, management wanted me to work with a new producer in order to mix things up. I had to make a few hard decisions.

A friend of mine had worked with Gus Van Go and he thought he would make a good fit. Gus and I spoke and he felt that we should meet. He actually said, “I don’t like your previous music but I like your vibe”. He felt I was putting too much emphasis on the guitar and he wanted to work with my best instrument which was my voice. I never heard anyone tell me that before! That was a big change right from the start.

So, I decided to be optimistic about all this and went to New York. I had sent Gus a bunch of material beforehand and by the time I arrived he had picked his favorites. He listened to the songs and he enjoyed the ones with a more Motown vibe. Gus said, “this is the real Jesse Roper“. Within two hours I knew I had made the right decision. We pushed the new tunes into a more funky direction. All these songs come from older material that with Gus’ help morphed into this real soulful sound. Definitely, an interesting change of pace.

AMP: How would describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?

JESSE: Soulful. It has a real cool feel to it. I infuse some blues, rock and roll, and country to create a hybrid funky sound that has a bite to it. It’s a projection of my personality.

AMP: Describe your creative process?

JESSE: It’s all over the place. Some days I start with a riff. Some days it starts with a walk in the woods. I try to get it anyway I can in order to capture that creative feeling as quick as I can while the magic is there. Recently, I’ve started making demos which is a departure for me. I used to just write stuff, primarily jingles in my head. Then I would bring it to the band. Now, I have a scrapheap of ideas which I forward to Gus and we work it out.

AMP: Speaking about Gus, how important was he in the studio?

JESSE: Even though this is all my material, I feel that what you eventually listen to is a 50/50 mix. It’s a real cool combination. I keep things in my ballpark since I’m the artist but Gus has this marvelous taste and empathy towards my music. I gave him a long leash and it really paid off in the end.

AMP: What’s the one message you want your fans to take away from your music?

JESSE: Oh jeez! I like seeing people smile. I hope they can listen to this record and feel a range of emotions. I’m not the most serious person but I have a serious side. So there is some real content in there. I feel my personality came through on this album but on a whole i just want people to have fun.

AMP: “Hold On Me’ is such a fun song. Is it based on a real experience?

JESSE: Oh yeah! Absolutely! When i was 29 I moved back home. My grandma looked like she was on death’s door. I thought I would return to the mainland to help out my family. I just put out a new album, Son Of John, and lo and behold my shows went from 20 to 500 fans. At that time I met a girl and fell totally in love. Then we broke up. Love is the best and worst of life. We got back together and subsequently broke up numerous times but we are still together. That’s the song’s true inspiration.

AMP: Who were your major influences and why?

JESSE: AC/DC made me want to play music cause they are the best. Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan were also core influences. They were amazing. I love to play the blues and I went in that direction for awhile. Also, Gus has been a big influence. Seeing the way he performs and creates is something.

AMP: Can you tell me the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

JESSE: The first time I jumped on stage I was terrified. It was actually at an open mike. I never wanted to play in front of anybody. I was really shy. My buddy Ryan is a mischievous rascal. He came up to me and said, “Roper, you have to play tonight since it’s my birthday”. As I was having a few drinks while watching everyone else play, Ryan pulls out my guitar from my truck and proceeds to sign me up. They call me up and there’s Ryan holding my guitar saying “now you have to play”.

I was sweating and shaking but it turned out to be my crossroad. Once I got through it, I needed to do it again. So I did. Then I realized that this was what I wanted to do for a living. If I could get away with it, I would be a happy man. I still feel that way. It still gives me a rush even though I still get nervous. It’s all worth it.

AMP: What’s your favorite activity when you’re not in the studio or on the road?

JESSE: Well, I’m a big fan of gardening. I grow a lot of vegetables around the house. As we are having a fairly long summer, my tomatoes have been delicious. We have so many of them that I’ve been cutting them in half and drying them. They’re so good for snacking. I was giving some away but my girlfriend put a stop to that. According to her, they are ours only.

AMP: What is the most trouble you’ve gotten into?

JESSE: Depends! Do you want the one where I got caught or got away with? The first time I really got into trouble was when my friend and I were smoking pot in my truck when I was seventeen. I had a bag of shake and we were smoking the bottoms. We had the windows rolled up and a police officer drove by. He backs up and we immediately knew this was bad. The officer knocks on the window and just like in the movies, the smoke starts billowing out.

He proceeds to take us to the station and does the worst thing imaginable. He calls my parents in the middle of the night. Thankfully, my father answers the phone. My father used to be a hippy. He picks me up an tells me, “this is between you and me. Your mother doesn’t need to know“. I ended up doing 25 hours of community service. I’m going to leave the “got away” ones alone.

AMP: What’s next for Jesse Roper?

JESSE: I have a cross Canada tour coming up. Post that, I have like 20 songs I’m currently working on for a follow up to Horizons. I’m trying to get that going as quickly as possible since I have some momentum built up. I want to take advantage of that. Maybe doing a UK tour. There are so many cool things happening at the moment.

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