If your musical tastes include people like STING, JAMES TAYLOR, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN OR VAN MORRISSON then youâ??re going to love the music of singer song-writer LEE ROGERS. Hailing from Belfast in Northern Ireland, Lee sent out a demo album to various labels and was immediately picked up by UK label Zenith Café. In 2006 he subsequently recorded his debut album â??Drawing Clocksâ?? in Italy with noted Italian producer Marco Canepa (Zucchero , Roger Hodgson of SuperTramp) .
A great favourite with Ted Kelly at XM Worldspace, Leeâ??s international performances include NXNE (North by North East) in Toronto, MIDEM in Cannes, Best Of Brits two years in a row at ABBEY ROAD for XM Worldspace and, of course, countless gigs in the UK and Ireland including supporting Australian star TIM FREEDMAN for some of Timâ??s solo gigs in the UK. Lee is also off to NYC to do an industry showcase to be recorded and broadcast by XM Worldspace.
Lee Rogers Biog
With musical influences including Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and James Taylor, Lee Rogers' brand of blues-laced rock/pop has the distinctive charm of fellow countrymen Van Morrison and Paul Brady while remaining uniquely his own. His live set, either solo acoustic or with the musicians he works with regularly, combines heart stopping vocals, super slick acoustic guitar work and an incredible penchant for story telling.
Lee cut his teeth locally in Belfast where he picked up residencies most nights of the week. Within days of his son being born he signed to the Zenith Cafe label and this forged what has become an amazing relationship.
His debut album 'Drawing Clocks' was recorded in Italy with Marco Canepa at the production helm. 2006 saw the much anticipated but limited official release of what has already been called an "instant classic". Drawing Clocks is now gathering momentum in both North America and Europe.
Lee gigs all over and has played some of the hottest music venues around including the XM Worldspace "Best of British" showcase with Ted Kelly at Abbey Road studios in London which went out to millions of UPoP listeners worldwide. Lee was also offered a slot at the North by Northeast (NXNE) music conference in Toronto, Canada playing as one of only four acts on the official British stage. He not only brought the house down with his music but showcased a natural stage presence for spinning yarns between songs, enrapturing the audience with both true and imagined anecdotes of the tracks to come, gently teasing them into his world.
Phil Villeneuve from ‘Chart Attack’ Canada, who was present that night, said of Lee’s performance, “it was like watching Tom Waits, John Lee Hooker and The Commitments in the form of a charming Irishman”….and even though it was only Lee on guitar and Trevor Dyer on upright bass, Chart Attack scored him 99/100.
With the worldwide help of discerning radio DJs, ‘Drawing Clocks’ and Lee Rogers look set to be a huge success. But it does not stop there. Lee has been involved with movie soundtrack work..... Myriad pictures used a version of "How will I sleep?" in the supernatural thriller The River King. Then Lee was asked to co-write and perform a song with legendary Italian soundtrack composers/producers Pivio and Aldo Di Scalzi for the title track of the movie ‘The Hand Of God’ (the life of Diego Maradona) which will be released worldwide in 2007/2008.
This year saw Lee perform 3 shows during Midem for the labels and publishers from all over the world who are on the verge of or who have licensed his music. The feedback from his shows was fantastic and at times left the normally hard music business audience completely breathless.
All in all it’s been a busy few years for the Belfast man and it seems he is set on making his mark among both the greats of the singer-songwriter world and his own peers as well as achieving all his own aspirations.
“I like the idea that music crosses oceans of time, that my songs and my voice will be here long after I'm gone, that someday they will belong to my son. It's important that he knows who I am. He inspires me everyday. Maybe someday I'll inspire him."