By: Andrea Myers
Though I've never been very fond of making year-end lists and tallying up favorites, there are a handful of records that I put into my CD player this year and which I knew, almost instantly, would stay there, spinning on repeat long after most of the other promos have been reviewed and filed away. Most of the local albums that stood out to me also rang true with other local journalists, and we will see their names printed again and again as critics make their picks and confess their love for this year's best artists. But one man has surprisingly stayed underneath the radar this year, despite releasing an album of songs so beautifully crafted and expertly produced that they sound like radio hits lining up for the playlist; his name is Stuart D'Rozario, and it's a mystery why I have yet to see his name spelled out in lights.
D'Rozario's Songs About Now was recorded with some of the best and most experienced artists in town (Jim Anton on bass, Noah Levy on drums, and Tommy Barbarella and Peter Schimke on keys and piano), and the album was produced by veteran musician and engineer Ken Chastain and mixed at Capitol Studios in LA by Charlie Paakkari.
Unlike so many contemporary albums, D'Rozario's Songs is a collection of just that -- real, passionate, meticulously crafted songs that have the sonic quality and melodic structure to stand alone, as individual works of art. When D'Rozario sings it sounds as if he's channeling Paul Simon, and his guitar playing displays his aptitude for a variety of rich, complex finger picking styles.
HowWasTheShow.com was excited to have an opportunity to sit down with Stuart and discuss his new album and his songwriting process.
HWTS: When did you start working on this album?
Stuart D'Rozario: I probably wrote these songs over the last 5 or 10 years. I was first working on finger picking techniques - and then, spent more time actively completing songs. As you develop new musical skills, you tend to write new songs based on those. There was a time when I would go and record demos, listen back to them, hate them, not play for a month or two, and then practice more and learn new things and write some more. Then it slowly started coming together to the point where I thought, ok, I like these songs. The last year has been spent working on the album production-wise.
HWTS: When did you start playing guitar?
D'Rozario: 20 years ago.
HWTS: How old are you now?
D'Rozario: Actually, more than 20 years ago! [laughs] I was 12 when I started playing, and now I'm 38. 26 years ago. But when I started, you know, I did a lot of the college band stuff, and I didn't play seriously for a while. The last ten years, I've been working at it seriously.
HWTS: Did you take lessons?
D'Rozario: I did for a short while. I met this guitar teacher named James "Curley" Cooke, who had played with Steve Miller for years, he taught me the Travis picking technique. He also taught me how to read tablature, so that I could find sheet music and learn off of it.
HWTS: Were you more drawn to contemporary music, or did you study classically?
D'Rozario: Mainly contemporary stuff. Though I do like listening to classical music too. I grew up playing Paul Simon, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. And blues - lots of blues. Of course, today, I’m also into a whole bunch of terrific new bands.
HWTS: When did you meet the people you made the album with?
D'Rozario: I had met Charlie [Paakari] up in Capitol [Records] when I was in LA for some other work... A year later, when I started recording the album, I emailed him a couple of tracks, and didn't hear back, so I figured he’d probably forgotten about me. But a week later I get an email from him saying, "Hey, I really like your tracks, they connect with me on many levels, and I'd love to help you in any way I can to finish the project." One thing led to another and we ended up recording strings at Capitol and finishing the album there. He is unquestionably the nicest guy in the business. I was very touched by his efforts. He’s a multiple Grammy award winner who works with all the major musicians and he went out of his way to help me at the time when, frankly, I didn’t even know him.
I was also very fortunate to have beautiful string arrangements done by a friend of mine in LA, Liz Myers. She also helped get together some terrific string players for the sessions.
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I’ve been very, very fortunate to have met so many terrific people who have supported me and helped me along the way.
HWTS: What was that like to have people so willing to help you?
D'Rozario: It was great. I felt people really connected with the music, which was cool. I've always believed in the songs, but I didn't expect this at all. One thing kept leading to the next, and the project kept getting bigger and better. I feel musicians are basically nice people and they want to help other musicians.
HWTS: Do you find it hard to balance working full time with your music?
D'Rozario: I actually think that doing multiple things makes each thing better - I think my music helps my work and work helps my music. I'm a writer and a creative director [in advertising], and a lot of stuff I do is related to production and music and film, so it all feeds off each other. Ideas have been described as a new combination of old elements - so the more elements you have in your mind, the more chance you have to combine things. And the better you get at combining. Different tastes, different smells, different experiences, they all feed off each other to help create new ideas. As kids we’re taught that you can do one thing well, or you can do a lot of things badly. And that, I’m convinced, is a flawed premise that is ingrained in too many people.
HWTS: That makes a lot of sense.
D'Rozario: I'm the most productive when I'm doing the most things. I seem to write the most songs at the craziest times. When you have all the time in the world, you go to the beach, you have a week ahead of you to record and be creative, and you have no ideas.
HWTS: Is there anything in particular that inspires you to start a song?
D'Rozario: Different things at different times. Sometimes it's a mood you're in that inspires a song. Sometimes it could be a place… I wrote the words for "Barcelona" in Barcelona. I was there for a few days and loved it. There was something about the city and the people and the art that was inspirational. I think I also wrote the music for "Eyes So Sad" when I was there. At the time I didn't know what the song was going to be about, but looking at the old city from the hotel was inspirational. It was one of the first times I had thought up a melody and chord structure without having any idea what the words might be. It was kind of cool. Another, "Dreamy Eyed Loser," I wrote at 4 in the morning in Las Vegas. It’s about gambling and life. Seeing all these people gambling hopelessly in a smoky room was an odd and slightly tragic sight. I wrote the words there, and had some sense of what the melody would be, but didn't complete the song until later.
HWTS: Can you talk about the title of your album?
D'Rozario: Songs About Now is the first title I thought of, and I never changed my mind. The album is a loose collection of songs about current issues in the world. Not that every song is about an issue – some are, some aren’t. But every song is about something.
Some albums – some great albums, in fact -- are more about the album than the songs. In this case, the album was more about the songs. Also, I feel there’s a lot of emphasis today on the sound of a band and the image of the band or the singer. There’s not enough emphasis on songwriting. I wanted to keep the focus on the songs and what the songs are about.
HWTS: So when is "now"?
D'Rozario: Now is when you listen to it. [laughs] Which is the other reason I liked it. You are always in "now." It's always relevant. I think Bob Dylan did a great job of writing songs and making a conscious effort to not put time in the stories. If you look at songs like "Tangled Up in Blue" or "Shelter from the Storm," that could have happened now or it could have happened a hundred years ago, you're not quite sure. I think Songs About Now lets you be topical without being a press release.
Live photo by Paul Erickson. Listen to Stuart D'Rozario's music at songsaboutnow.net.
Artist Info: Stuart D'Rozario
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