An acoustic, earthy and instrumental mix of music written mostly through the inspiration of flowing thoughts and emotions that arise from being alive. I hope for you to hear the reflections of a general understanding from the feeling of being present.
Eric Bazilian – Grammy nominated singer/songwriter/guitarist -
"Billy, I am floored by what you do. I had the pleasure
of seeing Michael Hedges several times, meeting and
talking with him as well. He was taken way before his
time. You're carrying the torch brilliantly."
Bill Kirchen – Grammy nominated singer/songwriter/guitarist -
After seeing Billy perform “And you sir, are one dangerous
mother fu%*er!”
"Billy is a fearsome picker, although picker doesn't do justice to what he does with and to the guitar. Catch him live if at all possible, and see what one dangerous man armed only with a guitar can do"
George Graham – NPR Host, Producer, Music Journalist, Studio Engineer -
" A remarkably talented guitarist...Rogan performs a set
of acoustic guitar instrumentals in a virtuosic style,
with a distinctive percussive techniques reminiscent of
the late Michael Hedges.”
David Hague, Independent Magazine -
"Soaring melodic compositions, complex two-handed
tapping techniques, and a passion for what he does.
These are a few of the characteristics that describe the
music of guitarist Billy Rogan."
WCLH 90.7, Wilkes University -
"Billy Rogan definitely had a unique sound with his
method of guitar tapping. It's absolute insanity to see
this guy play live! This guy is genuine through and
through and it can be seen in his attention and passion
to the music he plays."
Promoters - Poconotes LLC -
"The moment we heard Billy, we knew he had it"...He is
someone who says something with his guitar."
Electric City/Diamond City Entertainment Weekly -
"Billy Rogan has been quietly dissecting the local music
scene - creating numbers with authenticity and performing
with inventiveness. The experience of watching
him play easily matches the extraordinary sound he
produces."
Rogan is a well-versed guitarist know mostly for his instrumental acoustic work, whose influences include the styles and techniques of artists such as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Keller Williams and Kaki King. His original compositions reflect a unique combination of classical and modern fingerstlye with hints of new age sounds that blend forms with these intricate details of inspiration. Rogan's skilled touch brings stories to the strings in wordless tales of heartfelt bits and pieces, shifting rhythms and tempos - all with a soulful, fiery feel.
Over his short career thus far, Billy Rogan has been exploring many exciting new avenues of solo instrumentation with his acoustic guitar. By no means has Rogan invented this two handed, keyboard/drum approach to the guitar, but he has been having a blast creating and finding his voice within the challenging style. "It's quite demanding." says Rogan. All the songs you hear on the disc are one track with no overdubs, no effects, no loops or anything of the sort. In other words-what you hear and see is what you get and the same goes for a live performance.
Being raised in Northeast Pennsylvania by a single mom who taught piano, composed and even wrote her own musical, Billy dove heart first into the world of music that surrounded him. His first instrument was the alto saxophone. Rogan played the sax from grades three through nine and attended Valley Forge Military Academy during summer months to continue his musical education. Finding limitation with the instrument, he turned to his tenth grade Christmas gift- an acoustic guitar, which has been with him ever since. Rogan was at such an early age able to connect with the music that was influencing his life at the time and all throughout his high school years that's all he did. "I was a pretty centered, yet wild kid and all the while during high school I just wanted to practice, learn more, play and jam with others. Those years have a very large impact on my soloing, writing, improv techniques and how I view the importance of listening and connecting with music. The style I am focusing on now is a whole new, exciting world for me which relies solely on writing music through the discipline of persistence and some form of internal connection. In the last 18 months or so, I've been teaching myself a lot of interesting, crazy techniques and I've never devoted so much attention to just the acoustic. Ever. "
This journey of living life through his love for music has taken him from coast to coast. From Lake Worth, Florida to Lake Tahoe, California and places North from Burlington, Vermont and Boston, Mass. and South to Palm Beach, Florida. As well as the Bay Area in Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland, California and his travels as far as Trinidad. The end result of
this past years labor has been Rogan's first all instrumental solo release
titled, "A Loss for Words". Songs on the album vary from long compositions, relaxing melodies and even a little bit of rock. The album was recorded and
mixed in late December of 2006 in Boston, Mass. at Melville Park Studio by
sound engineer Steve Friedman who introduced himself to Billy Rogan after hearing and recording his performance at famous Club Passim. The Billy Rogan solo debut album "A Loss for Words" CD was released January 27, 2007 with a Live performance by the solo guitarist at The Northeast Theatre in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Sara Moore, a protege of the esteemed Jim Fitts has been photodocumenting Rogan's career up to this point. She highlights Billy Rogan's compositions on her website saramoorestudios.com as well as his album cover. His homebase in Clarks Summit is an area tucked away in the hillsides of Northeastern Pennsylvania where he
teaches guitar and composes music in his homestudio. To arrange for an interview, bookings, or for detailed information regarding the artist, please contact bookings@billyrogan.com or Maryskeys@aol.com
It is a pleasure to have you as my new MySpace friend… I find your MySpace page, your talent and your enthusiasm for music pleason’ to many… I welcome you’re other MySpace friends to visit my MySpace page that I’ve dedicated to my admiration of many talented guitar playing musicians of many styles… Stop by check it out and leave a comment if you like… Thanks Ken…
Yeah, he's an older musician that plays kinda the same style. I got your cd from a friend who saw you in CT over the weekend. I wish it were longer haha.
.......................... ......oooO............... .....(....)................ ......)../....Oooo..... .....(_/.....(....)....... ...............)../........ ..............(_/......... ........................... ......oooO............... .....(....)................ ......)../....Oooo..... .....(_/.....(....)....... ...............)../........ ..............(_/......... ........................... ... I WAS ............. .......... HERE ...... ..Leaving my ....... Footprints in your .............SPACE DUST"
Hey man, just wanted to let you know that you are a KICK ASS guitarist! There's no one around here that can touch what you are doing. Keep it up man :)
Hey Billy! Thank you for finding me! It was awesome to see you at the cafe, and thank you so much for the cd, we love love love it. Album art is perfect too...
hey man! It was great meeting you this weekend. I love the summer slumber song...so warm and tasteful. Hopefully our paths cross again! grace and peace, trevor
hey man I love your song Summer Slumber. Its really well done. I'm looking out my window at the summer sky and its the perfect song. Couldn't have asked for a better song right now. Good luck at the Canadian Guitar Festival.
Hey that's actually my dad's. I did get a Taylor 814 though. It played nice. REALLY disliked the expression system. Took it back, getting a Martin. It may work well for what you are doing but I wasn't into it at all.
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