S6: E2: Jesse Roach - Strings of the Soul

Speaker 1: 0:46

I am excited to have a local favorite and a wonderful singer-songwriter sitting right across from me in the studio this evening. Hey everyone, it's Randy Holsey with Backstage Pass Radio. You guys hang tight, I'm going to put Jesse Roach in the hot seat right here in the Crystal Vision Studio when we come back.

Speaker 2: 1:04

This is Backstage Pass Radio, the podcast that's designed for the music junkie with a thirst for musical knowledge. Hi, this is Adam Gordon, and I want to thank you all for joining us today. Make sure you like, subscribe and turn alerts on for this and all upcoming podcasts. And now here's your host of Backstage Pass Radio, Randy Holsey.

Speaker 1: 1:33

Well, I am here with the mega-talented Jesse Roach. Jesse, thanks so much for braving the traffic and getting all the way out to Cyprus from the Woodlands Welcome.

Speaker 3: 1:42

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm about to be here.

Speaker 1: 1:44

Yeah. So you went, I guess, kind of around the planet today. You started out in Huntsville to work in the Woodlands to Cyprus and then you'll go back to Huntsville this evening. You're going to see like the entire, the entire south part of Texas tonight. It sounds like right, Sure, Well, yeah. So it's great meeting you, finally making your acquaintance, and I'm wondering if you might just grab one of those guitars off the wall and maybe kick the show off with a song of your choice. What do you say?

Speaker 3: 2:15

Here's Girls from the South.

Speaker 4: 2:54

Here come the walls. Here they come crashing down. Yeah, I'm breaking laws. Yeah, I'm breaking you down. I've been like a whirlwind and I tear up this town. Yeah, yeah, cause momma tried to warn you about us girls from the south. You can play, but you're not hard to get your words. Don't say what your lips did. Well, I brought you home. It just won't kiss and I worked you over. Oh, yes, I did. Here come the walls. Here they come crashing down. Yeah, I'm breaking laws. Yeah, I'm breaking you down. I've been like a whirlwind and I tear up this town. Yeah, yeah, cause momma tried to warn you about us girls from the south. Here come the walls. Here they come crashing down. Yeah, I'm breaking laws. Yeah, I'm breaking you down. I've been like a whirlwind and I tear up this town. Yeah, yeah, cause momma tried to warn you about us girls from the south.

Speaker 1: 5:00

So that was a song called Girls from the South. Right, wonderfully done. I love the song and gosh, your voice fills this room up really nice. Thank you, yeah, so many times I'll have the headphones on and then I like to take the headphones off to really hear what it sounds like in the room and your voice is booming in here, but it sounds wonderful. Thank you so much. Love the song. This is a song. That's what six years old.

Speaker 4: 5:24

Six or seven.

Speaker 1: 5:26

What inspired? The song for you?

Speaker 3: 5:29

You know, honestly I don't know. I just kind of was going through like this I wouldn't even say manhandler, just like a strong woman, like I don't know. It's just. That's just what I was feeling at that time. There was no really inspo for it, just I was a little badass for a while there.

Speaker 1: 5:45

Of course. Yeah, well, I've seen some videos. It looks like you had a wild side.

Speaker 3: 5:49

I did gosh.

Speaker 1: 5:52

And you're proud of it. Right, are you proud? You're not broke. She's not proud of it. I'm not, not proud of it.

Speaker 3: 5:56

You know it is who I am.

Speaker 1: 5:57

You're neither. You're neither or nor right it's whatever.

Speaker 3: 6:02

As long as I don't have to see those videos, I'm fine Well no, these were.

Speaker 1: 6:05

these were actually music videos. No, I know, I thought they were cool, right, it wasn't like.

Speaker 3: 6:09

I had the Justin Bieber bangs. Like I was so emo, like I hate the world, well, but I didn't. I was happy, but I was just wow.

Speaker 1: 6:18

But in all fairness, we all look back at past haircuts or whatever, and say what, what was I thinking? Again, this, I looked really dumb there.

Speaker 3: 6:25

I was so desperate to be the rebel child of my family and I was regardless, I didn't have to try. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:32

From the outsider looking in, you look really cool. You know it was the tattoo look and the black hair and all of that. So yeah, you had it going on for sure. How many songs would you say that you've written over the years? Is it a few or is it many Like? Are you prolific? Are you not so much like talk to the listeners a little bit?

Speaker 3: 6:51

I've probably written like I don't know, probably 10 or 12 songs. You know, if half written songs counted, I would have gazillions, you know, and never, never, can quite finish them here recently. I guess there's just so much to put out there and there's so much that you're, you know, you're listening to and you're trying to grow from listening to these amazing writers out there and you're like how do I write like, and so you're always putting yourself up against the standard when you should just, you know, let it flow.

Speaker 1: 7:18

No, and you're right, like and I can also echo that and come over the top of you by saying that I'll watch guitar players on YouTube. I mean YouTube junkie, like many people are. And who was I talking to the other day? Oh, I was talking to a guy named Bumblefoot. I don't know if you've ever heard of him, but Bumblefoot was the guitar player for Guns N' Roses for eight, eight years and then he played with Asia. He's a world renowned guitarist and I was telling him on the interview. I said YouTube, watching people on YouTube, inspires me, but it pisses me off all at the same time. Because these players are so good, these vocalists are so good at a young age, right, so it inspires you to be better. But it's like why is that eight year old kid that much better than me? And I've been playing the guitar for 37 years, or whatever, right, it's very, it can be very frustrating, oh for sure.

Speaker 3: 8:17

As my point, and there's so much more out there, like YouTube and in social media and all that that show you these things that maybe you didn't, we all didn't know about, that they were doing this before. Yes.

Speaker 1: 8:29

And it's so much easier to learn things these days. Look at all the tools on on the internet and you know you're not as old as I am for sure but back in the day there was, there was no internet. You didn't pull up tablature like who I mean as a guitar player, you. You hit the play button, rewind, play, rewind.

Speaker 1: 8:47

And you memorize songs. That's how you learn to play a guitar. And now you've got tablature mapping everything out and you know all these cool videos that you can watch. So the tools are different and kids are learning a lot faster these days. But I also wanted to find out from you if songwriting does it come easy for you or is it a struggle?

Speaker 3: 9:11

You know if there's sometimes sometimes it comes easy the songs that I have written like came to me that day and then there's times where I really want to put a lot more effort in the songs, like write them a little bit differently, and those are the ones that seem to take me long. I overthink them a lot, of course.

Speaker 1: 9:32

Of course I was mentioning that. You know I'd known of you for quite a few years now. What really keeps you busy these days? Are you like heavy into the music scene? You working outside of the music scene, family, Like what's going on in your world today?

Speaker 3: 9:49

Well, a little bit of both are three, all three actually. I do, I do work, I play music constantly. Wherever I can, whenever I can get in, I'm playing, and I have a one and a half year old and a 16 year old.

Speaker 1: 10:04

That's a big gap there. Yeah, life's been busy. Yeah, for sure. Well, or the since the birth of the baby, have the show slowed way down? Are you really back out full swing performing again?

Speaker 3: 10:16

I'm back out full swing. I'm a little bit more picky about playing. You know I have a radius. Sometimes, you know, just depending, I'm like, okay, I need to keep it here or there, but or is this, is it's gonna be fulfilling to me if I'm going and just you know, in the music grind where you're just playing and I'm having a good time.

Speaker 3: 10:34

That's not how I want to be, so I keep keep my Regulars and then I have some that are outside of that and I love it my oldest place too so we're just a little music family. Oh, how cool.

Speaker 1: 10:45

Talk to the listeners a little bit. You spoke of the radius, right? Talk a little bit about your radius. So, for the podcast is now heard in 80 countries around the world, so there's gonna be a lot of people that have no idea what you're talking about. But for some of the local people, you're in Huntsville. So like, what's the radius Is it? Do you come into Houston? How far out from Huntsville? Like, honestly, there are parameters for you that you won't play outside.

Speaker 3: 11:12

There's not really parameters. I will play anywhere. Honestly that is is a good, good vibes, okay place to play, a new place to play, but for my regular like there's two a month that I keep around my area, you know around Huntsville, so within 30 miles is normally where my comfort zone is. Now I will play other other venues, just really depends on the situation.

Speaker 1: 11:39

Those couple of venues in Huntsville. Did you want to shout them out real quick? I?

Speaker 3: 11:42

do I love? Big easy out there in Huntsville. It's one of my favorite places to play. We play Saturday nights once a month at least, and then a point blank is a bullet bar and grill and that's kind of out towards Livingston and I love all them out there too.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Yeah, it's funny. I had a Female friend but I grew up with her, you know, from the old neighborhood, back when I was a little boy. But her and her family live out in point blank and I remember her saying, hey, bring the guitar, we're having a family get together. I'm like, shoot, yeah, that sounds like a blast. So I didn't realize how far point blank was. Damn Sharon, if you would have told me it's gonna take me 18 hours, probably would have said can I just record a few songs for you and you can play them out there, or whatever.

Speaker 1: 12:29

It was kind of a brutal drive. It was a nice drive. But Myself, like you, I kind of have this radius as well About the furthest I venture from here is down. Well, I go to Jackie's down in chemus. That's probably about the furthest that I go. But much past that and that's only once every blue moon right. But I try to. You know, I have this comfort zone right here in the greater Cyprus. I'll venture up to the woodlands, but that's only like 30 minutes up the road on 99.

Speaker 3: 13:01

So it's easy for me to get to but I Feel like I was really saturated out in the Cyprus area for a long time. I played it everywhere in Cyprus. There wasn't one bar I hadn't been really mad that I played at and I loved it.

Speaker 1: 13:12

And driving back out here on my way to your house I was like uh were you reminiscing a little bit, were you in that cool, I would have reminisced a little bit about the way I've been down all these. Been here, got the t-shirt right. Yeah Well, were you originally from Cyprus, or spring?

Speaker 3: 13:30

well, when I first moved to Texas, I Was originally in Conroe, conroe, okay, and then I moved to Cyprus and I lived here for about Most of ten years and then I moved back out to spring.

Speaker 1: 13:47

So did you go to high school here I did. Where'd you?

Speaker 3: 13:50

go Cane Creek High School.

Speaker 1: 13:51

Okay, all right, in the woods and then, where are you originally from?

Speaker 3: 13:55

I'm military, so I wasn't really from. I'm not military.

Speaker 1: 13:59

My dad was wherever dad was where you grew up.

Speaker 3: 14:02

I was born in Georgia and I lived in North Carolina, alaska, everywhere.

Speaker 1: 14:07

Honestly, what's so? We cook this. So again, I had no idea this would come up, but I've always wondered about being a military brat. What's that like for a kid moving from place to place? Was it cool or was it tough as a kid, or do you really have much Recollection of that? It was or maybe a hybrid of both, maybe I don't know sometimes it was I'm, I don't know.

Speaker 3: 14:27

It was Fine as I was little. You know, when I was really little, I loved living in Alaska. I was very outdoorsy and I rodeoed for a while out there and got along with everyone. And then, as I got older, I think I think it got harder being a teenage girl, moving from school to school.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Well, probably because you're really developing Relationships in your teenage years, I would think is one of the big reasons. Right Is a young kid. They're your friends, but it's not. It doesn't mean the same as when you're a young teenager. Then you're really. Those are the formidable years of building relationships like what. I've got to move again, really yeah.

Speaker 3: 15:02

Oh yeah, and then you know, watching everyone that's grew up together and then being the newbie was yeah. It was tough sometimes, you know, but I got to meet so many people and made so many friends in different states. I think that was yeah, pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 15:14

So what part of Alaska?

Speaker 3: 15:17

I lived in Chugyak, but my dad was stationed in Fort Richardson.

Speaker 1: 15:20

Okay, and what branch of the military was? He was army army guy.

Speaker 3: 15:25

Okay, airborne a second airborne.

Speaker 1: 15:27

Thanks, very cool. So Cyprus spring. Now you're in Huntsville and you've been there for what? Three years. You said yes, sir. So you know, I don't know if you wanted to talk about this or not, because it was interesting. And I'll tell you why I say this is because I had another artist on that had been on one of the singing shows, right, and they really didn't want to talk about it. I don't know that the experience was that great for them, but I was going to ask you maybe something the listeners they don't know about you is that you are an American Idol vet right, oh yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:04

Yeah, I think there's a little bit about the experience of the show, because I think you know we see one thing on TV, but was your experience a good experience, not so good experience? Just tell us a little bit high level about the time on the show.

Speaker 3: 16:18

It was tough. Honestly, it is not for the week. People that make it through that show to the end have put, put in some time and some real effort. Sure, it's not what you see on TV. You know you see the people going in there goofing off and, you know, singing goofy songs or whatever. That's not really all. That's there. There's a lot of work behind there. You hardly get to sleep, Honestly. You're constantly rehearsing. They throw new songs on you overnight and you need to have them and be ready to perform them in front of these judges when you, when you make it to Hollywood. You know there's a whole lot more auditions you do before you even get to that point, though, that they don't show.

Speaker 3: 16:59

They probably went through like 10 to 12 auditions. I mean it seemed like. Anyways, it was a lot.

Speaker 1: 17:03

I'll pause you there. So we, I think you, if my memory serves me correctly, you were Austin, right, you auditioned in Austin, I did, okay. So when you talk about multiple auditions, you know the facade that we see is you walk into the room and you, you sing in front of three judges and you get a ticket to Hollywood, right. So what auditions are you referring to outside of the ones that you know the typical viewer of the show sees on the, on the TV program?

Speaker 3: 17:35

So originally you'll go into a stadium, like in almost like a hockey rink is what it looks like, and they have curtains up between y'all and you'll do probably two or three auditions of that different times. You go back different times and you'll advance, advance, advance. So you're doing what you're going with producers or all these other people first, before you even make it to the audience, no idea.

Speaker 1: 17:57

So there's a lot of so they're screening you before you even get to there's a gliss Eglise five screenings before you had no idea.

Speaker 3: 18:06

I bet you a lot of people would be surprised to hear that you know there was a lot and you're not allowed to talk about it, you know. So you can't be like I made it through this round, or whatever. There was a lot of rounds that weren't even with the judges.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Yeah, well, I could see where you'd be under some kind of a non disclosure agreement with the show, and I had a good buddy of mine who was one of my bonus episodes, so sometimes I go a little off the music subject and just bring in another topic in this. Buddy of mine was a fighter in the UFC and he was on the season six of the ultimate fighter and it was kind of what you're talking about. During the show and the filming they could never, you know, talk to people at home about what they're doing on the show or whatever, that kind of NDA thing. So well, I think your season what was that? Was it JLo and Harry Connick Jr? Was that the Keith Urban time as well? And I think Randy Jackson was a mentor then. Maybe I don't see him there at that time Okay.

Speaker 1: 19:06

All right, I don't remember he came back as a mentor and but I don't know how long he came back as a mentor for, but your season was 13. I think it was 14. 14. Was that the year that Caleb Johnson won?

Speaker 3: 19:20

Was that the bigger set? Yeah, yeah, that was him. Yeah, the rock.

Speaker 1: 19:22

And roll singer. Okay yeah.

Speaker 3: 19:24

He always wore a tiger or like his jacket, with a tiger on the back, and I remember standing in line behind him like he was amazing. He was cool, yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:31

He really was.

Speaker 3: 19:32

He deserved that.

Speaker 1: 19:32

And I don't know. Actually, I heard that he had played with some bigger names. I don't know what he's doing now post post show, but if you had to go back and kind of relive the whole experience, would you do it again, you think?

Speaker 3: 19:48

Yes, I mean, it was so much different when you're younger. Some people are born in bread into music, you know, and me, I just started playing right whenever I started music. Honestly, I've been playing guitar for three months before I had my first gig. Oh really, yeah, I was wild and just happened to know people. You know, heather Heather.

Speaker 2: 20:09

Aileen yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:10

She was my roommate yeah.

Speaker 3: 20:12

I was like, if you can play, I can't, you know. So I got thrown in there. But it was different. For people that you know it just comes naturally to and I think that after all these years of experience, if I went back it would be out of put more into it.

Speaker 1: 20:25

Sure, do you feel like well, let me rephrase this how do you feel like your voice has changed since then? Has it? Has it matured, or was it already mature then? Was it kind of at the, at the summit, or the pinnacle of what your voice has always been? Or do you feel like your voice is better now than it was back on the show? Talk a little bit about the voice now versus the voice then.

Speaker 3: 20:52

Well, I think I was starting to find myself locally. I was so worried about playing guitar in the beginning that I really wasn't worried about like figuring out my vocals, and then I did figure that out. I feel like it's so much better now. I've had multiple vocal lessons and really found myself in my music now.

Speaker 1: 21:11

I think that you know one of the things that you have going, and I've always kind of thought this I don't know that I've ever said it out loud but when you have a beautiful voice and a powerful voice, like you do, you don't have to be a great guitar player. You're just accompanying yourself. There's nothing.

Speaker 1: 21:29

There's no reason that you need to be a flashy guitar player for right, it would be cool though no, I don't disagree with that at all Like I want to be a really great guitar player too. I'm not, but you are. I play next to Chris, and Chris, like every time I see him play, night after night, it's just like really, why can't I play like you, you know. But so my joke is well, one of us has to look good. Right, you have the great talent, but I'm the spokesmodel no, you know, that's the tongue-in-cheek joke. But a wonderful player. But you know, heather's a good guitar player. You know, you brought up Heather Aileen. I've seen her play several times. She's a great guitar player, but her voice, like both of your voices, are just, you know, just, they're that good where I think the focus or the focal point is more the vocal than it is the guitar. You know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: 22:20

I think you can get by with that.

Speaker 1: 22:22

Well, I was wondering, speaking of the guitar and voice, I was wondering if you had another song, like I'm gonna like keep pushing the envelope here and I'm, if you're willing to play, I'm gonna ask you to play. You just tell me know if you don't want to. But I'd love you to Share another song with the listeners if you'd be so kind for sure, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 22:41

This is a Courtney Patton song. She's been one of my biggest influences.

Speaker 4: 22:59

I started running when the state failed to work. I used to live in a little heartbroken, hurt my seam, reckless, because I'm living a little loud. Yeah, when the truth is, I'm just lonesome down. Now, when I wake up with a leg in, feeling like I cannot hide, I start to shake in, I'm breaking down inside. Just don't ask me. Well, I won't tell you how much to proud.

Speaker 4: 23:50

Yeah, the truth is I'm just lonesome down now. Well, I tried to convince myself that I can't feel the pain. So get up with whiskey and I walk out in the rain, stumble down the street while I scream and shout, when the truth is, I'm just lonesome down now. Well, I'm standing on a mountain, the one I built with guilt and shame, looking loud at the messes that I've made. I wish I could go back down and tell them I'm sorry, without a doubt. Yeah, the truth is, I'm just lonesome down now. Well, I tried to convince myself that I can't feel the pain. So get up with whiskey and I walk out in the rain, stumble down the street while I scream and shout, when the truth is, I'm just lonesome down now. Well, I tried to convince myself that I can't feel the pain. So get up with whiskey and I walk out in the rain, stumble down the street while I scream and shout. When the truth is, I'm just lonesome down now. Yeah, when the truth is, I'm just lonesome down now.

Speaker 1: 26:39

Well, damn, I'm a fan. Like this is that sounds wonderful in this room. Like your voice is amazing. I think this is the first time that I've ever seen you play live, so this is a treat for me and it's a treat that you're here playing for the listeners. Right? Do you come from a musical family or not so much.

Speaker 3: 27:04

I do, my dad and all my uncles play. My maternal grandmother played piano and she had a deep voice, but my dad and all his brothers have Vince Gill voices a nice tenor voice very good Vince Gill voices and they all play and they're all, it's all boys. I'm the only girl at the camp by her playing loud and deep.

Speaker 2: 27:27

They're like where the hell did you?

Speaker 4: 27:29

get that.

Speaker 1: 27:30

They only need one of you, though. I mean you carry your weight, so good for you. It's always nice to hear the vulnerable side of the artist and there's nothing like a good acoustic song to really expose the artist like that, and it exposed your talent very nicely, thank you. Do you remember when you were growing up, like when you kind of discovered that you had a vocal talent? Do you remember that, like how old you were, or did you never give it any thought?

Speaker 3: 28:00

I did. I was such a daddy's girl, honestly, and whatever he did I wanted to do. And watching him sing and play, I was like gosh, I want to do that. And then I kind of just didn't think much of it. I tried to learn guitar and I was like this is too much, like no thanks. And I remember being about 12 and my dad was cleaning out the attic. He was like what do you want to be when you grow up? I was like I want to be a famous singer, you know. And I didn't even play guitar or like try to do anything to go to do that. But about 22 years old is whenever I finally was like okay, I'm gonna try. So I was about 12.

Speaker 1: 28:37

Do you remember how old you were when you played out I guess let's call it professionally for the first time where you went out and found your first paid gig? Do you remember how old you were?

Speaker 3: 28:47

I was 22 22.

Speaker 1: 28:48

Okay, so a young 20 yeah.

Speaker 3: 28:51

Yeah, no, maybe 23.

Speaker 1: 28:52

Okay.

Speaker 3: 28:53

Sorry, let me take all those 20's back. It was 23. I was playing with Heather and Presley Lewis Heather Eileen, presley Lewis at Tumbleweed in the some on the back of some semi truck trailer for a benefit. Okay, so I don't know if that's professional but my god, I was there.

Speaker 1: 29:12

Well, you got a paycheck. Did you get a paycheck? Well, it's a benefit.

Speaker 2: 29:15

Well, okay, okay, fair enough fair enough.

Speaker 1: 29:17

I was gonna say you'd be a real douche if you got a paycheck and a benefit. Right, did I?

Speaker 2: 29:22

say that Hold on.

Speaker 1: 29:25

If you got paid, you don't tell anybody about that right.

Speaker 3: 29:28

Yeah, never been paid for the benefit.

Speaker 1: 29:30

Exactly, there you go. I missed that word, that operative word, that key word there was. It was important that I shouldn't have missed that. But so how many shows at your peak, like when you were really playing a lot? Do you remember about how many shows you were playing a year on average?

Speaker 3: 29:51

No, at least three to four shows a week.

Speaker 1: 29:55

Okay, yeah, that's a lot.

Speaker 3: 29:56

Yeah, it was a lot.

Speaker 1: 29:57

And that was a full. Was that a full-time job for you? At one time? It was playing professionally and okay.

Speaker 3: 30:03

I went to school to do nails. I don't know why I picked to do nails, but I did and I just wanted something, I think, to finish quickly. And I was like you know what, I'll go do nails and I'm such not a girly girl so it was really an awkward job for me. When I was like what? But? Um, I quit. I only did it from like a year. So I used my little tech license for a year that cost like six grand for my dad and I was like I'm quitting. I dropped out of college. I was going to college to do something. I could never figure out what I was going to do and I was like this is it? I'm going to just go play music. And my mom's like you're really messing up here.

Speaker 2: 30:42

What a rebel, what a rebel.

Speaker 3: 30:44

I was having the time of my damn life.

Speaker 1: 30:46

She's a tattooed rebel, I'm telling you. I think you just have to kind of do what you feel is right and your heart will always guide you. You know, I think so many parents preach I don't know I'll probably get in trouble for saying this but so many parents preach go to college, get to college degree. But you know what? School is not for everybody and you don't necessarily have to have a college degree to be very successful, even monetarily right. I know a lot of people that make a lot of money that don't have a master's degree.

Speaker 1: 31:21

And you know, I hear guys like Jeff Canada, who was on my show. You know he's pretty vocal about the struggle of music and you know, there he'll tell you that he's not making a million dollars a year, but it's what he loves to do. It's the passion. And I think when you have that passion you just try to see it through, regardless of whether you're making, you know, $400,000 a year or $40,000 a year. It's that passion that drives you and that's where your heart is and you love to do it. So you accept it, right? Yeah? Whereas a lot of people think oh well, I have to, I have to have a job that pays me $350,000 a year. That's the only way I'm going to be happy. But money doesn't necessarily always bring happiness.

Speaker 3: 32:07

It doesn't. I mean, it makes things a whole lot easier. I'll tell you.

Speaker 1: 32:12

Well, yeah, you're right, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all.

Speaker 3: 32:16

I wouldn't be mad driving around a Bentley, of course not.

Speaker 1: 32:19

Of course you wouldn't. You're a woman. Of course you wouldn't mind driving around a Bentley.

Speaker 3: 32:25

I'm going to look pissed the whole time.

Speaker 1: 32:27

I hate this Bentley Right. Is there anything new and exciting coming up for you as it relates to shows, maybe like a new location or maybe new music that might be coming up, that you're writing, that you're thinking about recording? Is there anything that you can share with the listeners?

Speaker 3: 32:49

I am actually currently writing and I plan to, by the beginning of next year, start to put it all together and get into a studio. I've talked to some friends and we're going to get that set up. Also, I just it's probably not a big deal to everybody else, but to me it was cool. I just signed a contract with a middle light rodeo, the Houston rodeo. I'm going to play in there on March. Very cool, yeah, march. So I'm excited about that. Yeah, I love playing the rodeo.

Speaker 1: 33:20

I've never played the rodeo.

Speaker 3: 33:22

I played the USO tent and like some other ones, like way back in the day, but I'm in Miller light now Like.

Speaker 4: 33:26

I'm drinking Right.

Speaker 1: 33:29

There's got to be some fringe benefits to that. I'm thinking right the cook off, I got to take it for you. Yeah, I don't know you know what that sounds. Really cool of you to offer that. And I was just going to tell you when I said that I've never played the cook off, I'm not a crowd guy like that, like you can almost give that ticket probably to somebody else. Thank you, I love you so much, jesse, you're so sweet for offered but, I do not want to go down to the cook off.

Speaker 1: 34:00

I will come support you at any other place, but probably the cook off too many Getting there is the most anxiety written there. I promise myself in these interviews that I will not go down and start moaning and bitching about things, but I am so not. You're not coming. I'm not coming.

Speaker 3: 34:19

I'm going to answer it.

Speaker 4: 34:22

Send you a ticket.

Speaker 1: 34:23

Yeah, don't send me a ticket. You know what I don't know. I'm like, you know, I surprise people sometime. I'm just not into fighting hours of nonsense for something Right. I mean. It's just too many people for me, and when you combine like drinking with that many people, it's just nothing ever good really seems to come out of that.

Speaker 3: 34:46

I normally get in and get out.

Speaker 1: 34:49

Just to be honest, it's probably an age thing for me I'm not 22 anymore Like if you would have said hey, randy, I got a ticket for you, you know, 15, 20 years ago. I'm like you have two. I've got buddies that want to come Like I would have totally been there, but now it's like nah.

Speaker 3: 35:04

I have another show that you would come to.

Speaker 1: 35:07

How many people are going to be there? Not a lot.

Speaker 3: 35:10

It's an old town theater in Huntsville I completely just space out and it's a huge show for me, I would come to that.

Speaker 1: 35:15

I'm so stoked. I would love to come to that I got to watch Patty Loveless.

Speaker 3: 35:19

Wait, is that her name? One of those ladies? Sure, I got to watch her play up there in June. And Pam Tillis, sorry, oh, pam.

Speaker 2: 35:29

Tillis, pam Tillis.

Speaker 3: 35:31

And it's like an old theater, like a real old school theater. They got the rafters up here opening up for Sundance, oh cool.

Speaker 1: 35:38

Yeah, so I would love to see that.

Speaker 3: 35:39

I would love to see that I watched her and I got to meet the lady that books up there. She was at the Big E and she's like you're amazing, I would love to have you, isn't?

Speaker 1: 35:46

that cool.

Speaker 3: 35:47

And then she finally did book me with Sundance I love Sundance.

Speaker 1: 35:51

I'm stoked about that one. I forgot that's awesome. I've talked to Sundance about coming onto the show and he agreed, but we've never lined it out from a timing perspective. But yeah, I would totally come up there and you don't even have to leave me a ticket. I so love to support my fellow artists by. I've had some great names on my show and they're like can I send a record? Can I blah, blah, blah? I'm like can I just buy it? I'd like to buy a copy. That's just what I do. I like to support you guys, the artists, my peers. So you tell me when and I would definitely love to come.

Speaker 3: 36:28

January 17th.

Speaker 1: 36:29

January 17th Old Town.

Speaker 3: 36:30

Theater in Huntsville.

Speaker 1: 36:31

Right and what else from a show perspective. So you got the Miller Lite thing coming up in March, the Huntsville Theater, Anything else in and around the Greater Houston area.

Speaker 3: 36:42

I just finished my VFW tour, so I did play a lot of VFWs this summer, did you really?

Speaker 1: 36:49

Yeah, how were those?

Speaker 3: 36:51

They were fun. It was always like some event, of course Fundraiser event, but so fun, I don't know. That was funny. Yeah, no, not that I mean. There's my normal ones. I'll be a biggie once a month. I'm not exactly sure of those dates it would take me 20 minutes to pull those up. I'm sure iPhones are tricky, but those are my two big ones as of right now that I can think of. If, god forbid, I missed one, I might get pitched out later, but yeah.

Speaker 1: 37:22

Are you interested in ever I think, the one at Mahoney's up in the woodlands on the waterway. Would you ever be interested in song swapping with me? And I think that would be a great show for you because it's closer to your house but yet it's in the city kind of thing. Yeah, exactly Straight there from work.

Speaker 1: 37:40

Yes, I would love that. Let me know I'm going to have my friend Sandy June, who's a charting artist right now, and she's going to be song swapping with me on January 11. But I think I've got another show there in February, so maybe February I would love one you and I can do something with Chris 100%.

Speaker 3: 37:58

Yeah, I'll be there. You tell me when Is it? Like a Thursday.

Speaker 1: 38:01

It's a Thursday from 8 to 11. Yeah, a little late for me, but cool place and it's probably about as close as I play to where you live. So where can the listeners find you on social media if they wanted to look up all things, jesse Roach?

Speaker 3: 38:20

So you can go to my music page on Facebook. It's Jesse Roach Music and my Instagram is JesseRoachTexasMusic, I believe.

Speaker 1: 38:32

Sorry, I'll correct you there. You are close, but it's Jesse Roach, Texas underscore music.

Speaker 2: 38:40

OK.

Speaker 1: 38:41

Specifically Roach and I'm sure, as you type in Jesse Roach, texas, that the rest would kind of propagate itself out. But if somebody is specifically looking, there's an underscore in between Texas and music. Well, jesse, listen. I appreciate you coming to the studio all the way from the Woodlands and sharing your story. It's great to get your name out there and let the listeners hear a little bit about what you have going on. You have some stuff out on Spotify that can be listened to and I think you have some older stuff on floating around on YouTube, which is where I saw you. It's some of the rebel stuff, but it was good. I loved it. I think the other listeners would would definitely love it too. But thanks for sharing your story and your chat about your personal life and the American Idol tenured time. That was fun. It's good to hear kind of the behind the scenes, because us civilians don't get to see that side of the show, so it's really cool. So thanks for being here.

Speaker 3: 39:48

I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. I had a good time. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 39:50

It's my pleasure. I hope you like sharing. Subscribe to the podcast on Facebook at backstage pass radio. Podcast on Instagram at backstage pass radio and on the website at backstage pass radio dot com. And Jesse, I guess, while I'm thinking about it, I'm going to pick on you one more time and ask you if you maybe grab the guitar and play us out. Absolutely Awesome.

Speaker 3: 40:13

Okay, so this song is called Angel Wings. When I lived out in Cyprus, I played this every bar there was on Jones Road, honestly, and there was always this picture on the wall wherever I went, some with jerseys and a shot glass on top. But it was one of their main bartenders at all these bars and her name was Jessica and I was like who's this girl? She's at every bar I play at, like her picture.

Speaker 3: 40:39

Well, she passed away in a motorcycle accident, tragically, and I was playing at whatever bar, right, like I don't know, probably eight years ago, and they were coming from our funeral and they were giving me some of her words that she had written before she passed and they're like, if you can use it, you know, maybe write a song about it. And I kind of got to know the town and one morning I woke up and I wrote the song in like 10 minutes. I have literally been holding onto these words for six months, but it's called Angel Wings and that was kind of what her poem or whatever that she wrote was about and how she believed in this and she believed in that, you know, and it made her look like a girl, her life grade or whatever. So this is what I wrote about her.

Speaker 4: 41:56

And you know when you give a song on your own, when you give a song like this to someone, another child without their mom. She believed that life is short. You better make it sweet in the rainbow dream. That ain't worth chasing. Oh, yeah, she believed that a photograph showed you love, lived and laughed. She believed in a lot of things. Oh, I bet it was hard to hide them. Angel wings the jukebox based her favorite song and everyone stops and sings along. Ain't it funny how a melody can bring you back to a memory. It's like she's standing here next to me, but heaven ain't too far away. We'll see you again some sunny day. Yeah, oh, she believed that life is short. You better make it sweet in the rainbow dream. That ain't worth chasing. Oh yeah, she believed that a photograph showed you love lived and laughed.

Speaker 4: 43:54

She believed in a lot of things. Oh, I bet it was hard to hide them. Angel wings Well, daddy gave away his little girl today, but without a wedding gown, and everyone in town gathers around to pray. As they lower in the ground, he wipes the tears from his eyes, yeah, and reads her last words lying for life. But she believed that life is short. You better make it sweet. In the photograph showed you love, lived and laughed. She believed in a lot of things. Oh, I bet it was hard to hide them angel wings. She believed that life is short. You better make it sweet. In the photograph showed you love, lived and laughed. She believed that live your lives like you were dying.

Speaker 1: 45:48

Yeah, you know what's funny is you know you're gonna hit that in the microphone, or what I mean? Go ahead, hit it in the microphone, come on.

Speaker 3: 46:21

Montana will laugh.

Speaker 1: 46:22

Yeah, montana, what was that? She's stinking up my whole studio here. Just kidding, I forgot what we were, even talking about Jesus.

Speaker 3: 46:35

I'm a sucker for sad songs.

Speaker 1: 46:36

Oh, I agree with you 100%. Like I'm the, the melancholy guy, like I love the dark or the, you know just the sad dark, because I think it's. It's just. Those are straight to the heart songs for me. And Terry, my wife is always like what are you going to play at your show tonight? You should. It's Friday night, people are excited to be off work. You should play something upbeat.

Speaker 3: 47:05

Every time they said to me I'm like hey.

Speaker 1: 47:07

I'm with you, it's like 20 more sad songs.

Speaker 1: 47:10

I know, and I and I try to tell her. It's like you can't tell an artist how to paint the canvas right. It's like they have to go and play what they feel and that emotion will come out. Those songs resonate like it may be me and you might be the only two, but actually. But no, I would be lying if I said that because I've had so many artists that I've had on the show that say you know, I'm just a sucker for the, for the melon, like I love the dark, depressing stuff, because it just hits different somehow. It just hits different, you know some kind of I love it.

Speaker 3: 47:49

I do all of Chris Stableton's sad songs.

Speaker 1: 47:51

Yeah, and I drawn to that for some reason.

Speaker 3: 47:54

He'll, there is upbeat songs, but I just don't, I can't. I mean, don't get me wrong, I will rock out if necessary, but I rather, if I must sit down and sing you a song, it's going to be. You're going to like want to cry maybe for a minute, or like be a little sad for a second at least.

Speaker 1: 48:11

Well, I made the comment kind of off the record to the listeners that are listening, that you know that you had a Nashville like I mean, you could, you could be a star, I think. But I think it's that song that really resonated. I'm like it's touching to me, it's deep, it's dark and it's a connection that you draw to. If you said, Randy, I'm going to play something by Bruno Mars, you're going to want to get up and dance. Like it wouldn't hit me the same way. Like Bruno Mars is fine, there's no.

Speaker 1: 48:44

Mars, but I prefer the, you know. Let me go jump off of a bridge right now, Just me.

Speaker 2: 48:52

It's just my preference.

Speaker 1: 48:54

So, but it's nice to have somebody sitting across the table that actually kind of concurs with my sentiment.

Speaker 3: 48:59

Right, it's funny because you're like. You were like the rebel rocker, but I'm singing sad cry songs like John Prine, yes.

Speaker 4: 49:08

I love that.

Speaker 1: 49:11

Well, you guys, listen, take care of yourselves and each other, and we'll see you right back here on the next episode of backstage pass radio.

Speaker 2: 49:18

Thanks so much for joining us. We hope you enjoyed today's episode of backstage pass radio. Make sure to follow Randy on Facebook and Instagram at Randy Halsey music and on Twitter at our Halsey music. Also make sure to like, subscribe and turn on alerts for upcoming podcasts. If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to share the link with a friend and tell them backstage pass radio is the best show on the web for everything music. We'll see you next time right here on backstage pass radio.