Roger Jaeger – It’s My Time

By starrymag | February 12, 2021

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

 

Q) How do you describe your sound?

A) I’d say it’s sort of a pop-alternative hybrid with the occasional sitar part thrown in.

 

Q) I have been listening to your songs and for me they sort of have a rare blend of indie and alternative music. What artists have influenced you as a musician?

A) Yeah! I’ve got various influences – artists like Coldplay, Jeff Buckley, Sting, John Mayer, Jonny Lang, Ben Howard and more.

 

Q) Your single “It’s My Time.” is set to release on Jan 29th, talk about the story behind it.

A) I wrote it with a guy in Nashville named Tripp Weir. We were inspired by our shared musician/music industry lives, how you often can work for years and have little to show as success to the public. The song is in many ways a declaration – “you know what, it IS my time.” I like it because I think it can relate to different people on several different levels, be it career or relationships.

 

Q) I know the song was recorded in Nashville under Producer Paul David, whom has worked with artists like Johnny Lang and Sister Sledge, how was it working with him?

A) Working with Paul was enjoyable. We’d done some smaller things here and there together, but recording the single gave us more time together and we really grew in friendship. Paul has great ideas and really pushes to create the best product he can.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans will connect to?

A) It’s a weird time to release a song like this. I think many of us feel somewhat beat down and at the very least uncertain of what life in the near future holds. So, I guess I’m hoping that people will latch to this song since it sort of flies in the face of our collective pandemic woes.

 

Q) You have traveled all over the United States as well as to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Britain. Is this something that helps with songwriting and creating your music?

A) One interesting thing about traveling the world is that it can tell you how much we’re all alike. The guy in Australia has also been dumped by a girl he’s in love with and would do anything to get back. Or the guy in Ireland who married his high school sweetheart and has stuck it through for the last thirty years. Or there’s someone in India who hasn’t seen their kid in twenty years because of a strong disagreement. It’s all human stuff you can relate with and draw from to write. As far as sound though, India may have the most, since I lived and studied Indian music there. It showed me a slightly different way to look at music and to build melodies.

 

Q) Your music has been featured on MTV, the Discovery Channel and Nascar. Did they approach you directly or what was that process like?

A) I hired a music promotions company that specializes in a few different areas, but we focused primarily on college radio and tv licensing. Their guy landed the contracts with 15 or so shows on all those different networks, but unfortunately those contracts meant that the songs went into music libraries without guarantees of actually being placed. As far as I know, the songs were never actually put in any of the shows and it was a very devastating realization for me! It was; however, one of the life experiences I drew from to write “It’s My Time.”

Recently, my song “Playing to the Wall” got picked up for a movie called Lights, Camera, Romance!,” so that was exciting! Maybe it’s my time after all!

 

Q) Who would you like to collaborate with on a song?

A) Ryan Tedder. Maybe Chris Martin. Those guys are amazing

 

Q) I have been listening to your album Fall off the Earth, my favorite songs are “Love´s Not Safe” and “For Better or For Worse.” Which ones were yours while recording them?

A) Hey cool! My personal favorite song from that album was “Forgot.” It’s odd in that it’s over six minutes long and the second half of it is a jam. The length wasn’t planned that way originally – we tracked it live and when we got to the end of the song we just kept playing until it felt like time to stop. We tracked the vocals and sitar in India a month later and convinced my friend Jose Joseph (who I like to claim as my “Indian dad”) to record some Indian classical vocal runs. I just really love the way it all turned out.

 

Q) Any plans for another full EP coming?

A) The short-term plan is to record a couple more singles this year, but ultimately move towards a new EP. Gotta keep developing that sound!

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?

A) Thank you. It means so much to me that people would listen to what I’ve created. I hope you are touched and inspired!