Victoria musician Jesse Roper often gets crowd surfing at his shows, but that probably won’t be happening much over the next couple weeks as he embarks on a 10 date Home Routes House concert series which stops by Lethbridge, Oct. 23 at Dawn Gray's house.
Roper has had a very successful year, hot on the heels of releasing his CD Red Bird last year.
He has capped it off by making it into the finals of the B.C. Peak Performance Project.
“We just finished our showcase in Vancouver last night,” Roper said, Oct. 13.
“And my Island fans came out in full force. they were crowd surfing. It was a really good show,” he said from his Victoria home.
He enjoyed being part of the Peak Performance, especially at the Boot Camp, where all of the competitors learn the ropes of the music business.
“I was surrounded by my peers. I didn’t feel so stupid and ignorant because everyone there was as stupid and ignorant as I was,” he said.
Even if he doesn’t win the $100,000 first prize, he is happy with the knowledge he gained through PEAK.
“We got as much as we could out of it. It will be nice to take a break and get off the road for a little while and sit in front of the computer to do the boring business end of it,” he added.
He is also looking forward to working on new music and playing it for audiences on his own without the band.
“I love house concerts. It’s like playing an intimate theatre show,” he said.
“I’ve got a pile of new material that I can play for an audience without worrying about having the band up to speed,” he said.
“That’s what I love about house concerts. I can tell stories,” he said.
He is still supporting his most recent CD “Red Bird.”
“ It’s still pretty heavily blues-rock, but there is also reggae,” he said adding his new material has more of a reggae feel.
His first exposure to reggae was s a Bob Marley Legends CD in the car which he heard during a road trip from his brother's wedding.
“The first song was One Love and I said ‘Oh God, that’s so good,’ and Bob Marley and reggae music has been an influence ever since,” he said.
He is excited about the Home Routes tour because he gets to visit a lot of towns he has never been before.
“I’m playing places like Rimbey and Rocky Mountain House in Alberta,” he said.
He hopes Leeroy Stagger will be at his Lethbridge show.
“I met him during the Peak Performance Boot Camp and kept in touch with him, ” he said.
the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.. There is a $20 cover, which goes to Roper. E-mail Dawn Gray for details at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
