Rock ‘n’ roll star (From Watford Observer)

Rock ‘n’ roll star

10:18am Tuesday 23rd June 2009 in

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Roger McGuinn was frontman of The Byrds, one of the most popular and influential bands of all time. He talks to Nick Elvin ahead of his solo performance at the Alban Arena.

THE BYRDS have often been described as the “American Beatles”. Yet their iconic sound, a blend of jingly-jangly guitars and tight vocal harmonies, meant that for many people it was this fab five who provided the soundtrack to their 60s experience.

Chief architect of this sound was the group’s frontman Roger McGuinn, whose intention it was to combine the popular music of the British Invasion with contemporary folk.

“I had this idea of going for a vocal somewhere between John Lennon and Bob Dylan,” says Roger. “But you've got to get to a place where you're inspired by them but not imitating them.”

It was hearing Elvis’ Heartbreak Hotel that had originally prompted the teenage Jim McGuinn (he changed his name to Roger in the 1960s) to learn the guitar and become a musician.

“That was the spark plug,” he remembers. “I'd never heard anything like it. It was a sense of excitement and wonder.”

Prior to forming The Byrds, Chicago-born Roger worked with the likes of Bobby Darin. He first met Gene Clark while playing Californian folk clubs, and with the later addition of David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, The Byrds began to take flight.

The band enjoyed a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, starting with 1965’s Mr Tambourine Man, and also including Eight Miles High, Turn! Turn! Turn! and So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star.

They formed friendships with the likes of Bob Dylan and The Beatles, while in his Comeback Special, Elvis said groups he liked included The Byrds (although he pronounced it “beards”).

“He was so big that nobody would correct him. It's like if the Queen said something wrong,” says Roger. “But he (Presley) wasn't the same by then. John Lennon asked him what had happened to all the great songs, and Elvis said he was concentrating on movies. I think I was more delighted when The Beatles said The Byrds were their favourite group.”

The band split in 1973, by which time Roger was the only original member remaining.

As well as featuring Byrds songs, Roger’s current solo tour takes him back to his folk roots and includes material from his 2002 Grammy nominated project Treasures From the Folk Den. His Folk Den website is a repository of traditional songs, and he says it is vital to keep these alive.

“It's very important, it's like preserving all those Victorian buildings from being turned into steel and glass monstrosities,” he says.

Roger, 66, now lives in Florida, where he moved to get away from the pollution of Southern California. A supporter of the green movement, he admires the likes of Bruce Springsteen for using music as a way of getting that message across. However, he says protest music is nowhere near as prevalent as back in the 1960s.

“I don't see a lot of musicians being political these days,” he adds. “I think it has moved more to blogging.”

He says another change in the music industry is the effect of shows like American Idol.

“I'm not happy about that,” he says. “It’s like you can get famous without paying your dues or by just having limited talent and people will vote for you.”

With this in mind, would Roger have to alter the lyrics to So You Want to be a Rock ’n’ Roll Star were he writing the song today?

“It should say, just get yourself on American Idol and get all your friends to call in and vote for you,” he laughs.

But he believes there is plenty of talent around, and that new media allows artists to release their own work and get the recognition they deserve.

“You used to have to go to the big record companies to get your music out there,” he says. “Distribution wise, you had to pay for a promoter to get it on the radio stations.

“You don't have to do that anymore.”

Roger McGuinn comes to the Alban Arena Tuesday June 30, 8pm. Tickets: 01727 844488, www.alban-arena.co.uk (£24.50).