New Age
Guitarist
Billy Rogan
Approaching
the Unconscious
By Sherrie Wilkolaski
T
raveling around the world, it
is curious how you meet some
people along the way. A
single solitary incident can
alter your existence and in
the moment that change is taking
place, it may not be evident that
your self-existence is soon to be
transformed. I had such an
experience on my summer holiday in
Nantucket, while staying at The
Summer House, when I met musician
Billy Rogan. This new age guitarist
was vacationing with his mother and
as it turns out, we had some mutual
acquaintances. We ended up running
into each other on several occasions.
Billy had been playing in the bar at
The Summer House restaurant the
first night I arrived and then again
at a private party I attended on my
last night on the island.
His style of playing is not what you
would expect from a typical acoustic
guitar player. He plays a “classical
and modern fingerstyle” and you
would swear there were several
instruments playing at once, as he
strums, picks and blends melody with
rhythm. If you’ve ever seen the video
of Gotye’s acoustic version of
“Somebody That I Used to Know,”
there are five people playing the
song on one guitar. If you close your
eyes when you listen to Billy’s music,
you’ll hear all of the different music
elements coming together; just as if
there were more than one musician
playing at the same time.
After his set, we struck up a
conversation and I was intrigued by
his approach to music. As we delved
deeper into the discussion, I knew I
wanted to interview him. The party
was coming to a close and our group
headed back to the bar. Billy again,
along with a local piano player,
played for guests. He was a huge hit.
We exchanged numbers at the end of
the evening and made arrangements
to follow-up for an interview.
Like any good musician, Billy had
brought with him copies of his CD
A Loss for Words and I picked up
a copy. On my drive home from the
airport the next day, I listened to it
and my mind wandered. It was nice
to sit back and enjoy his music. His
style of playing is not typical of
what you’ll see at the local pub, he
is a well-versed guitarist, known
mostly for his instrumental acoustic
work. My favorite tune on his album
is “Summer Slumber” and it reminds
me of the late Michael Hedge’s style,
particularly what he did on Aerial