Luxe Beat Magazine SEPTEMBER 2014 | Page 72

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