Codetalkers reach back
Codetalker frontman left his job teaching music for the stage.
Published Dec. 8, 2006
The Codetalkers reach way back for their sound. Beyond the legends of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Beyond the genius of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. These guys have gone beyond the scope of most contemporary musicians for the sources of inspiration and greatness, let's say, a good 300 years.
Although the band's frontman Bobby Lee Rodgers claims to have been heavily influenced by jazz greats including Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, what he said has been most influential in his personal development as a musician, and in the development of an individual style, are the works of classical composers, particularly that of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The lead vocalist and guitarist spoke at length about the themes and brilliance of the "improvisation" of Bach, and in his excitement, even went so far as singing a rendition of Fugue in G Minor.
"I learned more from listening to Bach than anything," Rodgers said. "It's everything because it's where harmony started. Just the fact that he invented that stuff out of thin air, he's the greatest musician of all time. When I go back and listen to that, I go, 'That's why I'm doing it.'"
Prior to the band's formation in 1999, Rodgers was a professor at Berklee College of Music, one of the finest and most respected music intuitions in the country. Although he enjoyed teaching, he gave it up to essentially find his greater calling.
"I had a good job there," Rodgers said. "It was a job that most people would kill to have. I always felt like I had sold myself short, not just on a success kind of vibe, but more like there was something that I had to do."
Following his resignation, Rodgers formed the band with southern-alternative legend, Col. Bruce Hampton. Rodgers said Hampton was fundamentally a teacher trying to educate his students and someone who wanted most of all to give the spotlight to his pupils.
"It was all about helping me get my tunes out there," Rodgers said.
He said Hampton served as a mentor for him, and even in the news release put out by the band, Hampton's words mirror Rodgers' feelings.
"It's time for the world to hear him," Hampton stated in the release. "Me, I may or may not be on stage at any given night. That's the way I want it."
The Codetalkers will perform on Sunday at Mojo's and look forward to playing both written and improvised music that Rodgers said comes almost organically to the band. The members have played together extensively, forming bonds so strong that they now know what the other members are doing without even knowing beforehand — they don't even have to count off.
"When we're on the stage, we kind of just let it come to us," Rodgers said. "It's like if you were to sit in a room with your three closest friends of all time, the conversation is just going to start happening. It's just there."
