Live And Learn

“I was delighted to get to play on this fine Paris Rogues debut album. It’s such a joy to see new artists develop and do something so cool” ~ Will Kimbrough

“The Paris Rogues have created a beautiful record with songs that are engaging and well performed. Their music matters, and I’m glad to play a small part in what they do. Each of them is soft spoken, and one’s first impression is that they are shy. But don’t be fooled, once they plug in and start playing, they own the room.” ~ Phil Madeira

Peter Rogan and Michael C Parris have a lot in common, hard working men who’ve put in hard time in factory jobs to feed their families. They met at Phil Madeira’s Mercyland Songwriters Workshop in North Carolina, where the emphasis is on co-writing songs, and fostering a creative community. Their common ground added up to a friendship, as well as a wellspring of good songs.

Peter, a Pennsylvanian, is a musician’s musician, quite nimble on guitar, schooled in blues, rock, and jazz, while Michael is a self taught guitarist from the foothills of North Carolina. Due to a freak injury to his left hand, Michael had to get creative when approaching the fretboard, but he has found his way with a homespun style all his own.

Their lyrics cover a lot of territory, and are rife with both sorrow and humor, irony and whimsy. With a new record featuring guests like Kimbrough, Madeira, Ron Stabinsky and Josh Kanusky, the sound is full and organic.

The album features 10 songs, all composed by Parris and Rogan, with some contributing co-writers, blending folk, americana, vintage rock, and blues. The album kicks off with the title track, “Live And Learn (Die And Forget It All)”, which was a phrase spoken by an old co-worker of Parris’ when he had worked on a tobacco farm as a kid. The song features some scorching slide guitar by Will Kimbrough and a resounding choir of vocalists on the huge chorus.

“Hard Livin’” is a song about the every day man just trying to make ends meet as opposed to the over indulgent life and features Phil Madeira on electric piano complimenting the vocal volleys of Parris and Rogan.

“Wake Me Up, Mama” is a funky blues number that was inspired by a Vicky Smith poem about helping her mother clean the house on Saturday mornings when she was a little girl. Rogan is on electric guitar here and in fact, all the guitar work on the album is handled by Rogan except for the aforementioned slide by Will Kimbrough.

“Damn Apple” is based on another Vicky Smith poem about her late brother, which features some beautiful lap steel played by Madeira. “Hold The Light” completes the trio of songs written with Vicky Smith. It’s the story of a little girl who would hold the flashlight for her father while he would work on the family truck or gather night crawlers for fishing in the yard after a soaking rain. It’s a poignant song that features some beautiful piano work by Ron Stabinsky and the tasteful backing of Josh Kanusky on percussion. Rogan’s daughter, Hillary provides the chorus background vocals.

“Another Day In Paradise” is a reggae number inspired by Parris’s time spent in Jamaica in the Peace Corps. “Ol’ Black” is the eulogy of an unwanted horse, owned by real life Australian cowboy, Jesse Jones. A sturdy, but unpretty bush horse Jones purchased for $35 at auction, because no other riders wanted him.

The album’s rocker is “16th and Haak” which is Rogan’s memories of being underage in a local rock'n'roll bar and loving every minute of it. “Big Bear Blues” was inspired by the visit of a bear to an Air B'n'B which Parris and Rogan had rented in Woodstock, Virginia, where they spent a long weekend writing songs in early 2023. It’s the story of a pot smoking bear which on the surface seems to be lighthearted and fun, but in the chorus things go deeper, as Parris weaves in conservationist tones as the bear laments, “the highways making noise in my part of the woods” and “the honey bees and clean water, they ain’t ‘round like they used to be”.

The album closes with “The Gift”, a quiet ballad sung by Parris that was inspired by a dream Rogan had the night before his mother’s death. As Parris sings, “The gift is I can dream while I’m awake” we come to the album’s conclusion and also the seed that started the whole project off. Parris and Rogan both came together in 2021 with their individual dreams of moving forward with their songwriting. By combining their skills, we now get to experience something greater than the sum of its parts, The Paris Rogues.

Individually, both Parris and Rogan have released solo albums. Parris in 2023 with “Honeybee”, and Rogan with “Still Tryin’ To Believe” in 2019 and “Broken Down Love” in 2022. Currently Parris has over 50 000 Spotify plays with a song he co-wrote with Will Kimbrough entitled “Life is Beautiful”. Rogan is a 3 time finalist in the Great American Song Contest and one time winner in the instrumental category in 2017.