Joe Auger Unplugged

Joe Auger doesn't have much time to spare from his duties as Media Services Manager at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. When he isn't handling and troubleshooting equipment, Joe devotes his spare hours to his second love: music. He is an unabashed Monkees and Beatles fan. BSRR managed to get Joe to slow down long enough recently to explain:


JOE AUGER:
My first musical memory is of Mickey Dolenz singing "I'm A Believer" and I would have been almost 2 years old when it first came out. As my sister was a big Monkees and Beatles fan, I was exposed to both groups both musically and visually.


BSRR:
What was it about the Beatles/Monkees sound that attracted you as a kid?


JOE AUGER:
The things that caught my ears for both bands were the vocals and harmonies especially and also the drums which were my first instrumental obsession! Vocally, between all of the members , there are very distinct sounds and styles of singing that when harmonizing together create this whole other unearthly sound that is like food from the Gods! I could subsist eternally on the harmonies of "Nowhere Man" or "Pleasant Valley Sunday"!


BSRR:
What instruments do you play beside the drums?


JOE AUGER:
Primarily guitars and other stringed instruments but also bass,drums, keyboards,saxes, flute,clarinet, and cello.


BSRR:
I guess when it comes to studio time, you are sort of a one man band.


JOE AUGER:
I know the rudiments of how to play most instruments so though I am not proficient on any one thing I can create a part and then learn to play it for the recordings.

BSRR:
How would you describe the local music scene in Rhode Island?

JOE AUGER:
The local scene is fairly scattered as there are not the venues to play that there used to be. There is a bit of an open mike culture.

BSRR:
How often do you practice?

JOE AUGER:
I don't practice a lot to be frank. I rehearse with the band Anne's Cordial that I play percussion for but my own stuff tends to get worked out at the open mike that I host on Wednesdays at the Everyman in Providence

Speaking of recordings, Joe has four available on his my space page - "Love (And Such)", "The Invisible Years", "Taken Monaurally" and "Taken Aurally". Before you categorize Joe's musical tastes as "totally pop", you might want to check his "desert island" list of top 20 albums ranging from The Moody Blues to Black Sabbath. He also pays homage to Tim Buckley's "Happy Sad" , Syd Barrett's "Madcap Laughs", and "We're Only In It For The Money" by the Mothers of Invention. All three artists have subcultural status, Buckley drowning in - of all places - the Mississippi River outside Memphis just as his career was starting to take off, Barrett teetering between insanity and genius as co-creator of Pink Floyd, and Zappa's relentless pursuit of stitching together musicians and modes to come up with something original.

Check out Joe Auger's extensive collection of music,musings ,videos and a lot more at www.myspace.com/joeauger. With the music industry fragmenting and the availability of social media, talented independent artists like Joe Auger are creating a very viable alternative to the Billboard "charts".

Just remember that, when it comes to Joe's "day" job, - as Bo Diddley puts it:" Don't judge a book by looking at the cover" !!!