Mann's Man

The following feature has been reproduced from the October 1998 edition of Guitarist, with kind permission from Guitarist magazine

As well as 25 years in Manfred Mann's ever-popular Earthband, guitarist Mick Rogers has played with Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa and Joan Armatrading. Andie Cayne prepares for some choice anecdotes.

Mick Rogers' first guitar was a tenth birthday present from his Dad. Although he claims he found it difficult to play at first, he was encouraged by his musical family to persevere.

"I'd already messed about with my uncle's double bass for a while, so I taught myself some chord shapes and played in my dad's band. Dad was a drummer, and uncle Ernie, who also played electric bass and guitar, donated another guitar."

He's Cool for Strats…

"The first guitar I really loved was a Strat I got in the late 1960's. I also used a Gibson SG and then a Les Paul for a while but I went back to playing Strats. I guess you could say I was always a Strat cat."

"It used to be a Sunburst but I sprayed it pink so it would look more like Hank Marvin's. I am a great fan of Hank's."

Several years on, and Mick's first serious band was the ImpActs who backed Adam Faith and Gene Pitney. He was then asked to join Normie Rowe and The Playboys. Hesitant at first, he soon realised that it was the right move, and would propel him toward an upward career spiral.

"I was told they were big in Australia and I thought 'oh yeah' but when we arrived in Sydney there were about 2,000 kids waiting for us at the airport!"

Mick's next band, Procession, scored several hits down under and earned themselves a deal in the UK. Their producer Mike Hugg just happened to be Manfred Mann's drummer. Manfred himself went to see Mick sing, liked what he heard and called Mick back from Australia to front his new rock formation and the Earthband was born. Success followed swiftly with the album 'Solar Fire' (the Earthband's answer to 'Dark Side OF The Moon') spawning a top ten single in 'Joybringer', and also including the first recording of their version of Bob Dylan's 'Father of Day, Father of Night.' Yet the popularity and assured longevity of Manfred Mann's Earthband always had its basis in live performance, hence the recent release of 'Mann Alive', a live album recorded on the 1996/97 European Tour. It showcases Mick, Manfred and the guys in blistering form – the group were so regularly called back for encores on tour that they had to make it a double CD.

Anyone for tennis?

Besides his ongoing work with the Earthband, Mick has performed with many famous artists, including Joan Armatrading and Dave Greenslade who, on a couple of occasions, used a very young Simon Philips on drums. In his spare time he may play a game of tennis or two, sometimes with very worthy opponents.

"About three years ago, I was invited to play a tennis tournament at Jeff Beck's house. Some of the other musicians were dressed up as women. Imagine these long-haired guys with their hair in pleats, hairy legs, wearing little skirts and playing the doubles! I actually beat Jeff and when he walked over and shook my hand he said 'well played… you bastard'. I almost felt like I'd upset him so I was going to leave, but luckily I stayed on and got a chance to jam with Jeff later. Jimmy Copley of Tears For Fears was on drums and I started to play this riff, an old Gene Vincent tune. Jeff came over, really pleased that I knew it. I guess I was forgiven."

Meeting Frank Zappa was another highlight in Mick's career.

"We were on a tour in the States supporting Zappa's band: George Duke on keys, Chester Thompson on drums and Tom Fowler on bass. I remember checking them out in rehearsal and being amazed at how all this highly complicated stuff was being played with such precision. Little did I know that soon it was my turn! Tom couldn't make one of the gigs, and they asked our bassist Colin Pattenden if he could stand in. I was a huge Zappa fan and knew most of the tunes inside out, so it was suggested that I join in too. We experimented with the line-up in soundcheck – the first tune was from 'Apostrophe' and I'll never forget Frank's face when I just started up with the riff! So that night I came off stage after our set, changed, borrowed Colin's Rickenbacker and played a two and a half hour set with Frank. It was fantastic. I had to busk my way through all the intricate stuff but it was great to be on stage with those guys. Zappa's manager approached me afterwards, offering me money for the gig! It was the greatest night of my life, I should have paid him! Even so, he insisted on giving me the money and so I bought a Les Paul with it."

In addition to his already impressive CV, Mick was once almost in Uriah Heep, but things didn't come together.

"I went to Ken Hensley's house and we wrote some stuff, but that was as far as it got, although I'd already been paid some publishing money. Those high rock vocals weren't really for me!"

Mick's great stacks of fire

"The first amp I owned was a Truevoice which I thought was massive, but compared to amps today it had the power of a radio. I really got intoAC30s after that, noisy little things they were. In Australia in the 1960's, the closest thing you could get to a Marshall were these stacks called something like Fane. They weren't the most reliable things."

It was during one of Mick's blistering guitar solos which were to become his trademark, that the amp exploded.

"I looked over my shoulder and one of my stacks was on fire. I do consider myself a loud player, but not that liud! At least the other stack managed to last till the end of the gig. After that I used Hi watts, which were pretty cool then, playing only though a MXR phaser. I then played through two marshall 100w JCM 900 Superleads with two 4 x 12 1960 cabs. An Alexis Quadraverb assigned to the outer speakers run through a Marshall preamp and an ADA preset sounded great but it was all a bit too cumbersome, especially for festivals when there's a quick turnaround – it drove my guitar tech mad! I knew what I wanted soundwise and discovered a 50w version of Marshall's 1959 Superlead reissue and with a couple of 1987x 50w Plexi heads, they work like a dream. That's what I use to this day. On the floor I use a Rat pedal, a BOSS Digital Delay and a Dimension C chorus. That's really all one needs."

Guitar shop chops

Earlier this year, Mick was performing at the Hendrix Festival tour which also featured Steve Lukather, Pat Travers and Tony McAlpine.

"This was the first time I'd been out on my own and it was so much fun! I live Steve and we got on great. Every day was like guitar shop, we'd sit backstage exchanging riffs. All of us had a great time because we got off on each other's playing. Tony was the speed king, Pat did the most authentic Hendrix. Steve was great as always. What a player!"

Always busy composing and producing when he's off the road, Mick has just finished writing all the material for his forthcoming solo album and is now working on several ideas for the next Earthband record.

"I've written so much stuff, the hardest thing was selecting the tunes but I've tried to be vigilant. Today TV exposure is also important, so who knows, you might see me on Top Of The Pops yet!"

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