Rose, Al - singer/songwriter
By: Dominick A. Miserandino
As a singer/sewing machine, Al Rose counts his influences in all the major food groups....Dylan, Neil Young, Lou Reed, writer Henry Miller, painters Chagall, Soutine...Coltrane...a good strong cup of coffee... a glass of wine... and raw and cooked garlic. Take a look and figure it all out with our interview!
DM) How did you get your start in the music industry?
AR) At the end of college, on the brink of applying to law school, I had a moment of either clarity or insanity.
DM) You left law school to become a musician?
AR) No ..I never even applied. I had a stack of applications on my desk and had just received my test scores.. I couldn't understand why I kept putting off filling them out... all I wanted to do was write songs and sing.
DM) When did you first learn to play music?
AR) I took (or was given) flute lessons, starting when I was ten years old, and I did that seriously for about eight years.
DM) Do you still play the flute?
AR) Yes, but not as much as I would like to...I tend to only play it when I'm doing a live show with the whole band... Logistics of playing solo with my guitar make it difficult to work the flute into the old song-and-dance act... but I'm working on it.
DM) Who were some of your inspirations?
AR) As a singer/sewing machine, I was influenced by all the major food groups....you got your Dylan, your Neil Young, your Lou Reed, but also as a musician, regarding words, Henry Miller, painters Chagall, Soutine...Coltrane...a good strong cup of coffee... a glass of wine...raw and cooked garlic...all big influences.
DM) What exactly is a "singer/sewing machine"?
AR) A little bend on the over-used term "singer/songwriter."
DM) You don't like the term "singer/songwriter"?
AR) It's fine...maybe deep down...I'd rather be a tailor.
DM) So if you weren't into music, you'd be adjusting men's seams?
AR) Seems so (sew)...I'm very sorry about that.
DM) No need to apologize.... so judging from how you talk, I'm finding it hard to tell whether your shows are more fun, or serious.
AR) There's always a sense of fun...and risk...reacting to the moment ...taking the song to a different place if that's what the moment is suggesting...that's why the band is called "The Transcendos."
DM) Are you already working on your next album?
AR) It's almost done...I'll be finishing up the mixes this week...and it will be out this fall...called "Pigeon's Throat."
DM) Why "Pigeon's Throat"?
AR) Well, the title suggests very different things to different people... It doesn't suggest anything other than what someone thinks. Literally, it comes from a letter that Monet wrote in 1884 about the colors he was seeing.
DM) Are you into the arts?
AR) A few people thought it had something to do with my singing voice. I like all the arts...visual, aural, taste ...If there's a sense that's touched in a unique and personal way... I like it.
DM) Well, I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. It's been a pleasure.
AR) Thank you very much.
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