Exposed Vocals Interviews Roger Santos

Singer/Songwriter Roger Santos delivers untamed raw and gritty vocals in an hybrid brew of Bruce Springsteen meets Bob Dylan, add a dash of James Bay.

Roger, began his musical journey in High School Chorus and Band, along with a brief stint at the prestigious Berkeley College of Music. Since then, has has worked with a couple of groups, but took a break from it all in 1990 to focus on life. He setteld in Clermont Florida, with his wife in 2014 and is currently working on his overdue debut solo album The Complexity of My Insanity, scheduled to be released in the spring of 2017.

His lyrics, co-writen with his wife Erin Kelley, carry quasy hidden messages of everyday life observations interweaved with poetic images of human nature, rituals and social processes. As a guitarist and composer, he summons the musical stylings of Springstreen and Dylan, in a manner of his own. The perfect foil of delivery for a raw amagam of lyrics, vocals and musical composition.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?  

Roger Santos: I grew up in Lisbon, Portugal and this exposed me to a diversity of musical experiences. When I moved to the U.S. at the age of 14, I was introduced to Rock music, namely KISS and that’s when I realised that I wanted to be a musician and share my work with others.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

  Roger Santos: No one can pronounce my birth name correctly, Roger is my anglicized name. 

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Roger Santos: My father always told me that, whatever I do, I must do it from the heart, all else will follow. I’m not in this for the money or fame, I simply want to share my work with as many people as possible and have fun doing it. If one day I make a dime out of this or get some recognition, I certainly won’t turn it down, but that is not my main goal. 

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Roger Santos: I wish someone would give me some tips. However, if someone asked me for my advice, I’d have to say: Never give up on your dreams.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about? 

Roger Santos: I did when I was younger but not lately. Back in the 80’s many things happened on the road, but I think it is better to simply leave that all where it belongs, in the past. (LOL)

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?  

Roger Santos: Inspiration is really everywhere, for example my wife Erin, came home from food shopping crying one day. At the store, she had met a single mom in her mid 30’s with 3 children and they all live out of her car. She wasn’t begging for money and she didn’t want hand outs, in fact she refused Erin’s help. Imagine the strength and resolution of this mom, to make it alone with out assistance in this world. This was very inspiring to us, so we wrote some lyrics and a song inspired by this nameless mother, will be a part of my The Complexity of My Insanity album.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Roger Santos: I’m amazed and certainly grateful for all the technology available to artists today, and I try to make the most of it all. I absolutely have a website that I created myself which is routinely updated. I also use most of the social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BandCamp, SoundCloud. You can check it all out from my website at Roger-Santos.com. 

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Roger Santos: Well, I don’t think there is anything to be embarrassed by any music, I mean music is music and I listen to just about anything. However, you will find a Tom Jones station on my Pandora App, Erin loves Tom Jones. I don’t know if that’s embarrassing enough though (LOL).

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?  

Roger Santos: Half a Mil and a year off? Hum… I’d finish this project faster, and go out on tour for about 6 to 9 months, all across the U.S. and I’d probably even go see our friends across the big pond. 

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?  

Roger Santos: I literally just upgraded my studio interface and control board about a week ago. I’m a big Focusrite fan so I upgraded to the Clarett 4Pre and I’m giving the Behringer XTouch a try. I usually get my stuff online with SweetWater music, the people there are phenomenal with exceptional customer service, so I’m always looking at the new stuff they get. 

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Roger Santos: On an extremely limited budget, I use everything that doesn’t cost much money. Social Media is usually a great way to start. I’m also ironing out all the details of steaming live shows from my living room, I’m calling it “Live From my Living Room” - I try to think outside the box, everyone does the same old tried element of tours and bar gigs. So, with today’s technology you can reach a much diverse and global audience by using all these tools that have been made available to you. 

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why? 

Roger Santos: That would be scary, and I’d be way too nervous to even try. I’ve jammed with a few people of some stature in the industry, but I was young then. But, I guess I wouldn’t mind doing a duet with Adele or Pink. I love their voices and they are wow, extremely talented! So, I believe it would be safe to say that won’t ever happen any time soon. (LOL) I also wouldn’t mind working with Amy Winehouse, she was a great loss of talent to the world and both Erin and I love her work.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Roger Santos: Well, the Complexity of My Insanity is not completely finished, I’m still working on a few more things, but I am already contemplating my next project, my next album. Over the years I have written so many songs, licks and lyrics that I could probably fill 10 albums with music.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?  

Roger Santos: You mean aside from my day job? Yes, I have to support my creative habits with a day job. (LOL) – But, if I didn’t have to work to meet my responsibilities, I’d paint. I also love woodworking, last year, I made an 8ft long replica of a buddhist temple table and chair. We have a rather large home and Erin needed a large table for the cavernous hallway, so I made it myself.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?  

Roger Santos: Yes I do!!! I was 14 y/o at a Mars store in Hudson, Ma. My first music purchase was KISS Alive and Queen Live Killers LP’s. I could not get home fast enough to get them on the turntable. 

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?  

Roger Santos: As I mentioned before, I’m blessed to have a day job, this affords me the luxury of being able to buy all the things needed to create and record music. 

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2017?  

Roger Santos: In the spring, I expect to release The Complexity of My Insanity, and with enough downloads I might be able to reach my goal of Nielsen’s Top New Artist chart. As I previously mentioned I am also looking to stream live shows from my living room to twitter and Facebook reaching a goal audience that I could never reach if I just did the usual bar/club gigs. So, be looking for that coming soon on twitter and Facebook. Aside from that, I am also looking for a manager that would work well with my personality and someone that I could get along with, not that I don’t get along with people, but someone who understands that they are working for me and not the other way around.