Below, you can read our interview with Jim Davidson of Rockford Road. Check out our full music review of Rockford Road‘s album Epilogue here.
Q: Great to be speaking with you again, Jim! We last spoke in June of 2021. What have things been like for Rockford Road in the two years since?
A: As has happened to so many, Covid delayed our progress and derailed recording at the studio. We also had one of the guitarists leave the band, and our female singer, Victoria Cottrell moved to Chicago.
Q: Of course we want to talk about your upcoming release “Epilogue”, which you’ve indicated is likely to be the band’s final album. What made you decide to bring things to a close?
A: It was more thrust upon us. Life has taken us all in different directions. Victoria moved and got married, I’m writing novels now, Bob Mahan is working on other projects. It’s possible we may have a resurrection in the future, but if not, we were together longer than The Beatles.
Q: You’ve indicated you feel “Epilogue” is Rockford Road’s finest work yet. What was different this time around that you feel elevates this album above others?
A: Part of it was the coalescence of the band and part was the song writing. We wrote songs specifically for Victoria and delved into more thematic topics. The songs cover the gamut from breakups to lives spent together, from ecology to political commentary, from the need for personal space to addiction. We’re proud of this one.
Q: Looking back over the time Rockford Road has been releasing music, what were the highest points? Are there any lessons or experiences you’ll carry forward from your time together as a band?
A: The most fun times were developing new songs, working them out in the band room, taking them from thought to sound, that was exhilarating. You start out with one sound and within an hour you have morphed it into something different. Your making music and singing words no one ever has before. I will always have a debt of gratitude owed to my band mates for allowing me to join them in this adventure.
Q: Was the creation of “Epilogue” different or more sentimental than previous albums, knowing it may be the last?
A: Well, not because of sentimentality, but the process was elongated in every aspect, delay after delay. The only sad note being we were peaking as a song writing team and as song makers.
Q: Across Rockford Road’s discography, how does “Epilogue” fit into the narrative? Are there any common threads that have run between each project?
A: Expressing life’s lesson’s and the path we have taken to get here are in all of our songs, however, “Epilogue” is more of a touchstone, things gelled so well. The band voted for our “Best 12 Songs of All Time” and six were from this album.
Q: Do you have a favorite track from “Epilogue”, and if so, why?
A: “I’m Doing Fine,” for several reasons…Victoria sings it beautifully, she captured the essence of the words, a cross between vulnerable and defiant. Bob did an amazing job with the arrangement, it’s complex and layered, but not overdone. I somehow captured the raw emotions of a woman going through a tough breakup in the lyrics, still not sure how that happened.
Q: While Rockford Road may be considering stepping away from the music industry, many young musicians are stepping into it for the first time. Do you have any advice for those looking to start their first bands or record their first albums?
A: Play what you like, not to the crowd. It seems people have become so homogenized in music, following the “new and latest thing.” If it comes from somewhere inside you, others will identify with it, we all have the same feelings. It’s all been said a thousand times over, so tell it from your own point of view.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: Thanks for what you do. Perhaps we’ll see you again…someday.
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<< Go to our full music review of Epilogue by Rockford Road
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