WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT WORKING WITH CHIC?
The best things about playing at CHIC include being able to make music with some of the best musicians I’ve ever met, including the band we’ve had for the last five years, and having the chance to share in the happiness of the audience. I’ve also gotten to see a lot of really amazing places that I probably never would have seen otherwise.
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST DIFFICULT?
The rigors of travel, which are at an all time high these days.
WHEN DID YOU START WORKING WITH CHIC/NILES? AND HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?
I started working with Nile in March of 1988. I interviewed for about two years for several different jobs with a company called “New England Digital” that made a proprietary computer musical instrument called the Synclavier. They never hired me, but when Nile Rodgers called them (being a user of his instrument) asking for a qualified programmer who could play keyboards, they kindly recommended me and that was it, I accepted.
IF YOU DID NOT WORK WITH CHIC, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
When I started with Nile, I was teaching at a small university and going back to graduate school for a master’s degree. I hope to return to teaching one day. I really want to work with young people.
CHIC ARE ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SEE, WHAT IS THE SECRET?
A tireless dedication to offer the best possible show every night. There’s a lot of trust and love on stage, and it seems to translate to the audience, based on the things they tell me. One cannot underestimate the value of the incredible repertoire we have been given to play as a major contributing factor in making all of this possible.
IS THE RUMOR AROUND THAT CHIC IS WORKING ON RELEASING AN ALBUM IN COLLABORATION WITH DAFT PUNK? IS THIS TRUE?
I can’t talk about ongoing projects.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TECHNIQUE?
Adequate, but not great. I do a lot of things pretty well, but maybe none of them are “cool”. CHIC players are all much more successful than me. My skills are spread across several different disciplines in my work, so my playing technique sometimes doesn’t get the attention it otherwise deserves. I’m lucky that music has always been pretty easy for me.
YOU ALWAYS LOOK SO HAPPY AND OPTIMIZED ON STAGE! WHY IS THAT?
Because I find the privilege of playing this music and sharing the happiness of the audience quite overwhelming. Playing this music on CHIC is amazing stuff, and I try to let that wash over me as much as possible while we’re doing it.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENT?
I would try to take advantage less of the anger and more of the love I feel. There are a few other things specific to my relationships that I wish I had done better.
IF YOU WERE NOT BORN IN THIS CENTURY, WHEN AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE LIVED?
I am happy to be here now. I don’t think much in terms of “what if”. That being said, hearing Art Tatum, Beethoven and Chopin play would have been very nice.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS/MUSICIANS AND WHY?
I’m really not good at favorites lists. I listen and watch many things and I really like them. My list would be in the top 100, and not limited to a few particular styles of music and/or art.
WHO ARE YOUR LESS FAVORITE ARTISTS/MUSICIANS AND WHY? (YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO!!)
In general, those who contribute with all their power to the degradation of society and the people who make it up. Fanatics, suitors. People who didn’t work for it, and society handed it to them.
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?
Learn more about the world, the people in it, and about my work. I learn a lot on my own, not limited to music or technology. I like to cook and spend time with my wife and children. I don’t watch a lot of TV, mostly some sports and history. I read a lot and spend a lot of time with computers and devices.
ARE YOU POLITICALLY ACTIVE?
More in mind than body, but yes, I find myself more and more horrified by the world situation as I get older.
DO YOU DO ANY VOLUNTEER WORK?
Yes, I try to get involved in the aspirations of young musicians as much as I can, I’m sure there’s a lot more I could do. I involve myself as much as possible in my children’s musical adventures, usually without being directly involved with them. That takes many forms; advice on equipment and help with purchasing, attending shows and sometimes recording the shows. When they were in the marching band, I was the unofficial videographer for the band, posting videos so the band could benefit from seeing their work.
As a bonus, it turned out that the families of the band members from all over the world watched these videos to see their relatives perform at a high level. I get comments all the time about how “grandma in Phoenix” watches every video and looks forward to it every week.
Also, because of my children’s music, I meet a lot of young people here at home and we talk. I like to think they find it easy to talk to me. I like to talk to them.
HOW HAS AMERICAN MUSIC CHANGED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS?
This topic could fill a book, but it has briefly gone down the rabbit hole caused by the democratization of the music-making process. Conversely, there’s also been a resurgence of people interested in live interaction between musicians, so that’s a good part. We are still trying to recover from the effects of machine-driven music making that became popular in the 1980s and continued on.
WHAT IS THE SIDE OF YOU THAT THE PUBLIC NEVER SEE?
The angry, bitter, alienated side. At least I hope they never see it. He is not doing me (or them) any good.
HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED AS A PERFORMER/ARRANGER?
I am more aware of the role I am expected to play as a performer and am more involved in embracing it for the benefit of the whole team. I trust more easily now and I forgive more easily.
HOW HARD DO YOU WORK?
I insist on staying active with learning new things. I get a lot of competition for what I do from younger, hipper, more culturally adept people, and the numbers are growing every year. I meet them at college seminars and at trade shows.
I believe that the only way to stay current and involved is to continue to grow by bringing my long experience in the business in combination with the knowledge and techniques that I am acquiring now. Many things can be done today that, even a few years ago, were considered impossible. I can’t keep still; I have to keep moving forward with knowledge to stay in the game at my age.
WHEN ARE YOU COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH YOUR WORK?
I always feel like there is something I could do or have done to make it better. I think being “satisfied with one’s work” is a harbinger of doom, artistically. That being said, if it all ended tomorrow, I’d walk away feeling like I’ve had a hot streak.
WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE SOMETHING A PERFECTIONIST?
There is nothing worth doing that is not worth doing well. If you call that perfectionism, then I guess so.
WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD AS A DAD?
I have two wonderful children, James and Corey. James just graduated with two bachelor’s degrees, cum laude, from Western Connecticut State University. He received a special recognition from the MIS department for outstanding achievement. He is working in the computer field and is doing fantastically well.
Corey attends Music College in Ithaca, NY. He is a recording student with percussion as his main instrument. His first semester he was named section chief of the symphonic band’s percussion section, and both semesters he was on the deans list. He played a fantastic recital his first year and recorded dozens of concerts. He is also doing amazingly well and is well liked by his teachers and his friends.
WHAT IS THE MAGIC FORMULA FOR SUCCESS?
Find something you enjoy doing and find a way to make it fit into your life appropriately. That may mean making a living out of it, or it may not. Don’t let others define who you are and what you should be. Success, to me, is finding a place of comfort and happiness in one’s life without harming your own, no matter how it manifests itself. It’s not about fame and fortune. I know too many famous and rich people who are not happy.
Also, for me, having good relationships with the people of the world, both at home and “out there”, also helps to balance life and points of view. In my own life, it is very important.
Author’s note: I was lucky enough to be invited to see Chic perform at Kew Gardens in the summer of 2012. The music lifted me off the lawn! I met Rich Hilton, one of the nicest, down-to-earth guys you could ever meet, Richard’s joy on and off stage is contagious, and he and Nile Rodgers have worked together for decades. What a blessing for soul/funk/disco music lovers like me!
