Interview with Sonoma Wire Works
- December 21st, 2011 - Daniel Codella - Sonoma Wire Works
Artist spotlight by Daniel Codella from Sonoma Wire Works and interview with Frank Rogala about his life as a singer/songwriter and winning a copy of DrumCore at his visit to a TAXI Road Rally.
Rock 'n' roll dreams live fast and die hard
- October 25th, 2002 - Randy Lewis - LA Times
Anyone with a dream should know this: If you work hard enough and just believe in yourself, anything's possible. That, anyway, is the message Hollywood's been selling for decades in movies and TV shows, the same one that brothers Frank and Vince Rogala bought into when they abandoned frosty Mackinaw, Mich., for sunny Southern California two decades ago in pursuit of their rock 'n' roll dreams.
Hear Our Songs!
- August 4th, 2001 - Randy Lewis - LA Times
Well I hope you'll come and see me in the movies Then I'll know that you will plainly see The biggest fool that ever hit the big time And all I gotta do is act naturally --"Act Naturally," written by Johnny Russell * Singer Frank Rogala and his cohorts in the Anaheim rock band NC-17 didn't have to act at all in "Won't Anybody Listen," a new documentary following the group's real-life struggles to hit the big time.
Orange Curtain Keeps On Rising
- December 30th, 1998 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
The exciting first blush of national recognition for the Orange County music scene has passed. Now, nearly five years after the Offspring finally smashed the "Orange Curtain" that had shrouded a wealth of underground talent, it's downright routine for several local exports each year to sell bundles of albums or at least get a fair shot in modern-rock radio rotations.
Playing Favorites at Midyear
- July 8th, 1998 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
Thanks to cheap studio time, high-quality home-recording gear and inexpensive CD manufacturing, not to mention the spur of seeing fellow locals rise from the grass roots to fame, Orange County can claim its own glutted corner in the ludicrously overcrowded world of pop music.
Sensitive Material
- February 24th, 1998 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
A musician lucky enough to have a daring, original idea usually runs with it. Frank Rogala crawled. In 1979, Rogala watched Dinah Shore belt out a brassy number on TV and was struck that a woman could blithely sing the boy part in boy-girl love songs but that a man crossing gender lines would raise eyebrows, smirks and worse. "I think it was that stupid song that goes, 'I've got a gal in Kalamazoo.' "
Blues Show to Benefit Fullerton Museum
- December 25th, 1993 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
Tuesday at the Fullerton Hofbrau, blues guitarist Debbie Davies will play a benefit for the Fullerton Museum Center in connection with the current exhibit there, "Five Decades of Fender: The Sound Heard Around the World." Davies, who relocated recently from Van Nuys to Stratford, Conn., has won strong reviews for her debut album, "Picture This," released this year. A longtime presence in Orange County blues venues, she established herself nationally playing alongside the late Albert Collins.
ades of Pink Floyd, Taste of Chili Peppers on Albums
- November 18th, 1993 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
O.C. Pop Beat has accumulated an alarmingly thick pile of recent releases from performers on the local scene. We guiltily make an Old Year's resolution to review the lot of them before the New Year arrives. The task begins with an assortment ranging from an hour-long, high-tech, major-label CD extravaganza (Altered State) to do-it-yourself releases from Asight Unseen, NC-17 and the Violet Burning. The ratings scale ranges from * (miserable) to **** (excellent).
Big-Time Success Hasn't Exactly Jumped Up and Bit These Guys : Barngrover/Light came to Huntington in 1984 and expected immediate commercial fame. The duo's still waiting, but having a good time in the process.
- May 16th, 1991 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
Like so many others, Robert Barngrover and Stephen Light came to Southern California figuring it was an immediate point of entry into the music business. "I thought I'd work at a job for a few months, then we'd be making all our money from playing in clubs and touring, and I wouldn't have to labor," the reserved but amiable Barngrover recalled in a recent interview at his Huntington Beach apartment, which doubles as a recording studio for the Barngrover/Light band.
O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Differing Rock-Career Theories Tested in Santa Ana Triple Bill
- April 3rd, 1990 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
The Orange County rock triple bill at Hamptons on Saturday night put two widely differing career philosophies to the test. Should rockers seeking the music business limelight concentrate on honing their craft in a recording studio, or should they sweat it out night after night on stage, playing to people instead of tape recorders? Exude hunkers in an Anaheim garage, seldom venturing out to play live.
Orange County Unknowns Get Together for CD : Music: 10 of the 16 unsigned rock and pop performers showcased on the 'CO-OP' release will appear on stage tonight in Long Beach. They represent widely varied styles.
- January 18th, 1990 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
It has been said that each rock or pop band has the talent to write at least one good song. It has also been said that, when it comes to doing business, it's a rare musician who has any talent at all. "CO-OP," a compact disc showcasing the work of 16 unsigned rock and pop performers--most of them from Orange County--pretty much bears out the first truism. Its main intent is to compensate for the second.
Rating New Releases of Orange County-Based Musicians : Albums: Walter Trout scores with first solo release while National People's Gang reaction depends on how stagey you like your songs.
- November 23rd, 1989 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
For this week's Pop Beat, we'll catch up on some recent releases by Orange County-based performers: The scale is * (poor) to ***** (a classic). Walter Trout Band "Life In The Jungle." (Bozz of Electra): **** Trout, who lives in Huntington Beach, gave up a steady, high-profile gig when he left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to go on his own earlier this year. Now we can see why -- "Life In The Jungle" heralds the arrival of a blues-rock talent of the first order.
Singer John Prine Is Glad Literate Lyrics Are Back
- April 20th, 1989 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
Singer-songwriters are becoming the rage in pop music once more, just as they were in the early 1970s, when the term "singer-songwriter" was coined for the likes of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. As a singer-songwriter who went through it all the first time around, John Prine is pleased, but not inordinately excited, that a quieter, more intimate and literate form of music making is coming back into vogue with such success stories as Tracy Chapman and the Cowboy Junkies.
Band's 2nd Shot at Stardom : Exude Has New Video Entry in MTV's 'Basement Tapes' Series
- December 30th, 1988 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
Exude, the Anaheim band chosen as one of the country's best unsigned rock groups in a recent Musician magazine contest, is a contestant in MTV's monthly "Basement Tapes" video series. Exude's video, "Safe With You," will be one of four entries to be broadcast Thursday at 10 p.m. Pacific time. The winner will be determined by phone-in votes. The prize is exposure: six MTV showings for the winning tape.
'Great Blokes' in Exude Hit a Show-Biz Snag in Australian Record Deal
- September 22nd, 1988 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
When the members of Exude got a call out of the blue from a young Australian music entrepreneur asking to market the group's records Down Under, the long-struggling rock band from Anaheim seemed to be embarking on a pop fairy tale. But the fairy-tale possibilities of Exude's Australian venture appear to have crumbled with the intrusion of such real-world unpleasantries as wrangling over money and the rights to release songs.
Exude and the Conversation: Unsigned but Not Unnoticed
- June 26th, 1988 - Steve Hochman and Jeff Spurrier - LA Times
Two Southern California bands--Anaheim's Exude and Los Angeles' the Conversation--are among the 10 best unsigned bands in America. Who says so? Try Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, T-Bone Burnett and Mitchell Froom. They were the judges in an unsigned-bands competition by Musician magazine that resulted in the submission of nearly 2,000 tapes.
Band Plays Its Australian Wild Card : Exude Hopes to Go Over Big Down Under
- May 15th, 1988 - Mike Boehm - LA Times
When he went to have his fortune told a year ago, Frank Rogala, struggling rock singer, saw the fall of the Tarot cards and heard the psychic's strange prediction. "She said, 'I see a lot of success for you, but first you'll have to go across the ocean. I see mountains. I see lakes.' " It was an intriguing thought, but Rogala didn't feel the need to rush off and make sure his passport was in order.
Exude Gets Serious In 'Boys' Album
- January 10th, 1986 - Randy Lewis, LA Times
From a strictly commercial viewpoint, Exude might have been smarter to include more rock parodies on its new album and capitalize on "Boys Just Want to Have Sex," the Cyndi Lauper spoof that brought the group considerable attention, radio air play and record sales in 1984. But you'll find no such novelty tunes on "Play With the Boys," the band's first album that is the culmination of nearly three years' work.
Will Club Have To Face The Music?
- February 15th, 1985 - Randy Lewis - LA Times
Depending on the result of Tuesday's Anaheim City Council meeting, a pair of benefit shows this weekend at Flashdance club will either usher in a new year of concert activity or they will serve as the club's swan song. The City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to renew the club's entertainment license.