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A gifted musician and songwriter , BOBBY LEE RODGERS began playing the upright bass at age seven, then went on to the banjo and bluegrass and to the drums. He had the fortune of playing in one of the most recognized high school bands in the country which allowed him to play with some jazz greats at a young age. He attended the state university on a music scholarship, and went on to become one of the three youngest professors to teach at the world's largest music college, the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusettes (Herbie Hancock and Pat Methany were the others.)
As soon as he could write, he began putting his tunes on paper, and now has well over a hundred in his published library, with a hundred more that have never been performed or published. Bobby Lee writes all the songs performed by The CodeTalkers, which was formed in 1999. Since then, Bobby and the band have regularly shared the stage with such figures as blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin, bluegrass Godfather Vasser Clements and Motown organist Ike Stubblefield.
With a complex understanding of the voicings of a wide variety of instruments, and the fastest fingers alive, Rodgers is able to bring sounds out of one instrument that would have you swearing there were more musicians in the room! He can most often be seen playing an old Gibson 125 through a Leslie organ speaker cabinet, which Bobby Lee uses to create sounds which make you swear theres an organ on the stage. His next-in-line instrument of choice these days is the banjo, which may be either the acoustic or electric variety.
Available to the public are several CDs showcasing Rodgers' vast talent, the first of which was recorded in 1998 and can be found under the name of Bobby Lee Rodgers and the Herd and is titled "Water Buffalo." The second is The CodeTalkers "Deluxe Edition" (or if you find the one with a new cover, "Deelux Uhdishun" is it's moniker.) Bobby's first solo record is called "Mercury Retrograde" and features a mostly-acoustic blend of BLR's vocals with several stringed instruments, all played by Rodgers. The newest CD released by Bobby Lee & The Codetalkers is called 'now', which brought Bobby Lee to the attention of the folks at NPR, who featured him in a segment on their show " Morning Edition." In fact, the CD was released in Japan in April 2007. The band will also release another yet-to-be-named CD in late 2007. March 2008 will welcome the release of "Galaxy Girl" in Japan, which will take the band over to Tokyo for a few nights in May. "Galaxy Girl" the single is now available on iTunes, and the video can be viewed below!
In the coming months, Bobby plans to continue the momentum that The Codetalkers have gained since the release of their last CD, and look forward to touring on the west coast and other parts of the country to which it has been too long since their last visit. Also, look for Bobby's good friend Jimmy Herring (now of Widespread Panic, and formerly of Phil Lesh & Friends and The Dead) to join the trio occasionally. When Jimmy last sat in with the band (during the inaugural evening of this year's Hannah's Buddies Charity Classic event, hosted by John Bell, also of Widespread Panic), the energy was electrifying, and Jimmy joined in with the band's newest tunes--harder-edged ones like "Speedway" and "Air Tran Woman"-- with ease, just as he did with his own favorites like "Saturn" and "Lighthouse."
This is going to be a very exciting year for Bobby Lee & The Codetalkers, so please stay tuned, and bring your friends out to see the trio when they are in a town near you--YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Check out www.THECODETALKERS.com and www.BOBBYLEERODGERS.com
for additional information and tour dates.