by Dawn Greer
Teddy Bear Productions
and Carlos Colon
The Roustabouts
on MySpace.com
Thursday, June 4th, 2008
Dawn Greer: For the record what is the name of your band?
CC: We are known as The Roustabouts.
DG: When did you play your first concert?
CC: Our debut performance was at the library in Manchester NJ back in February 2006. We were under-rehearsed, I was sick and had hardly any voice, but somehow we managed to make it through.
DG: What is the biggest crowd you and the band have ever played for?
CC: Last summer, we played for a crowd of close to 4,000 people at Denny Stadium in South River. Our performance was followed by fireworks for the 4th of July. So it’s possible, it just might be possible that a tiny portion of those 4,000 people came to see the fireworks.
DG: So what can people expect to see at one of your shows that have never seen a show of yours before?
CC: We focus on the music rather than an impersonation. We like creating the Elvis Movie environment with Hawaiian Leis, Teddy Bears, and flourescent dice decorating the stage. We encourage members of the audience to come up on stage to dance, sing, and even play with us. Audiences never forget the time they have with us.
DG: How many times do you perform a month?
CC: On the average, two to three times a month.
DG: What is the weirdest thing a fan has done for you?
CC: Nothing weird, but many, many kind things like giving us gifts, food, and even letting us use their mobile home as our dressing room. Hi, Bev and Bill.
DG: What are your music goals?
CC: Making our audiences happy after every performance. When people come up to us after shows and tell us about the memories we've brought back and what a great time they had with us, nothing tops that.
DG: Was music your passion since you were young?
CC: That's probably true of anyone in the music business. We all have been playing as long as we can remember. There’s a real funny picture my mother took of me when I was about five years old. I was wearing a red cowboy outfit, sort of like Elvis when he sang "Teddy Bear", and I had a guitar in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. I can’t be sure, but I really think there was scotch in that glass—at least that’s the way it looks from the face I make in another picture of me drinking from the glass.
DG: What's one question that you’re tired of people asking you?
CC: We do a lot of adult resort communities where we expand our act to include oldies. That’s when we get people walking up to the stage and make requests like the "Electric Slide", the "Chicken Dance", "YMCA", merengue, etc. It's like, uhhh, have you been paying attention to the type of band that we are?
DG: Who are your influences besides Elvis?
CC: For our act, the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, Dion, The Stray Cats, etc. Personally, I’m a big fan of Alice Cooper, Billy Joel, the Ramones, Queen, Mink Deville, Robbie Williams, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, I can go on and on.
DG: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
CC: Five years older and ten pounds heavier.
DG: Best thing you like about music?
CC: It expresses in feeling what can’t be expressed with just words.
DG: Best thing about your fans?
CC: Their loyalty; their friendship.
DG: Favorite aspect of being a musician?
CC: Getting out there, having a good time and making people happy.
DG: Your greatest accomplishment?
CC: As a person, having a beautiful family. As a musician, I don’t think I’ve achieved it yet.
DG: Hobbies & interests besides music?
CC: Baseball and spaghetti westerns
DG: Your most prized possession is:
CC: My family, and this little figurine of a guy sitting on a chair watching a portable TV with a beer in his hand. We call him TV Man.
DG: If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things could you not live without?
CC: Girls! Girls! Girls! Actually, my blood pressure medication, Zyrtec and Lactaid. I know, I'm a mess.
DG: What is in your I-pod or cd player right now?
CC: Nat King Cole. I love that guy.
DG: Favorites. Food:
CC: Peanut butter and banana sandwiches fried in... nah, just kidding. I don’t know, my wife makes this wild grain rice and chicken that’s out of this world. That’s probably it. I also love her spaghetti sauce.
DG: Movie:
CC: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
DG: Song:
CC: "El Reloj". It’s a beautiful Spanish love song about making a moment of love last forever. My favorite version is by Luis Miguel.
DG: Album:
CC: First Night by Jane Olivor.
DG: Do you have any hidden talents?
CC: I would tell you but then you’d want to marry me.
DG: Do you have a website people can check out?
CC: Our website is www.theroustabouts.net. It's a fun, colorful website with lots of pictures, videos and free music downloads. And we love communicating with our audience, so people, leave comments!
DG: Anything else you would like to add?
CC: We are having a great time and have been enjoying meeting new people at our shows. We love seeing you all out there and are very grateful for all the support we've been getting.
