from The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus, late July 1996

Things are Rose-y for Al

Chicago singer living out his childhood dream on the road

by Kari Siegle
Staff writer

People are a lot like Play-doh machines to singer and songwriter Al Rose.

The Play-doh, in assorted colors and shapes, is stuffed into them and what comes out through their eyes, ears and heads are models of each individual.

"Every artist or writer or person is their own little Play-doh press," Rose said. "Hopefully, it will come out in your own shape, otherwise it's not you."

His interest in music began when he played the flute in the fourth grade. From there he picked up a guitar lying around the house and taught himself how to play. Since then, he's never looked back. "Writing songs and making records and touring. What more could a guy want?" Rose said.

He is currently the leader of the band Al Rose and the Transcendos, whose music runs along the rock vein but is also very eclectic. It's lyric based, meaning each word's tone, rhythm and vowels are as important as each note of music.

"The words are as important as the rhythm of the band," he said. "I think the sound of the words is just as musical and important as the meaning of the words."

The content of Rose's songs are as broad as his music. One song, called "We're Going Down," is a tongue-in-cheek acceptance of sitting in a plane that's crashing. Other songs are more introspective, like "Naked in a Trailer," which is about choices made in life. Rose takes the ideas for some songs from real-life experiences, like "Sun on Black Vinyl," which he wrote after driving in a heat wave from Colorado to the Quad-Cities. "There's a lot of humor in the songs, but I also explore the creepier regions of the mind," Rose said.

When he tours he performs alone, for practical and financial reasons. He drives around the country in his Honda Civic, loaded with a thermos of coffee and fruit and breads, listening to mix tapes a friend recorded for him. One advantage to traveling alone is planning his route, Rose said. "I make sure it's scheduled in a humane way," he said.

Performing on stage, a lone figure with only his guitar, is a welcome break for Rose from his band. He said it creates a more intimate and personable setting for his audience.

"There's no illusions, no smoke and mirrors," Rose said. "I think they will be pleasantly surprised that I'm not doing the guy with a guitar thing."

Besides his guitar, one of his constant companions on the road is his journal or "The Book." While he doesn't write in it on a day-to-day, dear diary basis, the journal is a way for him to sort out what goes on in his mind.

"Sometimes I use it to work things out, or for song ideas or lists of things," Rose said. "I know if I fill one up chances are I've cranked out a song idea."