1 From Left: Jennifer Rogers, Laura Rogers, and Miyuki Furtado shop it up at Chicago's Reckless Records
Hudgins, Michelle
Record Shopping with
Issue #28
The Rogers Sisters
By Amber Drea
Published: June 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
Sometimes the last thing you want to do is go shopping. Especially after being on the road for two weeks, playing multiple shows at SXSW, and performing in Champaign, Illinois, before hitting the Windy City. But the Rogers Sisters aren’t the kind of people to turn down $50 from Venus.
The trio — guitarist-vocalist Jennifer Rogers, drummer Laura Rogers, and bassist-vocalist Miyuki Furtado — arrived in serious need of coffee. It was a crisp, sunny day in March, so they took the opportunity to stretch their legs and walk the eight blocks to Reckless Records on Broadway, stopping at Starbucks along the way. At the store, the band scattered to different sections in search of the perfect purchase. Wearing a purse depicting Jim Morrison’s face in the shape of France, Jennifer Rogers headed straight for the Doors CDs and picked up their self-titled album. “I think I have this on vinyl, but I can’t get that on my iPod yet,” she said in her cute, perky voice. “I always bought records and now I have this iPod thing and feel totally confused.”
Jennifer, her husband Greg Anderson, and Laura own a bar in Williamsburg called Daddy’s, renowned for its jukebox of obscure reggae and country from the ’70s or earlier with the obligatory Nirvana and Royal Trux thrown in. Perhaps their Venus purchases will add to the collection? “We need some new ones because we haven’t changed it in a long time,” Jennifer said. “But [Greg] is kind of the overlord of that, although we help him out all the time.”
As Laura flipped through the dollar bin, she reminisced about growing up on records from her dad’s store, Angott Music in Detroit, and being dragged to Bob Seger concerts. “[I] got to see the Jacksons’ Victory tour. That was big,” she said, laughing. “I was really little, but I remember it. There were fireworks all over the place, and all the brothers were there and so many sequins. I was like, ‘Show business is crazy.’”
Coincidentally, the first album Furtado ever bought was the Jackson 5’s greatest hits when he was 8. His parents recommended it but later tried to talk him out of pursuing a music career. “I have a lot of family members that are musicians, which do more traditional Hawaiian stuff, so they don’t understand the punk rock at all,” said the Hawaii native, who is also part Japanese and Portuguese. “But they’re really supportive now.”
While Laura found her purchase almost immediately, the other two took their time. Jennifer listened to a Val Stöeklein album that was supposed to be “morosely introspective orchestral folk rock,” according to the staff-written description. “But it kind of wasn’t any of those things,” she said. She then considered a record by weird folk artist Buffy Sainte-Marie. “We have a song called ‘(I’m a) Ballerina’ and she used to want to be a ballerina,” Jennifer explained. “Plus, she’s so pretty.”
Furtado didn’t have any luck looking for CDs by ’70s-era bands Big In Japan, Marine Girls, or the Soft Boys, and he nixed the Saints’ Eternally Yours after giving it a listen. “I’m obsessed with finding that movie You Got Served,” he said, perusing the DVDs. “It’s like the hip-hop dance version of Bring It On… There’s nothing funnier than seeing a white dude acting like a homeboy going, ‘You got served!’”
Eventually, after an hour of searching, they each made final decisions, then grabbed a cab back to Schubas for soundcheck.
THE ROGERS SISTERS’ SHOPPING LIST:
Jennifer Rogers: Bettye LaVette, I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise, $12.99. “This looks old, but it’s actually new.”
Laura Rogers: Various, Love, Peace & Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music, $16.99. “I don’t really know what any of it is, but I’m positive I’m gonna love it.”
Miyuki Furtado:The Ex,Singles. Period. The Vinyl Years 1980-1990, $13.99. “I’m a big fan of the Ex, and we had the good fortune to play with them about a year ago. They are truly a political band.”
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