By ANNA PAIGE
For The Outpost

Guitarist Matt Rogers picked up his first guitar at age 9. At age 15 he was performing to crowds at the Magic City Blues festival.

“It was a surreal experience that I haven’t really appreciated until now,” Rogers said in a recent interview.

At the time Rogers was performing with the Tyler Burnett Band, and he’ll take the stage once again with some of the same musicians. Currently Rogers is playing with drummer Pat Epley and bassist Steve Brown in a group they’ve dubbed the S.O.B.s, short for Sons of Billings.

The trio is a potent combination. Live, their performances range from fusion jazz to improvised rock. “We’ve always had a good chemistry, and when we step on stage it clicks and it’s electric,” Rogers said.

The S.O.B.s perform in two formats — one with standup bass and a smaller drum set, which they feature in gigs every other Tuesday at Carter’s, and the other with amplified bass and full drums.

“We like to have the ability to play in two different settings, in a small room like Carter’s and also the ability to rock out on a big stage like the Stillwater,” Rogers said.

When Rogers, Brown and Epley get together, musically almost anything is possible. Though they rehearse sets and retain a format for many songs, a lot of what comes out on stage is improvised.

“We all have crazy minds that go in different directions, but we bring it back to the root,” Rogers said. “We just have a natural connection that allows us to use our improvisational skills to the max.”

Rogers was born and raised in Billings and started performing live music when he was 12. Now in his early 20s, Rogers has the talent of guitarists twice his age, a skillset he credits to years of listening to a wide range of music.

“There are different periods of my life when I am listening to nothing but jazz or world music, or heavy metal,” Rogers said. “When I pick up a guitar, it all comes out at once. It’s uncontrolled.”

Rogers comes from a musical background. His mother played guitar when she was younger, and his father is a drummer for two bands in town, The Peach Pickers and the Firehouse Band.

“I have a really deep well to draw from,” Rogers said, recalling his father’s record collection. “From world music to blues and jazz and rock, I like to draw from all sorts of different influences.”

At age 8 Rogers said he was getting into the Allman Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughn. “I remember my dad bringing home a CD one day and telling me to check out this guitar player. I was tired of Stevie Ray Vaughn impersonators — not to say that I haven’t drawn from Steve Ray immensely — but at that point was just kind of tired of that and skeptical.”

The album was “Joyful Noise” by The Derek Trucks Band, and Rogers said it convinced him from the first note that Trucks was an absolute original.

“A lot of people compare him to Duane Allman, but I don’t. (Trucks) has such an original tone. I remember the first time I heard him — he’s my favorite guitar player live.”

Rogers has seen Trucks in performance many times, including at Red Rocks with the Allman Brothers.

“Derek has easily more influence on me than any guitar player ever,” said Rogers, who has also seen Truck’s wife, Susan Tedeschi, in concert.

“Susan’s a big part of this style of music and a big influence on me as well. It’s amazing that they were lucky enough to find each other and get married.”

Of sharing a festival with musicians who have been so instrumental to his craft, Rogers said, “I feel humbled for sure. Just to have this opportunity to play at this large of a scale, and alongside such great talents and Derek and Susan, and Sonny Landreth — these guys are the two greatest slide guitarists to ever live. It’s a privilege to even be on the same street as them.”

The 2010 Magic City Blues festival lineup features Trucks and Tedeschi performing together as headliners on Friday evening and the rock/reggae/funk fusion band Michael Franti and Spearhead capping the festival on Saturday.

The S.O.B.s perform Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. on the Stillwater stage. Local funk band Funk in the Trunk also performs on Friday night on the main stage.

Other Stillwater Stage performers include rock band Gary Small and the Coyote Brothers and solo folk-blues singer/songwriter Maria Muldaur on Friday. Blues musician Ben Prestage and southwest Louisiana blues guitarist Sonny Landreth perform on Saturday.

Headliners aside, Main Stage performances on Friday include Otis Taylor and Saturday’s Main Stage features The Randy Oxford Band (featuring trombone man Randy Oxford) and the blues-rock group Indigenous.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. The age restriction has been lowered to 18 and older this year. Tickets, priced at $40 in advance, are available by phone at (406) 670-2329, at Billings Holiday Gas Stations, the Rimrock Mall ticket kiosk, and Cactus Records in Bozeman. Tickets are available the day of the show at the gate for $45.

Artists will be the guests of honor at art galleries and businesses in downtown Billings from 5-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6.

The public is invited to 25 venues to meet the artists and see their new work.

The Fun Express Bus will begin its two-hour free bus tour at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Good Earth Market/Wetzel parking lot and at 6:45 p.m. at the Level 504/First Interstate Bank parking lot. Maps are available at all participating galleries as a self-guided tour of the event. A map also is on Page 26 of this week’s Outpost.

Highlights of the Artwalk will include:

• Janice Little Light Hudetz will demonstrate and display her traditional Crow-style beadwork at Global Village. Ms. Hudetz lives and grew up in Crow Country. Her beadwork concentrates on Crow styles, specializing in objects used in major events and worn on ceremonial occasions. She will also demonstrate beading.

• Level 504 Studios will feature work from the studios of Kennedy’s Stained Glass, Steve Haraden, Connie Herberg and Amy Dean McKittrick, along with guest artists Coila Glass of Roundup, Jordan Webber and Marcus Rogers. These studios were affected by flooding during the Father’s Day storm, but they’ve cleaned up and are ready for Artwalk. In his pieces, made up of fragments salvaged after the storm, Stephen Haraden attempts to make “lemonade” from a muddy mess.

• The Apple Gallery at the Good Earth Market hosts Red Lodge artist Jeff Anderson and his show “Tumbling Sticks.” Artwalkers are invited to produce their own art with 100 tumbling sticks beginning at 6:30 p.m. A deli special will be served from 5 p.m. on. Growth Thru Art also will exhibit at the Good Earth Market.

• Leo Olson and Sue Hammersmark will be the featured artists at the Sandstone Gallery along with guest artist Jim Walker, whose pieces reflect scenic views of California and Montana because he and his wife spend time in each state every year. He works primarily in watercolors and oils.

• Q’s Art and Frame will display the watercolor paintings of Michiko Conklin in the east gallery and “Sweet Collaboration” in the west gallery featuring Mary Knapp and Michael Carl. Also see waxed acrylic paintings of Kalispell artist Shelle Lindhom and a live demonstration of sand sculpting by Bill Dow.

• Jens Gallery and Design will feature artists Joyce Jonte, Larry Blackwood, Gerald Kindsfather, Connie Jens Kindsfather, Sue La Fountain and Frances Boettcher as they explore the divergent colors, contours, forms and subtleties of the late summer season through watercolor, photography, acrylics, oils, metal, wood and fiberglass.

• Elisabet Rueda, who was born in Argentina, will be the featured artist at Picture Perfect Gallery, which is closing after this Artwalk. She describes her present work as “digital montages of existential undertone where photography and digital painting is integrated into new dreamlike realities.” Works by Karen Johnson, who began teaching herself art in 2006, also are on display and will be on display during the Fall Parade of Homes.

• Purple Sage Gallery on Montana Avenue will show new work by Robert Tompkins, Greg Eiselein, Victoria Franch Wetsch, Barbara Butler and Diana Mysse. Live demonstrations will be given by oil painter Robert Tompkins and by Diana Mysse, who shows her impressionistic style of oil painting.

• Prairie Blossoms will feature handmade copper jewelry by Shirley Shirley (who married a man with the last name of Shirley). Shirley enjoys torching the copper metal she uses to make jewelry and watching it cool. “This is what I call a ‘happening’ because until it cools you don’t know what you’ll get, and each piece is unique in design and color,” she said. Shirley also uses pearls and stones in her copper jewelry to mirror the beauty she sees in nature. She says, “Nothing is more beautiful than nature.”

• The Yoga Spot will display the work of Tiffany Miller from Connected Threads, Emilie Stricker from EmilStar Designs, Michael Pasini and his custom furniture and Vinnie Sanchez.

• Rogue Gallery will move to the Carlin Hotel for the Aug. 6 Artwalk.

• At Sunrise Studio, Lance Johnson’s original watercolors will take Artwalkers on a virtual tour through the mountains, prairies and landscapes of Montana.  Guest artist Jenna Keller shares her bold expressive style with mixed media. On the mezzanine will be photography by Cornscrew Photography. A new addition to the handcrafted jewelry case are bracelets made of silverware and beads by local crafter, Tonya Sullivan. On the patio, local Artists will be painting in watercolor and oil.

• Sherrie Bohlinger at The Big Top Studio and Gallery (formerly the Quonset Gallery) will present “In the Studio, A Look into the Artist’s Interior World.”

• Employees, friends and families of CTA Architects will be exhibiting there along with live music.

• Collaborative Design Architects will hold its first outdoor downtown event, called PechKucha, at Walkers Grill beginning at 9 p.m. Eight artists will bring 20 images of their work, which will be projected onto an exterior building wall for Artwalkers to view, and the artist will have 20 seconds to comment on each image.

Visit artwalkbillings.com or call 259-6563 for more information.