Gordon Roqué
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | SELF
Music
Press
CHARLOTTE — Gordon Roqué (Marcelo) left Charlotte as a well-known and committed community leader more than two years ago. Now he returns a rising Nashville star, just in time for the holidays.
Roqué, a former Q-Notes staff member, lived in Charlotte during his coming out process in the late 1990s, aided by the support offered by Time Out Youth. Later, he’d serve as a staff member of the group after he reached its age limit.
Roqué told Nashville’s Out and About Newspaper that it was Time Out Youth that helped him “blossom into his true self.” His inner soul and spirit certainly shines through the melodic music featured in his brand new, self-produced album, “Seahorses.”
A mix of pop, classical, experimental and contemporary, Roqué’s music is both calming and introspective. Each of his songs has meaning, he says.
As spring turned to summer in 2006, Roqué made his way back to Nashville, where his parents lived, and worked on cutting the album. He’s come back to Charlotte to share his emotions, joys and journeys with the local community that saw him through to queer adulthood.
On Dec. 16, Roqué will perform as the special musical guest at the Charlotte Business Guild’s annual holiday social at the VanLandingham Estate at 2010 The Plaza. Admission is $15 for Guild members and $25 for guests and non-members.
And if you miss that special performance, you’ll be able to catch him on Dec. 17 at Pura Vida’s Gypsy Lounge at 7 p.m. He’ll sell copies of his newly released album for only $5. Admission to the Gypsy Lounge is free. - Q-Notes Newspaper, North and South Carolina
With the upcoming release of his first studio album, Nashville's Gordon Roque is a busy guy. But the out-and-proud singer/songwriter/musician still finds time to perform shows and get in some philanthropy on the side.
He is hosting a release party for his record, "Seahorses," at 3rd and Lindsley on Nov. 24th, and plans to donate a large portion of the proceeds to One-in-Teen Youth Services (OIT), a Nashville group which provides a safe space for GLBT and questioning youth.
Roque said he wants to honor to the work that they do, and to come full-circle with his youth. Without programs like One-in-Teen, some young people may not have anyone to turn to, Roque said.
During his coming out process in Charlotte, N.C., Roque found solace in Time Out Youth, a group similar to OIT. After a few nervous phone calls to the group's leaders, he made it to a meeting and continued to attend meetings until he surpassed the age limit. Then, group leaders asked him to stay on as an advisor. Roque was honored.
He said Time Out Youth enabled Roque to blossom into his true self.
“I went from a shy little wallflower to somebody who is outspoken and less afraid of himself," Roque said.
The group also helped him realize the importance of community among GLBT people.
Art imitates life
“Seahorses” is a record full of melodic stories about love, friendship and dreams and is full of songs that will tell you the life story of a young man coming to be, coming to love and coming out.
It is remniscent of artists such as Tori Amos, Sara McLaughlin, and Rachael Sage. The difference here is that Roque is a gay man singing songs and writing stories that other gay men can relate to without switching pronouns.
Inspired by his tumultuous coming out process, many of Roque's songs will resonate with other GLBT people. Hardship and loss are recurring themes in many of the songs on “Seahorses” because they are often emotions that we face in our lives.
“Pale Sunshine” is a cello and piano ballad about a boy that changed Roque.
“He was luminous,” Roque said. Meeting the pale sunshine boy taught him that he was able to love someone deeply.
Behind the music
Roque was born in the Philippines, then moved to Samoa where he frolicked on the palm covered beaches of a child’s paradise. When he moved to the U.S. as a teenager, he experienced great culture shock. During his teen years he found his talent for writing poetry and then began learning how to put his words to music.
After moving to Charlotte, Gordon started playing coffee houses and became part of the local music scene. You could never tell by listening to “Seahorses”, but he has only had two years of formal lessons on the piano. His playing has the depth of a young master pianist.
There was a time that he thought that he could just live a life that would be considered normal, meaning a job and home, but he wanted to do something that he really loved.
With some members of his family living in Hermitage, Gordon decided to take his new found talents to Music City.
“This place is saturated with musicians," Roque said. "Your bartender, your bathroom attendant - it’s insane.”
While in Nashville he has been able to play with other musicians and share ideas.
“Making the music as original as it can be is extremely important,” Gordon said. “If it sounds good to me that’s all that matters.” - Out and About Newspaper (Nashville, TN)
CHARLOTTE — Gordon Roqué (Marcelo) left Charlotte as a well-known and committed community leader more than two years ago. Now he returns a rising Nashville star, just in time for the holidays.
Roqué, a former Q-Notes staff member, lived in Charlotte during his coming out process in the late 1990s, aided by the support offered by Time Out Youth. Later, he’d serve as a staff member of the group after he reached its age limit.
Roqué told Nashville’s Out and About Newspaper that it was Time Out Youth that helped him “blossom into his true self.” His inner soul and spirit certainly shines through the melodic music featured in his brand new, self-produced album, “Seahorses.”
A mix of pop, classical, experimental and contemporary, Roqué’s music is both calming and introspective. Each of his songs has meaning, he says.
As spring turned to summer in 2006, Roqué made his way back to Nashville, where his parents lived, and worked on cutting the album. He’s come back to Charlotte to share his emotions, joys and journeys with the local community that saw him through to queer adulthood.
On Dec. 16, Roqué will perform as the special musical guest at the Charlotte Business Guild’s annual holiday social at the VanLandingham Estate at 2010 The Plaza. Admission is $15 for Guild members and $25 for guests and non-members.
And if you miss that special performance, you’ll be able to catch him on Dec. 17 at Pura Vida’s Gypsy Lounge at 7 p.m. He’ll sell copies of his newly released album for only $5. Admission to the Gypsy Lounge is free. - Q-Notes Newspaper, North and South Carolina
Discography
Seahorses--Full Length album released December 2, 2008.
Photos
Bio
"I've always wanted to make music that makes me feel alive, when each beat and cadence exists as an independent, boundless force. My songs all hold a sense of never taking anything for granted and never holding back on what matters most." --Gordon Roqué
For Gordon Roqué, art imitates life, in a sense. His songs are a clear extension of his rich and varied background. As a Filipino-American, he has grown up within the warm embrace of his own Asian culture and heritage while still within the context of modern American society. He also spent many of his younger years growing up in the South Pacific on a tropical island called American Samoa. The colors and textures of Polynesian life are, as he puts, embedded into his soul and, as such, will always make him an island boy at heart.
If you combine this rich history with Roque's natural musical ability and adventurous spirit, what you get is a diversified sonic pallet filled with highs and lows, grand climactic moments, subtle nuance sprinkled in good measure, and tender emotions running throughout every note and cadence.
His live shows are expressive and high-energy as he uses his smooth baritone voice and his classical and jazz-infused piano work to enthrall and entertain the masses. He offers a brazen and passionate presentation of his work.
Roqué is a self-taught pianist, composer, vocalist, songwriter, visual artist, and poet. He incorporates all of these skills in his music. This is substantially evident in the songs from Roque's debut album "Seahorses". From the dark, uptempo bluesy-ness of "Villain" to the vintage Gypsy pomp of "Mr. Stranger" to the understated and string-laden "Tears In Savannah", an unfailing desire to revel in multiple musical textures is the rule more than the exception. From an emotional and lyrical standpoint, there is the explosive anger in the fiery song "Fear", the quiet imprisonment in the elegant "The Boy In the Room", and an impossible longing laid to rest in the hidden track "Swirl".
With such a diverse background and life, Gordon Roqué forges an unconventional musical path to a vision that is uniquely his own and worth every listen.
© 2012 Gordon Roqué All Rights Reserved.
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