Roger Blevins Jr.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi into a musical family, Roger Blevins, Jr. was brought up with an encyclopedia of American music.

"My grandmother had two uncle's that ran a little radio station in the 30s. She used to go to their house every Sunday for a gospel jamboree. I think music was her escape from the daily grind of farm life; the only place where she was really free to be herself. She passed that love down to my dad and on to me. She actually taught me how to play my first instrument - a dime store ukulele!"

Blevins spent summers with his father, a professional bassist since the age of 13, often sitting onstage in the corner during gigs and rehearsals. "My first 'gig' was the tambourine player with Chris Flowers and the Louisiana Express. I was 5 years old and I was hooked." Years later, Blevins would often set in on guitar with the various groups with which his father played. "Pops would call out the [chord] changes and I'd try to keep up. It was a good way to get over stage fright. Trial by fire, for sure. The guys that played in those bands were my first 'guitar heros'. There are some amazing guitarists in Louisiana - versatile and tasteful and I'm glad I was exposed to that early on."

While attending the University of North Texas' College of Music, Blevins put together Mingo Fishtrap. The band started out playing the soul, funk and R&B covers he had grown up listening to his father's groups play. "I needed an outlet - away from classes and school related performances. It turned out to be much more than I had intended or expected." Over a decade, a million miles, five CDs, a performance DVD and a handful of Austin Music Awards later, Mingo Fishtrap is still going strong and gaining fans across the country and beyond. In a poetic twist of events, Blevins' father, Roger Sr. now holds down the bass chair for Mingo. "It's an interesting dynamic, and I think it's one more reason to feel continually invested." Both Sr. and Jr. were recently honored by being added to the Fender Roster of Artists.

Blevins spends much of his musical life on the road with Mingo Fishtrap, but when time allows, he operates a project studio in Austin, recording and producing, as well as co-writing with a wide variety of artists and groups. "I really enjoy the challenge of getting into an artist's head and understanding their point of view. I don't want them to feel like, as a producer or co-writer, I'm from a different planet. If it's a genre I'm not as familiar with, I'll ask them for suggestions and emerge myself in it. I guess it's a method-actor mentality. The fringe benefit is I get exposed to such a wide cross section of music and musical culture that, in my 'normal' life I likely wouldn't come across. I think that helps me to keep focused on the message of the tune, not just lyrically, but from the arrangement and production side as well. From that first sound you're making a statement about who the artist is and what they're all about. I take that trust seriously and try to keep my own ego out of it!"