In 1983, Circle Jerks bassist Roger Rogerson stole the band’s van and dropped off the face of the earth. Thirteen years later, he came back, demanded that his bandmates reunite so they could become “bigger than the Beatles,” and promptly dropped dead. Though he was a founding member and key songwriter of the band who played on three of their best albums, Rogerson was lost to history. In a compelli...
J. Hunter Bennett - The Prodigal Rogerson
The Prodigal Rogerson
The Tragic, Hilarious, and Possibly Apocryphal Story of Circle Jerks Bassist Roger Rogerson in the Golden Age of LA Punk, 1979-1996
J. Hunter Bennett
177
Description
In 1983, Circle Jerks bassist Roger Rogerson stole the band’s van and dropped off the face of the earth. Thirteen years later, he came back, demanded that his bandmates reunite so they could become “bigger than the Beatles,” and promptly dropped dead. Though he was a founding member and key songwriter of the band who played on three of their best albums, Rogerson was lost to history. In a compelling narrative woven out of interviews with who knew him, with never-before-published photos of the band, The Prodigal Rogerson explains what happened to Rogerson, where he went, and who he was—all against the backdrop of the Los Angeles punk scene in its prime.This is volume 4 of our Scene History series!