Photograph by Douglas Rider
Road House: Blues Man Willy Roland uses an Aerbus he bought used to tour the different blues clubs in the Bay Area. He mostly uses the bus as a place for him and his band to relax after a performance, but also uses it for recreation.
Willow Glen's Blues Man plans to take his show on the road
Local musician and his band play mix of covers, original tunes in blues-rock style
By Kate Carter
There's a new piece of property on Lincoln Avenue lately, but it's not an overpriced little house with a white picket fence or a cute retail shop.
It's the big touring bus that has been parked on the Willow Glen thoroughfare between Pine Avenue and Malone Road for the past few months.
Willy Roland and his three-piece blues band are planning to hit the road in their new bus by next year, but right now they're playing local gigs and sticking to their day jobs at San Jose Radiator. They're practicing in Roland's garage in the house he owns on Lincoln Avenue, right where he parks his bus.
Roland is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the blues trio that plays a variety of covers and original numbers that Roland writes in what he calls a blues-rock style. Ed Smith is the group's bass player and background vocalist, and he also owns San Jose Radiator, which specializes in automobile heating and cooling systems. John Garcia plays drums and performs background vocals, and also owns a landscaping business in San Jose.
Roland bought his bus in July and had it painted with his Mr. Blues Man logo, and it's been tooling around Willow Glen ever since.
"I had a Chevy van that I took everywhere, but it got too small," Roland says. "I need to tour the county now, so I need a bus."
Smith says that they keep the bus parked in front of Roland's house, or in front of the radiator shop, in order to attract attention to their band. Roland says that it's working.
"Everyone knocks on the window and wants to come in," he says. He says that people ask about their band and then show up at the performances they have four to six times a month at venues around the Bay Area.
Get the Blues: A list of Willy Roland's upcoming performances.
The bus is a 36-and-a-half-foot 1996 Rexhall Aerbus that Roland says can accommodate the four-person team he plans to bring with him on his tour, which includes a three-person band and a driver (preferably one who can cook).
The bus is complete with a master bedroom, bathroom and shower and a complete kitchen, Roland says.
"It's like a Greyhound bus, but it's like a motorhome, too," he says.
Underneath the living space is enough storage for a six-piece band and a complete sound system that come in handy for the band when they perform in places that don't have their own amplification equipment.
Roland says that he hasn't yet slept in the bus and he's still learning how to use all its gadgets and features. But, "it's real nice to have a lot of room," he says. "It's a home away from home."
He says that the band hopes to schedule some performances in San Francisco and has one planned at The Cats in Los Gatos--but they're not sure if the bus can handle the hills or the small, windy roads.
If Roland sees his dream to take his talent on tour, though, he won't have to worry about that much longer. And the bus gets better mileage on the highways, too: as much as 13 miles to the gallon, and more than 10 per gallon on city streets.
Photograph by Douglas Rider
On Stage: Blues Man Willy Roland performs with his band at the Bathtub Gin and Blues Club in Sunnyvale.
Roland already has released two CDs on his own, and he has another on the way, he says. Reverse Reality came out in 1995, and Busted Down in Austin is his most recent release. Southern Line will be available in March or April next year, he says.
Roland has a contract with talent agency Talent 2000 that he says has guaranteed him a contract with a record label by next April.
"We're asking for a small label to help out and manage the sales of everything," Roland says. A manager assigned by a record label would free the band from having to book their own gigs, keep track of their sales and increase the distribution of their albums, all of which are necessary for Roland's next big goal in his lifelong dream of being a performer--on a national tour.
He's even got his eye on Europe, Canada and Japan, and he's interested in writing soundtracks for movies. He also does some stand-up comedy in his routine, and he wants to act.
Roland, 40, has been living in San Jose since he came out from New York City to join his father in the early 1980s. He got a job at San Jose Radiator when it was owned by his father. He worked his way up until he owned the place, as well as three rental homes in Willow Glen, plus the one he lives in.
Roland started playing his guitar in nightclubs in New York City as a teen. He moved out west and saved money to buy his own music equipment to follow his dream of being a real performer.
"I always knew I wanted to get into music at my own time and at my own pace," Roland says.
This threesome has been together for over a year, and all the members have had previous band experience, Roland says.
They're not all planning on heading on tour, though. Smith will remain behind to run the radiator store, and Garcia may come if he decides he can let his crew take care of his landscaping business, Roland says. He says they expect a record label to provide them with a bass player for the tour.
They've been performing in a variety of local venues, including the Road House Cafe, Murphy's Law, Bathtub Gin and Blues, and J.J.'s Blues Lounge, one of the more popular nearby venues, Roland says.
He says he also had a regular gig every Tuesday night at Mr. C's Coffeehouse on Lincoln Avenue for about two years.
Roland says that the group has been doing a tribute to Johnny Winter in their performances. Winter is "an old great guitar player" from Texas, he says. He chose to honor Winter in this way because he says they have a similar background: Winter started off as a businessman before he decided to pursue music full time, just like him, he says. They also share the same birthday, Feb. 23.
Roland says that they've had their share of rejection, but "we just don't let anything bother us as much as we used to, because it's all a part of the business."
He's not in it for the money, he says, but for the love of music and performing.
"If I wanted to I could just go home and watch baseball," he says. "I like working. I'm just doing it because I want to do it."
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
