Roger J Manning Interview | Beck | Jellyfish | Imperial Drag - Keyboard Chronicles Episode 116

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. is a US-based keyboardist, singer, and songwriter renowned for co-founding the bands Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, and Imperial Drag. He also happens to be a long-time member of Beck's backing band, is a member of The Lickerish Quartet and has also collaborated with artists such as Air, Jay-Z, Blink 182, and Johnny Cash. We cover a lot of this amazing territory in our chat with Roger and get some great insights from a musician with huge depth. 00:00 - Introduction 00:36 - Current Projects and Composing Sleep Music 05:09 - Early Musical Upbringing: From Toy Drums to Piano Lessons 09:08 - The Influence of "The Sting" and Ragtime Piano 12:54 - Reading Sheet Music and the High School Music Nerd Gang 15:20 - Taking the BART to Berkeley to Buy Dollar Records 17:47 - Discussing the 70s and 80s Musical Landscape 22:59 - The Transition to Becoming a Professional Musician 25:20 - The "Songwriting Bug" and Being a Frustrated Guitar Player 32:37 - The Early Band Days and Getting Signed to Atlantic Records 34:50 - Forming Jellyfish and Learning to Arrange Music 42:23 - The Challenges of Playing Live vs. the Studio Environment 48:33 - Solo Career and Continuing the Pop Rock Tradition 55:27 - Joining Beck's Band: A Story of Serendipity 01:03:31 - The Ever-Changing Live Keyboard Rig with Beck 01:06:41 - On-Stage Train Wrecks and In-Ear Monitor Nightmares 01:09:54 - Tag a Keyboard Player: Thomas Dolby & Jeff Babko 01:12:22 - Desert Island Discs Discussion topics covered during the show: Roger's past 12 months Approach to working on music for sleep and/or meditation Roger's musical upbringing Developing a career as a musician: the early days and catching the songwriting bug Beatnik Beatch in action - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHyXhu3dRKA The formation of Jellyfish and developing as a musician and an arranger Learning how to be a successful live band Roger in action with Jellyfish on Later with Jools Holland - The Ghost at Number One - https://youtu.be/bP1SkB-Sny4?si=uJo2BKgjbro3pukj Jellyfish live on Letterman - https://youtu.be/VpXMIsIKuGs?si=r18Io59x63BtKb_w Jellyfish - The King is Half Undressed - https://youtu.be/AgdgptaBma8?si=h2FzeY91S5AFiQe7 Love for Burt Bacharach Roger's solo albums Wish it Would Rain - Roger J Manning - https://youtu.be/9retRBXVkbw?si=HYjaTd0lM3F5rLMU Operator - Roger J Manning - https://youtu.be/HogpidMFvYo?si=-7O5JXUXz_PJcFQ5 Joining Beck's band An amazing YouTube playlist for Moog Cookbook - https://youtu.be/wRE8_vsxMWQ?si=39oY-SavnOaWwzl_ Roger in action with Imperial Drag - https://youtu.be/0Kuk9hnp234?si=DSn4KfotNZ9Tyqar Roger playing with Beck - Paisley Park Sessions - Up All Night - https://youtu.be/HSjYgxQto0g?si=W4Wtc4D5Ghswdmuk Roger with Beck on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Colors - https://youtu.be/s-aGKeZqLpg?si=un3qYCBQPBcjfR3D Roger's ever-changing keyboard rig with Beck Roger playing live with Beck 2023 - https://youtu.be/SEPBnmoKYBU?si=PmoQ6Xw-yV7sqjON Tag a Keyboard Player: Thomas Dolby and Jeff Babko Desert Island Discs: Black Sea - XTC, Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Steve McQueen - Prefab Sprout, Deceptive Bends - 10CC, The Black Album - The Damned Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/keyboardchronicles Substack: https://thekeyboardchronicles.substack.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/keyboardchronicles Threads - https://www.threads.net/@thekeyboardchronicles Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheKeyboardChr1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekeyboardchronicles/

Added 16 Aug 2026