JB Roberts: Don’t Be Afraid to Dance

By Chris Manson September 4, 2008 Issue

Blue Lew raved about Troy, Alabama musician JB Roberts months ago, and I’m finally getting around to seeing him. At 25, Roberts feels like he’s close to getting his big break, following years of traveling.

“I’m a natural born road warrior,” he says. “I play almost every night. I played the last 40 out of 42 nights.” Since February, Roberts has been a semi-regular at Santa Rosa Beach’s Stinky’s Fish Camp and brought his soulful sounds to college towns like Auburn and Tuscaloosa.

“The college students want to hear popular music,” says Roberts. “But the 30-A people recognize the arts. One of the things that turns me on about this area is people will listen to a good, original tune. They appreciate what you do.”

He actually did live in Destin three years ago and performed at Blue Point Fish Club and Hog’s Breath. “It’s hard not to love this area,” says Roberts, who plans to move back here permanently in a matter of weeks.

Roberts performs at places like the Salty Dog Saloon in solo acoustic mode, but he also has a band made up of saxophonist Laroy Bodiford, drummer Darryl Roberts (no relation), and bassist Paul Williamson. “We also use a few hired guns on guitar and keyboard, but that’s the steady four that go everywhere.” The band plays a mix of Roberts originals and “lots of blues, classic, and southern rock.”

Every Step, Roberts’ first album of original songs, was released in 2006 and is packed with first-rate songs, including “Friends of Mine” and “Her Dreams and Mine.” The latter was written for Roberts’ mother. “That’s the one that’s closest to my heart,” says Roberts. “She had this idea of what I was going to be, but I dropped pre-med to play music—her best laid plans gone astray. It was hard to get back to a point where she could understand where I was coming from.”

Roberts has a lot more songs in the bag—including “Regret” at www.myspace.com/jbrobertsmusic--but is waiting for a record label to shell out the money for recording and promotion.

Vocally, Roberts admires the “real soulful singers” like Bob Seger, Joe Cocker, and Robert Plant. He’s also a huge fan of the Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers, and the Black Crowes. He is excited about seeing the Crowes in Birmingham this November. Coincidentally, Roberts and his manager Levi Nichols were at the Robert Plant-Alison Krauss show I attended there in April.

“We had this hippie girl in front of us who kept getting up to dance, and people were throwing water on her,” says Roberts. “I was like, ‘Let her dance!’” We both agree that it was extremely cool to hear the Led Zeppelin classic “The Battle of Evermore” performed live for the first time with Krauss singing Sandy Denny’s part.
“I like the old gospel and bluegrass that I listened to growing up in Brantley, Alabama,” he adds, referring to the town as the southeast’s most notorious speed trap. His first foray into show business was as a hired tap dancer—he accomplished a lot in competitions and got to share the stage with Savion Glover. But “being a tap dancer wasn’t the coolest thing to do” in south Alabama, and Roberts soon picked up a guitar.

“JB’s writing skills are phenomenal,” says Nichols. “I think other people are starting to catch on. I think you’re gonna hear a lot more from him before it’s over with.”

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