Life & Work with Jim Rodgers of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Rodgers.

Hi Jim, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
HiFi Honey started about nine years ago. My previous band was locked into a pretty specific themed genre, and that limited where we could play and what we could do. I wanted to build something that wasn’t boxed in like that — a band that could adapt as music trends shifted but still lean on the staples that always work a room.

The first couple of years, we played everywhere we could, as often as we could, just to build the name. We got tight. We fine-tuned the show into a well-oiled machine, and the attention to detail and presentation is what kept us growing. We never wanted to be a bar band — the goal was always to be more of an event band, focused on higher-end shows, and over the years that’s exactly what we grew into.

There’s a glass ceiling on what a local cover band can reasonably charge, and we started bumping up against it. Supply and demand pushed our rates up until we found a number that fit — one that let us play the kinds of shows we actually wanted to play. The natural next step was to branch into neighboring areas, but every town already has its own cover bands doing something similar for less. It’s hard to convince a market to pay a premium for an out-of-town act when there’s a local one who’ll fill the date cheaper.

So if we wanted to travel and play more, we needed to offer something with less competition. That meant a tribute band.

Our first was Carrie’d Away — A Tribute to Carrie Underwood. It made sense on a few levels: Carrie is one of my lead singer’s favorite artists, and she can genuinely pull off the look. Carrie’s a huge pop-country star with a deep catalog, but there aren’t many Carrie tributes out there — which cuts both ways. Less competition, but also less of a built-in audience. There are a million KISS and Journey tributes; the lesser-covered artists are a harder sell. Still, the Carrie show is my favorite thing we do. The songs are a blast to play from a guitar standpoint.

Then I ran into how different the tribute world is from the cover scene. Most tribute shows run 90 minutes, maybe two hours, and my booking background told me that’s not enough to fill a full night. I didn’t want to depend on other bands or stack multiple acts on one bill, so the answer was a second tribute we could pair with the first. It needed to be a bigger artist, but still someone my singer could pull off. Taylor Swift was the obvious choice — and that’s how Long Live — A Tribute to Taylor Swift came to be.

Funny enough, the two shows ended up being too different to ever pair. The Taylor show is too intense to share a night with anything — it rests entirely on my singer as the focal point, plus 15-plus costume changes and the physical demands of it. There’s no way to do a Taylor show and a Carrie show on the same evening. The crowds are completely different too: Carrie draws an older, seated audience, while the Taylor show is aimed squarely at kids and families. Packaging them together never made sense.

So that’s where we’ve landed — three completely separate acts. Music isn’t our full-time job, and having three distinct shows to offer has worked out really well for us.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our road has been — and still is — anything but smooth. We’ve faced more trials and tribulations than any other band I’ve been in across 30-plus years of playing music.

My lead vocalist and I are in perfect alignment on our goals and direction. The hard part is finding others who are as invested and driven as we are. Early on we had a solid core — the same four members for a long stretch. Eventually circumstances changed, and we went through quite a few drummers. Work ethic was usually the issue. We simply played so often that it was more than some could handle, or the dedication just wasn’t there, and they had to be replaced.

When it became clear the tribute acts needed to be the priority — and that we were no longer willing to be limited by other members’ availability — we built a second string of fill-in players we could bring in as needed, so we’d never have to turn down a show. That solved one problem and created another: it means keeping multiple players up to speed on the show at any given time. We went from one or two backing vocalists to about a half dozen in rotation depending on availability. The logistics of running three bands, each with multiple members and fill-ins, is a full-time job on its own.

Then there are the outside influences and drama. Like anything that finds a degree of success, it attracts jealousy and haters — and we have an abundance of that. Part of it is that we do things in a non-traditional way that invites criticism on its own: click tracks, backing tracks, automation, amp modelers, running direct, electronic drums. Every one of those is a point of contention among other musicians. Add in that we play Taylor Swift and other pop music, and it’s a perfect storm for negative comments and ridicule. We do well for ourselves in terms of bookings and opportunities, and I think that breeds a lot of the jealousy.
We stick to ourselves and steer clear of the cesspool of the local music scene. We just don’t really fit in — and that’s okay. We’re usually too busy to keep up with that kind of effort anyway.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a guitarist and bandleader, but at this point I’d say I’m just as much a producer and director as I am a player. I run three separate acts — HiFi Honey, our event and party band, and two tribute shows: Carrie’d Away (Carrie Underwood) and Long Live (Taylor Swift). I’ve been playing music for over 30 years, and the thing I specialize in now isn’t any one instrument — it’s building a complete show and running it like a business.

What we’re known for is the level of production and the attention to detail. We don’t just get up and play songs. Every show is dialed in — the sound, the presentation, the consistency. We made a decision early on that we wanted to be more than just a bar band, and getting there meant treating the whole thing with a level of professionalism that a lot of local acts don’t bother with. We obsess over the details, and I think that’s what’s kept us growing year after year.

A big part of what sets us apart is that we embrace the tools that make a show better, even when they’re controversial in the local scene — tracks, automation, modelers, electronic drums, running direct. A lot of musicians look down on that stuff. To me, it’s the difference between a loose bar gig and a tight, repeatable, professional production. The audience doesn’t come to hear us debate gear philosophy; they come for a great show, and those tools let us deliver the same high-quality, consistent experience every single night.

The other thing that sets us apart is range. Most acts are one band doing one thing. We’re effectively running three distinct shows, each with its own identity, its own audience, and its own rotating cast of players to keep us covered. The logistics of that are honestly a full-time job — keeping multiple lineups show-ready at all times — but it means we can offer something for almost any kind of event and never have to turn down a booking.

What I’m most proud of is the Taylor show, and specifically my lead vocalist. Long Live rests entirely on her — 15-plus costume changes, the physical demands, carrying an entire show as the focal point — and she gives everything she has to it every time. Watching a room full of kids and families react to that show is something special. On the musician side, the Carrie’d Away show is my personal favorite to play; those songs are a genuine joy from a guitar standpoint. Between the two, I get the best of both worlds — the spectacle of the Taylor production and the pure musical fun of the Carrie material.

At the end of the day, what I’m proudest of is that we built all of this our own way, on our own terms, and it works.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
From a playing standpoint —

Be careful not to get too wrapped up in what’s most comfortable to you. If it comes easy, you’re probably not growing. Real progress comes from stepping outside of what’s natural for you. Force yourself to learn styles you don’t normally listen to, and always try to play with people who are better than you are. You rise to the level of the people around you.

From a business standpoint —

My biggest piece of advice is to learn to be objective. I see so many people who believe in their product so whole-heartedly that they miss the signs it isn’t as viable or profitable as they think. Sometimes you have to be willing to make the hard call — pull the plug on something you’ve poured yourself into and reinvent. It’s okay to start over.

And understand this: if you’re out playing in a band and making money, it’s a business, and it should be treated like one. When you make a commitment, you uphold it. You show up on time. You’re professional. Be courteous, and realize you’re representing more than just yourself — you’re representing everyone else in the band, too. Make sure you’re getting paid fairly and don’t sell yourself short. Know your worth — and keep improving your product to the point where you’re worth even more.

From a personal standpoint —

Your work ethic, integrity, drive, and personality will all follow you long into your career, so be careful with your attitude and your ego. Be aware of the consequences of your actions and your opinions. Your social media presence and the way you interact with people will follow you, too. Not everyone shares your views, and you have to recognize that your stances can alienate half of your audience. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is keep some of it to yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://longlivetribute.com