Roth, a Microsoft staffing consultant for LCA, features a vibrant after-hours profession being a musician. This weekend, his band is scheduled to open for your Temptations along with the Four Tops. Jennifer Warnick
August 22, 2008
By day,
genuine microsoft office 2007 sale, Greg Roth works to recruit talented people to work at Microsoft. By night, he is the one being recruited. is a singer, songwriter, and recording artist who plays individually and as part of the band Rococo Blues. He’s about to play his biggest gig yet. Roth, along with his vocal coach Emily McIntosh and band mates, will be the opening act for that Temptations and the Four Tops at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Tulalip Amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is on the Tulalip Reservation, about 30 miles north of Seattle. a dream come true for Roth, whose friends in the music community call him G-Ro. The amphitheatre, which is almost sold out, holds 3,000 people. It will be his largest crowd ever. Even better, he gets to open for two legendary Motown acts that have inspired him. “It’s pretty big, because it’s the Temptations. That name means something, along with the music means something,
office 2010 Home And Student cd key, and those songs are classic,” Roth said. “These guys were it, and their songs still hold up and resonate with people to this day, even though they were written 40 years ago.” into a household of musicians, Roth has loved music all his life. But it was his lead role in the play “Godspell” at Capitol High School in Olympia that got him started as a performer. Immediately after being in various rock bands in college, Roth moved to Los Angeles to pursue a occupation in music. He wrote songs, did vocal work on music demo projects, auditioned and got a callback for the TV show “Fame,
office 2010 pro key,” and worked as an extra at the 1987 Grammy Awards. “They needed people to be on stage with Billy Idol,” Roth said. “So there I was backstage hanging out with Steve Winwood, Paul Simon, and Run DMC.” than pursue a job as a pop star, Roth decided to focus on music he liked, influenced by musicians like Peter Gabriel; James Brown; Prince; and Earth, Wind & Fire. He has recorded music solo, and his current band, Rococo Blues, has a busy schedule playing at festivals, clubs, and corporate events. “I became disillusioned with the music business but never became disillusioned with the music,” Roth said. “I decided to do it my own way in my own studio and just put it out there. Now with things like MySpace and Facebook, you don’t need a record company to be able to get your music out to an audience. I don’t have an illusion of wanting to become a star—I’m a little past my prime for that. I do it because I love the music.” to now, Roth, a nine-year Microsoft employee, has maintained a relatively low profile about his music at work. “It’s not something you talk about,” he said. “Music is something you just do.” Some coworkers have seen Roth play,
office 2010 Professional Plus license, but not many. “Every once in a while I get people from work who come to check us out,” he said. March, coworker Nathalie Becker saw his band play at Julia’s on Broadway in Seattle. “The entire crew I was with had an awesome time,” she said. “Often, when bands are playing in a place where folks eat food and enjoy adult beverages, people just sit at their tables. Listening and watching Greg’s band, the energy—the great performance—they put on from the stage and room, really gets you up and dancing. Even the men danced. Usually it’s just the girls that get up and cut a rug.” closest Roth has come to performing at work was at a human resources party two years ago where there was “rockaroke” (karaoke with a live band). He sang “Brick House” by the Commodores. Lisa Brummel approached him immediately after he sang and complimented him on his voice. “I was really flattered,” he said. “That made me feel good. That’s why I do it—it’s about putting a smile on people’s faces.” who is a shorts and flip-flops kind of guy in the office, takes it up a notch for his gigs. He wears dark suits, colored shirts, bright ties and shoes, and other “classy yet cool” ensembles that capture the retro vibe of artists such as Otis Redding. Sunday, before the Temptations plus the 4 Tops sing their Motown hits,
microsoft office Home And Business 64 bit key, Roth and his cohorts will perform classic covers like “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” and “some really classic soul songs that fit with the spirit of the show. The entire evening will be a trip down memory lane,” he said. songs are the soundtracks to people’s lives,” Roth said. “It takes them back to a time when things were perhaps a little more simple and maybe less complicated. Those songs mean something to them like they do to me.” said he doesn’t do it for that money but for the joy music brings to other people. “For me it’s just the pure joy of performing the songs that I love with my friends, and to see people smiling and swaying to the music—that’s what I get out of it. I love putting on the best show I can, baring my soul, and having people really enjoy the music and forget about some of the challenges and stress of their day.” to Greg Roth’s music and Rococo Blues on MySpace.