Roger Costa interview talks about legendary Canadian rock guitarist Jeff Healey.
Roger Costa Interview
Q: When did you discover this long lost material?
A: I had been aware of this material since it was first roughed out in the studio almost 20 years ago. I remember distinctly when Jeff played me Daze Of The Night and Baby Blue. He was rightly proud of the work and enthusiastically told me about how he’d laid down six different vocal parts for Baby Blue.
Q: Where did the idea come from to get this upcoming Jeff Healey album released?
A: Shortly after Jeff’s passing we discovered that he had kept copies of these and other rough mixes from these sessions with him throughout his remaining years. I always maintained that these were some of the strongest performances Jeff ever recorded and hoped that we’d find the right home for them so we could share them with the public. For the next few years we’d have the “wouldn’t it be great if…” conversations on and off, but there were still a number of legal hurdles we needed to deal with before we could tackle anything like this. Cut to late 2014, the obstacles had been removed and we started 13 months of discussions, planning and preparation to be able to tackle Heal My Soul.
Q: Daze Of The Night is an incredible track. Could you describe your feelings when you first heard this?
A: I was absolutely floored! From the first time Jeff played it for me, it would be nearly a decade until I heard the song again and I swear I could still recite that guitar solo note for note! I’ve listened to Daze hundreds of times since and I *still* get goosebumps…
Artwork, Video collections
Q: How did you go about choosing the artwork and album title?
A: We were given complete creative control over the entire project by our partners at Convexe Entertainment and we wanted to make sure that any visuals used would reflect this very specific period in Jeff’s creative life. It was another way of emphasizing that these songs all belonged together and weren’t just cobbled together left-overs The album title comes from a line in the song ‘Moodswing’. We had been very briefly knocking around a couple of other ideas when we hit on ‘Heal My Soul’. We quickly realized that there were several other references to “soul” on the record and it just seemed to fit.
Q: I am sure in the archives there is a vast collection of videos and audios that have never been released. Will we be seeing more eventually come out in the future?
A: There is other great material planned for release in the coming years, but for now, our focus lies squarely with Heal My Soul.
Vinyl, the Internet
Q: Will you be releasing this album on all formats including the vinyl?
A: Yes.
Q: A lot of things have changed since Jeff Healey was with us. The internet has done interesting things to the music industry. Do you think he would be happy with all these changes and most significantly with downloading?
A: Jeff never had an issue with downloading and he was one to always seek out new technologies. I think he would have embraced these changes in the industry and found ways to take advantage of the new landscape.
Q: Since Jeff Healey has sold millions of albums worldwide he will be remembered as one of the greats. Do you see the legacy blossoming?
A: Most definitely. Every day we see more and more folks discovering Jeff’s music and engaging us on social media. Just in the past 12 months we’ve had over 22,000 new followers on our Facebook page alone! We’re always working very hard to spread awareness of Jeff and with ongoing projects like ‘Heal My Soul’ we’re able to add another piece to the remarkable picture of Jeff’s life and legacy.