Submitted photo

The Desert Roze Band will perform after the rodeo on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11.

Local favorite, Desert Roze Band, is set to entertain audiences at the Harney County Fair this year.

In preparation for the upcoming performance, band founder Howie Roozeboom shared a bit about his musical background and how the band came to be.  

“Music has always been in my blood,” Howie said. “I grew up listening to a lot of bluegrass and country music. My all-time favorite was Merle Haggard. When I was a young kid, it wasn’t uncommon to see me walking around the house with a pair of headphones on listening to his music. When you listen to the songs my band plays, you can tell that my childhood favorites have inspired our set list.”

Howie learned to play his first instrument, a red Hummingbird guitar, when he was 9 years old. 

Howie’s father, Jim, and former stepmother, Bobbie, were major influences on his early musical development. Howie’s grandfather, Melvin “Mutt” Allen, also played an important role in shaping Howie’s sound.

A few years into learning to play, Howie tuned his Hummingbird guitar to the key of G, so he could use it as a dobro.

“I learned by watching, playing by ear, and practicing every chance I got,” Howie said.

When he was 13, Howie and his family started a band called The Roozebooms. 

They started playing gigs around Vernonia (where Howie was originally from) and later in Burns and surrounding areas (once the family moved to Harney County).

“We sang bluegrass, classic country, and  gospel tunes, and that continued until I was 18,” Howie said.

When Howie was a junior in high school, Ruel Teague invited him to travel to Branson, Mo. to play the dobro at the annual Bluegrass Festival.

“I was chosen to play music with three other students as a warm-up band for the festival,” Howie explained.

Fiddle player Stacy Renolds/Deford was the other student with local ties.

“The administration at Crane Union High School allowed me to take a month off of school so I could be a part of it, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that opportunity,” Howie said.

He added, “Our group was called Young Country, and we played gigs for up to 500-700 people in Silver Dollar City/Mutton Hollow. A highlight of that experience was meeting Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe (legendary bluegrass artists) backstage after our gig. Ricky Skaggs was supposed to be there, but he couldn’t make it due to weather.”

During his senior year of high school, Howie was mentored by Dorman Miller of White Lightning. Dorman also helped Howie build a handcrafted mandolin. 

“We would meet two periods a day to work on it, and it took us one year to build,” Howie said regarding the mandolin. “We created a very special friendship that lasted for years to come, even playing music together at my high school graduation.”

For the next couple of decades, Howie took a break from performing to focus on his family and raising his three children, Marissa, Boots, and Casse. 

“However, I still pulled out my guitar regularly to play for my kids, to sing around the campfire, and to play in my shop with all my friends,” Howie said. “Over the years, Dorman and I would reconnect and play for fun, but nothing really came of it.”

In 2017, Howie and Dorman played a few gigs together, which reignited Howie’s interest in performing. 

“It was great to get back into music at that level, and I approached [Dorman] to see if he would help me start a county band and to see if he’d play bass,” Howie said. “Of course, his reaction to my question was, ‘When?’” 

It didn’t take long for Howie to start looking for more band members. 

He met Jenny Mendenhall through church and asked her if she would sing harmony. After a couple of months of practicing, the band met Roger Epling, and he started playing drums.

Dorman was torn between playing the bass and lead guitar. When he finally decided to play lead, the band began looking for a bass player.

“We heard about a bass player in town who was working at Big R, so we went there and met and recruited Dan Porter,” Howie said. 

“Even after months of practicing, I didn’t feel that we were good enough to play anywhere,” Howie recalled. 

Fortunately, Dorman convinced Howie to just get out there and give it a shot, and Desert Roze Band has been performing ever since. 

“We lost Dorman due to a stroke in 2020, and we were all devastated,” Howie said. “He was a great friend, mentor, and from a music standpoint…You just can’t replace Dorman.”

The band has had a few changes over the years, adding Bill Dahl to play lead guitar and Erin Jenks for back-up vocals.

“We’ve even had a fiddle player for a few gigs here and there, which brings us to the band that we are today,” Howie said. 

“A lot of blood, sweat, and tears have been shed over the years,” he added. “Most bands around here play rock and roll, so it was more difficult having a primarily country sound. Listening to how well my band members play country music, you might not know that many of their careers began playing rock. Of course, I have to appease them by throwing a few rock and roll songs into our set list.”

Howie added, “Having a band is like having a second family. It’s not easy, but we keep going and love what we do.”

Howie concluded that Desert Roze Band is excited to have the opportunity to play at the Harney County Fair this year.

Desert Roze Band will entertain fans in the Blackburn Real Estate 8 Second Saloon ‘Ride It Out Zone’ after the rodeo on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11.