An Interview with Roger Fisher of Heart - Barracuda 

Years ago I'd see him at Woodinville Cafe. Nice guy.

Was "Magic Man" Michael with him?

I'm jealous

Great story dude, you wouldn’t happen to have that amp lying around somewhere would you? Lol

No one gives a duck.

@ab cd bullshit! Barra numb nutz!

@@Josh-it6uy really?

Agreed, you can still hear Roger's influence up to Bebe' Le Strange as a whole, (as he was co-writer on the title track) and they still had a decent vibe on the subsequent album, but after Mike & Steve left, it was a very different band. Minus that grit n guys as you say. Very polished and L. A. sounding. They were still enjoyable live, but didn't compare to the original band. I saw Heart in concert on 4 consecutive tours, starting with Dog and Butterfly, and to this day, after hundreds of shows, it still ranks as one of the best I've ever seen! They were formidable and at their peak at that point in time in my opinion.

seamus2112ophelan I was lucky enough to have seen them once in 1977 while visiting a newly moved relative. Saw them at the Hollywood Bowl and even though I only found out they were performing there from the Friday night newspaper, my cousin and I were able to get great seats. We even got to get up close to the stage as the venue was only about half full. Barracuda had just cracked the top 40 on its way up at that time. I had heard Magic Man the year previous but knew nothing about the band except it had a female singer. I fell in love with the band who I felt were BETTER in concert than Zeppelin I had seen earlier that same year in Madison Square Garden the night the band's ticket sale money had gone 'missing'. Firstly, I fell in love with Ann's physical appearance, then with her voice and flute chops. While at the same time I fell the same way about Nancy's guitar chops, and just how much they kicked major ass. They sounded like Zeppelin could have sounded with six top notch musicians as they had. Their stage presence was a bit weak as most just stood in one place. Derosier played drums just like BONHAM IMHO and his drums even sounded exactly like Bonhams from their tuning to his choice of set up. He played part of his drum solo with his hands same as Bonham. Roger did a short bow solo just like Page minus the Theramin. Fossen played bass like a combination of JPJ and McCartney. Howard Leese seemed very fox used on each part he was to play and on which instrument. Their vocals were incredible whether by Ann or Nancy on lead, plus Howard and Steve did great work on their harmonies. Aside from ALL these wonderful qualities the band had on stage playing mostly songs I had never heard before. I was astounded at the variety they had in their originals as well as the covers they did. I'm very surprised the Wilson sisters never bothered doing any of those covers at any time after Dog & Butterfly came out in 1979. I too saw them for the final time as it turned out that year at the Capital theater in Passaic, NJ where I was born and raised. That was the final tour with Rog, and sad to say...some of the things he did on stage were quite shocking and unbelievable. I have an OLD bootleg video of some show that was a big part of his departure from the band where he had something go wrong with his one of his start type guitars. The band kept playing as ALL pro bands will do when any technical glitch might happen. But whatever he felt about his equipment failure...he took the guilt off and literally threw it like a baseball bat at the back of Ann's head. The video shows Nancy seeing what was happening since she stood next to Rog and physically ran into Ann to knock her out of the way. The guitar just missed both Wilsons and nailed a front row fan in the face knocking the person to the ground. The security people standing on that side which was Howard's stage side, rushed over to help the person injured. After the throw, Rog stormed off stage and the video shows the band of just three guys looking at each other trying to figure out what to do. I'm sorry to report this truth, but no matter how angry anyone might get, there is NO excuse for doing something like that. Not to put the blame completely on Rog...I've ALWAYS wondered WHY at some point in time NO ONE EVER put any blame on the loss of Roger and the subsequent break up of the three original male band members on what Nancy did that caused nearly all of the tension and friction within the band by cheating on Roger with Mike. As Roger said in an interview...How could I continue to stand next to a woman I loved knowing she was dating someone else as well as the loss of all the closeness we had together as a band. I'm not sure if I got it as an exact quote from memory, but I know the statement is something Roger said years ago after leaving (or kicked out if you prefer) the band. And as I've written previously...I can't stand. How the Wilson sisters LIE about the formation of the band as well as never mentioning ANYTHING that Nancy did to be part of the band break up. Rog's older brother iPads dating Ann as well. But HE cheated on Ann and she caught him. All those 'hurt, hate, get even' songs she wrote was about that. Just as Magic Man was about the same Fisher brother who was the love of her life she left Seattle to live with in Canada for as he was a draft dodger. Then poor Ann gives her heart (no pun meant here) to the blonde bassist (I think his last name was Andes) from the MTV era. Only to find out he was cheating on her. Which saw the band go from 'How Can I refuse' to 'If Looks Could Kill'. During this same time period, Nancy became intimate with Cameron Crowe. Yes...that is Nancy Wilson in the car at the light Judge Reinhold pulls up to wearing that stupid fish restaurant outfit. Am I the only one who didn't for one second that woman think that was Nancy Wilson? She looked so different there which I'm pretty certain was before all the big hair and makeup both sisters were forced to wear in their videos as well as their live concerts. And how stupid was it for Ann to be only shown from her cleavage up. When at nearly the same time Carly Wilson from Wilson Phillips was shown full body even though she was heavy?! I'm guessing all that is why Nancy stopped wearing her acoustic guitars high up for the correct position to allow her to finger pick as she originally did. Only after she began to jump around did she lower the guitars body position and stopped using finger picks as she originally did. Proof of how far her chops had fallen even years ago can be seen in the horrible 'Dreamboat Annie' start to finish every track showed. And they chose to leave tons of parts out of most songs, plus they had a small string section play Roger's opening riff for Sing Child Sing and of course leaving out the guitar and drum solos. I hope this post was enlightening to any Heart or Roger Fisher fans who might not have known some or all of these things either shown or stated publicly. Not my fault if the video showing one of the few guitar meltdowns are no longer available. Not my fault if I feel that Nancy traded her chops for a more typical stage presence. I'm a pro musician, but I've never had to deal with all listed here, and most definitely have never been or will be a famous musician. My personal tribute to the music of Heart is here on RU-vid without vocals. All instruments played by myself, recorded and mixed by myself, etc. I'm STILL hoping to find a female voice willing to sing all female vocals on my twenty Heart songs I did my best to learn each original studio recorded part, and reproduce it as best I could. If any interested in hearing, or ladies with Ann Wilson's and Nancy Wilson's incredible vocal ranges, please write to me. It's been about four years since I started those songs, and it sure would be awesome to have all the vocals as well instead of just the music tracks. Link to my page with those songs can be gotten to by clicking this link...www.bandmix.com/merlinfl/. Hey Rog! Did I get the phase shifter sound right?? LOL

Neal Van LOL

110% hit on the head of the nail...bebe estrange wasn't Heart- it was the beginning of Ann & Nancy going solo

@@seamus2112ophelan * And Roger Fisher fired HIMSELF after physically threatening Nancy Wilson while he was as high as a HALO jump.

But he and his brother cheated like shit on the sisters and that is why the band ended. Roger and Michael ended Heart with their dicks... There is your negative comment.

@@nordattack there's two sides to every story. you weren't there . I'm sure you're not as pure as the driven snow yourself. no one is.

@@nordattack Roger admitted that he was such a play boy back then

And the band wasn't called Fisher why?

@@poolshooter1229 Because thats egotistical.

Nope. Not. Even. Close.

@@poolshooter1229 ..Cmon....why the negativity? Roger certainly contributed to the great era of Heart music. The proof is in the pudding. No need to get negative.

This song is a simple rocker. Shouldn't be put up there with Bohemian Rhapsody.

Yeah, it should. Both are played excessively on classic rock stations. And for a reason. Both represent the finest recordings of the rock era. And if you think "Baracuda" is a simple rocker, you don't know music.

@@shyman99 I've been playing guitar for over 25 years. Sorry shyman99, in terms of guitar, it's a simple rocker, just palm muting, and power chords.

I wasn't referring to just the guitar. The entire musical presentation is woven into glorious perfection.

@@funeralbillii9172 You say that like palm muting, and power chords aren't awesome. Personally I won't listen to Bohemian Rhapsody anymore. Or Hotel California, or Piano Man for that matter. Heard them all a million times too many. Barracuda.....I still turn it up.

Agree...But didn't Ann & or Nancy have a relationship with Roger that went sour? I think that's true if I recall correctly.

yes, to my knowledge thats it. while i wouldnt take an ounce of credit from the wilsons, [their talent abounds]...often their given total credit for taking on, a type of music dominated by men head on and owning it. if you will look at their roster of men musicians, you may find thats not quite the full story....guys like fisher, had a huge contribution in putting the band on the map. in an interview, fisher said it was his fault he goofed it with nance, then nance said she deserved the treatment she got for the way she treated roger...so who really knows...inter-dating relationships have wrecked more bands than bad managers....fleetwood mac...jefferson airplane, just to name a few

@@Imnotyourdoormat So true. Eventually even Fleetwood Mac with Stevie Nicks. Anyway, while Roger was definitely a great guitarist, Nancy can truly play very well. I've see RU-vid videos of Ann playing acoustic guitar and also playing the flute. Ann still has a set of pipes at what almost 70 yrs old. I love these sisters as well as the original band. Heart & Pat Benetar were the pioneers for female rockers!

wvufreak56...agreed. nance is a gifted guitarist alright... ann has the triple crown...[vocal, guitar and flute]....seen them several....there actually is or was an active a 3rd sister...she helped a lil with writing and i think she did a few backing tracks....just for fun.. i thought janets "black cat"...which she wrote, was 1 rockin tune...so good i couldn't believe it was her only attempt at a real R/R jam...then of course theirs always bonnie and her bottleneck, if thats your thing!!!....

I always note him and Lindsay Buckingham as the 2 biggest omissions on most 'great guitarists of the '70's' lists.

lol, yea i made painted signs for their backstage dressing rooms for heart and ambrosia with their logos , Ambrosia had tons of hits back then and they opened for Heart, Ambrosia was great. Heart however came onstage the there was a great difference in the powerfulness of the band and Ann's voice was really out of this world

@hillbilly beer dranker 🤣

By far!

Definitely one of the most unique.

Hell yeah that’s a great solo

It's definitely up there. That was definitely the best lineup of Heart.

I don't know Spider from a mouse. But I do perk up during Benetar guitar solos. I guess it's because of this Spider fellow?

@@Frip36 Neal Giraldo. He and Pat Benatar have been married for almost 40 years. They're still doing it together. Neal is one of my favorite guitarists of the early 80's. Still kills it today.

"Mistral Wind", was,imho, a good signal as to where it was going. I think Zep would have been slayed. I saw them around this time. MIND BLOWN.

It really does make you wonder. Heart was a monster band and probably the tightest, most exciting band I've seen in my 50 years of concert going. Roger and Ann were THE sound of Heart and the Wilson sisters decision to slowly eviscerate the original band was one of the dumbest and most idiotic moves in rock history. They cut their own throats and the world of music is all the poorer for it. Stupid, stupid move.

Those first 4 Heart albums that featured Roger were awesome albums. He left at the end of the Dog and Butterfly tour and the band was never the same. Ths is the risk you run when you start dating your fellow band members. Same thing happened with Stevie/Lindsey and Christine/John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. When Stevie and Lindsey broke up, they had some really tense moments and this continued for years afterwards Same with Sonny and Cher. Then there was Grace Slick and Paul Kantner, but they managed to get along after they broke up. Pat Benatar and Spider are definitely the exception to the rule.

​@@edcollins9377 Right, but Roger didn't just leave, he was kicked out. It was something like internal dirty corporate politics. Derosier was kicked out as well. First of all, Heart was an existing working and self supporting band when Ann was asked to join. She was a folk singer with no success at all before that. Nancy came in later still. Hearts first rumblings of big time success came when they were asked to be the opening act for the Canadian leg of a Rod Stewart tour. When they were about to be signed for their first record deal the whole band then sat down and agreed to each member having a single vote in any decision making for the band with a unanimous vote requirement for any decisions. They also agreed to a totally equal split of any money they made. The two sisters started complaining that THEY were the reason for Hearts huge success and deserved a bigger part of the pie. They actually believed all the hype and press about themselves. The rest of the band then agreed to give Ann and Nancy a controlling interest in the band. anything it was personal immaturity and musical unsophistication that messed things up. They probably thought that Nancy was a great guitarist and that her guitar skills and Anns vocal prowess alone could keep them at the top. As much as I love Anns voice, I loved the original Heart better. They were unbeatable. It really bothers me when I see everyone, even to this day, constantly fawning over the Wilsons as if they alone were Heart. They kept the name through the years but that name was really an empty shell and a very pale imitation of what it used to be. The sisters always come off in interviews as if THEY were the only important part of that band. Bering two sisters in a great rock band still blinds people and part of it is that most people who loved Heart don't know diddly about what it takes to be a great band or exactly what made them great. They just hear Anns phenomenal voice and see two beautiful sisters on stage and to them THAT is why Heart was great. That's simply not true at all.

​@@mrfester42 Uncle Fester, I agree with you about Roger. The original Heart was a great band (more than just Ann and Nancy) and Roger was definitely key to their success. The band was never the same without him. As for his departure, you are only partially right. Yes, Roger was thrown out of the band, but It wasn't due to "internal dirty corporate politics" (at least that wasn't the main reason). Roger's departure had to due with a "love triangle" that went bad--very bad. You see, the band kicked Roger out after he tried to "kabong" Nancy. (Kabong is a reference to an old 1960's cartoon called Quick Draw McGraw. "Quick Draw" was a horse character who would capture crooks by smashing guitars over their heads. When he smashed the guitars on their head he would yell "kabong") You see Roger had been dating/living with Nancy for several years. I should also mention that Ann had been dating/living with Roger's brother Michael Fisher for 10 years. (Michael Fisher also managed/advised the band). One night Roger, who claims he got too tipsy, cheated on Nancy. Nancy soon found out about it. However, Nancy was unable to forgive Roger, and she broke up with him despite the fact that Roger was still in love with her. Making this awkward situation infinitely worse, Nancy had developed a crush on Heart drummer Mike DeRosier, and Nancy & Mike started seeing one another. The green-eyed monster got the best of Roger, and this resulted in him having a couple of "kabong" tantrums. After one show, a jealous and angry Roger smashed a guitar against the dressing room wall just barely missing Nancy's head. Obviously, Roger's violent, unpredictable behavior frightened Nancy, Ann, and the rest of the band. A few days later, the band asked Roger to leave. (3 of 4 weeks after Roger was fired, Michael Fisher informed Ann that he was in love with another woman. A devastated Ann quickly moved out, terminating their 10 year relationship). At this point, Ann and Nancy decided they didn't need any men to help them make key band decisions, and took charge of the band. Mike D and Nancy's relationship soon soured. (Nancy was in love with Mike, but he didn't feel the same about her.) They completed one more album. As soon as they finished recording the new album, "Private Audition", Mike DeRosier and Steven Fossen left the band. It is my understanding that Mike and Steven decided to leave because they didn't like the songs on "Private Audition" (and I agree with them), nor were they happy with the new musical direction that the Wilson sisters had chosen for the band. However, I'm sure there were other reasons (including the fact that Mike and Nancy's relationship didn't work out) and perhaps they resented the fact that the women were now in charge of the band (only a guess). I would like to see the original band do a reunion tour. Apparently, Ann and Roger are finally on good terms, but it appears that Nancy doesn't want anything to do with Roger. Human Relationships can be very complicated.

Roger8176, your comments are spot on, he made a mistake, but they need to get over while there’s still time. It’s obvious that he’s a great guy and sorry for what happened. The only reason Heart is in the RRHOF is because of the songs Heart had with him in the band.

Roger had it made for him special just for the cool factor. He used it only on Mistral Wind. He knows where the fingers go. You may be talking about the Fretlight guitars that were made years later.

Too bad they didn't let you go when you were 13. Glad you got to see us in 2013. Thanks for coming down. There were a lot of Canadians there.

Sad but true

👍 agreed

totally agree Thomas. These Dreams and What About Love are as pop as u can get

I wish people would use commas. I scan the comment section and think, who the hell is Roger Heart?

@@Frip36 Lighten up Francis! Who is Roger Heart? The most talented guy in the band. He was the soul of Heart!

Have always regretted missing them when they played a small club in Edmonton back when the album came out. Just love that album. Not a bad song on it.

Also won't happen because the girls can find cheaper musicians

No one cares about them getting back together. And your Eddie Van Halen comment was dumb.

Richard - "right up there with EVH" ok. lmfao

She did bury the hatchet. Nancy dropped him for Derosier.

Richard...I like Roger Fisher a lot but he was NOWHERE NEAR EVH ;)

that would be an epic guitar album if they ever worked together

Like awesomeness.

What a great idea!

Yes, it's too bad the original Heart lineup fell apart. I've seen the documentaries that go over all that. Don't want to talk about it. Ann and Nancy do awesome versions of the original Heart songs, and better versions of Led Zeppelin than LZ did themselves.

There was a blow up Oct 1980 (or 79, I forget) and Rog got the boot. With Rog gone it descended downhill. by 86, no original members, really. (Ann and Nancy were asked to join, originally).

What happened is that the Wilson sisters heads exploded and they thought that THEY were Heart. The dumbest move in rock history was their slow evisceration of that original band. The whole band was the tightest most exciting band I've ever seen in 50 years of going to concerts. They were like a 6 headed monster BUT Ann and Roger were THE sound of the original Heart ands when Roger was dumped that band evaporated as he walked away. That's it ion a nutshell. Plain & simple.

A much grateful thank you to whoever gave a thumbs up, but even made it a 'Highlighted Comment' of this Roger Fisher instructional video. I'm very flattered. Thank you again whoever you are! I hope I can post an equally appreciated remark somewhere else on RU-vid. It's very nice to NOT be ignored or bashed here on RU-vid.

Neal - big fan here, also played in a Heart tribute band previously, and I agree with much of what you have written, especially the part about Mike Derosier -- hands down the only one who could have stepped in for the late and irreplaceable John Bonham. However, in fairness to Nancy and in the interest of true history, I am not sure it was Nancy who cheated first -- are you? Neither of us were there, and presuming you are not so close to either that you have direct second-hand knowledge, I believe Nancy has stated that Roger was caught cheating and that led to their break-up, not the other way around. Regardless, while the beginnings of the band and the rock spirit belonged to Roger, let's not forget that arguably Heart's finest hour was/is Dog & Butterfly, and with that record it was clear that Ann & Nancy (and the often overlooked Sue Ennis) had a wealth of talent without Roger, who contributed to the writing of only two of of the eight tracks on that masterpiece. Lastly, while it is likely an impossible pipe-dream, wouldn't an original line-up reunion be fantastic? I had tickets in the '70's to see it and I got sick, never getting the chance to see the original band. I was lucky enough to have seen over 30 shows since, meeting the band and getting autographs and backstage (thank you Kelly Curtis!) but never had the opportunity the see the original band. What a phenomenal band. Wouldn't that be a nice way to bring the career full circle, and say goodbye properly?!!?

Neal Van - Have you read Kicking and Dreaming, Ann and Nancy’s memoir? Everything you say they refuse to mention is in the book. I like Heart best with Roger, Mike, Howard and Steve, too, but it seems as though you may be a tad biased because Roger wrote you back and the others didn’t. Surely, it was nice of him, but that doesn’t make him a saint or make him automatically correct in everything he espouses, either. As they say, there are three sides to the story: Hers, his and the truth. Peace.

TL DR

Neal; Didn't you write for Rolling Stone? Great post !!

Damn, since the girls took all the face-time I didn't even know the guitarists. I'm gonna go check out old Heart albums and pay more attention to the guitarwork.

@@Frip36 Hello. Do it. Roger has some great stuf on those albums.

Azfun6 They went from a kick ass rock band to a pop band

@@ralex3697 Beatles was a pop band. What's wrong with that?

I'm actually gonna check that out.

Captain Sunday Did you have any luck finding that Heart concert?

@@nrwlkguy Yep. At first I checked RU-vid. And got Largo '78. So I thought you just got the city wrong. Then went to the Wolfgang site you mentioned. And you're right, it was Seatle. I only got a sample of the concert. The sound quality is superb, and the playing is on fire. I'm going to subscribe to that site. Seems to be some sort of quality bootleg or old FM radio King Biscuit quality recordings. Thanks for the heads-up. I casually know Heart. But may be a band I need to really get to know.

Captain Sunday It was an old King Biscuit, and I used to have it on cassette, until all my cassettes were stolen, and when I seen it on Wolfgangs music, I couldn’t believe it. You won’t be disappointed, and everything on that site is concerts.

@@nrwlkguy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tnaQCKdYvBA.html

Nance makes herself look pretty silly. Sorry you said that, Nance. You should remove that post, if possible.

Yes, case in point the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Wonderful Crazy On You with the original line up to a complete cluster with the current touring band. They couldn't get the riff OR the rhythm right. It was there for all to see the magic of the original line up vs. the current touring band.

exactly-couldnt agree more!