San Diego Reader

Known to many as Mojo Nixon’s musical sideman from the ’80s, Skid Roper — at 55 — is hoping for his own turn in the spotlight. “I don’t like to think that my time has completely passed. I spent a lot of years playing in many bands, supporting other people’s music, and kind of forgot about my own.”

For Rock and Roll Part 3, his first solo record in 18 years, he does most all the playing and vocals. “I could only afford three hours of studio time per week,” says Roper (real name Richard Banke). “Many times, not even that. Months would go by without any recording progress.”

Several of his former cohorts guest on the album, including Jose Sinatra (vocals), Jonny Viau (sax and flute), and Joel Kmak (drums). Lest you think an acrimonious breakup was what ended Roper’s famous musical partnership, he points out, “Mojo Nixon added bongos on one track, ‘Hope.’ He’s actually a pretty good bongo player.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR CD PLAYER?

1. Buddy Holly, The Apartment Tapes. “It’s just Buddy and his acoustic guitar, in his apartment in New York, without the later band overdubs. Splendid.”

2. NRBQ, NRBQ at Yankee Stadium. “One of my favorite bands of all time, with good songwriting, singing, and playing. Though they’re not really playing at Yankee Stadium. The cover shows them sitting in the stands of an otherwise empty ballpark.”

3. William Shatner, The Transformed Man. “Of course, I don’t listen to the Shakespeare. I only like ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’ ”

WHAT TUNE IS STUCK IN YOUR HEAD TODAY?

“I’m infatuated with a song from the mockumentary movie soundtrack to A Mighty Wind. It’s called ‘When You’re Next to Me,’ by [film characters] Mitch and Mickey. It’s only in the closing credits, but I love it.”

WHY HAVEN’T WE HEARD YOU SING MUCH BEFORE?

“You weren’t paying attention.”

YOUR MOST OFFBEAT INSTRUMENT?

“Last year, I made a Dobro-type ampliphonic acoustic steel guitar using a heart-shaped pie pan with holes drilled into it and glued to the top of an old Silvertone guitar. Actually, the first one I ever made back in the 1970s is still hanging on the wall over at Moze Guitars in La Mesa.”

MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS?

“I can’t afford any magazine subscriptions, but my mom gave me a subscription to Smithsonian magazine. It ran out recently, and I never renewed it.”

FAVORITE CARTOON?

“Lately, I’m enjoying the old episodes of South Park on Channel 6. I just saw the one poking holes in Scientology, the episode that made Isaac Hayes quit doing the voice of Chef because he was a Scientologist.”

SCARIEST MOVIE?

“When I was a kid, the Rodan movie was truly scary to me. It’s laughably corny now, but when you’re a child, you don’t see crappy scenery and a man in a suit.”

BEST ADVICE YOU’VE GOTTEN?

“The artist Rick Griffin once signed one of his Fillmore posters for me with the words ‘Fortune favors the brave.’ ”

READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

“I just finished a great biography of Alexander Hamilton. He’s on the ten-dollar bill but was not president. Everyone knows about Jefferson and Washington, but Hamilton is one of the most fascinating founding fathers. He never thought that Aaron Burr would actually shoot him in their famous duel. Ouch.”

EVER MIX POLITICS AND MUSIC?

“On the new album, ‘Monday Afternoon’ has a chorus that repeats, ‘Waddie Deddeh’ over and over. He was a local politico I remember as a kid. I always liked his kooky name and thought it should be in a song. So now it is.”

WHAT’S “MONDAY AFTERNOON” ABOUT?

“Everything in the lyrics is true. I was going out with a girl who wanted to go to San Francisco. On a Monday afternoon, she announced to me that we had to break up. Her best friend secretly told me it was because she wanted to visit her ex-boyfriend in Frisco with a clear conscience. I was not sad when, later, I heard that she crashed her car on the way up the coast. Karma.”

FAVORITE PERFORMANCE TUNE?

“I love to play ‘Skid Drive’ live ’cause it has a couple of fake endings and people on the dance floor don’t know what to do. Then, when it finally does end for real, they keep dancing. It never fails.”

YOUR SONG “HOPE” IS SPOKEN WORD — WOULD YOU EVER DO HIP-HOP?

“No, I really don’t care for hip-hop. I love a melody too much.”

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU FEW WOULD KNOW OR GUESS?

“I love old barbershop harmony.”