The Dodgy was in New Orleans at the end of May and interviewed in person Davis Rogan.
Davis Rogan at Three Muses (May 30) photo by LIffey
One of the lead characters on HBO’s Treme, which had its final season in December, was based on Rogan. Steve Zahn played Davis McAlary, a radio disc jockey and band member/leader – like Rogan.
Rogan also served as a consultant on Treme and was a writer on one of the episodes. He also appeared in several episodes as a member of McAlary’s band.
According to nola.com Treme creator David (The Wire) Simon came to know Rogan through his music and became so close that Rogan taught piano to Simon’s son.
“Davis clearly was a muse for the character Davis McAlary,” Simon said in the article. “And he prevailed upon us to leave the (character) name Davis. We did, fully cognizant that we probably created the New Orleans version of (“Seinfeld’s”) Kramer. He’ll be giving Davis tours.
“Davis did something very courageous with his character. We told him, ‘The character is going to have a lot of your wit. You’re a funny guy.’ And some of his references are wonderfully sort of distant from the scene. He’s able to comment on the scene in a sociopolitical way that some characters are not. He becomes, in a way, a sort of Greek chorus for the piece, and that’s really valuable.
“Here’s what I admire about Davis. I said to him, ‘Look, you know that I love a lot of the aspects of your existence that you’re giving me. It’s great stuff. Steve Zahn is going to have a field day. But you also know the writers are going to write fictional stuff. I’m not saying that the guy’s going to crawl through the sewers and (have sex with) an alligator, but he may end up doing stuff you don’t personally agree with. He certainly will not represent anything close to the reality of your life. If I were you, I’d want a little distance.”
The Dodgy caught Rogan’s gig on Frenchmen Street at Three Muses and between sets we sat outside for a chat. What came out of that chat will appear here soon. Needless to say it was interesting, and at times I felt like I was in an episode of Treme. Those who know the show will understand. It was a lot of fun.
Davis Rogan and “Davis McAlary” (Steve Zahn) in “Treme” (and Steve Earle!)
Davis Rogan and Wendell Pierce in “Treme”
The Davis Rogan interview on The Dodgy is coming soon.
Filed under: Interviews
