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Printed From Acorn-Online.com Weston Forum
by Patricia Gay
Several decades ago, Mr. Kaufman developed his own line of barbecue sauce called “Rockin’ Roger’s.” To promote the sauce, which is a blend of sweetness and peppery heat, he created an incidental line of T-shirts and hats, and then recorded several R&B tunes called “Music to Barbecue By.” The sauce became a hit, and in 1989 was marketed commercially. During its peak, it was sold by catalog giant Williams Sonoma. It is now available on a smaller scale and sold seasonally at Peter’s Weston Market and Gold’s in Westport. Fast forward to 2008. Though the sauce’s heyday may have come and gone, the incidental music Mr. Kaufman recorded to promote it is now enjoying a life of its own. One of the songs, “My Grill,” has become the “Grilling Anthem” for Weber Grills on its Web site, www.webernation.com. In addition, a CD of Mr. Kaufman’s called "Grill to Thrill" is due out this spring as part of a series that combines boxed recipes and music for special occasions. Mr. Kaufman couldn’t be happier about his new-found success. “I have a triple life,” Mr. Kaufman said at his home on Georgetown Road. “There’s my music, my daytime business, and my family,” he said.
Lifelong resident Mr. Kaufman, 59, is a lifelong resident of Weston, and grew up on Goodhill Road. After a stint at the University of Connecticut in the 1960s, where he studied psychology, he dropped out to pursue his love of music. “Hey, what can I say, it was the ’60s,” he said.He sang bass and tenor in many choral groups, both nationwide and in the Virgin Islands. For a time, he played what he called the “chitlin circuit” in south Florida, before bringing a nine-piece show group from there to New York. Mr. Kaufman also became an accomplished rhythm and blues bass player, and for years has taught bass and vocals. He eventually settled in his hometown of Weston, where he lives with his wife Mary, and daughter Emily, a senior at Weston High School. He also has a grown son, Jonathan. Along the way, Mr. Kaufman developed a love of barbecue. He became fascinated with the throngs of New Yorkers who descended each weekend on Sherwood Island, a state park in Westport. “It was like a weekend-long barbecue boogaloo at Sherwood Island,” Mr. Kaufman said. Riding the crest of the outdoor grilling craze, Mr. Kaufman developed a tomato-based barbecue sauce that combined the mustard-vinegar bite of Carolina ’cue with an infusion of Texas smokiness and Kansas City richness. To add a hefty kick, he added chili and cayenne peppers. To market the product, Mr. Kaufman came up with a cartoon character, a bass-playing barbecue enthusiast called “Rockin’ Roger.” He featured the character — who more than just a little resembles Mr. Kaufman — on every bottle of “Rockin’ Roger’s” barbecue sauce. With several like-minded musicians and friends, Mr. Kaufman developed “Music to Barbecue By,” (now "Grill to Thrill") which featured the songs “Boogaloo at the Barbecue,” “My Grill,” “You Don’t Barbecue Enough,” “Chicken Pickin’,” “Barbecue Beach,” “Boss Sauce,” and “Grillin’ Is Thrillin’.” The tunes have a rhythm and blues beat and catchy lyrics about the wonders and love of all things barbecue. Mr. Kaufman is especially proud of “Chicken Pickin’.” He named it after a song called “Pick A Chicken,” which his grandfather, a song writer, wrote in the 1920s.
Weber grills About 10 years ago, Mr. Kaufman decided to send a copy of his recordings to the Weber Grill Company. A fan of his own Weber Grill, he thought his music was a perfect match for the company.But Weber did not. “Weber is a privately held, family company. They had never bought music from anyone before,” Mr. Kaufman said. The company rejected him numerous times, but Mr. Kaufman persisted. “A Weber executive told me they had a huge pile of music and songs that people sent them. My stuff was in the same heap,” he said. Undaunted, Mr. Kaufman said he spoke to the Weber company so often that the executive said she would listen to his CD, just to “get him out of here.” Then one day, Mr. Kaufman said he received an unassuming looking e-mail from Weber. “I gotta tell you, you’re a heck of a bass player,” the executive wrote. It turned out she loved the barbecue songs, and the company decided to use one selection, “My Grill,” as its anthem on its Web site.
New audience It was a thrill for Mr. Kaufman to see his music appreciated by the grill company and to have the ability to reach out to a new audience.He then wrote some new tunes to freshen up the CD, including “Soul Slaw,” “The Last Barbecue,” and “Lookout for the Cookout.” The songs feature back-up singing by several female vocalists dubbed “The Brickettes.” Mr. Kaufman’s audience will expand even further this spring when a CD of both his original and new songs is featured in Sharon O’Connor’s Music Cooks series, called Menus and Music. Each title in the series contains recipe cards and a musical CD to accompany meals prepared from the recipes. For example, a Caribbean set includes island-style food and drink recipes along with a CD of calypso music. Mr. Kaufman’s set will feature outdoor grilling recipes and a CD of his specialized barbecue songs. When he isn’t busy devising more ways to spread the joy of all things barbecue, Mr. Kaufman may be seen performing bass with the local R&B band, Old School Revue. The band also features Westonites Chris Coogan and David Weber, and former Hall and Oates guitarist Jeff Southworth of Westport. Mr. Kaufman also recently produced “The Female Vocal Revue,” a showcase for local female vocalists, which played at the Georgetown Saloon earlier this month. What Mr. Kaufman’s next entreprenurial adventure will be is anybody’s guess. But one thing is for certain, it will be something he loves. As the dedication on “Grill to Thrill” says, “This is dedicated to the Rockin’ Roger inside us, whose lives are the passionate pursuit of whatever makes them happy.” © Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers |
