EVERETT — You have heard Roger Fisher before.
He’s the guy playing the hard-driving guitar riff in the 1977 song “Baraccuda” by the Seattle band Heart.
Fisher and his friend, bassist Steve Fossen, were Bothell-area teens when they started the band in the late 1960s, long before the group became known as Heart.
At the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2013, the members of Heart from the mid-to-late-1970s (sisters Anne and Nancy Wilson, keyboardist Howard Leese, drummer Michael DeRosier, Fossen and Fisher) reunited for the first time in 34 years to play “Crazy on You.” Heart also was joined by Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam for a version of “Barracuda.”
After leaving the band, Fisher, Fossen and DeRosier played for a while with the group Alias. The bassist and the drummer now play in the band Heart by Heart, which performs regularly in Snohomish County.
And Fisher, who lives near Monroe, has a new project, too.
It’s a four-part compilation called One Vision, which includes audio, visual and book formats. It’s produced by Fisher’s brother, Michael — a former Heart manager, engineer and producer, and owner of a sound company that has provided services to Nirvana and other bands. On the side, Roger Fisher builds guitars.
Their home base is Soundgate, the former Musical Hall, at the Everett Mall, where Fisher’s band rehearses and records.
The first album of songs, “All Told,” is set for release on Feb. 14, which, coincidentally, is Roger Fisher’s 65th birthday.
Before that can happen, however, the project needs to raise more money for publicity, marketing and a tour.
The Fisher brothers put their project on Kickstarter, an online crowd-funding resource. So far, it hasn’t raised what they anticipated. The deadline is 2 p.m. Jan. 5. The clock is ticking.
However, the brothers remain excited about the project.
The inspiration is far-reaching. It’s about the milestones of human experience. It’s about peace and spiritual awakening.
“We need a global wake-up call. People are so hostile and angry,” Roger Fisher said. “Unless we pay attention, things don’t look good.”
If that sounds like a downer, you need to know that the album is uplifting.
The feel is classic rock. You can hear Heart, Yes, Springsteen and Tom Petty in it. But it’s also new, with musical sounds from around the world.
“It’s an eclectic mix of music,” Michael Fisher said. “My brother remains a seriously talented songwriter and musician.”
Favorites on the disc include “Dear Friend,” a touching love song, and “Father,” a tribute to their dad, Hank Fisher.
The album wraps up with the Heart song “Love Alive.”
“In the context of the project, the song means so much more now than it did when Roger wrote the song with the Wilson sisters,” Michael Fisher said. “This rendition feels more complete.”
A fine addition to Fisher’s current band is Rachael Beaver, a 27-year-old singer and electric cello player.
Beaver graduated from Edmonds-Woodway High School and attended Cornish College of the Arts, where in her last year she began playing with the band Days of the New. She has played with a long list of top musicians and local bands, and regional groups, including Seattle Rock Orchestra. She now is a teaching assistant in the Edmonds School District music program and also performs with Synergia Northwest.
“Each project I have been in has been better than the last,” Beaver said. “This one is really cool, nearly other worldly.”
Marty Hoyle, 52, an assistant football coach at Bothell High School, plays keyboards. Rick Boice, 59, is the band’s drummer.
“Our chemistry is great,” Boice said. “The concept is one that we all need.”
Michael Fisher agrees.
“We are living and breathing this project.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
