Collectible Guitar NovDec 2016 | Page 28

FEATURE WILL IT PLAY IN PEORIA? ROGER THAT! Guy Arseneau  From left to right are Roger Kelch, Tony Shaw on drums, Steve Foster (center) on guitar and Jerry Foley (far right) on bass guitar. It is a city of countless punch lines and the the rhetorical mantra behind almost every new of reference continues to be reflected by and subject of constant jokes. Yet it is also the heart entertainment venue, social trend, advertising flourishing in the city’s commitment to country and center of America. In a culture dominated campaign and political movement in America. music. Nowhere is this more apparent than by high finance on Wall Street and high living in the talent and virtuosity of guitar player/ on Rodeo Drive, the opinions and sentiments Founded in 1691 and situated on the banks collector Roger Kelch. A well-known figure expressed by the folks on the main streets of of the Illinois River, this urban center with a at Bogie’s, Peoria’s intimate and down home Peoria, Illinois consume and concern politicians, population of 115,000, is the oldest European country music bar, Kelch utilizes his musical celebrities and advertising tycoons throughout settlement in the state of Illinois. Peoria’s skills and collectible guitars to entertain patrons the United States. “Will it Play in Peoria?” is still reputation as Middle America’s cultural point at this 80 seat lounge that caters to those who enjoy, in his words, “The type of music found in the songs of Patsy Kline, Eric Clapton and the musical group Cream.” A one-time employee of Caterpillar, Inc. and currently the owner, along with his wife, Denise, of a flourishing company that designs and installs marine fabrications for luxury boats, Kelch states his commitment to music began in childhood. “When I was in grade school,” he recalls, “a neighbor boy and classmate of mine brought a guitar to school and gave a concert, so to speak, in the auditorium. Seeing the way the girls swooned over him, I knew that playing music was going to be a way of life for me.” Committed to the allure of stringed instruments, photos: Joseph Costantino 28 continued on page 30 Nov  Dec 2016 CollectibleGuitar.com