A Patron of the Arts

Andrew Rogers went from working in a newsroom to heading up the Albuquerque Museum Foundation, a role which helps him share our community’s love of art and culture.

Before he traversed the country — working in places such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver — as part of a wide-ranging career path, Andrew Rodgers proved he wasn’t afraid to get dirty. Rodgers entered the workforce early, selling concessions and merchandise at a quarter-mile NASCAR dirt track owned by his uncle in Macon, Ill. While that didn’t lead to a career epiphany for an ambitious 8-year-old, it did show he wasn’t afraid to diversify.

“It wasn’t like I was a big race car fan,” he says. “Years later, I did get into Formula One racing. I suppose that probably originates from those early days climbing around a race car stand, dodging flying mud clumps and just loving every minute of it.”

Once he entered the professional phase of his career, Rodgers jumped in the deep end and never looked back. After starting out as a staff writer with the Chicago Tribune, the Decatur, Ill., native transitioned to the film industry, where he worked approximately two decades promoting and overseeing some of the country’s most prominent film festivals. He shifted gears yet again two years ago when he accepted a position as executive director and CEO of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation, a non-profit organization that through fundraising looks to provide more opportunities to experience the art, history and events offered by the Albuquerque Museum.

The one constant throughout Rodgers’ career has been his mission-driven ethos, but even he couldn’t have predicted the journey he’d take to his current position.

“I think if you asked 8-year-old me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d probably give you some ridiculous answer. I wanted to be Han Solo or a Lego model builder or a baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals,” he says. “I had no realistic dreams about what I wanted to do. I certainly didn’t envision the career path I ended up on.

ATM: Your first true professional job was a newspaper staff writer with the Chicago Tribune. How did you start at such a prominent publication?

RODGERS: I worked on the student newspaper at Eastern Illinois University. I also was a stringer for my hometown paper covering city council meetings, and then I got an internship the summer before my junior year in college at a small farm newspaper in Illinois. I had some small professional experience.

The summer before I graduated there was an internship job fair in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune was there. I later learned one of the advisors to my college had signed me up for an interview with this woman because I think he thought I had a little bit too big a head on me. He set me up with this interview with the Chicago Tribune thinking she was gonna destroy me. It just so happened that six months before (the interview) I stumbled across the web and learned how to program HTML. I built my own website, and I think I did a pretty cool job with it.… I got the internship, which was really amaz- ing …They offered me a job at the end of my internship. After I graduated, I had a job waiting for me at one of the most prestigious papers in the country.

ATM: What prompted you to switch from the newspaper industry to a different career path?

RODGERS: In L.A., I was covering the film industry, which was something that I thought I always wanted to do — go to movie premieres, interview actors and directors, go to film festivals. I very quickly discovered that I really, really hated it. I hated kind of a lot about it. It felt empty. It felt totally unfulfilling. I was surprised by what I found. At the same time, I really did like when I got into film festivals and attended as a journalist. I found that to be an interesting community. When I left the Tribune company, I sort of bumbled around just a little bit and stumbled across the opportunity to work for the Sundance Film Festival, which obviously is the biggest film festival in the United States, as a publicist.

Moving from journalism to publicity is kind of a time-honored tradition. It wasn’t a big stretch for me to go that direction... it was still about amplifying storytelling, but it was on the other side of the fence. I really loved the opportunity to engage with folks on that level.

ATM: What initially made you interested in the Albuquerque Museum Foundation?

RODGERS: I’ve worked in film for a couple decades and rose through the ranks in the positions I had. I was really grateful and honored to be able to do (that). I did reach a point where I was looking at options and said, what do I do next? I’ve got a wife and two small children. I’m also the kind of person who likes a challenge and who’s interested in keeping things interesting in being able to contribute and grow both personally and also to be able to help an organization grow. I reached a point where I didn’t know if that was possible at what I was doing. I’d have to move to New York or L.A. to really make a next step in the film world and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that.

The job at the Albuquerque Museum Foundation came along right in the middle of the pandemic. I was intrigued by it, and as I interviewed I just fell in love with the people and the institution. I just could feel that this was a job I could align with and would be a great fit for both me and my family. It just felt like the right job at the right time. It could use my talents but I also could learn a lot from it.

ATM: What do you enjoy most about your current role?

RODGERS: The thing that I love most about my position is I get to talk with so many different people about their love and appreciation for the Albuquerque Museum and art and history in general. I’m a mission-driven guy, and I’ve been drawn over my career to the arts and to supporting organizations that further the arts. That’s one of my greatest joys is that the vast majority of people that I work with, it’s about sharing that love of the arts, history and culture. I get to be around that all day, every day — which is such an honor and a privilege.

ATM: You helped arrange the return of some priceless Mexican antiquities in the Foundation’s collection to the Mexican government. What stands out to you from that experience?

RODGERS: I think what really struck me was I had to piece together the history of what this is all about. I was able to track down the descendants of the people who contributed it as well as the original dealer who sold it. That was using journalistic techniques. It was like I was an investigative journalist all over again. It was so much fun. Us taking the leap and saying we’re going to return these objects, we want these to be in their rightful place, gives us the opportunity to help others and to encourage others to also do the same. I viewed it as raising awareness but also lowering the barriers.

ATM: What should people know about your organization?

RODGERS: We’re able to direct support in a lot of different ways because the Albuquerque Museum has so many great different programs. We can direct support to their general operations, the acquisition of art, the furtherance of telling stories in the history collection, educational outreach. Our biggest program that we do each year is one that’s kind of quiet. The Foundation pays for the school buses and admissions for kids K-12 throughout the region to come for free to the museum and have a museum experience. I feel very strongly that can be a wonderful, life-affirming thing. For many of them it may be the only time they’ve ever stepped foot in this kind of a museum.

ATM: What do you enjoy doing as a stress reliever in your spare time?

RODGERS: Most of my free time is spent with my family. My daughters are in Girl Scouts and I volunteer with that. I find a lot of enjoyment in being with them and my wife. Outside of that, I’m an avid reader. As a former newspaper reporter, I stay current with current events and I read several newspapers every day. I write short stories, fiction. That’s something I like to do to decompress and take a few hours and craft a world from scratch.

ATM: Who do you credit for the success of your career?

RODGERS: As varied and interesting as my career has been, I owe a major portion of it to my wife. She’s moved along with me to these places to the detriment of her career. She is from Europe and is a filmmaker, a producer and has had a really interesting career in her own right. She’s far more intelligent and far better looking than I ever have been. I definitely married up. If I have to give credit to the success I’ve had so far, I absolutely give it to her.

ATM: You’ve lived in a few different parts of the country, including several large cities. What stands out to you about Albuquerque?

RODGERS: Having lived in Denver and having grown up in the Midwest, I love every single day the sun setting in the west, you can actually see the sunset and it lights up the city in such a golden, beautiful way. Obviously the Sandia Mountains are just gorgeous. I love the natural beauty, the light, the land of the region. I think the architecture is fascinating. I have absolutely grown to love green chile. Growing up in the Midwest I had a very bland palate. Moving out here I never thought I’d embrace chile, but man, I put green chile on everything now.

One of the things people who live here don’t even recognize is this is a state that really, deeply believes in the arts and supports it … If you step back for a minute and you look at New Mexico in that spirit, I think New Mexicans in general really see the value of the arts, culture and expression. That’s something that is particularly unique and unites all of New Mexicans. It shows in the quality of our institutions.

TRISTEN CRITCHFIELD

BY DON JAMES/ATM

Rock of Ages

Having attended 1,000+ music shows, Paul Danclovic is a bonafide concert junkie who has been immersing himself in ABQ’s live music scene for more than 50 years.

Paul Danclovic might seem unassuming and quiet, but the 66-year-old can lay a solid claim to being ABQ’s most devoted fan of live rock & roll shows. Beginning with a 1970 Jimi Hendrix show he attended at age 15 at the old Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Danclovic (or “Danc” to his friends) has attended more than 1,000 concerts—and has nearly every ticket stub to prove it. I met Danc in 1980, and learned quickly that he’s an incredible guitarist in addition to being a music historian. But it’s at live shows where his really finds himself in “the zone,” much like a track star in his lane, or a boxer in the ring.

This senior rocker, who is as physically fit as when he was a kid, cruises through the crowd and is right at home at the front of the stage, among the young screaming fanatics, with arms raised, pumping signs of devotion, trying to draw energy from the music. He’s seen all of his favorite guitar gods numerous times: Dimebag

Darrell, Buckethead, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen, John 5, Zakk Wylde, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Tosin Abasi, Yngwie Malmsteen. He’s also been to multiple shows of Rammstein, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Tool, Metallica. But don’t think this man’s musical tastes stop here, as his tastes are all over the rock music map.

To see his book of ticket stubs is a wondrous, rich and resonant experience, which brings back memories of what rock music was and has become. The dates on the tickets—70s, 80s, last year—are like markers of the social changes we’ve all witnessed in America and in our lives, tapping on themes of youth vs. ageing, and dreams vs. disappointments. As one peruses the tickets, it’s easy to be drawn to favorite bands or singers. But you also can’t help but realize there is incredible diversity in the shows Danc has attended.

Every genre is there: classic rock, Americana, soul, blues, folk, acoustic, headbanger metal, and so on.

He’s attended concerts in many cities, but the roots of Danc’s story as a live show connoisseur are firmly in Albuquerque and New Mexico. For virtually any legendary act that stopped in ABQ, he was there. At UNM’s University Arena, he witnessed Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones (with opening act Stevie Wonder), Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Ten Years After, Ted Nugent, Yes, BB King, the Beach Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Van Halen. At UNM’s Student Ballroom, he saw ZZ Top, Mahavishnu Orchestra and the Ramones. He saw Pantera at the Historic El Rey Theater as the place went uncontrollably mad with mosh pits. His list of shows at the Civic Auditorium include Canned Heat, AC/DC with original singer Bon Scott, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, Bad Company and others. At UNM’s Johnson Gym, he saw the Kinks,

The Mothers of Invention (with Frank Zappa on guitar), Traffic, Free, Yes, Steve Miller and Jim Croce. He saw the amazing Arc Angels at the old Albuquerque bar The Hungry Bear. He saw the Allman Brothers and Little Feat in October of 1991 at the Santa Fe Downs, under a turquoise sky on an incredibly gorgeous New Mexico day.

With half a century’s worth of experience attending concerts, Danc has seen quite a few changes. He points out that general admission shows used to be the norm, but due to a need for crowd safety, GA tickets are a rarity these days. He does mention that venues like ABQ’s downtown Sunshine Theater still allow for open standing at shows. But in general, live concerts are under much stricter rules and are not as free form. Also, a major change is that concerts are mostly about merchandising, Danc says, and with promoters more in control, ticket prices are through the roof. Today’s big acts like the Rolling Stones shows can easily command premium tickets of $1,000 or more. That contrasts with some of the Rolling Stone tickets from Danc’s collection that were bought for a mere $5.

When Paul attends a rock show, he is there like an academic, he doesn’t talk or dance and takes every fact in, what cymbals are being played and what brand of drums and guitars and amps and who played with what band that night and how set lists differ from one town to the next. His mind is a rock lexicon. Paul’s ability to remember musical facts and sounds and his recall for the most minute detail of any show he has seen is stunning, but while watching the concert, he is as focused as a chess master in a world championship match.

For the past several years, Danc has been a manager at Paradise Village, a local audio and home entertainment store. Prior to that, this Del Norte and UNM graduate started out his career working for ABQ’s famed Maloof family from 1980 to 1986, overseeing their hotels in Grants and Farmington. Danc has maintained his close friendship with both Joe and Gavin Maloof, Joe being a Sigma Chi frat brother, and both brothers are absolute rock fanatics. Gavin, in fact, has become a guitar shredder in his own right, with teachers such as Pat Thrall (formerly of Pat Travers and Asia) as well as Meat Loaf, among many others. Once, when hanging out with Gavin at a heavy metal concert in Las Vegas, Gavin brought his own tour bus and parked it backstage and they hung out with Five Finger Death Punch and Korn.

Should you happen to run into Danc at a local show (and now that you know his story, you just might), ask him for the privilege of being allowed to thumb through his immense ticket stub collection. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller—a rock music fanatic himself—should consider placing in a local museum or at the Civic Center, for all to see and enjoy. It’s a true artist’s devotional work and demonstration of selflessly supporting the arts, around the US, but of course mostly in Danc’s beloved Albuquerque. JOSEPH

BACA

(EDITOR’S NOTE: BACA AND DANC HAVE BEEN FRIENDS FOR 40 YEARS, WHICH PROVIDED BACA WITH THE BACKGROUND INFO FOR THIS STORY.)

Instead of cash or toys, show your love with the gift of education. Your contribution to a 529 college savings plan from The Education Plan can have a huge impact on reducing future student loan debt. Give your loved ones a meaningful gift that will help pay for future education expenses with The Education Plan, New Mexico’s state-sponsored 529 plan. Learn more at:

PHOTO BY DON JAMES/ATM