Tuesday, June 16, 2020

A Roger Clyne Primer 16Jun20

Yea, we are ~8 albums in but there's still so much to hear about Roger Clyne. He and his bands deliver sw punk, Americana, rock and more - all independently produced with keen effectiveness. Kala & I met in the Soronan dessert and love it. So does Roger Clyne; so do the Gin Blossoms. The earliest days saw Wheelie as the 1st drop - this set of raw tracks are out of print and can only be bought with a ~$250 investment on eBay or AMZ.
Fortunately all tracks were re-released on the studio debut with band, the Refreshments, completely awesome vibe on Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. Enter Down Together ("I could eat some gum and have my breath so minty flesh to kiss you"), Mekong ("if your bottle's empty help yourself to mine"), Banditos ("look deep into my eyes like I am a supermodel - the United Federation of Planets where they speak English everywhere; I got the pistol so I keep the pesos, that seems fair"),  Suckerpunch ("I was never cool enough to get a job at a record store"); Nada ("I'm just waiting for the coal black soul of mine to come alive."). So much more in the intro set. Only one track was un-re-recorded, Psycho, except I found it on an crap movie and obscure soundtrack for "An American Werewolf In Paris." Both Refreshments offers are anxious and very fine but all things change and some folks needed to move on. Listen carefully. These formative offers were maybe the best, but years of keen alt stuff was coming.
Then the transition with some of the band and a guitarist from Gin Blossoms, another fine band from the valley. Don't believe we were in a musical desert, we were raging. Roger Clyne moved on with skill to form The Peacemakers. He is well understood throughout the southwest and is adored for live shows from PHX through Mexico (we've attended and can attest). He never gave up the rights to his stuff - the wicked independence is the stuff of legend. The offers  under RCPM (Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers) are more musically refined and they're always supported by the Peacemakers for years, an awesome and refined backing band. Honky Tonk Union 1999, Sonoran Hope and Madness 2002, then my fav to date Americano! 2004, Turbo Ocho 2008, The Independent 2014, Native Heart 2017. Gr8 catalog... yea, I paid him for all this stuff.

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