Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers

Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers at Saint Rocke in 2015
Background information
Origin Tempe, Arizona, USA
Genres Americana, Southern Rock, Pop, Reggae
Years active 1998–present
Labels EmmaJava Recordings
Associated acts The Refreshments, Gin Blossoms, Railbenders, Gloritone, The Mortals
Website www.azpeacemakers.com
Members Roger Clyne
Paul "P.H." Naffah
Nick Scropos
Jim Dalton
Past members Scott "Scotty" Johnson
Danny White
Steve Larson

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers are a rock band from Tempe, Arizona, USA. The band is typically referred to by the fans as the abbreviation "RCPM". The music is known to cross genres with songs showing an Adult Alternative Rock/Pop/Americana/Reggae/Mariachi influence.

History

After a lineup shift of The Refreshments, a rock band of the 1990s known for their top radio hit "Banditos," and also for the theme song to the long-running animated series King of the Hill, frontman, rhythm guitarist and songwriter Roger Clyne and drummer Paul "P.H." Naffah retooled and set out under the moniker Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers.

Roger Clyne and P.H. Naffah were originally joined by former Gin Blossom Scott Johnson, who left to rejoin his former band in 2002. Also in the mix was Steve Larson, former guitarist for another Tempe band, Dead Hot Workshop, who had already been playing with The Peacemakers by that time. In January, 2009 it was announced that Steve Larson would be departing The Peacemakers and would be replaced by Railbenders frontman, Jim Dalton, on lead guitar.

Also joining Roger and P.H. was bassist Danny White for the first few albums. In early 2004, shortly after the release of ¡Americano!, Danny White left The Peacemakers to start his own recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He was replaced by Nick Scropos who had been the bassist for another Tempe band, Gloritone. Scropos recorded the bass track for one song, the crowd favorite "Green and Dumb", on RCPM's debut CD, Honky Tonk Union. He went to school with P.H. Naffah when they were growing up in Chicago and they seemed destined to get back together as Scropos left Gloritone and was available to play in RCPM.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers tour all over the United States every year and put on their own seaside music festival in Rocky Point, Mexico every June and play to thousands of fans. In June, 2014 they held their 23rd edition of their official Circus Mexicus festival.

Albums

Honky Tonk Union

Honky Tonk Union was released in 1999 in limited quantities with a bonus live CD, Real to Reel. The CD debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Online Album Sales chart.

Sonoran Hope and Madness

RCPM's second studio album was 2002's Sonoran Hope and Madness. This album debuted at #3 on Billboard's Internet Album Sales chart.

¡Americano!

In 2004 the band released their third studio recording, ¡Americano! This album also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Online Album Sales chart as well as No. 19 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and No. 17 on Billboard's Top Music Video Sales chart. The album is accompanied by a full length DVD of live concert footage and band interviews.

Live at Billy Bob's Texas

In March 2005, the Peacemakers recorded their 2nd official live album at Billy Bob's Texas, a famous honky-tonk bar in Texas. The recording sold well enough to make them the only independent band at the time to have five consecutive top-10 albums on the Billboard Internet Sales Chart.

Four Unlike Before

In April 2006, the Peacemakers released a four song EP, Four Unlike Before, as an iTunes exclusive. This EP included 3 alternate versions of songs previously released, as well as a song until then only performed live, "Mexicosis".

No More Beautiful World

The band's fourth studio album, No More Beautiful World, was released on March 20, 2007. No More Beautiful World was produced by Clif Norrell who had previously worked with Roger Clyne on The Refreshments album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy.

The Turbo Ocho Sessions

January 4, 2008, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers started an eight consecutive day audio/video chronicle. A revolutionary reality-recording experiment where the band and crew set up a studio in a seaside home in Rocky Point, Mexico and broadcast daily audio and video episodes of a song a day to thousands of fans back home in the United States. They created and shared, from inspiration to the final mix, 8 songs in 8 days. Three more fan favorites were added to the song lineup for the final physical release two months later.

Glow In the Dark

Shapoopy

Unida Cantina

RCPM's sixth studio album was released April 19, 2011. It hit No. 4 on Billboard's Rock Albums chart and No. 2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart its first week of release.

The Independent

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers' latest album was released on April 29, 2014. The album was produced by RCPM's drummer P.H. Naffah. It debuted at #9 on Billboard's Internet Album Sales chart and climbed to #4 on iTunes Rock chart.

Current activities

Touring

The Peacemakers tour all over the United States multiple times a year. Every record is supported with heavy touring to all of their strong markets and beyond as a headlining band. RCPM have opened for many National acts like Kid Rock, Johnny Cash, Blues Traveler, Sammy Hagar and John Fogerty. In the Spring of 2010 they made their first foray into the U.K. touring scene with a three-week tour schedule across the British Isles.{{Listen to RCPM from the UK on Saturday night February 20, 2010 at 3:20am, blog post for Bob Harris radio show}} Occasionally, Roger Clyne and Paul "P.H." Naffah play acoustic shows just the two of them, or Roger plays acoustic shows just by himself.

Circus Mexicus

Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers are known for their concerts in the Mexican beach town of Rocky Point, Mexico (Puerto Peñasco) called "Circus Mexicus." This concert used to be held semi-annually, with a concert in May and another in October. In 2009, RCPM consolidated the two shows into one yearly Circus Mexicus concert, held each year in June. The music festival has blossomed into 4 days of rock & roll. Past musical guests have included David Lowery and Johnny Hickman of Cracker, Tod Snider, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Eddie Spaghetti of The Supersuckers, Sons of Bill, The Railbenders, Shurman, Dead Rock West, Angie Stevens, Tramps & Thieves. Voted "Best Rock-n-Roll Road Trip" by the Phoenix New Times, 2009. #11 on Phoenix Magazine's 101 Bucket List for things to do before you die.

Roger Clyne's Mexican Moonshine Tequila

Growing up a third generation Arizonan had Roger Clyne with one foot in Arizona and one foot in Mexico. Throughout his youth he worked with Hispanic vaqueros on his family's cattle ranch in Southeastern AZ. He lived in Ensenada, MX for a summer immersion program while a student at ASU, studying Spanish as well as doing an Anthropological-cultural study of Mariachis. One theme that ran strong in all of these experiences was tequila. Roger learned about great tequilas existing in Mexico even though they were not available in the U.S. As his songwriting began to spin tales of tequila fueled adventures, he started pondering his own line of tequila. In 2005, he released a test batch of 1,000 bottles at the band's music festival in Rocky Point, MX and they sold out over the weekend. The experiment was a success. 4 years later with proper paperwork in hand, he debuted his first marque of his tequila and now boasts a full line of Silver, Reposado & Añejo tequilas. He vested his band mates in the project and they work together with Roger to promote their ultra premium tequilas. It is a prominent feature at many of the concert stops along the band's tour route and currently boasts distribution in over 15 states. Roger named his tequila after the song, "Mexican Moonshine" from the album, ¡Americano!, in which the double entendre keeps listeners wondering whether he is singing about the moon's glow in Mexico or the popular liquor derived from the Weber Blue Agave.[1]

January Jam at JJ's

Following the recording of Turbo Ocho in 2008, RCPM have begun to play an annual show at JJ's Cantina in Rocky Point, Mexico (Puerto Peñasco) in January.

Cantina Casts

Starting in January 2013, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers began creating short concert videos by web-casting performances for their fans to view online. The band chose to do this in order to give their fans a snapshot of the new songs they were writing for their upcoming album which debuted the following Spring in April 2014 called, The Independent. The online concerts were at various locations with one on Roger Clyne's back patio, another was at a soundcheck prior to a show, another on tour as well as one pre-recorded in PH Naffah's recording studio. The shows are archived on Livestream and resulted in fans enjoying live music from RCPM and getting a taste of the upcoming album.{http://new.livestream.com/accounts/2333774/cantinacast}

Band members

Current members
  • Roger Clyne – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, kazoo(1998–present)
  • Paul "P.H." Naffah – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1998–present)
  • Nick Scropos – bass guitar, backing vocals (1998, 2004–present)
  • Jim Dalton – lead guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)
Former members
  • Scott "Scotty" Johnson – lead guitar, backing vocals (1998–2002)
  • Danny White – bass guitar, backing vocals (1998–2004)
  • Steve Larson – lead guitar, backing vocals (1998–2009)
Live guests
  • Brian David Blush – lead guitar (2010)

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Hwang, Kellie (April 11, 2011). "Rocker Roger Clyne unveils Mexican Moonshine". The Arizona Republic.

External links