Premiere- Lance Rogers: Green Empire
My colleague, the delightful Ryan Bush, has written a couple of dynamite reviews of Lance Rogers in the past HERE and HERE.
Whilst waiting for “Green Empire” assets to arrive in my mailbox, I realized I should use my free time to research and start gathering background information. While scouring the interwebs, I found myself being drawn in like a moth to a flame consuming every song of Lance Rogers I could find. No matter how many songs I found, played, spun or devoured an unquenchable thirst would remain, always leaving me wanting more.
Lance Rogers has an inate ability to convey a lifetime of feelings and emotion into each and every lyric he sings while eliciting and extracting an introspective and deeply reflective emotional response from the listener. His ability to transpose the pain in his heart and soul onto yours is first rate and reminds me of the incredible Ben Danaher, both of whom create such incredible weepers (or sad songs) that make me feel so happy. Such as the song, “Echos” from Lance Rogers self-titled album containing such fantastic lyrics such as "I cried so much that I’m not sad anymore, just write these songs and play guitar.” “Green Empire” provides an upbeat escape from his true genius and offers a brief respite in wallowing over things that should have been and trying to remain above the surface of a deep abyss.
I found several YouTube and Facebook videos of Lance Rogers playing “Green Empire,” armed with only an acoustic guitar, feverishly playing the living heck out of it as if he was somehow pushed to the brink and only had one more chance to convince the world that he deserved our attention. Well, he caught mine and I know that he will soon, too, command yours.
This Friday, Lance Rogers finally releases the die hard fan favorite “Green Empire” single, co-written with Micah Howard and Phillip David Harris. This song is a cool four minutes and eighteen seconds of badassery (or solid gunslinging prowess) about a pair of “pot farmers who are having a relationship problem.” When compared to the previous intense string breaking solo live versions, this newly released full band version of “Green Empire” is completely elevated, gaining more character and depth as the song is suddenly brought to life by the presence of a talented band. Everything is more polished, refined and somehow more alive and impossibly more energetic. Lots of terrific song lyrics with a couple that are sure to delight: “When you are growing the good stuff, you can’t even trust a friend” and “Girl, I am the flame and you are the breeze.”
There is a pseudo pace change or maybe it's just a musical transition that occurs mid way through that ratchets up the intensity and carries along with it a sort of Shane Smith and the Saints vibe. It seems the fiddle player feels like he wants to absolutely fly off the rails and just might if not for the lead guitar swooping in and landing a few mighty blows that I’m calling immaculate interwoven magic. Not sure if it’s the bourbon or if I just want to believe in miracles but I swear that it’s as if Dustin “Sunshine” Schaefer and Bennett Brown are along for the ride. Babe Ruth famously called his shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. Perhaps with a little more whisky and time, I would be willing to call my shot, but it really doesn’t matter as the backing band is superb and deserving of high praise no matter their names. Who was that masked man? This track is straight fire!
While I am charged solely with the task of writing about "Green Empire," I would be derelict if I didn't mention a few other Lance Rogers musical gems: “I Shouldn’t Be Driving Right Now”, “Change”, “Lipstick”, “Outside the Lines”, “Echos” and “Coyote’s Cry.” So, do yourselves a favor and download all the Lance Rogers songs listed in this review and buckle up for one heck of a ride. I dub this playlist Marvelous Melancholy Mystic With a Splash of Napalm.
Find out more about Lance at the link below:
