Randy Rogers Band
with Honey Browne
WHEN: Tonight, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Las Palmas Event Center, 500 E. Hackberry, McAllen
COST: $20
FOR MORE INFO: (956) 500-7000

By Miriam Ramirez
mramirez@themonitor.com 

At 13, Randy Rogers' first songs revolved around unrequited love, the peril's of a relationship and girls, girls and more girls.

Looking back, he admits he was ahead of his time but knew becoming a lyricist was his calling.

"I guess I was trying to be an adult," said Rogers in a phone interview from his stop in Manhattan, Kans. "I was mimicking adults around me but at 13 when I started writing these songs it was pretty clear in my mind I wanted to write. It was pre-destined...chosen for me."

From an early age, music was an everyday part of Rogers' life. His dad and best friend regularly played guitar and sang in the house and Rogers' great grandmother Ruth taught him how to play the piano when he was six years old. By the time he was a teenager, he was writing songs and teaching himself to play chords on guitar.

"As kids we would play house parties," he says of his first crack at the stage. "One girl who wasn't as musically inclined ran the lights."

From neighborhood parties, to family gatherings in his Cleburne, Texas home, Rogers showcased his budding talent in country music to anyone who would lend an ear. His love for music grew over the years when he started to take notice of artists like Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Don Williams, The Beatles and even Pearl Jam. He began experimenting with his live show when his high school garage band performed a Stone Temple Pilots cover in a talent show.

Slowly but surely, Rogers broke out of the garage and into the highly regarded music venue Cheatham St. Warehouse in San Marcos, which he considers a breeding ground for young talent.

"I would do open mic night every Wednesday," he said. "It's a place where you can go be yourself and do your thing. I went religiously for six months."

Soon after him and his buddies created the Randy Rogers Band and held their first rehearsal, they cut their debut record - Live at Cheatham St. Warehouse.

That was six years ago and well over 1,000 shows ago.

The current lineup - Rogers on vocals and rhythm guitar, guitarist Geoffrey Hill, fiddle player Brady Black, drummer Les Lawless and bassist Jon Richardson - has been together for more than three years now, since Rollercoaster, the band's second studio effort. By then they were arguably one of the biggest homegrown force on the Texas scene since Pat Green, who had already crossed over to the national arena.

But way before he broke into the business, criticism wasn't always all that "constructive."

"My music teacher told my parents I wasn't musically inclined enough to play piano," he said with a chuckle. "But God gave me the ability to play music."

What would that music teacher say now? Together, the Randy Rogers band was nominated for Group Video of the Year for their smoldering video "One More Goodbye" and was also recognized early last year when their video for "Kiss Me in the Dark" was named one of CMT's Sexiest Videos.

Rogers' childhood dreams came true when he got the chance to perform with Willie Nelson. The excitement continues later this year when he serves as an opening act for The Eagles at Stagecoach Festival.

Even with the surge of popularity Rogers always insisted on keeping the "band" part of the group's name.

"When I started this band we split everything even Steven," he said. "We share all of the sacrifices and have it be a family atmosphere over a dictatorship."

That bond shined through their latest and this time self-titled album which they plan to release later this summer, Rogers said.

What also helped make the record a lot more cohesive was that the guys didn't compromise who they have always been for the sake of ‘what's on the radio' right now.

"When you think of John Fogerty or Willie Nelson or The Eagles, these are people who did their thing their own way," he said. "They didn't change their sound to whatever Top 40 hit was on the radio or for any kind of stardom. Any young musician should look to other artists who don't compromise."

Miriam Ramirez covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4468.