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Lance Lopez

Lance Lopez is a Texas-based blues-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His overdriven, hard-grooving playing style readily reflects the influence of the late 20th century Texas blues tradition evinced by Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His other primary influences included Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower. His gravelly singing voice is underscored by the considerable power and authority in Lopez's delivery. At 17, Lopez spent six months touring with Johnnie Taylor, and at 18, toured with Lucky Peterson. At 19 he joined the Buddy Miles Express. (Miles co-produced First Things First, Lopez's 1998 debut album.) After tours of Europe with Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, and B.B. King, he signed with Rochester, New York independent Grooveyard Records and released the acclaimed Wall of Soul in 2004, followed by the much funkier Simplify Your Vision in 2006. 2007 saw Grooveyard reissue First Things First, the acclaimed Higher Ground, and Live. 2010's more roots R&B-oriented Salvation from Sundown appeared from Germany's MIG, which also released 2011's Handmade Music. Cleopatra issued Live in NYC in 2016. Tell the Truth appeared on Provogue in 2018. Following world tours, the pandemic, and U.S. touring, Lopez returned to Cleopatra for 2023's Trouble Is Good. Lopez was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1977. He picked up the guitar before he was ten. His family moved to Dallas just after he turned 12 and at 14, he moved with his father to New Orleans, where the teen started getting work backing other musicians in the bars of the French Quarter. His dad moved again, this time to Florida; Lopez spent his high school years between Louisiana and Florida. He continued playing local clubs, and returned to Dallas with his family when he was 17. His burgeoning reputation as a guitarist resulted in him being recruited by Johnnie Taylor to tour the chitlin circuit for six months. At 18, after his tenure with Taylor, Lopez joined Lucky Peterson's road band and remained for three years. During his tenure, Lopez met and became friendly with drummer Buddy Miles; he joined the Buddy Miles Express. Miles co-produced Lopez's debut album, First Things First (1998), along with Jay Newland. In 2000, Lopez's band toured Europe and, a year later, supported both Steve Vai and Jeff Beck. Also in 2001, Lopez won "Blues Band of the Year" at the Dallas Music Awards. Lopez signed to Rochester, New York's roots music label Grooveyard and took his time recording a sophomore outing. Wall of Soul was completed in 2003 between road jaunts and released the following year. It was co-produced by Eric Gales, who also lent his guitar playing skills to the set. In 2006, Lopez released Simplify Your Vision; it made the national blues charts. Following long tours of the U.S. and Europe, Lopez re-entered the recording studio basically alone: He played all the musical instruments on his fourth album, Higher Ground. In November, Grooveyard released Live and reissued First Things First. Between 2008 and 2010, Lopez and his band worked the road hard, touring Europe, Asia, and the U.S. He signed a record deal with the Made in Germany label and in 2010 released Salvation from Sundown, produced by Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan). The set differed from its predecessors musically and sonically, toning down the Hendrixian rock and funk in favor of a more traditional Texas blues approach. Lopez loved the album's mature sound and re-teamed with Gaines, this time at Memphis, Tennessee's famed Ardent Studio with engineer Jody Stephens. They emerged with Handmade Music. The album contained 12 original songs written especially for the sessions. Further, it showcased Lopez playing all the instruments. Critics lauded it as his finest album to date. Though the guitarist began working on a new studio effort, touring and other responsibilities took up his time. He served as the original guitarist and vocalist in Supersonic Blues Machine alongside drummer Kenny Aronoff and bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi. Lopez appeared on the band's first two Provogue albums: West of Flushing South of Frisco (2015) and the star-studded Californisoul (2017). Between those releases, Lopez issued his own Live in NYC in 2016. It was recorded at B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill in Times Square, New York City, on the late Johnny Winter's birthday. The album and performance are dedicated to his memory. Lopez signed a deal with Provogue, rounded up a new quartet, and enlisted Grossi as a producer. Titled Tell the Truth, the 12-song sequence offered a large clutch of originals alongside a couple of covers. Grossi's production uncovered the raw, kinetic energy of Lopez's approach. After leaving Supersonic Blues Machine, Lopez took his quartet on the road, traveling Europe, Asia, and the United States, and getting shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They returned to touring in 2021, and in 2022, Lopez took them into the studio. He also joined the Southern rock band Two Wolf, founded by Blackfoot bassist Greg T. Walker. Lopez emerged with Trouble Is Good in July 2023 on Cleopatra. One of the most significant musical characteristics of the 12-song outing was the preponderance of Lopez's slide guitar playing, which he'd de-emphasized in previous years.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Discography

11 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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