Randy Rogers Band won’t release their forthcoming album Hellbent until April 26, but that’s not stopping the Texas act from giving fans an early listen. Their eighth studio album borrows its title from Guy Clark’s “Hell Bent On a Heartache,” which the band covers on their upcoming project and Billboard premieres below.
Hear “Hell Bent On a Heartache” from the new album Hellbent, available April 26 by clicking here.
The idea started with a brush fire, but before long it took on a life of its own. Two lives, in fact: Coal and Flynt Stryker, a pair of mysterious siblings who died in a prison fire, leaving behind a batch of long-lost country recordings. Except that they didn’t. Cole and Flynt never even existed. The Stryker Brothers were nothing more than an excuse for Robert Earl Keen and Randy Rogers to make an album together.
So why did they go to all the trouble?
“I thought it was just funny and cool and interesting. Let’s have a little mystery in life,” says Keen, sitting with Rogers in a soundproof control room backstage at ACL Live in Austin, Texas, one afternoon in December. He’s splayed out sideways in his chair, as though he’s discovered a new plane of comfort at this absurd angle. “It’s surprising how many people were like, ‘Now, what’s going on?’ If you have to explain it to ’em, it’s kind of like having to explain a joke.”
Keen and Rogers are preparing to take the stage for the first — and as far as they know, only — time as the Stryker Brothers. And they likely never expected to get this far. Since they started writing the 13 songs that became Burn Band, released last September, they constructed an elaborate backstory, had friends like Todd Snider, Bruce Robison and Shooter Jennings lie about it on video, and even brought an astronaut with them to tonight’s show. But none of that was the plan when they started. Read the full article at RollingStone.com.
A Very Merry Randy and Brady Christmas has just been announced. It kicks off December 11th with six stops through Texas! Pick a show and come out for a festive good time.
12/11 The Blue Light - Lubbock, TX - TICKETS
12/12 Dos Amigos - Odessa, TX
12/14 Greek Bros. Oyster Bar & Grille - El Campo, TX - TICKETS
12/15 Buck’s Backyard - Buda, TX - TICKETS
12/27 Brewster Street - Corpus Christi, TX - TICKETS
Robert Earl Keen and Randy Rogers want to come clean about their fictional identities: They're The Stryker Brothers.
After secretly collaborating on a 13-track album, Burn Band, which they released under the fake band name on Sept. 7, the Texan country stars tell Billboard they're ready to take credit for the LP, a mix of honky-tonk and the hard-driving sound of Texas' red dirt country. They plan to perform one and only Stryker Brothers show on Dec. 22 at The Moody Theater in Austin.
Keen, the celebrated 62-year-old singer-songwriter, and Rogers, the 40-year-old leader of the Randy Rogers Band, were only acquaintances before last year, when they bonded shooting promotional videos for John T. Floore's Country Store, a roadside music venue in Helotes, Texas.
Read more at Billboard.com.
Randy Rogers has partnered with Rock Libations, formed by independent Restaurant pioneers Josh Babb and Sean Clavir, for ChopShop Live -- the first restaurant, bar and worldwide club of its kind in Roanoke, TX. To celebrate the venue's grand opening, Rogers will present a concert on Saturday, July 14, at 5 PM CST featuring fellow Texan Wade Bowen. Read more here!
When Pat Green released his major label debut album Three Days in 2001, it introduced the singer-songwriter to a national audience, with its follow-up, 2003's Wave on Wave, raising his profile even higher via the hit title track. But in his native Texas, Green was already a star, adored by a dedicated fan base built by playing the dancehall circuit and respected by fellow musicians. Now, some of the artists he influenced are saluting the Lone Star State hero on Dancehall Dreamin': A Tribute to Pat Green.
Due April 5th – Green's 46th birthday – the record features renditions of his songs from artists like Jack Ingram, Josh Abbott Band and Aaron Watson. Randy Rogers Band performs the title track to Green's essential Three Days, enlisting Radney Foster – who co-wrote the song about the grueling life of a touring musician with Green – for an assist. Read more on RollingStone.com here!