Interview | Lance Lopez

Blues for the heavy minded

Within the confines of heavy, guitar driven blues rock gunslinger Lance Lopez should need no introduction. The 47-year-old Nashville resident had his moment of fame with Supersonic Blues Machine. The two albums he did with this eclectic blues rock ensemble, 2016’s `West of Flushing South Of Frisco’ and 2017’s `Californisoul’, had put him on the radar of a worldwide audience. His enigmatic singing and stellar guitar playing lifted both albums to great heights. But all good things come to an end. Prior to his Supersonic endeavor Lance Lopez already landed an enduring solo career that took off a quarter of a century ago and lives on to this very day. 

Stan Novak recently sat down with the axeman during his European tour. In Bonn to be precise, the former German capital where Lopez and band were about to perform at the beloved Harmonie Club, famous for its’ many Rockpalast television broadcastings. Time to talk about past, present and future. 

LANCE LOPEZ AND SUPERSONIC BLUES MACHINE

In Supersonic Blues Machine Lance Lopez joined forces with drummer Kenny Aronoff and bassist Fabrizio Grossi, two Los Angeles based studio and stage veterans. How did the Texas based musician get himself in the picture for that prestigious frontman job?

,,Between 2010 and 2012 I recorded two albums in Memphis with producer Jim Gaines, known for his work with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana and Steve Miller. `Salvation From Sundown’ and `Handmade Music’ were great albums that got good critical acclaim. After touring them intensively it was time for a new one. Because I wanted to extend my musical boundaries I reached out for different producers. My first choice was Doyle Bramhall Junior but he was too busy with Eric Clapton and other things at the time.

That’s when Fabrizio Grossi came in the picture. Since he lived in Los Angeles, I sent him my demo’s and after a while he invited me to come over. He did a great job on my songs and that’s when things got serious. We began working on more songs and I also started playing in LA a lot. I was basically living there. In that period, I was kinda moving back and forth between LA and Texas. Because we wrote so much stuff it became a bit confusing to me because at a certain point I did not know if I was actually writing for myself or for this thing I had with Fab.

LA PARTY SCENE

Needless to say, that the first Supersonic Blues Machine ended up having a lot of my ideas on it. It was not only a good creative environment though because I also indulged myself in the LA party scene. I hung out in West Hollywood a lot and was basically at the Rainbow Bar n Grill all day and night, drinking with Lemmy and his entourage. In between the partying Fab would call for me and pick me up to take me to the studio. It was a crazy time.

Then more people started to record on the project and it all turned into a rapid once Fab got wind of an unreleased ZZ Top track, one that Billy Gibbons wrote and never made it to ZZ Top’s `Futura’ record. That tune was ,,Running Whiskey’’. Next, I knew the project was named Supersonic Blues Machine and all of a sudden we had a band. Fab was the undisputed mastermind of it all but I had a lot of creative input. Besides that, I was the frontman, lead guitarist and singer. It was Fab who got all the other guests on board. He did a great job in securing everybody.”

THE CREAM OF THE CROP

On those two albums you collaborated with a number of high-level guest musicians. The participation of Billy Gibbons convinced successful artists like Walter Trout, Eric Gales, Robben Ford, Chris Duarte, Steve Lukather and Warren Haynes to board the Supersonic vessel. The cream of the crop in the genre. Did you have to pinch yourself in the arms sometimes? 

,,You now, we never actually sat together on those recordings. All that guest recording, both vocals and guitar, came about via home recording. It all went down virtually. It was Fabrizio who mixed it and put it all together. I talked to Kenny about that a lot because I really wanted everybody to be in the same room together. But that was not likely to happen. I did of course meet the guys and we since shared stages together but those studio recordings were not done harmoniously.” 

FINANCIAL ISSUES

After the second album you parted ways and were replaced by Kris Karras. How did things go sour? 

,,My dismissal from the band was partly to be contributed to the fact that there was little jamming on stage. We had all these talented guests join us on stage but we basically stuck to the format. There just was not a lot of jamming going on which to me was a missed opportunity. I remember Lukather, Ford and Trout wanting to jam more as well. It caused quite some frustration on my end. My main departure from the band however were financial issues. I was and still am owed a lot of money. I wanted to take that project to the next level, something I needed it too financially. But Kenny and Fab did not have the same urge. They had enough other things going on.

It is often said that my substance abuse played a role in my dismissal but that was not the case. By the time we finished the first record I was sober and remained sober during all the touring and recording. I did not fall off the wagon until later, after I had left Supersonic. It was hard but I confronted myself and dealt with it. I am proud to say that I have been sober for a number of years now. I am in a far better shape than I was 20 years ago.” 

REHAB CENTRE

Did you get help in the process of getting cleaned up?

,,Absolutely. I needed help. Cumberland Heigths in Nashville is one of the best rehab centres in Amerika and they have a special musician’s program. They know how to get you back on your feet in the music business. There is this program called ‘Music Cares’ that works with the Grammy foundation. It offers a one-time grant for professional musicians. So basically, they offer you the first one for free, just like the drugs (loud laughter fills the room). The next ones you have to pay though. It took me a couple of tries but I have been able to get on top of it. I still have to take it day by day though. The good thing is that you can easily set up meetings via Zoom these days. It makes things a lot easier to stay connected.”

How do you look back at your Supersonic years?

,,When it was musically good it was great to be in. Fabrizio is a great producer and engineer but the business side just got bad and I felt we were cutting ourselves short on stage. When my replacement Kris Barras reached out to me, I gave him a heads up on the financial side. My advice to him was to get paid beforehand! Having said so, Supersonic was a great moment in time for me. Billy Gibbons and I had been talking for twenty years on doing something together. Ever since I was a teenager Billy said that he would produce a record for me in his studio in Houston. That has to happen still but when he got involved with Supersonic it kinda felt full circle. Not long after I left the band Mascot released my solo album `Tell The Truth’.” 

LANCE LOPEZ AND ZZ TOP

What are your re-collections of the very first Supersonic show which took place at the Holland International Blues Festival in Grollo?

,,That was really something! It was the first gig of this big band that we were. We only had three rehearsals in LA which got me a little on edge. It was a gig with extreme high exposure after all. But we are professionals and that’s what we do. And it turned out to be a great day. I was glad to re-connect up with Derek Trucks who was also on the bill. Derek and I grew up together and I had basically known him my entire life. It was great to see a lot of friends there, it made it so much more comfortable. They always have a great line-up in Grollo and I would very much like to come back. Back then there was talk about putting ZZ Top and myself on one of the next editions. ZZ Top played there in 2019 but I am still waiting…”  

NASHVILLE – THE NEW MUSICAL EPI-CENTER

You are now promoting your latest album `Trouble is Good’ over here in Europe. What’s there to say about your current band?

,,Well, I got these guys from Nashville with me. Logan ‘Greasy’ Greeson on bass and Tommy DelRossi on drums. They were not involved on `Trouble If Good’ but a lot of other great musicians were. But to be honest, nobody actually is from Nashville, everybody just moves down there because it has become this musical epi-center. It is interesting to me not having a backing band from Texas with me. We have been touring in the States together and these guys are good. But it is hard for all parties involved to commit to a steady line-up.

A lot of it is basic economics but these bass players and drummers are also in high demand. That’s the other side of it, they are very much sought after. In the end everybody just needs to make a living. And being on the road like this is a lot of hard work, which not everybody is equipped for. We travel in a van, do the loading and unloading, set up stage, soundcheck. You name it, we do it. And then we go on for 2,5 hours and sometimes more.”

THE FUTURE OF LANCE LOPEZ

TWO WOLF

What’s up next?

,,I intend to promote `Trouble Is Good’ a bit more because I am still very happy with that album. I also have plans for another solo album, which will be my ninth. My next horizon however is the band Two Wolf that I am also in. We are about to start shopping our first album to labels. It is much heavier than my solo stuff, a real robust and heavy form of southern rock. Two Wolf is bassist Greg T. Walker’s (of former Blackfoot fame) band but Kris Bell and I do a lot of the songwriting. Two Wolf can be described as a heavier, modern-day version of Blackfoot. Just check us out on the socials and YouTube.

I already was in Two Wolf when the Supersonic thing came along so my departure stirred up some emotions with Greg but luckily, he was forgiving. He got Kriss as my replacement but he invited me to come back. Kris and I wrote the majority of the songs but we also re-recorded the Blackfoot songs ,,Too Hard To Handle’’ and ,,Diary Of A Working Man’’. Two Wolf should really work on a heavy label but we’ll have to see what happens. Other than that, I hope to be able to play Holland again soon. It’s been too long and we are not doing it on this run.’’