Lance Lopez

Lance Lopez - Higher Ground - 2007 - Grooveyard Records

"Texas has been know throughout the years to be the breeding ground for some of the baddest guitar players of all time...Lance is yet another one to carry on that Texas tradition..." BILLY F. GIBBONS - ZZ TOP

"A very exciting and intense Blues Guitarist..." JEFF BECK

"Lance Lopez got 3 standing ovations when he opened a show for me and I was among those standing..."B.B. KING

"One of my favs, the boy can make a Stratocaster sing!" GREG MARTIN - KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS

"...when we are onstage together I get chills because Lance reminds me of someone I used to play with along time ago..." BUDDY MILES

"....I stood on the side of the stage (watching Lance play) on the verge of tears..." LEON HENDRIX (JIMI'S BROTHER)

"Lance is one of the great ones." SMOKIN' JOE KUBEK

"Lance Lopez is one of the most authentic badass guitarists and blues Gods on the planet today" MUSICLOAD.COM

"(after watching Lance perform) I know what it must have been like years ago when people were lucky enough to watch and hear the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others before they were widely known." EL DORADO NEWS-TIMES DAILY

Could there be a bigger monster guitar player out there than Dallas-native Lance Lopez? The guy plays gargantuan heavy Hendrix riffs that rip the cover right off the speaker. He destroys his axe, be it a flying “V”, “SG” or a Les Paul “Custom”. Here’s a guy that should be talked about in the same breath as Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Eric Gales. His six-string wizardry is primarily blues-based but there is plenty of funk, rock and metal in the mix. Hailing from Texas gives him a handle on the ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan’ shuffle heard in “Drinkin’ My Blues” and the hard driving “Thunderbird South.” Both pay homage to ‘the man’ but there’s enough of the Lopez signature aggression that keeps it original – giving respect without duplicating. Being from the Lone Star state also allows him to partner up with some of the area’s hotshot players. On this, his fourth disc, Lopez cuts saw with guest guitarists Wes Jeans and Phillip Brown where they trade licks on such blistering numbers as “Hard Livin”, “Everytime I Turn Around” and the scorching Mississippi Fred McDowell track “Kool Iron Bed.” The disc takes its name from the Stevie Wonder hit “Higher Ground”. Lopez uses the song as his lead in track, which springs to action with a thick funky beat and finds the Hendrix soul to a signature R&B classic. The Funkadelic inspiration continues through “That’s A Fact” with a hot lead and lots of metallic muscle. Lopez augments his voice from his usual baritone gruffness to pulsed electronic fuzz then launches into Willie Dixon’s “Let Me Love You” with hard rock blues. His love affair with roots blues is very much at home in the 12-bar “Hard Livin” complete with juke joint piano. Among the many hair-raising tracks “El Paso Sugar” steals the show with its ZZ Top sting and some clever Elmore James slide. For a self-produced, self-played record Higher Ground has a remarkably beefy production. It allows the artist to pull out all the stops and work a Commodores spin on “Type of Girl” with a Bootsy Collins strut into “Every Dog Has It’s Day.” Strictly for fans of lead-foot guitar with no brakes. © http://www.cuttingedgerocks.com/review40.html

Potent and furious heavy blues rock from the terrific bad-ass Dallas based axe ripper, and Louisiana native Lance Lopez. HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Lance's "Live" album, and support great blues rock [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 147 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Higher Ground 6:07
2 That's a Fact 4:11
3 Let Me Love You 5:41
4 El Paso Sugar 5:42
5 Type of Girl 4:25
6 Drinkin' My Blues 7:13
7 Every Dog Has His Day 4:16
8 Thunderbird South 5:32
9 Hard Livin' 6:50
10 Every Time I Turn Around 7:05
11 Kool Iron Bed 6:33

All songs composed by Lance Lopez except "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, "Let Me Love You" by Willie Dixon, and "Kool Iron Bed" by Mississippi Fred McDowell

MUSICIANS

Lance Lopez - Guitar, Bass, Clavinet, Mini-Moog, Drums, Vocals
Wes Jeans - Guitar on Tracks 9 & 10
Phillip Brown - Guitar on Track 11

BIO

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Lance Lopez relocated to Dallas,Texas when he was 12 years old, then to New Orleans, Louisiana 2 years later. He has been a professional musician since the age of 14 when he began playing local bars in and around the New Orleans, Louisiana area. During his High School career in New Orleans, and later in southwest Florida, Lance played in a variety of bands that played clubs at least 3 nights a week. At 17, Lance and his family moved back to Dallas, Tx. Returning to Texas Lance was immediately hired by Soul Legend JOHNNIE TAYLOR. Lance toured with JOHNNIE TAYLOR for 6 months performing with artist such as BOBBY BLUE BLAND, JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON, LITTLE MILTON, MARVIN SEASE, and BOBBY RUSH, LUCKY PETERSON . At 18 Lance was hired by modern blues great . Lance toured with LUCKY PETERSON for 3 years performing with artist such as BOOTSY COLLINS, LARRY GRAHAM, LITTLE RICHARD, JIMMIE VAUGHAN, JUNIOUR WELLS, and LUTHER ALLISON. At age 21 Lance Lopez held the position of band leader with LUCKY PETERSON when he left to play guitar briefly with the BUDDY MILES EXPRESS. In 1998, Lance recorded his independent debut CD entitled “FIRST THINGS FIRST” which was Produced by Buddy Miles as well as Jay Newland. It found great response in Europe where Lance had already made a name for himself touring with LUCKY PETERSON. In December 2000 Lance toured Europe for the first time with his own Band. In August of 1999 Lance won theSoutheastern Regional JIMI HENDRIX Electric Guitar competition in New Orleans sponsored by EXPERIENCE HENDRIX . In 2001 Lance Lopez toured Europe extensively, opening for STEVE VAI and JEFF BECK. Also in 2001, Lance also opened for B.B. King In Texas and won Blues Band of the Year Award at the Dallas Music Awards. From 2003 to 2005 Lance spent recording a catalog of Disc for the Indie Guitar label GROOVEYARD RECORDS based in Upstate New York. His first release on GROOVEYARD entitled “WALL OF SOUL” was RECORDED IN 2003. It was co-produced by and featured long-time friend and guitarist ERIC GALES. Also featured on the disc was a special appearance by DOUG PINNICK of the band KING’S X. After the release of “WALL OF SOUL” Lance performed regionally around Texas opening shows for LOS LONELY BOYS in Austin and JOE BONAMASSA in Lubbock. In 2005 Lance along with TOMMY SHANNON and BUDDY MILES formed BAND OF TROUBLE. They performed concerts with RICK DERRINGER, JOE BONAMASSA, & KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD also that year Lance recorded “SIMPLIFY YOUR VISION” considered one of his best works to date. After the release of “SIMPLIFY YOUR VISION” in 2006, Lance produced “Forest of the Pine “ by young Texas Guitar Slinger WES JEANS. 2006 was spent mainly touring regionally in the Southern U.S. opening shows for B.B. KING, CHRIS DUARTE, GALACTIC, as well as headlining some festivals. In 2007 Lance recorded his 4th studio release “HIGHER GROUND” playing all the instruments On his 2008 Summer Tour of Europe Lance was the support act on concerts with legendary performers ZZ TOP, WHITESNAKE, DEF LEPPARD, TEN YEARS AFTER and JIMMY CLIFF as well as headlining many well known Blues Festivals. Lance will continue to tour and perform live as much as possible, as well as relentlessly working on new material and producing other artist... © http://unionjackproduction.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=61