By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
staff writer
Roger Clyne has never regretted getting kicked out of ASU’s school of music.
After all, his adopted major—psychology with a minor in anthropology—brought him closer to Mexican culture. A Spanish immersion class introduced him to mariachis in Enseñada, Mexico. He hung out with them, earned their trust, and “learned so much about how deep that tradition goes and how meaningful those songs are.”
He learned about the music’s tradition, the technicality, the syncopation and the polyrhythms. He incorporates it into Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers’ music regularly.
But Clyne was always into all-things Mexico, thanks to his grandparents’ ranch near the border in Sonoita.
“I was already in love with it,” he said. “It was an excuse for me to visit and get credit for it.
“We worked a lot on the ranch before the border was (controversial). American and Mexican blended together. I learned my first words in Spanish as a kid. We shared work and meals. I’m in love with the south-of-the-border culture. I hate how it’s become ‘us and them.’ It’s so divisive. We need to be neighbors, not fence makers.”
His original sounds and relentlessly catchy lyrics—not to mention his dedication to the state of Arizona—led the band to the Arizona Music Hall of Fame. The band is celebrating its 20th anniversary as well.
“I’m still pinching myself,” he said. “Our fellow inductees—Pistoleros, Dead Hot Workshop, Bob Meighan, Long Wong’s and Fender Musical Instruments—were my heroes. To be inducted as a peer with your heroes is a strange thing for me.”
The band is touring, but when the musicians return home, Clyne will finish the new songs he’s written. They’re demos, but he’ll circulate them among the Peacemakers.
“I just start writing and following the muse,” he said.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers will play a slew of their hits at the Hay Day Music Fest at Hayden Square Amphitheater on Saturday, September 28. Presented by Mill Avenue’s Pedal Haus Brewery and Ted’s Refreshments, the festival will feature Wise Monkey Orchestra and The Hourglass Cats, too.
Clyne is pleased he’s helping rejuvenate Hayden Square Amphitheater and keeping the Tempe music scene alive.
“Some comedian said once, ‘What’s the difference between a job and a career? A job is when you can’t wait for 5 to show up. A career is when 5 shows up and you wish you had more time.’ We have a career and it’s a fantastic blessing.”
