Roger Wallace
The very best of country music is not always from Nashville. "When Roger
sings, there's no doubt it's fueled by a burning belief that a Texas honky tonk
is not only a place, but a cold hard fact of life."- WCMN, Spain
Roger arrived in Austin in the summer of '94 from the town of Knoxville, Tennessee. He had been a blues DJ back home for 4 years, and landed a job at Antone's Records upon arriving in Austin. He had many influences musically growing up, traditional country was around the house due to his parents, and often, blues and rockabilly bands came to town and while attending these shows, Roger decided that music was his destiny. Roger, like most kids, resisted "the parents'" music, but when he actually began listening to country music like Hank Williams and Willie Nelson, that gave Roger the inspiration to explore other areas of music.
The country music scene in Austin was just starting to take off. Bands like The Derailers and Ted Roddy's Tearjoint Troubadors were just starting out, and Junior Brown was starting to gain major notice.
Around this same time, another talent, Jim Stringer arrived in Austin from Lawrence Kansas. Jim hosted a jam for traditional country and rockabilly players around Austin, called the "Roots Hoot". The night Roger first got up to sing, he did Roy Brown's "Boogie at Midnight" and the jaws just dropped. From there the seeds were sown and Roger began to put together the bands that would eventually lead him to where he is today. Two CDs and countless shows later, Roger has spread the traditional country gospel all over the states and Europe, and people are beginning to take notice.
CDs: Hillbilly Heights (1999), That Kind Of Lonely (2001) Texas Music Round-Up Records
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