If there’s one thing that Arizona-native rock band Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers appreciate, it’s a good party.
RCPM was formed in 1999 following the breakup of Clyne’s and drummer Paul “PH” Naffah’s former alternative rock band The Refreshments, which gained acclaim in the ‘90s, particularly for their radio hit “Banditos.” The band also penned the theme song to cartoon King of the Hill.
“We just looked at each other long and hard and said, ‘What are we?’” Clyne recalls. “The answer was, we were musicians. So we founded another group to be a vehicle for that exercise, for our spiritual, artistic purpose.”
The current lineup includes Nick Scropos (bass and vocals) and Jim Dalton, (guitar and vocals). The group has sustained success since its formation, gaining devout fans in its hometown of Tempe and beyond. RCPM wrote the official theme song for Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, and performs regularly at its games and events. Nationally, RCPM has opened for the likes of Johnny Cash, John Fogerty and Kid Rock. Its independently released studio albums have consistently topped Billboard’s Internet Album Sales chart.
Clyne describes the group’s seventh and latest record, The Independent, as simple and straightforward. “I just wanted to see what would happen if we just wrote, and how it would sound,” he says. “It became a very natural rock/world beat sound with lots of fun in it and some soul searching too.”
According to Clyne, the group’s “watershed moment” happens every June. Since 1999, RCPM has thrown a rock ’n’ roll festival in the small seaside town of Rocky Point, Mexico, about 60 miles south of the Arizona border. Called “Circus Mexicus,” the four-day party has evolved over the years, he says. The small fishing town known for its love of drinking has largely become gentrified, but the spirit of celebration lives on. The festival’s attendance has ballooned from 175 to 5,000, bringing in fans from all 50 states and 13 countries.
The band has some new projects brewing. They are in the early stages of making a commemorative reissuing of The Refreshment’s debut album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy from 1996, recruiting a varied roster of musicians to feature. There’s also talk of recording a reggae record in Mexico with their favorite Mariachi band.
Partying “Peacemaker style” is about being loud, frenetic and perhaps sipping on the group’s very own premium line of Silver, Reposado and Añejo tequilas, named “Mexican Moonshine” after the song on its album ¡Americano!.
“It’s another way to bring people together and celebrate life,” Clyne says.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers play at the Hermosa Beach Summer Concert series Sunday and are joined on the bill by Cowboy Mouth. Music begins at 5 p.m.
