RCPM aims to celebrate life through rock 'n' roll

When Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers (RCPM to fans) take the stage, their two-hour shows become more than just a concert.

To both Clyne and his audience, the shows are more of a celebration of life through rock 'n' roll.

The hard-touring quartet out of Tempe, Ariz., receives limited airplay outside of their home state. Yet, their shows are filled with a rare energy that even some bigger name acts can't achieve.

And Clyne, the charismatic frontman, makes a unique connection with his audience that inspires fans to commonly travel hundreds of miles to see his band, which has no major label backing.

Audience members sing every lyric to every song. The band taking requests from the crowd. Drinks being purchased by fans and passed to their heros on stage. And no two set lists are ever repeated. It's all part of a typical night for RCPM.

"That's evidence of the community we're a part of. Different lives, different people, different ideologies whether they be religious or political, they all come together in these shows," Clyne told the Deseret News recently during a rare day off at his home in Tempe. "The songs are supposed to reflect a dignity in humanity."

The key to success for Clyne, drummer PH Nafffah, guitarist Jim Dalton and bassist Nick Scropos is their credo of art leading commerce, and the fact the Peacemakers achieve the same high-energy show every night, whether they're playing before a couple of thousand people or less than 100, something Clyne said he would continue to do for the rest of his career.

"I have no idea if we're going to be to be playing the Super Bowl in 20 years or the Yucca Tap Room (in Tempe). It really doesn't matter. The goal should really be that we are satisfied in our hearts, that whatever we did mattered to us and we enjoyed the moment," he said. "Life is short. You best enjoy it and make it count. We play what we're going to play, how we're going to play it. What really matters is the spirit of the delivery."

Clyne is best known in the mainstream music world for his previous band, The Refreshments, which had a couple of modern rock hits in the '90s in "Down Together" and "Banditos," with it's memorable hook, "The world is full of stupid people." The band can also be heard in syndication every night as they wrote the theme for TV's "King of the Hill."

In February, RCPM will travel across the Atlantic for two weeks for their first ever tour of the United Kingdom.

"I'm excited, and apprehensive," Clyne said. "I don't know how that culture will respond to our music. Hopefully they'll enjoy it. It will be a grand adventure for sure."

Also around that time, Clyne is keeping his fingers crossed that a new Peacemakers record will be released. Right now, he said the band had about eight new songs they were working with and hoped to write four or five more before deciding which ones will make the final cut onto the album.

IF YOU GO …

What: Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, Angie Stevens

Where: Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West

When: Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.

How much: $15

Phone: 801-467-8499, 800-888-8499

Web: www.smithstix.com

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com