Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers

“Here’s to life!” Fans around the world sing the chorus of the Roger Clyne–penned favorite “Mekong” and toast their glasses to celebrate life through rock-n-roll. The song’s inspiration dates to when Roger went to Taipei, Taiwan as a college student to teach English by day and busk with his guitar at night.

As Clyne prepares to record his 11th studio album, he continues to turn life experiences, inspirations, observations and muses into music. Whether he’s wearing Converse high tops, boots or sandals, Clyne’s blend of punk rock, country-western and mariachi influences, together with drummer PH Naffah, guitarist Jim Dalton and bassist Nick Scropos — collectively Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers — has made them one of America’s live rock-n-roll bands.

Starting with Tempe quartet The Refreshments, Clyne and Naffah added fun and a sense of humor to 90s rock and introduced mariachi horns to their sound. Clyne studied Cultural Anthropology in college and did an ethnography study of mariachis during a three-month immersion with a local family in Ensenada, Mexico, which influenced that direction.

The Refreshments’ debut, Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy, became a cult classic and produced the alternative radio hit “Banditos,” which also had significant MTV airplay and earned The Freshies an appearance on The Conan O’Brien Show. Clyne later penned and performed the theme for the animated TV series King of the Hill. In 2017, the feature-length documentary Here’s to Life: The Story of The Refreshments was released.

After label changes and internal issues, Clyne and Naffah went on a vision quest in the Whetstone Mountains near the Clyne Ranch in southeastern Arizona. There they reconnected with country records and wrote and recorded, under a new moniker, what became Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers’ debut album, Honky Tonk Union.

Honky Tonk Union combined classic rock and twang and connected with fans. Their independent release debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s internet sales chart in 1999, prompting a call from a Billboard executive: “Who the hell is Roger Clyne and why is he #1 on my chart?!”

RCPM released eight more albums that landed in the top ten of Billboard’s Internet Sales Chart, including a No. 1 debut for their third album, Americano!, all without major-label backing or commercial radio support.

In 2019, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers were inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, joining Arizona legends such as Alice Cooper, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt and Waylon Jennings.

Later that fall the band headlined Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina on the eve of Hagar’s weekend birthday celebration.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers curate an annual music festival, Circus Mexicus, in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, which draws thousands of fans worldwide. The festival impacts the local economy and includes charity events that raise money for a local orphanage, support youth sports and help feed shelter animals.

Clyne also produces the band-owned spirit Mexican Moonshine Tequila (soon to be re-named Canción Tequila). Started in 2011, the award-winning spirit was the official tequila at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and is distributed in multiple U.S. states and Sonora, Mexico.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have toured across the U.S. and built a faithful following while remaining independent. Dubbed “The Springsteen of the Southwest” by the Asbury Park Press, the band delivers energetic live performances — as emcee Jay Peterman noted at Alice Cooper’s annual Christmas Pudding event, “Young man, you light that stage a-flame!”