The Randy Rogers Band is without a doubt the most promising band of artists to come out of Texas in a long while. That includes, in my humble opinion, Pat Green and Jack Ingram. I think there is one simple reason for that. The Randy Rogers Band is a band, a true band of musicians, and that breaks the mold of the traditional Nashville penchant for creating front people and backing them up with hired guns that are replaceable with another axe, fiddle, or stick player at the drop of a hat. They are a unit. Even in the face of hardship or tragedy with one of the band members, the guys hold together and vote on all matters concerning the band.

I hope Nashville takes notice and the idea of great bands comes into vogue in Music City. We can all hope for that.

Music City never has really embraced the concept of bands and instead has focused on front men and women who they can develop as an individual brand. Pat Green used to have a tight and coherent band that he kept together for his rise in Texas music. Now the band members have changed and the focus is on Pat.

Jack Ingram still has a great band. The Beat up Ford band is a tremendous group of talented individuals who continue to deliver along with Jack one of the best live shows in country music. However, the Nashville media machine has begun to emphasize Jack far more than they mention his bandmates. The updated Jack Ingram website downplays the Beat up Ford band and puts all the focus on Jack.

Even with the current number one pick from Texas, many outside of Texas see the Randy Rogers Band as just "Randy Rogers." Dirks Bentley is quoted on his website referring to the Randy Rogers Band using language about Randy only. This is not because Dirks is trying to slight the band; that's just how it is in the world of country music today. Dirks is only reacting to the way he understands the process.

In reality, The Randy Rogers Band is the best of possible teams. The entire road crew including Dan McDonald (Road Manager), Toby Hamm (Merchandise), and Sean Patrick (Sound Engineer) work as one to bring the shows to the fans. They do it five or six nights a week, every week, with little time off. It's amazing they can put the show together night after night with all the road miles and moving of equipment.

The bus and trailer is a self-contained unit and everyone pitches in to load in and load out. It makes for late nights, and heavy road fatigue, but the fans in the each town don’t notice when it is their turn to see the show. The band hangs around until all the fans have gone home before loading the trailer and the bus for the trip to the next town. Watching team RRB is a lesson in hard work, and anyone who really thinks about it realizes the process is repeated almost every night. One cannot help but respect all of them for it.

Even when Geoff recently had to take some personal family time, the band cancelled some shows to wait for their bandmate until he urged them to go back on the road and play. Eric Borash, or "E-Bo" as he is known, filled in, and when Geoff returned, Eric played alongside for a few shows. Eric had been a studio player on both Rollercoaster and Just a Matter of Time, so he is no stranger to the Randy Rogers Band.

The flexibility of this team suggests how tight they are not only as a business, but also as friends. Randy is undeniably the leader, but they all are part of the process. Watching them work at sound check or load in and load out is a lesson in team dynamics. It is no surprise that they now have the hottest country record on the shelves. The reason is simple. They worked for it and earned it the old fashion way -- one fan at a time. Hard work still pays off and The Randy Rogers Band is proof.

Everyone who knows Randy and his band mates tell stories of days when things were not gravy. They all remember the days of playing gigs for 10 or 20 bucks each at the end of the night. San Marcos friends relate story after story of Randy not being willing to ever give up, no matter how tough it got. It was a network of Southwest Texas State and San Marcos friends that keep the band going by supporting anyway they could.

Randy often tells stories on stage of days just 2 years ago when they played in front of 30 or 40 people at gigs. Those days are gone, and The Randy Rogers Band is now built to last and poised to forge ahead to bring their brand of country music to a nation of fans in the waiting.

But no one gets a sense that the band is resting on its previous success. The new record is selling like crazy, the tour schedule is strong, and the team is the same hard working bunch of guys they always have been. Their outlook is positive and long term, and every fan that has ever enjoyed spinning their CDs or attending their live shows should pray and wish for continued success, heath, and God’s blessings. They need our help to go to the next level and deal with the bad things that happen to good people.

Randy once said on the bands website, “Pray for us, it gets crazy out on the road.” They need those prayers now as much as ever as they deal with adversity and success. May God bless all of them and keep them safe as they take their trademark sound to the rest of the country. The country deserves them just as much as we do and they are a model of what a great band should be. A group of great guys making people smile through music. What more could anyone ask for?

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