It's rare we have a juicy update on good time guy Roger Clyne, and rarer still we have a local music scoop from the Arizona Republic, but, while trying to figure out who Richard Ruelas (guest DJing on The Blaze this week) is last night I came across an interesting little story by their music critic Larry Rodgers.
The band's long time guitarist, the black-hatted cowboy Steve Larson, has split with the band, under what appears to be less than amicable terms.
Clyne: "Over the last 3 1/2 or four years, he and I had increasing differences in our artistic vision. Last year, we sat down at a Mexican restaurant and decided maybe it was best to go our separate ways."
Larson: "We clashed hard, and it got personal. Me and him need to go have some beers when he gets home (from touring). I'd really like to bury it."Peacemakers message board: "We love this new guitarist guy!" (Also: "We hate being called The Peace Core.")
So saucy! I'd like to say I saw some shadowing of this tension when I did my big column on Circus Mexicus, but, sadly, I did not.
By the way, you can check out the new Peacemakers at Tempe Music Fest this weekend, their first appearance at the festival. Hopefully it'll be a little better than they were at the Light Rail's opening day.