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The Robert Lee Band - Two Years Down the Road By Robert E. Martin Beer Barrel Blues...The Robert Lee Band (left to right) consists of Ron Dozier, Randy Hurry, Frankie Rodriguez, and Bobby Balderrama If you seek evidence to further prove the greatness of the Saginaw area music scene, look no further than The Robert Lee Band. Formed two years ago by Question Mark & the Mysterian guitarist Bobby Balderrama, on the eve of their second anniversary celebration, the band is in high spirits. As well they should be. In the past year alone the group has earned rampant grassroots acclaim for their self-titled debut CD - a 10-track collection of roadhouse blues that greatly showcases the musicianship of an artist that not only helped make 96 Tears one of the biggest Rock 'n Roll hits of all time, but has now fully emerged from the shadow of his '60s fame. Because he still performs with Question Mark, Balderrama adopted the persona of Robert Lee as an alter ego to bring his own identity more to the forefront. The move was well timed, as word spread rapidly how well this new vehicle showcased Bobby's considerable talents as a songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist of blistering fluidity. Assisting in the rave-up is Ron Dozier, fellow Mysterian Frank Rodriguez, and ex- Purple Gang frontman Randy Hurry. Missing from the line-up is Jay Brandow, WNEM-TV reporter and founding guitarist. "Yeah, that's one of the changes," says Bobby. "Jay is teaching at Delta now and took some time off. He'll still be playing with us a t festivals and special events, but mainly we're moving forward as a four-piece." As we sat around the table to talk about current events and future plans, it was obvious that one of Michigan's great rock pioneers was enjoying the sensation of stretching his musical wings and watching his plans finally take flight. "The past year has been good," states Bobby. "When the CD came out the single The Bluest Blues did quite well. All of us are writers and Frank & Randy's song Even When She's Bad and Lockdown that Ron and I wrote did quite well. We made our money back! Put it that way." In terms of an evolving sound, all members agree the band has gotten tighter. "It's going in the direction we originally wanted it to," states Ron. "We do a lot of club work, so you have to perform some R&B and Dance music, but I think we're pretty versatile. We've refined our sound over the past two years. It's the same sound we started with, but refined. "We're working on our second CD," says Bobby. "We have a few songs written already and we get 15 recorded, we'll select the 10 best. It's nice because we've developed pretty tough standards, and if somebody has a song that is rejected, nobody takes it to heart. We just move on. " Indeed, the songwriting collaborations can become quite inventive. "I remember Randy writing the words to Even When She's Bad and the funny thing is that most people don't realize it's about 'Man's Best Friend' - a female dog. Frankie wrote some music for it and worked with them both on the music, and it came out great, but a lot of people don't catch on to that one." While all members agree that the local club scene is healthy, they look forward to playing around the state more frequently in the coming months. "Our goal is to play outside the area more," admits Bobby. "Last summer I went down to Detroit and jammed with Jim McCarty. He played guitar with Mitch Ryder and did all the work on Devil With A Blue Dress and Jenny, Jenny. I introduced myself and he remembered the band, so wound up jamming with him. That was a great feeling, because I looked up to him when I was a kid of 14. His leads were phenomenal for the time, and I always tried to emulate him." Does Bobby think it possible to breakout nationally with The Robert Lee Band the same way he did in the sixties with Question Mark? After all, he did it once before. "It's a tough mix to break the Blues," admits Bobby. "It's a tough niche' to break into. But once you do, it just keeps growing. You'd think it would help having been in a national band like Question Mark & the Mysterians, but the only thing it carries is a good conversation piece. As far as getting more money, it doesn't help." "I think everybody gets along really well in this band," comments Randy. "And that is important. I've been down the road of throat grabbing. We're a very versatile band. Versatility is good. Whatever the song calls for we can cover it and do it well. That's what I like about this band." "People call it the blues, but it uplifts me," continues Bobby. "When I hit those licks it makes me feel good." "In terms of developing our career, I get very disillusioned with recording labels. My experience from what I've seen is they try to reinvent the wheel. When I played with Joe King Carrasco on MCA, they tried to remake him into a New Wave star. And then New Wave went out and he got dropped. Nowadays, bands don't need to be signed, especially with the Internet." Does the group ever see themselves getting tired of the trials & tribulations with breaking into new Blues territory? "That's why we've been doin' it for so long," laughs Ron. 'We love it! It's the type of music where it's okay to be older to play it. Some of the best Blues around is from the 'old guard'. But you still have to live it. It's a feeling." "I've been at this 30 years," says Randy, "and the bottom line with playing music is seeing people enjoy it. If that's the most I can get out of one area, then I'll do that." Additionally, in the past year Bobby has been doing some new recording with Question Mark. "They're all new songs and one of the songs Q wrote is called the Street of New York City. It's so beautiful and doesn't sound like a Question mark song. It's a very sad song, indirectly about 9/11, even though he doesn't mention it once. He recorded these young 14 and 15-year old girls singing out of key in the background, and hearing those small voices in the background made the song catchy & powerful. It really accented the innocence of the song. But yeah, I'm looking forward to finishing that with Question Mark." "I love playing with them," continues Bobby. "Smashmouth kind of brought our sound back with Can't Get Enough Of You Baby, and I love the sound of that band, but I love the Blues better. I grew up with the Blues. And in a way, the early sound that made you famous does trap you. You've got to conform more to that sound. With the Robert Lee Band I don't have that problem." The group intends to start recording their follow-up CD in a couple weeks. "The next one has to sound better and beyond the first," says Bobby. "I want to create a more live and ambient sound and concentrate on the production more. The biggest challenge is to capture that 'live' sound and still maintain the quality." "A lot of times you see a band live and they blow you away, and then you listen to the album and ask, What happened?" That's what occurred with Joe King. They could never capture his sound on record." As we wind down, I can't help commenting that Frankie has been uncommonly quiet during the entire interview, sitting quite stoically in a big FBI hat. "Did you join the Bureau?" I ask. "It's a souvenir for the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn," deadpans Frank. "Actually, I'm a Female Body Inspector."
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