When the Randy Rogers Band’s last project debuted as the most-downloaded country album on iTunes, plenty of the industry “insiders” on Music Row were left scratching their heads: Who are these guys?
The Nashville elite may not have known about the five-piece band, but much of America already did. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them alongside such artists as U2 and the Stones in its list of Top 10 Must-See Artists in the summer of 2007. They earned $2.5 million—a staggering total for a still-developing act—on the tour circuit in a single year. Willie Nelson, the Eagles, Gary Allan and Dierks Bentley all picked them as opening acts for their concerts. And more than 2,200 people showed up and bought the bands album at an appearance at Wherehouse Music.
The fans’ exuberance was shared by USA Today, which praised the band for having “loads of grit, swagger and heart.”
The Randy Rogers Band built its audience by combining forces: It’s a dynamic live act centered around songs that fit the rowdy, party vibe of the concert circuit, but their songs also say something.
That’s particularly true in their album, The Randy Rogers Band, in which a dozen persuasive tracks give the listener plenty of reasons to want to down a celebratory brewski. But the songs also maintain a depth that makes them powerful and provocative even beyond their edgy arrangements and tough-guy sound.
Invariably, the songs are about people making choices and dealing with the consequences they bring. That’s the case in the opening “Wicked Ways,” in which a string of wild endeavors leaves an out-of-control adult in need of redemption. It’s true in “When The Circus Leaves Town,” where a performer comes to terms with the emotional crash that accompanies the conclusion of a pumped-up show. It’s even a tenet in “One Woman,” a ballad that finds a former playboy recognizing his old choices and behaviors were a shallow pursuit next to the promise and solidity that stand before him.
“These songs are definitely true, and they’re relatable to many different life situations that I’ve either gone through in the past or will go through in the future,” Rogers, the lead singer and primary songwriter, says. “I just tried to create believable characters and relatable characters. I hear from fans that we really have helped them in real-life situations when they’ve applied the songs to their everyday life. That’s what I strive for in the songs that I write.”
“We’re not old, but we are getting a little bit more mature,” bass player Jon Richardson asserts, drawing laughter from the rest of the band. “We’re trying to be more mature, anyway. And that’s something that we can write about a little more naturally now instead of ‘Here’s a song about how much fun I had’ or ‘Here’s a song about a girl.’ That’s probably just a natural progression of our own lives being reflected in our songs.”
Indeed, the Randy Rogers Band is confronting the same questions about relationships and identity that face many of the college students and young adults that form the centerpiece of the group’s audience. The balancing act between work, home and recreation is a difficult one—even tougher for an ensemble that spends more than 200 days annually on the road.
“All the guys, except for Jon, are married or soon to be married,” guitarist Geoffrey Hill observes. “Les [drummer] and I both have kids. So sometimes it feels like you’ve really gotta struggle to fit all that into your life, I guess, but it’s kinda part of the game. I always said that I play music for free, and I get paid to leave the family behind and go on the road.”
That requires a constant rededication to the group, a commitment the five members have repeatedly made since the current lineup coalesced in 2003.
The Randy Rogers Band’s status as a group has occasionally confused its audience, which sometimes assumes Rogers is simply a solo artist. It’s the same issue that acts such as Huey Lewis & The News and Edwin McCain have battled, though one that doesn’t concern RRB all that much.
“I don’t think it’s an issue at all,” fiddler Brady Black asserts. “I think when we got together, Randy had already had a band, and his name had been out a little bit, and so we just kind of went with it.”
“That,” Black smirks, “and he owned the van…”
Actually, the name came rather innocently. Rogers had developed a following, he played open-mic nights, impressing club owner Kent Finlay enough to offer Rogers his own regular night, as long as he found a band to back him.
That group might have taken his name, but Rogers—who’d had previous experiences as a guitar player in another band—had no interest in being just a one-man show.
“I always wanted everybody to be equal, not only financially but also input-wise and creatively,” he says. “When we started the band, I pledged to them that I would work every day as hard as I could and try to get us down the highway a little further if they would sign up with me and share in some of those sacrifices, and I think from that day on, everybody pretty much quit their alternative jobs, and kinda gave 110 percent to the band.”
The Randy Rogers Band took the same slot that George Strait and the Ace In The Hole band had once occupied at Cheatham Street, appropriate since the band used the same sort of inner motivation in building its sound as Strait did a generation ago.
Their music is hardly the same. In contrast to Strait’s pure-country aesthetics, RRB combines that traditional country sound with a rollicking, swagger influenced by rugged sounds from such diverse sources as Waylon Jennings and Stone Temple Pilots. But, as Finlay recognized, there’s an authenticity and honesty to the band that parallels Strait’s personal manifesto.
“In a way, George was a little bit out of the box for Nashville when he debuted,” Rogers notes, “I think George Strait, when he first hit town, he knew who he was, and I think that’s partly why he has been so successful throughout his career. If there’s a correlation between the two of us, I think that we definitely have a sound and we know who we are.”
The Randy Rogers Band further distinguishes that identity in its self-titled album, the band’s second release since signing with Mercury Nashville. Produced by longtime admirer Radney Foster, who’s successfully maintained alt country integrity while writing mainstream hits for the likes of Sara Evans and Keith Urban, sessions for The Randy Rogers Band took place at Dockside Studios, a bayou location in Maurice, Louisiana, that’s also been the breeding ground for projects by B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Keb’ Mo’, Levon Helm and Mark Knopfler.
“We shut ourselves up for 10 days and had a band-camp set up,” Richardson observes. “There weren’t any distractions. It wasn’t like we were all goin’ home every night and comin’ back the next day. We were just living and breathing it for 10 days or so. We were just completely absorbed by it.”
The consequences of that choice are just as absorbing for the listener. The album ranges from the hypnotic country of “Buy Myself A Chance” and the first single, “In My Arms Instead,” to the propulsive buzz of “Never Be That High” to the painful conclusion, “This Is Goodbye.”
Rogers’ various performances reflect the wide-ranging influences that snapped together in the process, evoking at times the sneer of Steve Earle, the soul of Bakersfield’s Monty Byrom (formerly of Big House) and the vulnerability of Keith Urban.
With its infectious hooks and daring attitude, the album underscores the iTunes popularity of the Randy Rogers Band, its critical appeal and its significance on the nation’s concert circuit, where they’ve broken attendance records at numerous clubs across the heartland. Even Kenny Chesney, who consistently places among the top-selling tours, saw the group’s blue-collar connection when he covered Rogers’ “Somebody Take Me Home” for the album The Road And The Radio.
Each of the five members recognizes his contribution to the Randy Rogers Band’s overall unity, and they repeatedly make choices—creatively and personally—that keep that all-for-one-and-one-for-all solidarity intact.
Fuzzy
Randy Rogers Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come and get me right now
'Cause I done lost my woman
And I need a night out
Said I can't burn it down
'Cause I'm gettin' up early
I'm down for one round
I was sittin' at a Waffle House
I think I had grits
Started hittin' on a waitress
Everything after that gets fuzzy
Like a TV in a cheap motel
My head feels funny
I lost my keys
I lost my cell
And all of my money
Did I crash a party
Have a run in with the law
Take a swim in a fountain
I don't know
'Cause it's all kinda fuzzy
There's a ring on my finger
There's a bra on the lamp
Gotta get outta this hot tub
And try to find my pants
Who the hell is Heather
And when were we together
'Cause I've got every letter of her name on my chest
Think I got a shiner
A cigarette burn
Nothing in that bottle of tequila but the worm
It's fuzzy
Like static on the radio
My head feels funny
I lost my watch
I lost my clothes
And all of my money
Did I call my momma
Try to break into the mall
Did I even pay the cabbie
I don't know
'Cause it's all kinda fuzzy
I remember how it started
After that it's just a blur
Is it a Sunday or a Monday
Am I suppose to be at work
It's fuzzy
Like a tennis ball on my tongue
My mouth feels funny
I'm blinded by the sun
But things ain't sunny
Will the room stop spinning
Will I find my car
On my way back home right now
It's all fuzzy
(Fuzzy)
Oh it's fuzzy
(Fuzzy)
It's fuzzy
(Fuzzy)
Everything is fuzzy
The lyrics of Randy Rogers Band's song Fuzzy tell the story of a wild night out after a man receives a call from his cousin who had just lost his woman and wanted to forget about it for a night. The man agrees to join him but reminds him he can't stay out late because he has to wake up early. However, everything gets fuzzy after the man hits on a waitress at Waffle House while trying to drown his sorrows in tequila. He wakes up with a ring on his finger, a bra on the lamp, and even some letters of the name of a woman he can't remember on his chest. His head is buzzing, his mouth feels funny, he lost his keys, cell, clothes, and money, and he has no idea if he called his mom, paid the cabbie, or broke into the mall.
The song Fuzzy is a humorous take on the classic trope of the wild night out and the consequences that come with it. The lyrics playfully depict the singer's confusion and bewilderment as he tries to piece together what happened during the night before. At the same time, the song's catchy melody and upbeat rhythm make it a lighthearted romp that listeners can dance and sing along to.
Line by Line Meaning
Got a call from my cousin
My cousin called me because he needs my help
Come and get me right now
He needs me to pick him up immediately
'Cause I done lost my woman
He lost his girlfriend or wife
And I need a night out
He wants to have fun and forget his problems
Said I can't burn it down
He can't get too crazy because he has a commitment in the morning
'Cause I'm gettin' up early
He needs to wake up early
I'm down for one round
He's willing to have a drink or two
But around 1:30
Later into the night
I was sittin' at a Waffle House
He was at a restaurant chain known as Waffle House
I think I had grits
He believes he ordered an item called grits from the menu
Started hittin' on a waitress
He began flirting with a female employee
Everything after that gets fuzzy
He cannot remember anything else that happened that night
Like a TV in a cheap motel
His thoughts and memories are jumbled and disorganized
My head feels funny
His head is hurting or he is dizzy
I lost my keys
He can't locate his keys
I lost my cell
He's missing his mobile phone
And all of my money
He lost all of his cash
Did I crash a party
He wonders if he unintentionally disrupted a party
Have a run in with the law
He's uncertain if he got into legal trouble
Take a swim in a fountain
He's questioning whether he went for a swim in a public water fountain
I don't know
He has no clue what happened
'Cause it's all kinda fuzzy
He's unable to recollect the events of the night coherently
There's a ring on my finger
He has a ring on his finger
There's a bra on the lamp
He finds a bra on a lamp
Gotta get outta this hot tub
He needs to exit a hot tub
And try to find my pants
He misplaced his pants
Who the hell is Heather
He's confused about who Heather is
And when were we together
He wonders if he had a relationship with Heather
Cause I’ve got every letter of her name on my chest
He has a tattoo spelling Heather's name on his chest
Think I got a shiner
He suspects he has a black eye
A cigarette burn
He finds a burn mark on his body from a cigarette
Nothing in that bottle of tequila but the worm
The tequila bottle is empty except for the worm inside
Like static on the radio
His thoughts and memories are fuzzy, like the sound of static on a radio station
My mouth feels funny
He has dry mouth or a bad taste in his mouth
I lost my watch
He can't find his watch
I lost my clothes
He's missing his clothes
Did I call my momma
He's unsure whether he called his mother
Try to break into the mall
He's not sure if he attempted to get into a shopping mall illegally
Did I even pay the cabbie
He's uncertain if he paid the taxi driver
I don't know
He is clueless about the details
'Cause it's all kinda fuzzy
He's unable to recollect the events of the night coherently
I remember how it started
He recalls how the night began
After that it's just a blur
Everything else is a hazy memory
Is it a Sunday or a Monday
He doesn't know what day of the week it is
Am I suppose to be at work
He's questioning whether he has to work that day
His head feels funny
He's experiencing a headache or dizziness
Things ain't sunny
His life is not going well at the moment
Will the room stop spinning
He hopes that his surroundings will stop moving and become still
Will I find my car
He's unsure if he'll be able to locate his vehicle
On my way back home right now
He's currently on his way home
Oh it's fuzzy
He emphasizes the fact that he can't remember the details
It's fuzzy
He emphasizes the fact that he can't remember the details
Everything is fuzzy
He cannot recall the events of the night clearly
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., AUDIAM, INC, ME GUSTA MUSIC, Spirit Music Group
Written by: Joshua Shaun Osborne, Shane L McAnally, Trevor Joseph Rosen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Repo ManND
Love these guys.. Been a fan since the first time I heard "kiss me in the dark".. Started following them and buying all the CDs they had and now I call them my favorite band of all time. Gary's my favorite artist though..
Rachel Ivey
Okay
s/v Whippoorwill
I've never found a song so accurately describe the last 20 years of my life!
😳
Frecwent Football
Lol
Paul Shepherd
Lol... you too eh? I've had some of the best times ill never remember.
stephanie hogan
Good tune. Old or new, still one of my favorite bands.
Ivan Barrera
Ive seen yall perform at 6 concerts in past several years and I've never been disappointed, your music is amazing and the new album is awesome. I know its been a long hard road but dont give up, I believe in you and your music. Much love from Deep South Texas.
Obvious Ness
I love RRB!! They put on an AMAZING live show.
18macerz
LOVE THIS SONG!!!! Your voice is amazing!
Scott Wyatt
very underrated band