Lucero hits the road hard

By Joey Vergara

Published April 13, 2007

Lucero frontman Ben Nichols describes his band as a small business. So it is no surprise that much of what the group has achieved is due to a fervent work ethic (the band plays 150-200 shows a year) and some luck.

"It's like my uncle and my father," he said. "They run a furniture store in Little Rock, Ark. It's just them trying to get a few more people through the door, sell a few more things and make enough money to support four or five employees. That's kind of the same thing we're doing. If we can get a few more people through the door, we can definitely be successful."

When Nichols and guitarist Brian Venable first played together nine years ago, they did not expect to be a band for long. Neither of the two had played guitar in a band before.

Eventually, rounded-out by bassist John Stubblefield and drummer Roy Berry, Lucero began as a heavily country-influenced outfit in Memphis, Tenn. At the time, Nichols, who sings with the gruffest Southern drawl since Johnny Cash, spent time rediscovering childhood influences such as The Band and even the Man in Black himself.

"The surroundings and a new kind of appreciation for my home kind of made me want to try to do something as good as that — to try to live up to those standards," Nichols said. "I don't think I ever could, but it inspired me to at least try."

With each release, the band has expanded its musical spectrum while remaining undeniably imbued with a Southern-rock spirit. Lucero songs are often about drinking hard, women and tough times.

"It's cliché, but you write what you know," Nichols said. "There have been a number of girls in eight, nine years. Plenty of time to fuck up a lot of shit."

For its latest record, Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, Lucero traveled to Richmond, Va., to work with producer David Lowery, a former Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven vocalist. The band even hired studio musician and fellow Tennessean Rick Steff to play piano, organ and accordion.

In stark contrast with 2005's raw Nobody's Darlings, the Lucero of 2006 took a more polished, yet experimental, approach with Rebels while still recording most of the material live in the studio to keep a certain roughness. "What Else Would You Have Me Be?" evokes The Boss and his famed E Street Band with Steff's piano all over it. These Southern boys sound remarkably like The Pogues with "On the Way Back Home." Songs like "Sing Me No Hymns" and "She's Just That Kind of Girl" demonstrate Lucero leaving country influences even further behind in exchange for more traditional rock.

"Each record is a different animal in recording and writing," Nichols said. "I think as you go from each record to the next, you can see a certain amount of growth. Maybe a certain increase in focus."

Even if Lucero is nothing but an uncle-and-pop store of a band, diehard fans who have consistently responded to the band's releases and relentless touring are sure to continue to do so in the future.

"We're proud of the work we put in and proud of where we're at," Nichols said. "Now we can look back and be like, 'Oh, hell. We kind of became a band. Look at that.' Hopefully, wherever we are 10 years from now, we'll look back and be surprised and happy. Hopefully."