"Great voice and great songs"
-Jim Gaines (Grammy Award Winning Producer)
"The momentum never slows (on KLB's new record 'Love Songs & Life Lines)... Thoroughly engrossing & Ultra-soulful..."
-No Depression Magazine
"(KLB's New album Love Songs & Life Lines)... Sounds like a classic..."
-midwestrecords.com
“Brilliant… KLB offers a sound that few other modern day bands can offer.”
-Andrew Steigler/ Bandwagon Magazine (Greeley, CO/ April 2017)
"HOT. HOT. HOT..."
"Kris Lager Band... induced the most intense dance party... "
-HearNebraska.org
"The kind of toe-tapping rhythm that sometimes you just need to make it through a day."
-Paste Magazine
-Jim Gaines (Grammy Award Winning Producer)
"The momentum never slows (on KLB's new record 'Love Songs & Life Lines)... Thoroughly engrossing & Ultra-soulful..."
-No Depression Magazine
"(KLB's New album Love Songs & Life Lines)... Sounds like a classic..."
-midwestrecords.com
“Brilliant… KLB offers a sound that few other modern day bands can offer.”
-Andrew Steigler/ Bandwagon Magazine (Greeley, CO/ April 2017)
"HOT. HOT. HOT..."
"Kris Lager Band... induced the most intense dance party... "
-HearNebraska.org
"The kind of toe-tapping rhythm that sometimes you just need to make it through a day."
-Paste Magazine
Kris Lager Interview
Lee County Courier in Mississippi: (Published April 5, 2018)
Interview by Michael Limnios (CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE)
What do you learn about yourself from the Blues people and culture? What does the blues mean to you?
My first exposure to live music was the blues and the live blues music community. I hit a blues jam in downtown Lincoln when I was 16 and they couldn't have been more nurturing and welcoming. In fact, the first time I played there, Chicago Blues Legend, Magic Slim was also sitting in with the house band. The host of the jam, Dangerous Dan Calkins put me up on stage with Magic after I played a couple of tunes myself and proved I could hang. I didn't realize it at the time but looking back it was very profound and inspiring to share the stage with a professional musician my first time out. It's as if it solidified the idea that my dreams could become a reality. Shortly after that I was introduced to The Blues Society of Omaha and they were the same. Great folks who loved live music and supported me greatly.
The blues to me is any emotional musical statement made out of a plea for mercy. That's the only requirement in my eyes...
What were the reasons that you started the music researches? How do you describe your songbook and sound?
My songbook and sound is about as eclectic as you will ever hear. From the beginning I started playing music fully immersed in the blues and guitar driven blues/rock. I was also a huge Bob Dylan fan, initially because of how much Jimi Hendrix loved him, but I quickly fell in love myself and was enamored by the way Dylan could paint a picture in my mind with his lyrics.
At some point in my life I have fallen in love with and played almost every style of music. From Funk, R&B, Soul, Gospel, Country, Reggae, Zydeco, Rock & Roll, Hip Hop, and even Pop Music. I have come to the conclusion that I am not and will not be afraid to play any rhythm or melody, and that truly is what music is. When you boil it down to the bone music is just rhythm, melody, and harmony. The sociological and cultural importance we put on the music is a beautiful thing for the music audience and listener, because they can feel connected and a part of something, but it can be a little debilitating for the artist. I want to bust down those walls and bring people together. If I'm gonna do that, it's gonna take a fearless, and non apologetic approach to my craft.
Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?
There have been so many great gigs, and jams... Most notably the time my buddy, Rick Galusha, hooked us up with a studio gig with Mato Nanji, from Indigenous. It was 2006, I believe and it was a live in studio thing where about 100 people are in the audience and they leave with a CD of the performance. It was a great concept and a blast to do. Ronnie Baker Brooks even showed up and played a couple of songs with us. Phenomenal jam... Well, a couple of weeks later Mato called me up and asked if we wanted to go on his summer tour with him. We just got done with this crazy/ seedy bar gig in Wyoming where there were three bar fights and the door guy just choked out a guy. I was like, yes please, get us out of here... haha. So for about the next two and a half years we toured as Indigenous and even made a record together. We back up Mato on his Broken Lands Recording.
Another monumental jam in our history was when I met Andy Frasco. Our old bass player brought him into town and promoted Andy's Omaha show. He told me, 'You gotta meet this guy'. So, I went down the night before the show and met him. We swapped road stories for hours and really struck up a good bond. The show was very refreshing. Andy has a way of connecting with a crowd and getting them amped up. He plays into his vulnerabilities and opens himself up to an audience like no one else I've ever seen. We wrote a song together (Take Me Back to Lafayette) the next day and booked a recording studio in Omaha to lay it down (Make Believe Studios). He put the song on his next record, and we did a few tours together after that as well. Even recording with him on his Half a Man CD where he covered three of my tunes.
Our studio session with Monophonics is another course altering moment for us. I hit up Kelly Finnigan after hearing their record. I was like this is the sound that I'd like to capture. They get a great warm and dirty analog sound that I love. We went to the bay area and made our Heavy Soul & Boogie Trance CD. We learned how they captured their sound and we hit the ground running to make our own studio and recordings with a lot of the same methods. We produced our Rise and Shine CD with a lot of the recording methods we learned from Monophonics.
What is the impact of Blues & Rock music and culture to the racial, political, and socio-cultural implications?
Music unites us and allows us to see past our differences. It allows us to articulate our thoughts and feelings and convey them to each other. Music has advanced our awareness on issues of race, gender equality, the plight of the poor and so much more.
What do you miss most nowadays from the music of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?
I miss the human element of music. The imperfections of improvising, and the nuances of musicians playing with each other is definitely rare in pop music. Everything is glossed over and polished to the point of being sterile and homogenized. Which is what led me to the blues when I was a teenager. I was enamored with these raw, jagged sounds that I never really heard before growing up on MTV.
My hopes for music is that people will stop idolizing and worshipping musicians as superheroes and superhumans. There's nothing wrong with being celebrated and applauded but to be idolized and put on a pedestal is definitely something as a culture, I believe, we should try and steer away from.
I believe creativity is what makes us human. The arts in general, and singing, and dancing should not only be encouraged but taught to children as healthy ways of expression and mental stability. Art isn't reserved for the gifted. It is a gift for everyone to enjoy and take part in. I don't like it when people say they can't sing or dance. Everyone can sing and dance. Maybe not like others, but who cares. Do you, and use your body as a creative tool for happiness and defining who you are with no shame. To me, It's like saying I don't talk or walk when I have a voice that speaks and legs capable of walking.
My fear for music is that people will lose sight of the fact that music is a tool of expression first and foremost. A powerful tool at that and one that should be respected. My fear is that artists won't have the foresight to think about the effects their music will have on their audience. I believe life mimics art mostly because artists our the visionaries and creative drivers in a culture.
If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?
If I could change one thing in the musical world it would be the competitive nature of the business. Artists are selling their souls for recognition. Being famous shouldn't be what drives their motivation. The only person an artist should be in competition with is themselves. I don't think The Voice, American Idol, or even the International Blues Challenge is good for art and music. It's entertaining sure, but at what cost? Music should be used to bring us together, and collaborate. Not compete and drive us apart.
What has made you laugh and what touched (emotionally) you worked with legendary Jim Gaines?
Jim has worked with some of the most influential and respected musicians of all time so anytime he would start talking about Steve Miller, Santana, or Stevie Ray Vaughan for example I was all ears. He told me a lot of studio tricks and techniques he has used. Those were my favorite stories. He nailed the mixes. I didn't even really have any criticisms. He would send me a track and I would think. Yup, that's it... It was a pleasure and a breeze.
How has the Blues and Rock counterculture influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?
I have been and obscure musician on the road for almost twenty years and have survived off of the kindness of countless folks along the way. I have crashed on thousands of beds, couches, and floors. There is definitely a counterculture of folks who love music. Who will take in and care for musicians. I am living proof of it.
Which acquaintances have been the most important experiences? What was the best advice anyone ever gave you?
I have been blessed with lots of great people who have instilled some of their knowledge on me. My Dad is number one, obviously. His words still ring inside of me everyday. Dangerous Dan, who ran the first open stage I ever played at had one rule. 'Have Fun' and that always stuck with me. Magic Slim's brother and Teardrop bassist, Uncle Nick, told me 'timing is everything' and thats another one of those little nuggets that stuck with me.
Tab Benoit has also been a huge influence on me as well. We made a record together about 5 years ago and we have done numerous tours together as well. We first struck up a friendship after we opened up for him at a Blues Society of Omaha show in Omaha. After the show, we hung out on his bus swapping stories, and listening to music he was producing. At the time, he was making a record for Dash Rip Rock. It had a great country sound to it and I had a bunch of country sounding tunes I wanted to record. So, I asked him if he would produce a record for us. He agreed and a few months later we were down in Louisiana making a record. Tab is probably the most confident person I've ever hung out with. Confidence and fearlessness have been what he has instilled on me. He didn't believe in doing things over and over in the studio. 'Don't think you got another take to do it right', he'd say. 'This is it'
Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go for a whole day?
It would probably be in one of my favorite studios... I'd have a hard time picking between Stax, Muscle Shoals, Chess, and Sun Studios... If Wilson Pickett and Duane Allman were there I'd have to say Muscle Shoals. I love the Swampers. They are so funky. everyone of them... What a great band.. But then again if Albert King was with the MG's and Otis Redding had a session that night too I might have to pick Stax Studios for a day.
What do you learn about yourself from the Blues people and culture? What does the blues mean to you?
My first exposure to live music was the blues and the live blues music community. I hit a blues jam in downtown Lincoln when I was 16 and they couldn't have been more nurturing and welcoming. In fact, the first time I played there, Chicago Blues Legend, Magic Slim was also sitting in with the house band. The host of the jam, Dangerous Dan Calkins put me up on stage with Magic after I played a couple of tunes myself and proved I could hang. I didn't realize it at the time but looking back it was very profound and inspiring to share the stage with a professional musician my first time out. It's as if it solidified the idea that my dreams could become a reality. Shortly after that I was introduced to The Blues Society of Omaha and they were the same. Great folks who loved live music and supported me greatly.
The blues to me is any emotional musical statement made out of a plea for mercy. That's the only requirement in my eyes...
What were the reasons that you started the music researches? How do you describe your songbook and sound?
My songbook and sound is about as eclectic as you will ever hear. From the beginning I started playing music fully immersed in the blues and guitar driven blues/rock. I was also a huge Bob Dylan fan, initially because of how much Jimi Hendrix loved him, but I quickly fell in love myself and was enamored by the way Dylan could paint a picture in my mind with his lyrics.
At some point in my life I have fallen in love with and played almost every style of music. From Funk, R&B, Soul, Gospel, Country, Reggae, Zydeco, Rock & Roll, Hip Hop, and even Pop Music. I have come to the conclusion that I am not and will not be afraid to play any rhythm or melody, and that truly is what music is. When you boil it down to the bone music is just rhythm, melody, and harmony. The sociological and cultural importance we put on the music is a beautiful thing for the music audience and listener, because they can feel connected and a part of something, but it can be a little debilitating for the artist. I want to bust down those walls and bring people together. If I'm gonna do that, it's gonna take a fearless, and non apologetic approach to my craft.
Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?
There have been so many great gigs, and jams... Most notably the time my buddy, Rick Galusha, hooked us up with a studio gig with Mato Nanji, from Indigenous. It was 2006, I believe and it was a live in studio thing where about 100 people are in the audience and they leave with a CD of the performance. It was a great concept and a blast to do. Ronnie Baker Brooks even showed up and played a couple of songs with us. Phenomenal jam... Well, a couple of weeks later Mato called me up and asked if we wanted to go on his summer tour with him. We just got done with this crazy/ seedy bar gig in Wyoming where there were three bar fights and the door guy just choked out a guy. I was like, yes please, get us out of here... haha. So for about the next two and a half years we toured as Indigenous and even made a record together. We back up Mato on his Broken Lands Recording.
Another monumental jam in our history was when I met Andy Frasco. Our old bass player brought him into town and promoted Andy's Omaha show. He told me, 'You gotta meet this guy'. So, I went down the night before the show and met him. We swapped road stories for hours and really struck up a good bond. The show was very refreshing. Andy has a way of connecting with a crowd and getting them amped up. He plays into his vulnerabilities and opens himself up to an audience like no one else I've ever seen. We wrote a song together (Take Me Back to Lafayette) the next day and booked a recording studio in Omaha to lay it down (Make Believe Studios). He put the song on his next record, and we did a few tours together after that as well. Even recording with him on his Half a Man CD where he covered three of my tunes.
Our studio session with Monophonics is another course altering moment for us. I hit up Kelly Finnigan after hearing their record. I was like this is the sound that I'd like to capture. They get a great warm and dirty analog sound that I love. We went to the bay area and made our Heavy Soul & Boogie Trance CD. We learned how they captured their sound and we hit the ground running to make our own studio and recordings with a lot of the same methods. We produced our Rise and Shine CD with a lot of the recording methods we learned from Monophonics.
What is the impact of Blues & Rock music and culture to the racial, political, and socio-cultural implications?
Music unites us and allows us to see past our differences. It allows us to articulate our thoughts and feelings and convey them to each other. Music has advanced our awareness on issues of race, gender equality, the plight of the poor and so much more.
What do you miss most nowadays from the music of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?
I miss the human element of music. The imperfections of improvising, and the nuances of musicians playing with each other is definitely rare in pop music. Everything is glossed over and polished to the point of being sterile and homogenized. Which is what led me to the blues when I was a teenager. I was enamored with these raw, jagged sounds that I never really heard before growing up on MTV.
My hopes for music is that people will stop idolizing and worshipping musicians as superheroes and superhumans. There's nothing wrong with being celebrated and applauded but to be idolized and put on a pedestal is definitely something as a culture, I believe, we should try and steer away from.
I believe creativity is what makes us human. The arts in general, and singing, and dancing should not only be encouraged but taught to children as healthy ways of expression and mental stability. Art isn't reserved for the gifted. It is a gift for everyone to enjoy and take part in. I don't like it when people say they can't sing or dance. Everyone can sing and dance. Maybe not like others, but who cares. Do you, and use your body as a creative tool for happiness and defining who you are with no shame. To me, It's like saying I don't talk or walk when I have a voice that speaks and legs capable of walking.
My fear for music is that people will lose sight of the fact that music is a tool of expression first and foremost. A powerful tool at that and one that should be respected. My fear is that artists won't have the foresight to think about the effects their music will have on their audience. I believe life mimics art mostly because artists our the visionaries and creative drivers in a culture.
If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?
If I could change one thing in the musical world it would be the competitive nature of the business. Artists are selling their souls for recognition. Being famous shouldn't be what drives their motivation. The only person an artist should be in competition with is themselves. I don't think The Voice, American Idol, or even the International Blues Challenge is good for art and music. It's entertaining sure, but at what cost? Music should be used to bring us together, and collaborate. Not compete and drive us apart.
What has made you laugh and what touched (emotionally) you worked with legendary Jim Gaines?
Jim has worked with some of the most influential and respected musicians of all time so anytime he would start talking about Steve Miller, Santana, or Stevie Ray Vaughan for example I was all ears. He told me a lot of studio tricks and techniques he has used. Those were my favorite stories. He nailed the mixes. I didn't even really have any criticisms. He would send me a track and I would think. Yup, that's it... It was a pleasure and a breeze.
How has the Blues and Rock counterculture influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?
I have been and obscure musician on the road for almost twenty years and have survived off of the kindness of countless folks along the way. I have crashed on thousands of beds, couches, and floors. There is definitely a counterculture of folks who love music. Who will take in and care for musicians. I am living proof of it.
Which acquaintances have been the most important experiences? What was the best advice anyone ever gave you?
I have been blessed with lots of great people who have instilled some of their knowledge on me. My Dad is number one, obviously. His words still ring inside of me everyday. Dangerous Dan, who ran the first open stage I ever played at had one rule. 'Have Fun' and that always stuck with me. Magic Slim's brother and Teardrop bassist, Uncle Nick, told me 'timing is everything' and thats another one of those little nuggets that stuck with me.
Tab Benoit has also been a huge influence on me as well. We made a record together about 5 years ago and we have done numerous tours together as well. We first struck up a friendship after we opened up for him at a Blues Society of Omaha show in Omaha. After the show, we hung out on his bus swapping stories, and listening to music he was producing. At the time, he was making a record for Dash Rip Rock. It had a great country sound to it and I had a bunch of country sounding tunes I wanted to record. So, I asked him if he would produce a record for us. He agreed and a few months later we were down in Louisiana making a record. Tab is probably the most confident person I've ever hung out with. Confidence and fearlessness have been what he has instilled on me. He didn't believe in doing things over and over in the studio. 'Don't think you got another take to do it right', he'd say. 'This is it'
Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go for a whole day?
It would probably be in one of my favorite studios... I'd have a hard time picking between Stax, Muscle Shoals, Chess, and Sun Studios... If Wilson Pickett and Duane Allman were there I'd have to say Muscle Shoals. I love the Swampers. They are so funky. everyone of them... What a great band.. But then again if Albert King was with the MG's and Otis Redding had a session that night too I might have to pick Stax Studios for a day.
'Love Songs & Life Lines' Thoroughly Engrossing And Ultra-Soulful:
-By Jeff Burger (March 18, 2018)
(Printed in Montrose Press- Aug. 31, 2017)
Man Of The Music
Kris Lager bringing band to town for Montrose Summer Music Series finale
Kris Lager fell in love with music at an early age, thanks in part to the King of Pop’s music videos.
“I found MTV when I was probably 6 or 7; I fell in love with Michael Jackson. I was constantly watching videos,” Lager recalled during a recent phone conversation from his home in Omaha, Nebraska. “MTV was pretty much my musical education until I got to be about 13, when I started to search out other stuff and fell in love with the blues.”
Lager began discovering classic rock albums in his father’s collection, and broadened his musical tastes further to hip-hop, rock, old country, reggae and everything in between.
“I don’t know why. I had that teenage rebellion,” he said, noting he began to realize the music industry was a business. “And I also wanted to play guitar.”
Fast forward more than two decades later, he fronts the Kris Lager Band, a four-person group that is known for its “revivalist rock, heavy soul and boogie trance.” At the heart of it is blues, but the band incorporates funk, rock, jazz, hip-hop, reggae and other genres into its unique sound.
“If you’ve never heard us, I think you’re going to love it,” said Lager, who will bring his band to town to headline the last Montrose Summer Music Series concert of the year Friday night at Black Canyon Golf Course, 1350 Birch St. “I love every genre. I think it’s human nature to sort things out, but as long as you like the music and respect the level of craftsmanship, it doesn’t really matter.”
MSMS Founder Dave Bowman said KLB was the perfect act to close out the 2017 season.
“I’m really looking forward to Kris Lager Band,” he said “Their brand of positive high energy rock and roll will be the perfect way to end this summer!”
Lager said his early guitar-playing days included jamming out with his father and spending significant time in the iconic Zoo Bar, a tavern in Lincoln that has been delivering live blues and jazz music almost every night of the week since 1973.
“Blues was my entry point,” Lager said. “I fell in love with blues.”
When Lager was 16 in the late 1990s, his father took him to perform during an open-mic session at another local venue. It was there he had a chance encounter with legendary blues singer/guitarist Morris “Magic Slim” Holt, who had relocated from Chicago to Lincoln and was known for spending time at the tavern.
“It just so happened the first night I went to that open mic Magic Slim was there hanging out on a Monday night,” he said. “We end up jamming together.”
Lager eventually had a short-tenure in a band as a guitarist before deciding he wanted to create his own set lists and ventured out to form his own band.
KLB has made a name for itself regionally by touring and through several record releases, including 2016’s “Rise and Shine,” a trippy and fun collection of genre-fusing tunes. It takes influence from blues, rock, r&b, reggae and more.
“It’s a culmination of a lot of things,” Lager said. “A lot of those tunes are incorporated into our set list. This is one of those tried and true records. We produced this record ourselves.
“It’s got pretty much all the genres ... pretty much everything we do.”
Lager and company haven’t had much downtime since the release last November either. Besides touring, the band has been working on a new album, a collection of love songs. The recording sessions for that album, which is due for release before the end of the year, was filmed for a TV documentary by Whitewall Sessions of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“We were asked to do this documentary, and I had this whole catalog of love songs. I usually only put one or two love songs on a record, so I decided to make a whole record,” he said. “It’s quite a statement. It’s a really emotional record, I think. My old man just passed away last year, so a lot these songs are me dealing with that. I feel it will connect with people.”
He said a couple of songs from that collection and several from “Rise and Shine” will be incorporated into the band’s Montrose concert.
“I’m looking forward to it. I love concert series,” he said. “I get to see kids dancing, older folks out, enjoying the outdoors.”
Lager said he’s never had a lot of marketing or money behind his band, however, he doubts he’ll lose the itch to play.
“Music for me, No. 1, is like medicine,” he said. “I need it on the daily to help center myself, focus, help sort out my emotions, my feelings. So when you hear the music, that’s what you’re hearing — it’s a joyful sound.”
-Matt Lindberg
Man Of The Music
Kris Lager bringing band to town for Montrose Summer Music Series finale
Kris Lager fell in love with music at an early age, thanks in part to the King of Pop’s music videos.
“I found MTV when I was probably 6 or 7; I fell in love with Michael Jackson. I was constantly watching videos,” Lager recalled during a recent phone conversation from his home in Omaha, Nebraska. “MTV was pretty much my musical education until I got to be about 13, when I started to search out other stuff and fell in love with the blues.”
Lager began discovering classic rock albums in his father’s collection, and broadened his musical tastes further to hip-hop, rock, old country, reggae and everything in between.
“I don’t know why. I had that teenage rebellion,” he said, noting he began to realize the music industry was a business. “And I also wanted to play guitar.”
Fast forward more than two decades later, he fronts the Kris Lager Band, a four-person group that is known for its “revivalist rock, heavy soul and boogie trance.” At the heart of it is blues, but the band incorporates funk, rock, jazz, hip-hop, reggae and other genres into its unique sound.
“If you’ve never heard us, I think you’re going to love it,” said Lager, who will bring his band to town to headline the last Montrose Summer Music Series concert of the year Friday night at Black Canyon Golf Course, 1350 Birch St. “I love every genre. I think it’s human nature to sort things out, but as long as you like the music and respect the level of craftsmanship, it doesn’t really matter.”
MSMS Founder Dave Bowman said KLB was the perfect act to close out the 2017 season.
“I’m really looking forward to Kris Lager Band,” he said “Their brand of positive high energy rock and roll will be the perfect way to end this summer!”
Lager said his early guitar-playing days included jamming out with his father and spending significant time in the iconic Zoo Bar, a tavern in Lincoln that has been delivering live blues and jazz music almost every night of the week since 1973.
“Blues was my entry point,” Lager said. “I fell in love with blues.”
When Lager was 16 in the late 1990s, his father took him to perform during an open-mic session at another local venue. It was there he had a chance encounter with legendary blues singer/guitarist Morris “Magic Slim” Holt, who had relocated from Chicago to Lincoln and was known for spending time at the tavern.
“It just so happened the first night I went to that open mic Magic Slim was there hanging out on a Monday night,” he said. “We end up jamming together.”
Lager eventually had a short-tenure in a band as a guitarist before deciding he wanted to create his own set lists and ventured out to form his own band.
KLB has made a name for itself regionally by touring and through several record releases, including 2016’s “Rise and Shine,” a trippy and fun collection of genre-fusing tunes. It takes influence from blues, rock, r&b, reggae and more.
“It’s a culmination of a lot of things,” Lager said. “A lot of those tunes are incorporated into our set list. This is one of those tried and true records. We produced this record ourselves.
“It’s got pretty much all the genres ... pretty much everything we do.”
Lager and company haven’t had much downtime since the release last November either. Besides touring, the band has been working on a new album, a collection of love songs. The recording sessions for that album, which is due for release before the end of the year, was filmed for a TV documentary by Whitewall Sessions of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“We were asked to do this documentary, and I had this whole catalog of love songs. I usually only put one or two love songs on a record, so I decided to make a whole record,” he said. “It’s quite a statement. It’s a really emotional record, I think. My old man just passed away last year, so a lot these songs are me dealing with that. I feel it will connect with people.”
He said a couple of songs from that collection and several from “Rise and Shine” will be incorporated into the band’s Montrose concert.
“I’m looking forward to it. I love concert series,” he said. “I get to see kids dancing, older folks out, enjoying the outdoors.”
Lager said he’s never had a lot of marketing or money behind his band, however, he doubts he’ll lose the itch to play.
“Music for me, No. 1, is like medicine,” he said. “I need it on the daily to help center myself, focus, help sort out my emotions, my feelings. So when you hear the music, that’s what you’re hearing — it’s a joyful sound.”
-Matt Lindberg
Lincoln Journal Star gives Rise and Shine a Grade: A
by L. Kent Wolgamott:
“Rise & Shine,” the latest album from the Kris Lager Band, opens with the sax-driven funk of “Ain’t That Just The Way It Goes” and, 67 minutes later, wraps up with the delicate, finger-picked “And You Know That’s True.”
In between, Lager and his road-tight band venture to New Orleans, Dr. John-style, on “Standing Right in Your Lovelight.” They also touch on country and blues and crank out plenty of the funky, dance-inducing numbers that are at the heart of its live performances.
Lager will release “Rise & Shine” at the Zoo Bar Friday. Showtime is 9 p.m.
Lager writes from his world, as can be heard on the slippery blues “Knee High by The 4th of July,” tells stories a la the leaving song “Bob Dylan,” which isn’t about Dylan at all, and throws out positivity on songs like the reggae-tinged “Ain’t Got No Worries,” while the band catches grooves, fast and slow.
Those grooves run as long as 7 minutes on “Hot Damn,” and were recorded to tape at LaVista’s Studio Blue, smartly produced by keyboardist Jeremiah Weir and Lager, then mixed by Christopher Steffan at Studio PH.
That technique really captures one of Nebraska’s hardest-working, widest-touring bands. The album's kind of jammy, driven by Lager’s guitar and his ever more expressive and soulful vocals and it sets itself apart from the genre’s norms via its secret weapon, LeFevre’s powerhouse saxophone.
Lager calls his followers “Feel Good Nation.” “Rise & Shine” is a feel good record that will give them just what they want to hear -- the band at its funky, groovy best. Grade: A
(Link to article) printed in Lincoln Journal Star- 3.23.2017
“Rise & Shine,” the latest album from the Kris Lager Band, opens with the sax-driven funk of “Ain’t That Just The Way It Goes” and, 67 minutes later, wraps up with the delicate, finger-picked “And You Know That’s True.”
In between, Lager and his road-tight band venture to New Orleans, Dr. John-style, on “Standing Right in Your Lovelight.” They also touch on country and blues and crank out plenty of the funky, dance-inducing numbers that are at the heart of its live performances.
Lager will release “Rise & Shine” at the Zoo Bar Friday. Showtime is 9 p.m.
Lager writes from his world, as can be heard on the slippery blues “Knee High by The 4th of July,” tells stories a la the leaving song “Bob Dylan,” which isn’t about Dylan at all, and throws out positivity on songs like the reggae-tinged “Ain’t Got No Worries,” while the band catches grooves, fast and slow.
Those grooves run as long as 7 minutes on “Hot Damn,” and were recorded to tape at LaVista’s Studio Blue, smartly produced by keyboardist Jeremiah Weir and Lager, then mixed by Christopher Steffan at Studio PH.
That technique really captures one of Nebraska’s hardest-working, widest-touring bands. The album's kind of jammy, driven by Lager’s guitar and his ever more expressive and soulful vocals and it sets itself apart from the genre’s norms via its secret weapon, LeFevre’s powerhouse saxophone.
Lager calls his followers “Feel Good Nation.” “Rise & Shine” is a feel good record that will give them just what they want to hear -- the band at its funky, groovy best. Grade: A
(Link to article) printed in Lincoln Journal Star- 3.23.2017
KZUM says If Nebraska had a shelf of flagship, prided albums, “Rise and Shine” would be an impressive addition.
Kris Lager Band to Celebrate Latest Album with Homecoming Show at the Zoo Bar Friday
By Annie Bohling
March 24, 2017
Kris Lager Band’s new album is as feel-good, funky, bluesy and upbeat as their live shows.
The band will celebrate “Rise and Shine” with an album release show today at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln. The new album dropped in November, but this will be the first time Kris Lager Band will play the new album in Lincoln.
Just as it’s impossible to sit still at a live KLB show, the same is the case as soon as you hit “play” for “Rise and Shine.” This is especially true for the second track, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us.” And the third track. And so on. Things slow down for about three tracks sprinkled in, which show off the band’s dynamic talents.
The album is a true and mature representation of the band that brings original and fresh music full of funk, soul, blues, rock and roll and psychedelic rock influences, not to mention their radiating energy and positive vibes. If Nebraska had a shelf of flagship, prided albums, “Rise and Shine” would be an impressive addition.
The band has toured across the country and continues to be on the road seemingly more often than not.
“We spent December taking it to Florida and back,” Lager said. “In January and February, we were in the mountains and out west. Now we’re bringing it back home. Then we’re going on tour again through June.”
Kris Lager Band is able to bust out an array of old and new tunes on stage as Lager writes prolifically.
“I like being creative and expressive,” Lager said. “I feel like the audience deserves to know where I’m at now.”
Lager writes the songs, sings and plays guitar. He said he started playing music as a form of expression, founding the band 17 years ago, when he was 17, as “just a kid who loved playing guitar.” Then, he discovered the magic of transferring those written songs to the stage and from the stage to the audience.
“The main reason I perform on stage is to lift up other people’s spirits,” Lager said. “I feel like every musician who has toured has to ask themselves, ‘Why do I do this?’ and question what motivates them. Since 2009 or 2010, we’ve taken on the mission of lifting people’s spirits and making them happy. That’s the main purpose of music. It’s not about idolizing or celebritizing people. I’m just a dude that loves playing music.”
He said the band’s sound has naturally strengthened and evolved over the years.
“I grew up heavily influenced pretty much solely on blues guitar,” Lager said. “After a few more trips around the sun, I’ve spent time soaking up other influences, mostly funk. I fell in love with a lot of New Orleans style funk. And soul music, gospel, R&B, country and zydeco. I’ve expanded my sound a lot just by picking up and falling in more in love with more styles of music.”
The beauty of songwriting, Lager says, is that there are no rules. He writes songs in countless ways, he explained.
“Some are just on my guitar,” Lager said. “A few are written with me plugging a drum beat in my ears while I’m driving and writing it in my head and then later sitting down with a guitar and figuring out what I wrote in my head. Sometimes, I have a vocal line in my head. On this album alone, some songs start with guitar, beats, vocals or piano, because I play piano, too.”
A lot of the songs came to Lager and the band pretty easily, he said. They went into the recording process with 30-some songs, which were boiled down to the their top 16, Lager said.
Membership of the band has changed some of the years, but Lager said that hasn’t majorly affected the band’s sound.
“If it did, I wouldn’t be doing my job as a band leader,” he said. “That’s what I do – I tap into my guys and I find their strengths and run with it. … The major part of the sound starts with the drummer. I feel like the drum is the base, and the bass is the glue. As long as I got Scooby on the drums, I feel like the songs feel pretty consistent” along with Lager’s voice, guitar and writing, he added.
The band has a new bassist, Aaron Underwood of Wichita, Kan. Keyboardist Jeremiah Weir, who has been in the band with Lager for 15 years, is on the album and will play the Zoo Bar show Friday, but will not be on the KLB tour.
“My big hopes and dreams are bigger paychecks, larger crowds, tour buses, drivers, a manager. All that stuff – mostly so that I can provide better for my people,” Lager said. “My biggest dream is to keep doing it. … This has been my dream since I first picked up a guitar at 14.”
An immediate goal, Lager said, is to produce a ton of music and put it online where listeners can access it for free and donate if they can.
(Link to article)
By Annie Bohling
March 24, 2017
Kris Lager Band’s new album is as feel-good, funky, bluesy and upbeat as their live shows.
The band will celebrate “Rise and Shine” with an album release show today at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln. The new album dropped in November, but this will be the first time Kris Lager Band will play the new album in Lincoln.
Just as it’s impossible to sit still at a live KLB show, the same is the case as soon as you hit “play” for “Rise and Shine.” This is especially true for the second track, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us.” And the third track. And so on. Things slow down for about three tracks sprinkled in, which show off the band’s dynamic talents.
The album is a true and mature representation of the band that brings original and fresh music full of funk, soul, blues, rock and roll and psychedelic rock influences, not to mention their radiating energy and positive vibes. If Nebraska had a shelf of flagship, prided albums, “Rise and Shine” would be an impressive addition.
The band has toured across the country and continues to be on the road seemingly more often than not.
“We spent December taking it to Florida and back,” Lager said. “In January and February, we were in the mountains and out west. Now we’re bringing it back home. Then we’re going on tour again through June.”
Kris Lager Band is able to bust out an array of old and new tunes on stage as Lager writes prolifically.
“I like being creative and expressive,” Lager said. “I feel like the audience deserves to know where I’m at now.”
Lager writes the songs, sings and plays guitar. He said he started playing music as a form of expression, founding the band 17 years ago, when he was 17, as “just a kid who loved playing guitar.” Then, he discovered the magic of transferring those written songs to the stage and from the stage to the audience.
“The main reason I perform on stage is to lift up other people’s spirits,” Lager said. “I feel like every musician who has toured has to ask themselves, ‘Why do I do this?’ and question what motivates them. Since 2009 or 2010, we’ve taken on the mission of lifting people’s spirits and making them happy. That’s the main purpose of music. It’s not about idolizing or celebritizing people. I’m just a dude that loves playing music.”
He said the band’s sound has naturally strengthened and evolved over the years.
“I grew up heavily influenced pretty much solely on blues guitar,” Lager said. “After a few more trips around the sun, I’ve spent time soaking up other influences, mostly funk. I fell in love with a lot of New Orleans style funk. And soul music, gospel, R&B, country and zydeco. I’ve expanded my sound a lot just by picking up and falling in more in love with more styles of music.”
The beauty of songwriting, Lager says, is that there are no rules. He writes songs in countless ways, he explained.
“Some are just on my guitar,” Lager said. “A few are written with me plugging a drum beat in my ears while I’m driving and writing it in my head and then later sitting down with a guitar and figuring out what I wrote in my head. Sometimes, I have a vocal line in my head. On this album alone, some songs start with guitar, beats, vocals or piano, because I play piano, too.”
A lot of the songs came to Lager and the band pretty easily, he said. They went into the recording process with 30-some songs, which were boiled down to the their top 16, Lager said.
Membership of the band has changed some of the years, but Lager said that hasn’t majorly affected the band’s sound.
“If it did, I wouldn’t be doing my job as a band leader,” he said. “That’s what I do – I tap into my guys and I find their strengths and run with it. … The major part of the sound starts with the drummer. I feel like the drum is the base, and the bass is the glue. As long as I got Scooby on the drums, I feel like the songs feel pretty consistent” along with Lager’s voice, guitar and writing, he added.
The band has a new bassist, Aaron Underwood of Wichita, Kan. Keyboardist Jeremiah Weir, who has been in the band with Lager for 15 years, is on the album and will play the Zoo Bar show Friday, but will not be on the KLB tour.
“My big hopes and dreams are bigger paychecks, larger crowds, tour buses, drivers, a manager. All that stuff – mostly so that I can provide better for my people,” Lager said. “My biggest dream is to keep doing it. … This has been my dream since I first picked up a guitar at 14.”
An immediate goal, Lager said, is to produce a ton of music and put it online where listeners can access it for free and donate if they can.
(Link to article)
By W. Derek Russell
Daily Journal- Tupelo, MS
TUPELO – Kris Lager has a lot to be thankful for at this time of year.
After making music together for over a decade, The Kris Lager Band continues to release a unique brand of original music, something Lager calls “feel good music.”
“I began playing music and writing music purely as a means of expression,” Lager said. “Put me in a crowded room and I wouldn’t say two words, but if you gave me a guitar and a microphone you would have to kick me off the stage.”
The band’s new album, “Rise and Shine,” will be at the forefront of their show at the Blue Canoe in Tupelo on Monday, where they’ll have an album release party.
“I hit the stage with one intention and that is lifting up spirits,” Lager said. “I believe the way to do that is through awareness of myself and others. It is something I call ‘The Holy Trinity of music.’ There is me, the musician and then my band-mates and then there is the audience. When I am in constant awareness of all three elements, that is when the real magic happens. That is what I strive for as a performer, musician and songwriter.”
The new album was recorded in Nebraska, and Lager said it’s a culmination of things the band learned from working together with friends.
“We decided it was time to take what we had learned and record,” he said. “It is a great representation of how we sound at this moment in time and it definitely represents what we are all about as a band.”
With track titles like “I Got Love,” “The Shimmy” “Shake it on Down” and “Love Can Get You By,” the band covers the spectrum on everything from soul to blues to zydeco.
“I found music to be a wonderful safe haven in which I could exist and escape to whenever I desired,” Lager said. “As I matured, I grew and I realized just how much joy could come from communicating with your band-mates and entertaining people, all the while expressing myself at the same time.”
The Kris Lager Band’s new album, “Rise and Shine” will be available at their performance Monday. (Courtesy)
The band lists musical influences from the likes of Ray Charles, Santana, Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers. Their current tour has them all over the map, from Colorado to North Carolina.
“We’ve been on the road for a couple of weeks now and it’s been great. A lot of people are treating us amazing. We’re having a blast.” Lager said. “My intention is just to lift people’s spirits (on stage). Make them dance, clap, smile and sing along. I feel like if I can move them physically, maybe I can move them spiritually. Ultimately, the reason I do this is because that’s what music does to me and I want to share that with anyone and everyone I can. I just love performing and sharing music that lifts my spirits. That’s my main goal.”
(Link to article)
Daily Journal- Tupelo, MS
TUPELO – Kris Lager has a lot to be thankful for at this time of year.
After making music together for over a decade, The Kris Lager Band continues to release a unique brand of original music, something Lager calls “feel good music.”
“I began playing music and writing music purely as a means of expression,” Lager said. “Put me in a crowded room and I wouldn’t say two words, but if you gave me a guitar and a microphone you would have to kick me off the stage.”
The band’s new album, “Rise and Shine,” will be at the forefront of their show at the Blue Canoe in Tupelo on Monday, where they’ll have an album release party.
“I hit the stage with one intention and that is lifting up spirits,” Lager said. “I believe the way to do that is through awareness of myself and others. It is something I call ‘The Holy Trinity of music.’ There is me, the musician and then my band-mates and then there is the audience. When I am in constant awareness of all three elements, that is when the real magic happens. That is what I strive for as a performer, musician and songwriter.”
The new album was recorded in Nebraska, and Lager said it’s a culmination of things the band learned from working together with friends.
“We decided it was time to take what we had learned and record,” he said. “It is a great representation of how we sound at this moment in time and it definitely represents what we are all about as a band.”
With track titles like “I Got Love,” “The Shimmy” “Shake it on Down” and “Love Can Get You By,” the band covers the spectrum on everything from soul to blues to zydeco.
“I found music to be a wonderful safe haven in which I could exist and escape to whenever I desired,” Lager said. “As I matured, I grew and I realized just how much joy could come from communicating with your band-mates and entertaining people, all the while expressing myself at the same time.”
The Kris Lager Band’s new album, “Rise and Shine” will be available at their performance Monday. (Courtesy)
The band lists musical influences from the likes of Ray Charles, Santana, Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers. Their current tour has them all over the map, from Colorado to North Carolina.
“We’ve been on the road for a couple of weeks now and it’s been great. A lot of people are treating us amazing. We’re having a blast.” Lager said. “My intention is just to lift people’s spirits (on stage). Make them dance, clap, smile and sing along. I feel like if I can move them physically, maybe I can move them spiritually. Ultimately, the reason I do this is because that’s what music does to me and I want to share that with anyone and everyone I can. I just love performing and sharing music that lifts my spirits. That’s my main goal.”
(Link to article)