Lance Lopez - Higher Ground

"Higher Ground", the amazing fourth studio disc from bad-ass Dallas blues/rock axeripper Lance Lopez featuring 11 killer tracks (64 minutes) of brain-damaging, intense, powerful, funky, soul-powered, bluesy, retro-70's Hendrix-inspired heavy guitar power trio rock that will trip your brain hard. An outstanding, bona-fide, supreme heavy guitar monster from start to finish.

Lance Lopez is a ::one man rock machine:: hell-bent on keeping REAL "guitar rock" music alive. Forget what your mother says, "guitar rock" ain’t dead thanks to our good musical brother, Lance Lopez. On "Higher Ground" (his third disc for GROOVEYARD RECORDS, an indie label dedicated to outstanding TOTAL GUITAR music), L.L makes his mark and hits true legendary guitar hero status with his bad-ass riffage and mind-blowing over-the-top powerhouse lead guitar assault on the supremely brilliant "Higher Ground" disc. Lance takes his guitar rite over the edge and beyond. He also has an amazing, powerful, whiskey-soaked soulful voice that is the perfect match for his tough, bad-ass heavy guitar riffage. Lance Lopez lives the Blues and you can feel his pain deep in the grooves on the "Higher Ground" disc. His style and intensity is definitely something that has been lacking in mainstream blues/rock music since the eighties when S.R.V. showed us what it was all about. "Higher Ground" is a super-sonic way-kool brain-damaging heavy guitar musical document and excellent follow-up to his two previous killer beyond belief Grooveyard discs.

"Higher Ground" is a mega-awesome bluesy heavy guitar ripper that is HIGHLY recommended to fans of HENDRIX (long live the musical spirit of JIMI), FRANK MARINO, ROBIN TROWER, ERIC GALES, KING'S X, S.R.V., DOYLE BRAMHALL, EDDIE HAZEL, LENNY KRAVITZ (imagine Lenny Kravitz meets Hendrix!!!), STEVIE SALAS, RICHIE KOTZEN, JOE BONAMASSA, (early vintage) ZZ TOP, INDIGENOUS, CRAIG ERICKSON, BUDDAHEADS, SKY HIGH & CLAS YNGSTROM, WES JEANS, KAMCHATKA and just about any other killer get-down rippin' blues/rock axeslingers you have ever heard. Fans of his two previous killer Grooveyard discs "Wall of Soul" & "Simplify Your Vision" will "get off hard" on the phenomenal "Higher Ground" disc. Lance Lopez is the "real" deal and he's definitely right up there with the best of them. No blues/rock heavy guitar c.d. collection is complete without this phat, phunky power trio riff monster. As an added bonus, Texas blues/rock axeslinger Wes Jeans guests and jams on some good ole’ down-home texas blues with brother LL on the “Higher Ground” disc.

On "Higher Ground" the blues rock "harder", the funk grooves "deeper", the stripper rock is more "tricktafied" and there is something for everyone on this amazingly kool new heavy guitar disc. Dig in deep people, it’s time to "Simplify Your Vision" & reach for your "Higher Ground" with brother Lance Lopez and take a "bluesadelic funk rock for the soul" musical ride that will peel the paint from your "Wall of Soul", trip your brain hard and rock your world into the deep, bluesy outskirts of infinity.

CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME MP3 TRACK: EL PASO SUGAR

Could there be a bigger monster guitar player out there than Dallas-native Lance Lopez? The guy plays gargantuan heavy Hendrix riffs that rip the cover right off the speaker. He destroys his axe, be it a flying “V”, “SG” or a Les Paul “Custom”. Here’s a guy that should be talked about in the same breath as Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Eric Gales. His six-string wizardry is primarily blues-based but there is plenty of funk, rock and metal in the mix. Hailing from Texas gives him a handle on the ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan’ shuffle heard in “Drinkin’ My Blues” and the hard driving “Thunderbird South.” Both pay homage to ‘the man’ but there’s enough of the Lopez signature aggression that keeps it original – giving respect without duplicating. Being from the Lone Star state also allows him to partner up with some of the area’s hotshot players. On this, his fourth disc, Lopez cuts saw with guest guitarists Wes Jeans and Phillip Brown where they trade licks on such blistering numbers as “Hard Livin”, “Everytime I Turn Around” and the scorching Mississippi Fred McDowell track “Kool Iron Bed.”
The disc takes its name from the Stevie Wonder hit “Higher Ground”. Lopez uses the song as his lead in track, which springs to action with a thick funky beat and finds the Hendrix soul to a signature R&B classic. The Funkadelic inspiration continues through “That’s A Fact” with a hot lead and lots of metallic muscle. Lopez augments his voice from his usual baritone gruffness to pulsed electronic fuzz then launches into Willie Dixon’s “Let Me Love You” with hard rock blues. His love affair with roots blues is very much at home in the 12-bar “Hard Livin” complete with juke joint piano. Among the many hair-raising tracks “El Paso Sugar” steals the show with its ZZ Top sting and some clever Elmore James slide. For a self-produced, self-played record Higher Ground has a remarkably beefy production. It allows the artist to pull out all the stops and work a Commodores spin on “Type of Girl” with a Bootsy Collins strut into “Every Dog Has It’s Day.” Strictly for fans of lead-foot guitar with no brakes.
Todd K. Smith (Cutting Edge) (11.07)