The Roamers – “I Can Be Lonely”
Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of The Roamers’ song “I Can Be Lonely,” from their forthcoming self-titled album set for release on September 20. This song will be released on July 19. The Roamers was recorded at Sharktank Recording in Los Angele; produced by Brian Whelan, Luke Adams, and Matt Rice; engineered by Luke Adams; and mastered by James Driscoll for Hot Tonic Mastering.
“I Can Be Lonely” is Brian Whelan on guitars, organ and background vocals; Luke Adams on drums; and Matt Rice on bass, lead vocals and background vocals. “Sing it like you’re Waylon Jennings” was the directive, and “I can be lonely all by myself” comes out with swagger and absolute confidence, just what this art form calls for. As produced Brian Whelan said: “it sounds like something Doug Sahm would sing,” and we wholeheartedly concur.
Heartbreak songs are a dime a dozen, but one thing that is missing from a lot of country songs these days is humor. Matt Rice has harnessed the twisted energy of country loving on his new single “I can be Lonely all my myself”. The song conjures all the pathos and dark humor of Doug Sahm and Jonny Paycheck – one imagines reaching for the bottle to drown the pain of a broken heart and realizing – “Hey, this isn’t that bad after all!” — Brian Whelan, Producer
It was easy to write about loneliness during the pandemic. Or maybe not easy, but it was relatable. Everyone was in the same boat. I remember writing the basics of this song while I was walking my dogs when that was one of the few activities people could do. I cut a demo at an Airbnb out in Joshua Tree on an iPad with Garageband, one mic, and a couple of guitars. I was proud of what was captured but then I kind of put the song aside for a while. Would people think it was too sad? Too funny? Too real? Too fake? I didn’t know.
When we got into the studio, I shared every demo I had. Producer Brian Whelan particularly was a champion of this song. He took it for exactly what it is, “a song that’s so sad and pathetic but it’s sarcastic and funny too, kinda like something Doug Sahm would sing,” he said. That’s kinda- sorta-exactly what I had in mind, even if I couldn’t put it into words. And I was content that someone else heard the song the same way as me. In the vocal booth he suggested, “Sing it like you’re Waylon Jennings. Like you might be sad or down-and-out but you’re defiant about it.” That helped. Sahm and Jennings are big influences to me. I don’t think I got anywhere close to doing what they would do. But damn it sure did help inspire me on how to approach the recording. — Matt Rice of The Roamers
Find their music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5pWh45kHQd7e3FTVrrADAu?si=RP8nR2N-T-SY-RMnWGAl4w&utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree&nd=1&dlsi=176831ce5e724436
