For the past seven years, Roger Creager has been leaving his musical mark throughout the southern part of the U.S., especially within his beloved home state of Texas. With the release of his newest album, Long Way to Mexico, Creager is well on his way to the top.
Although Creager has known from the time that he was six years old that his roots were in creating country music, he found himself at Sam Houston State University earning a degree in business. He then made his way to Aggieland, a known Mecca for Texas Country Music, and acquired an agriculture degree.
After a few years of working as an accountant in Houston, Texas, Creager decided it was time to pursue his music with a vengeance. "I went to college and played it safe for a while, and leaving a steady job and steady paychecks was a hard thing to do, but I knew that I had to do it," says Creager thinking back on his decision. He was then drawn back to College Station to take part in the Texas Music Revolution.
Creager's role in his first band was that of a piano player, a talent he obtained when he was in the second grade. About a year later, Creager joined up with Justin Pollard, Pat Green's current drummer, to form a cover band in 1996. It started out slow, playing five or six gigs a month in local bars and venues. When Pollard left to play with Green, Roger knew that he had to do it his way - his songs, his music, no more covers.
Although he had been singing since he was a teenager, Creager did not start taking his songwriting seriously until college. In fact, it was not until he was 26 that he began performing his own songs for an audience.
From then on, Creager gained the confidence to perform his own songs, which led to such hits as "Having Fun all Wrong" and "Love." His first two albums, Having Fun all Wrong - which features the Texas Country Music anthem, "Everclear" - and I Got the Guns, depict Creager's distinctive twist on traditional country. His sophomoric effort, I Got the Guns, proved to be an immediate success when it debuted at #1 on the Lone Star Music Charts.
His resounding stage presence and down-home energy make it clear that he and his tight-knit band are doing what they love and what they do best, which was acknowledged when Creager received the title of Entertainer of the Year in the 2001 Texas Music Awards.
Creager, now 32, has come a long way since his early beginnings. His album sales continue to rise, as does the attendance at his shows. Until this most recent release, Creager has never had any formal radio promotion or a publicity machine behind him. It has been his unique musical style and his high-powered stage performances alone that have alone propelled him to the success and fan recognition he now enjoys, pre-selling out venues across Texas such as Gruene Hall and The Executive Surf Club.
His immense talent for stirring emotions in various musical genres is quite evident in his long-awaited third album, which debuts on September 9, 2003. Long Way to Mexico is something a little different for Creager. Many of the songs are co-written, giving him the pleasure of working with some of country music's greatest songwriters, such as Radney Foster. Long Way to Mexico features a blend of Cajun Jazz, Latin beats, Sinatra sounds, and of course, traditional Roger Creager. This mix has been a gradual process and something that Creager has wanted to do for a long time.
"I think that music should be fun. Music should be sad, or make you angry. Music should make you do something!" And this album, like his previous two, takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions, as all good country albums should, but ultimately leaves you feeling recharged and ready to go.
