THE NEXT GENERATION - 1985-Present

In 1985, as the story continues, Doctor Ron Harrell (a prominent Lake Wales Chiropractor) was with a patient, when his wife\receptionist came in and whispered that there was an old grey-headed guy in the lobby asking to see him. She said it must be someone he knew long ago because he was asking to see Ronnie, a name he hadn't used since high school. When Dr. Ron made his way to the lobby, a somewhat older and somewhat gray haired Willie Metts said, "We got a gig, Ronnie -- come on!".

After the initial shock wore off, Willie, Ronnie and Dane were soon rehearsing with Dennis Pearson on guitar and Johnny Baldwin on drums -- in order to play some eight or ten songs that had been requested by members of one of the Lakeland High School class reunion committees. The performance was very well received and almost immediately afterward, the Canadian Rogues were once again getting calls to play other gigs.

The general feeling was that maybe they should get more serious about this thing, and soon, the second generation Canadian Rogues was born. This group consisted of Willie Metts (vocals), Ronnie Harrell (vocals and bass), Dane Streets (guitar), Johnny Baldwin (drums), Richard Conine (saxophone), and Gene Palm (keyboards). The band played in this configuration until 1989, when Jerry Lanier took over the job of keyboards and bass, and Art Casey became the drummer.

L->R Front: Dane Streets - Richard Conine - Willie Metts Back: Carl Chambers - Jesse Chambers - Bobby Bostanche - Jerry Lanier   NOT PICTURED: Ronnie Harrell

In late 1991, Jesse Chambers (who had recently retired from playing on the road and in the studio with country superstar Ricky Skaggs) was brought in on the bass, and soon after that, Bobby Bostanche came on board as the drummer. In 1992, Carl Chambers joined the group on lead guitar. The Chambers cousins (Jesse and Carl) had played with Willie Metts, during the early and mid 70s, in the groups "Raintree County" and "Dizzy Rambler".

The Canadian Rogues, now an eight piece band, enjoyed several years of semi-regular, mostly weekend, one-nighters covering much of Central and Southwest Florida. Willie, though not quite as animated as in his younger years, was still quite capable of captivating his audience with soulful renditions of many of the same tunes he had performed some twenty years before. When playing in the Lakeland area, fans would still flock to hear Willie sing. I think no one would deny that Willie Metts pretty much was the Canadian Rogues during this time.

Tragedy

Unfortunately, on July 1, 1996 while driving alone from Bradenton (where he had been fishing on the pier) back to the condo where he and his family were vacationing in Longboat Key, Florida, the unthinkable happened. Willie Metts died of a heart attack.

Members of the group were stunned. It couldn't be true -- but it was. Willie was gone.

Dane Streets - Jerry Lanier - Carl Chambers Ronnie Harrell - Hart Hogan Bobby Bostanche - Richard Conine

After a period of mourning, Dane and Ronnie had to decide what to do. Although they considered dissolving the band, they soon came to the realization that Willie would not have wanted to be the reason for the demise of the Rogues. They could still hear him saying, "We got a gig guys-- come on". But needless to say, things had changed. The group could no longer ride on Willie's charisma and soulful voice and some rocky days ensued. The band tried to keep the same basic song list they had used for so many years but the fire was gone. There was just no one who could do justice to Willie's material. Jesse Chambers soon left the group and Hart Hogan, from Plant City, was brought in to try and take up the some of the slack as both vocalist and bass player. For a few months during late 1998 and early '99, Karisa Nowak was engaged as a female vocalist, but it seemed nothing was really working. Disillusioned, Carl Chambers soon became a sort of on-again, off-again member. The jobs became more difficult, songs were tentative, and internal struggles were more and more common.

During the summer of 1999, the group downsized to a five-piece group in an effort to keep the band alive. The Rogues now consisted of Ronnie Harrell (vocals), Dane Streets (guitar), Jerry Lanier (keyboards and bass), Bobby Bostanche (drums), and Skip Frye (lead guitar). But the group was still basically struggling with a song list reminiscent of the Willie Metts years and had no definite direction.

Gettin' Over It

In 2000, Carl Chambers returned to the group on lead guitar. The group started to rehearse more frequently and gradually started to regain some of the confidence that had been lost after Willie's death. For Mayfaire Saturday Night 2000, the group worked up an hour show with Jimy Sohns who had been the lead singer for the Shadows of Knight which had, among others, the huge sixties hit "Gloria". Canadian Rogues drummer, Bobby Bostanche had also played with Sohns and the Shadows of Knight during the seventies. The Rogues were finally starting to get it back together musically.

L->R: Carl Chambers-Ronnie Harrell-Dane Streets- Jerry Lanier   FRONT: Rodney Price

In early 2001, Bobby Bostanche left the group because of health problems and Rodney Price joined the Rogues as drummer. Rodney had played on the road and in the studio with the Bellamy Brothers Band in the late 70s and the Ricky Skaggs band in the early 80s. A seasoned player, Rodney brought the significant change necessary to break the band free from it's past mindset of simply being the vehicle for Willie Metts distinctive vocals. The band went into serious rehearsals and the song list was changed to suit the voice, style and talents of Ronnie Harrell and more emphasis was put on arrangements and harmonies. The songlist was confined (with rare exceptions) to the late 50s, the 60s, and the early 70s and the problem became - "which ones do we do?" - there are so many great songs. Although the band had recorded and released several singles during the 60s, the group had never made an album until the release of of the CD, "Still Rockin'", in August of 2001. Produced by Carl Chambers, the CD is a collection of 50's, 60's and early 70's material that the group currently uses in their performances.

» Mayfaire Saturday Night 2001 [click here]

In May 2002, another veteran of the Bellamy Brothers Band, bassist Donnie Helms, was added to the band and brought a new aire of excitement and professionalism to the group. The Y2Ks promise to be an interesting chapter in the Rogues history so stay tuned and take the ride with us.

»Mayfaire Saturday Night 2002 [click here]

In Memory

The spirit of Willie Metts will forever live in the hearts of those who loved him and especially with those who had the privilege to work with him over the years. He was a unique individual, both as a singer and a person. Stories abound. He is and will continue to be sorely missed, but more important though, his spirit will live on in the band he loved so much, the Canadian Rogues.

»»The Canadian Rogues History 1964-68