Lance Hoppen (Orleans)

Performance Anxiety

Today’s guest reminds me that not everything is always as it seems. Please welcome Lance Hoppen from the band Orleans. Prior to speaking with Lance, I hadn’t dug very deep into Orleans’ catalog. But when I did I realized that there is a whole lot going on there! The band tends to get lumped into the yacht rock genre but there is so much more to their sound.

Lance gives a history lesson on the band that became the family business. And in true familial style, his big brother, Larry, made him audition to get in the band. But even though he felt like he was hanging on for dear life, at times, he settled in and not only held down the groove with some amazing drummers, but also contributed to the Orleans style of blood harmony.

Lance also talks about their sophomore album that came out after their fourth album, which contained early versions of their biggest hits. But the label didn’t hear it and dropped them!

But as their sound fell out of favor, Lance made some tough decisions and took a hard left out of music for a time. But he couldn’t deny his art and eventually came back to music. Orleans has played for a handful of people on a military base and to literally hundreds of thousands at Woodstock ‘94. And it wasn’t always a linear progression.

Lance is extremely candid about everything here; from the music to his life to the death of his brother Larry. It’s an episode that really did leave me speechless, at times. Orleans is playing a limited number of shows this year but new dates are always being considered. Check them out at orleansonline.net, on Facebook at orleansmusic, and their YouTube channel for all kinds of info. Check us out @PerformanceAnx on social media. You can support the show with a merch purchase at performanceanx.threadless.com or feeding our coffee habit at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. And please welcome Lance Hoppen of Orleans on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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