Red Reign – Sammy Lee
By: Lori Smerilson Carson - Photos: Thomas Orwat, Renee Relinski / Rhythm-n-News & Chip Ruggieri - Chipster P.R & Consulting, Inc.
Talent and determination shine through while watching rock band Red Reign perform songs in Pennsylvania. Talent from creating catchy, rhythmic music that sticks in your head, and determination to put on an amazing, fun show that truly draws the audience in. Since their self-titled EP released in 2021 and their first album DON’T LOOK BACK released in 2023, they have been making an impactful imprint in the music industry. Currently, Red Reign, comprised of Lead Vocalist/Guitarist Carlton “Bubba” McMichael, Guitarist Stevie Shred, Bassist Larry Moore, and Drummer Sammy Lee are on tour, and I was able to catch their new show in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.
Catching up with Sammy Lee just prior to the tour and this show that they played in front of L.A. Guns taking the stage, he revealed some details about the new show, new video, what they have been doing, and what fans can look forward to.
SFL Music Magazine: What can fans look forward to with the new show?
Sammy Lee: We try to bring some high energy velocity to the show, and we’re going to be showcasing most of the newer material of the album we put out about a year ago. So, probably, let’s see, I think it’s a good thirty minute, like I said, high energy show we’re going to be bringing.
SFL Music Magazine: Yes, the last time we spoke was for the DON’T LOOK BACK album.
Lee: Yes.
SFL Music Magazine: You explained that a lot of the songs were written during COVID, and basically the album was written as a lookback and to move forward creating positive memories or to make life better. You are touring a bit with L.A. Guns, starting off their national tour. Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to with these shows?
Lee: Well, each time you go on the road with a different band, it’s sort of the same crowd that likes that kind of music. Obviously, for a band like us, we’re always looking to meet new friends and try to get people into the music. It is a hard sell when you’re playing all originals and no covers, but we’ve been very fortunate that people have seemed to gravitate towards it. It’s like building a house brick by brick, and that’s what we try to do every show is just add more people to the fold.
SFL Music Magazine: I really like “No Peace No Love” and “Here I Am” which we also previously talked about. Are you noticing any fan favorites? Are there any songs specifically that people are gravitating more toward?
Lee: One song that we play every show is off the actual first EP which is “Not That Way”. That’s a song that I think people really like. That’s a little more commercial than some other material that we do, but I find that when you play all originals and people don’t exactly know who you are, it takes about two or three songs to warm up, you know, people to warm up to it. What I did when I made the set list with the band, we try to mix it up a little bit. We have some really kind of harder songs, and some a little more melodic. On this set, we’re just going all out. We’re going to be doing a lot of, I keep saying high energy, but more high energy. More of a little bit of a faster pace than normal. That way, it should get everybody’s attention (he laughed) from the first note to the last. That’s the hope.
SFL Music Magazine: Was there anything new that came along since the last time we spoke? You were talking about more touring.
Lee: Well, we did. Last year almost at this time, we actually did about a week run with Nazareth, which was good. We didn’t play as many shows last year as we would have liked, but we did a run with Nazareth, and then we did a show with Buckcherry which was really good. That was really interesting because we were informed that we would probably be doing some more shows with them, but it just didn’t pan out at the end of the year. That would have been nice as well, but listen, we’re just happy to play. All somebody’s got to do to get Red Reign to play is ask. That’s it (he laughed)! We just love being up there!
SFL Music Magazine: Are you looking to play in Florida?
Lee: The funny thing is, and I don’t get a lot, but when we do play, the band is very accessible to talk to. After the show we go to the merch table. We love to meet everybody. The question I get is “hey, how come you haven’t played here or here?” One thing that makes it hard is it’s not really where we want to play. I mean, we’d play everywhere, but it’s where you’re asked to play and where a promoter will book you. There’s a lot that goes into it. So, yeah, we’ll go wherever we have to go. Even though we have this tour, we are searching for the next set of shows or show, or whatever we do. We already have our team looking into that. It’s just an ongoing process.
SFL Music Magazine: As for videos, you have “Don’t Look Back” (featuring George Lynch), “Here I Am” and “No Peace No Love”. Are there any new videos out for people to look for?
Lee: We did have another one out “Darkness Of Pain”.
SFL Music Magazine: How did that one come about?
Lee: Well basically, when we put the album out, we had in mind of the songs the first two tracks that we wanted to release which was “Don’t Look Back” and “Here I Am”. I think “Here I Am” is a very important song. Then we were asked, “hey, do you want to do another single?” That took a little time, and then that’s when “No Peace No Love” came out. It’s really kind of a tongue in cheek song. It’s fun, and then you stall a little bit. Shows like I said, weren’t coming in as quickly as we’d liked. So, I made the decision, let’s just put another single out there. So, we did. We just did this video for “Darkness Of Pain”.
SFL Music Magazine: The last time we spoke, we talked about how you were influenced by Van Halen. What would you recommend to an up-and-coming drummer?
Lee: Don’t do what I did because I started taking lessons and then, I’m dyslexic, so looking at the music really started to confuse me. So, I stopped with lessons and sort of did some more like, I don’t want to say teaching myself but just playing by ear which is wrong because I’m not a technically sound rudimental drummer as I would like to have been. So, I would just tell people, learn the instrument and learn the technique and learn the rudiments. Yeah, that’s probably what I would let everybody know.
SFL Music Magazine: That’s good advice. Is there anything you have experienced doing these shows that you would maybe pass along to a new band?
Lee: Well, it’s funny. Somebody asked me in an interview because we’re going on ten years being together. That’s a long stretch. My answer to that was, we rehearse, and we tour and we’re together, but when we come back into Richmond, we don’t spend a lot of time together. That’s not because we don’t want to. It’s everybody has their own life and own space, and I think if you give everybody that space, then it always makes it fresh. Even though we’ve been doing it for ten years, when we rehearse, it’s fresh. I would say, just give everybody the space they need, but make sure you’re rehearsing. Make sure you have your parts down. That’s the key. Then the most important thing is, have fun. The biggest thing is, I think people want to go out there and be a rock star. If you’re trying to be a rock star, that’s going to be the tough part. You just got to have fun, and you got to want to do it.
SFL Music Magazine: Is that what you would say attributes to the longevity that you guys have?
Lee: Yeah. We really enjoy being onstage together and playing the music that we play. It’s hard to say hey, if you see us onstage enjoy it because some of the stages we’re playing on are a little smaller, so it’s a little harder to move around, but we just enjoy it. We believe in the songs that we’re playing. We believe in the originality of the songs because I think in today’s world there’s a lot more tribute bands, which is great! I’m not trying to say anything negative, it’s just I personally love the originality, and I think if you can do something that people start liking and you sell it because you are also not only a musician but you’ve got to sell your own music to the people, then yeah, you’re going to have a great time. Just enjoy what you’re doing.
SFL Music Magazine: That’s the key.
Lee: That is the key.
SFL Music Magazine: Is there anything else people can look forward to with Red Reign’s music?
Lee: One thing that helped with the Nazareth tour was, and now it’s on this tour too, is we’re on the bill, so a lot of people would check us out before we got there. I would recommend that just because again, it’s original music, but you know what? Again, we just love getting onstage and I think people will really enjoy what we’re going to do. What we do is we’ll play a set. Then we take our equipment, we get it off the stage and we go right to the merch table, and we try to meet as many people as we can or people who want to meet us. We’ll sit and talk. We get feedback. Listen, music is a very subjective subject as far as what people like and what they don’t like. We don’t take anything to heart. So, people come up and say “hey you’re a good band” that’s awesome! People might say “hey, I really didn’t like your stuff” that’s good too. Just give it a chance. Give originality a little bit more chance these days. That’s it. That’s about all I can say about what we do. People go to a concert always looking to be entertained. Come in and have a drink and just relax and enjoy it. I will say, I think one of the big misconceptions is, people look at us or hear some of the things that we’re a heavy metal band. We’re not really a heavy metal band. We’re a rock and roll band. We’re a melodic hard rock, more of the vein of an AC/DC. We’re not in the Metallica vein. So, as long as you’re into rock and roll, that’s great! What I would tell people is, if you can just check us out, we’re on every downloadable music site. We’re on Spotify, we’re on Apple, we’re on Amazon and all that, and then check us out at redreignband.com. Just check us out. I think you’ll like what we do. We look forward to seeing everybody.
