"Austin's Uncle Lucius is one of the most genuine interpretations of Southern rock and soul since The Black Crowes, with songs both Hank Williams and The Band would appreciate."

-Gavin Paul, Center Stage Chicago

The formation of Uncle Lucius is a Texas tale in the truest sense. Four unique musicians of the Lone Star State, each living in their own hamlets, brewing up a dire need to put together a soulful southern rock outfit, sometimes can’t help but find each other.

Kevin Galloway’s campfire dream of starting a band began to take form in 2002, when the Freeport native left his East Texas banking job and moved to Austin with little more than a guitar and a truck. A country player all his life – he’d learned to play the guitar from listening to those “lovin’ and leavin’” songs that ran through East Texas – Galloway’s ears took quickly to the diverse array of rock-oriented music sprouting up around the Capital City . After three years of playing open mic’s around town, the singer/songwriter/guitarist met bassist/songwriter Hal Vorpahl through a mutual friend who knew the two could put together a legitimate outfit.

Hal Vorpahl’s story walks a similar path to Galloway ’s. A native of 30,000-strong Lufkin , Texas , Hal’s musical background was built around a solid foundation of listening to Willie Nelson records with his father. He’d dabbled in the piano while growing up, but the 88 keys never quite caught on. Instead, it was the general mysticism of the vibrant musical scene that brought Vorpahl to Austin , and – as if he had any choice in the matter – he picked up the bass shortly after moving to town.

The current look of Uncle Lucius began to take shape when Houston ’s Mike Carpenter entered the picture after the band’s first year. Raised on Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana, Carpenter had been playing guitar and writing songs since the age of 14 and moved to Austin to play in bands. He played in two other bands before joining Uncle Lucius, a move that was made possible by the departure of the group’s original lead guitarist. Carpenter remembers feeling no sense of hesitation: “I immediately liked Kevin’s voice. He was a good front man and a good singer. And they were doing pretty much what I wanted to do: combining country, rock and roll, and blues. It was really just luck, man.”