Uncle Lucius formed in Austin, Texas, where their fusion of classic rock, blues, soul, and country elements quickly built a devoted audience. The group’s history opened in 2002 when Kevin Galloway, a 25-year-old guitarist long steeped in classic country, left East Texas and his banking path to focus on music in the capital. There he began performing at open-mike nights and soon met Hal Vorpahl, who had grown up with Willie Nelson’s recordings on piano before moving to Austin and switching to bass. After a year of playing together they added guitarist Mike Carpenter, whose deep roots in classic rock already marked him as an Austin-scene veteran, and with the arrival of drummer Jason Armstrong the original lineup stood complete. The band then drew consistent crowds to venues such as the Saxon Pub, Threadgill’s, and Antone’s.
In 2006 Uncle Lucius issued their self-released debut Something They Ain’t and sustained it through ongoing regional dates. When Armstrong exited during early work on a second album, the remaining members auditioned San Antonio native Josh Greco—who had arrived in Austin for college and remained in the local music circuit—rather than hire a session player, and they kept him. Recording for 2009’s Pick Your Head Up went smoothly, and on December 29 of that year they taped a special performance at the Saxon Pub that appeared the following year as Live at the Saxon Pub.
For their third studio album, 2012’s And You Are Me, the band had signed with Nashville-based eOne Music and expanded to a quintet with the addition of keyboardist and vocalist Jon Grossman. Although “Keep the Wolves Away” and “Pocket Full of Misery” found radio traction, Uncle Lucius parted ways with the label, celebrating the release in a motel parking lot with beer. They funded their next record through an online crowdfunding campaign; the resulting 2015 album The Light came out on their own Boo Clap label with distribution handled by Thirty Tigers. Once the project was finished, Hal Vorpahl departed and the group continued as a quartet.
