Sons of the Never Wrong
The Sons of the Never Wrong is a Chicago-based singer/songwriter folk music trio founded in 1992. Current band members are Bruce Roper, Deborah Lader (since 1998), and Sue Demel.
After a chance meeting at a Guitar Center in Chicago, Roper invited Nancy Walker to come hear him sing at a local Monday night sing-around at the Beat Kitchen. Roper had recently moved to Chicago from Normal, Illinois, where he had run a retail guitar store. At that time, Walker was singing with a friend, Sue Demel, whom she had met through an ad for band members in the Chicago Reader. After the sing-around, Walker introduced Demel to Roper and the three decided to try singing together. Within a matter of a few rehearsals the three decided to continue as a trio and chose to name the band Sons of the Never Wrong. Sons worked playing local coffee shops for several months, when a chance encounter with Harry Waller led them to play the WFMT Midnight Special New Years radio show hosted by Rich Warren. Warren was skeptical about putting the band on the air, as he had never heard of them, but Waller convinced Warren. At the performance that night was Andrew Calhoun of Waterbug Records, who immediately offered Sons a recording contract with his label. Rich Warren would go on to having the Sons play countless times live on the Midnight Special and say of them that "...Sons are Chicago's favorite folk group, witty, whimsical, original and imaginative!" and Warren would later honor Sons by proclaiming that Sons were the only band or individual who's CD (King Fisher King) he had played every track from on his radio show.
The original member Nancy Walker left the group in 1998 to pursue a solo career. After Walker's departure, Demel and Roper made the decision to look for a replacement and continue as a trio. Deborah Lader was chosen to replace Walker on the strength of her multi-instrumental abilities, her harmony singing and her writing craft.
As of 2016, the band has toured and recorded for 24 years straight. Sons are, as of this writing, in the studio recording a CD of new material for their upcoming 25th year anniversary![1]
Discography
- Three Good Reasons (1995) Waterbug Records
- Consequence of Speech (1997) Waterbug Records
- One If By Hand (2000) Gadfly Records
- 4 Ever On (2002) Gadfly Records
- Nuthatch Suite (2005) Gadfly Records [2]
- On a Good Day...I Am (2009) Waterbug Records
- Lullabyloops (2010) Atmospheric loop based recordings by Roper, Sons Records
- Accidental English (2011) solo release Bruce Roper, Waterbug Records
- Church of the Never Wrong (2012) Waterbug Records
- King Fisher King (2012) Waterbug Records
- Still Life With Drumming (2015) Roper and Demel's dance play, Sons Records
- We Three Sons, A Christmas CD (2015) Sons Records