Lex Romane crosses genres to tell vivid stories

Lex Romane is as much a historian as he is a musician. The stories of coal miners, and the crash of the coal mining industry, have seldom been approached so honestly as they have when told by Romane. His wide range of musical influences have enabled him to bounce around the sonic spectrum, bringing the spirit of Northeast Pennsylvania to countless stages.

Growing up in the Wyoming Valley, Romane’s early life coincided with the waning days of the anthracite coal mining industry. When he was 11 years old, Romane and his father visited the site of the Knox Mine Disaster, a 1959 accident that claimed the lives of twelve miners. The controversial incident, a seminal moment in Luzerne County’s history, would have a great impact on Romane’s musical output.

Beyond the historical context in which he was raised, Romane was inspired by the music of both his era and the generation before, pulling insights from jazz, country, bluegrass and swing. Like many people his age, Romane was also influenced by the sounds of the contemporary folk music of the 1960s, and learned to play the guitar in order to emulate musicians like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

Romane was a member of the American Asphalt Blues Band, a blues-rock group that made its name on the local music scene. The group was quite popular in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, and they later expanded their reach by opening for the Kinks, Jefferson Airplane and Three Dog Night.

The heavier sounds of the American Asphalt Blues Band were a departure for Romane’s musical taste, and he would eventually move on from the group in order to explore more traditional blues and country sounds. He joined the John Capp Bluegrass Revue, worked for producer Bob Evans, and later moved to Philadelphia, where he was welcomed into and supported the city’s thriving folk music scene.

Romane’s most important musical collaborator was Joe Riilo, another musician with close ties to Luzerne County. The pair met at a birthday party in the Poconos, and they would become lifelong musical partners. The duo performed together in a number of capacities. Locally, they were members of the Northeast Extension Band and the River Street Band. Romane and Riilo produced five albums, with “Live at the Chicory House” being recorded at St. Stephen’s Church on Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre. They also twice served as B.B. King’s opening act when the blues legend performed at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

Romane and Riilo were an ideal musical duo. Romane’s acoustic guitar expertise and rustic vocal style played perfectly off of Riilo, a classically-trained clarinetist and multi-instrumentalist. Their musical mark was made in Ogunquit, Maine, a community Romane embraced and called home for decades. During their time in Maine, Romane and Riilo performed in Neil and the Nightlifes and, later, as Lex and Joe.

In 2003, during a stop in Luzerne County, Romane discovered songs compiled by local folklorist George Korson. Romane took this discovery as inspiration when developing his 2003 record “Diggin’ Dusty Diamonds – Songs From The Coal Mines.” The record is a crucial piece of art documenting Luzerne County’s anthracite coal mining history. It includes original tracks based directly on local history, like “The Knox Mine Disaster,” and labor anthems, such as “Sixteen Tons.”

Since the release of “Diggin’ Dusty Diamonds,” Romane has remained in tune with the history of Luzerne County and has contributed to other creative projects pertaining to the area’s anthracite coal mining past. Romane’s efforts to preserve historical truths and educate through song are consistent with the spirit of the American musical tradition that inspired him.