HEY PRESS:
This is how you make an ñ, please spell my name properly:
Mac: Hold the option key and press n, then release the option key and press n again, or shift-n for capitol.
Windows: hold down the "alt" key, and key in the digits 0 2 4 1, and an ñ will magically appear when you release the "alt" key. For a captal Ñ, hit alt + 0209.
HTML: Dont forget the semi-colon: lower case: ñand upper case: Ñ
Or just copy and paste the charcter from here: ñ Ñ
Lance Romañce is born and raised on December 7th 1979, at Women & Infant's Hospital in Providence, RI. Soon after, Lance Romañce turns 14. He enters High School, without incident, and begins to study drums, acting, improvisation, and the social life of teenagers. Lance doesn't play sports, but enrolls in the school jazz band.
Lance Romañce's 10th grade English tutor is Alex Kerry, daughter of failed presidential candidate John Kerry. At this time, Lance Romañce forms his first band, “Federal Roosters.” which he leads while playing drums. They make their debut at a school assembly the day after OJ Simpson's acquittal. They play a tribute to OJ. The crowd boos. The boos are for OJ, though. The crowd cheers Lance. The year is almost over when he gets a bass for his birthday.
Then along comes 1996: Lance Romañce is kicked out of school due to his grades. He starts at a new school, but has to repeat the 10th grade. He also takes bass lessons. In 1997, Lance is kicked out of that school. He transfers to another school that bumps him ahead to the 12th grade, bypassing 11th grade.
Lance Romañce Attends Berklee College of Music over the summer. Lance Romañce starts several bands, and an e-zine called "The Lance Romañce Mailing List.," which, promoting nothing, balloons to over 70 high school-aged subscribers, many of whom he doesn't know. While reading Don Quixote in his Spring of '98 Spanish class, Lance adopts the name of Lance. He graduates high school on time, has a nice summer, and moves to Boston. Lance Romañce now attends Berklee College of Music full time.
In 1999, he buys an 8-track tape recorder, and begins recording immediately. In April, he releases his first album, Sonnets Set to Music. He plays all the instruments, and records it himself in the dorms. To his surprise, not only do people like it, they call it "Genius." One of Lance Romañce's teachers passes it along to famous drummer Steve Gadd. Gadd passes it along to Eric Clapton, and Clapton to Phil Collins and Paul McCartney, who was dating a one-legged woman by this point. Clapton particularly likes the OJ tribute.
Lance Romañce never stops and continuously writes and records for his next album. He drops out of school later in the year, moves back in with his folks and starts working full time at a bookstore. He records Titty Titty Yum Yum in his parents' living room. Y2K is a big commotion, but Lance isn't worried. Lance gets his own apartment, and releases Titty Titty Yum Yum. in October. Lance Romañce begins taking ballroom dancing lessons and picks out a new wardrobe. In preparation for 2001, Lance Romañce makes a new years resolution to be more like Groucho: Grows a mustache and starts smoking cigars.
Lance Romañce is worn out. He takes a trip around the country, meeting new people, and eventually landing in Texas, where he lives for five months. But by 2002, Lance can't take the Texas heat. Lance Romañce moves back to Boston, goes back to Berklee, and lives in a house with ten girls. It blows, believe it or not.
Lance Romañce has been performing sporadically this whole time, but its in 2003 he starts performing regularly between Boston and Providence. Lance Romañce is now playing the guitar and singing, and frequently backed by a band. He also shaves his mustache and starts eating vegetables and smoking finer cigars. Lance moves back to Providence, and starts hanging around in New York more as well. He is frequently asked to play at parties.
By 2004, Lance Romañce is already starting to play regular gigs around New York City. He fast becomes a regular at New York's most famous open mic night, "Lach's Monday Night Antihoot," and a prominent figure in New York's Antifolk scene. This is the same scene that spawned Beck and Jeff Buckley. Lance Romañce moves to New York in 2004, and plays regularly 3 or 4 times a month in the city, as well as back home and at regional colleges with an acoustic guitar.
In 2005, bored, Lance totally revamps his live show. He switches to bass, and now uses a band made up largely of people he meets just before a gig. He also starts focusing on more improvised instrumental passages. Also in 2005, when Lach, founder of the Anti-Folk scene, goes on tour, he leaves Lance to host the “Anti-Hootinany,” the largest and most famous open mic in NYC. An interview with Lance is featured in Anti-Up magazine, his picture on the cover of Urban Folk magazine, and appears several times on New York’s Bob Fass Show on WBAI FM. Lance is also asked to play the “EARTHUNDER; Spirit of the White Buffalo” festival in Canada, along side USAIsAMonster, Lightning Bolt, and MindFlayer.
Venues Played:
Providence: Century Lounge, AS220, he Living Room, Fort Thunder, Brown University, Providence Civic Center, Lincoln Mall, Hive Archive/Dirt Palace, Wheeler School, Cafe Zog, Oakie St, Ocean Coffee, 71 Tyndall, house parties
Boston: Berklee College of Music, Massachusetts Institute of Art, Choppin Block, house parties
New York: Sidewalk Cafe, Apocalypse Lounge, Rocky's Bar/Rockstar Bar, Art Land Bar, Tommy's Tavern, Columbia University, New York University, Tank Annex, Cinder’s Gallery, parties
Others: Purchase College (Purchase, NY), Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), The Mill of Kintail (Almonte, ON), Bouldin Creek (Austin, TX)
Known Air Play: WXLU (Los Angeles), WBAI (New York), WFUV (New York), WNYU (New York), WERS (Boston), WLSY (Boston), WBRU (Providence), WELH (Providence), WRIU (Providence), WDOM (Providence)
Bands Played With: Lightning Bolt, Moldy Peaches, USAIsAMonster, The Slip, Jason Trachtenburg, Jeff Lewis Band, Soce The Elemental Wizard, MindFlayer, Apollo Sunshine, Arab On Radar, Dufus, Barnacled, Talibam, Andy Dick
The Music: Drawing on his Providence roots, as well as NY’s singer/songwriters, the rap he listened to as a kid, and his love for oldies and surf music, Lance Provides a sound that is pleasingly strange and highly entertaining. He has often been compared to Beck, Ween and Jonathan Richman. He maintains poppy melodies in the bass and rhythm, maybe throws in some noise an and avant-garde, and then puts some witty lyrics on top.
Performance: Lance Romañce plays with a handful of regular musicians, but more frequently relies and any musicians he finds just before the shows. Most of his songs are in the key of A, so anyone can follow. He has been seen on stage with a variety of prominent musicians, including members of USAIsAMonster and The Moldy Peaches. Taking a cue from Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound,Lance often tries to get as many musicians on stage as he can. Lance will be heard directing the musicians, as well as the audience. who he will have whistle a melody, snap, or even to beat box if he is short a drummer. Everything is improvised, from setlists, to song arrangements, to the band members. But he glues it all together with a catchy bass line and funny lyrics. And by using new musicians every show, Lance is able to transcend musical genres easily, and keep the show fresh every time, even to him.
By Javed Memon, November 26, 2002:
I once knew a small boy by the name of sir Lance Romañce that resided in the provincial town of Providence, Rhode Island. He had been known to be nomadic in his ways, like this author himself. His bathing habits were well concealed, as they seemed to not exist, his living conditions spartan at best, and diet that comparable to a poor lobotomized chimpanzee.
Despite these shortcomings, character flaws, utterly vile habits - whatever you may call them - Lance was known for his personality. As a closet homosexual and paint-huffing addict, he had a distinct ability to charm the likes of almost any savory character. In his past works, lyrical genius can be found in the ironic and comical humor of his satire imbibed songs. Love songs that revolve around bowling, rap songs with ebonic culinary recipes, and even brooding ballads involving killing small children that could calm the most irate of tortured minds. He has been much celebrated and tolerated, but recently his body has not been known to occupy any one space for more than the blink of an eye.
Time and time again this enigma has been spotted. At hamburger joints and pizza shops who's names have been forgotten, browsing through seas of vinyl records in the backs of stale fart tainted record stores....And in the shadows of the hearts of every man and woman. Though his whereabouts may never be known again, there will always be something left in the life of every person he has tread past and bothered for change. Whether it be a kool-aid stained carpet, a perpetual stench left on a couch seat, or even pubic hairs on one's laptop computer....he will not be forgotten.
RIP Lance Romañce.
Frehuently Ahsed Qushuns
And Ant sewars.If you have any questions or biographies, or testimonials to add to this page, please email me at tendionitus@giantrats.com. Interviews are always welcome.
Where did the name Lance Romañce come from?
12th grade Spanish class. We were reading Don Quijote, and were translating the word for "lance", the old jousting weapen. I decided to blurt out "That's a good name," and proceeded to sign my name as Lance on all my papers. When my teacher would call me by my real name, I would correct her and say "Lance". Then she would correct me and say "Lance Romance." So I started using that too. By this point, I had changed my name to Lance in all my email signatures.
The following fall, at college, there were two people with my name in my English class. So, I said I could be called Lance insted. This was the first time any one started to know me soley as Lance. Then that spring, I put out my first CD, and just ended up using it.
There must have been a dozen things I wanted to change my name to in high school. King Of The Lions, Jesus, Carne De Vaca, Mocos De Vaca, and Fuck Shit Ding Dong. Lance Romance was just the name I happoned to have at the right time, when I released my CD. So that's why it stuck.
What's the deal with the ñ?
The ñ must have come about in 1998, when I first started to design this website. I wanted to make the main page of the web site interesting. So, I made the "t" blink, and made the n in Romance into an ñ. This was something I greatly enjoyed doing, simply because I could. In Instant messages, I would frequently use ¿'s insted of ?'s, and ñ's insted of n's, ¢ and £ insted of $, and so forth. Greatly proud of the option key on my computer's keyboard. So when I was making the opening page, I just through in an ñ for fun, and liked it, so I never changed it.
I turned out to be great. And I only say that because, I realised later that the ñ was a great tribute to the Spanish class in which I aquired the name.
Pronunciatien is simple: its silent. I used to try to pronounce it "romanyince", or something, but in the end I was still lance Romance. No one was going to pronounce it like that regularly, not even me, so why bother. Hence, the ñ has been declared a silent ñ. Great English language technique.
Why is your website called "Giant Rats"?
GiantRats.com is named after both the scariest part of the Nutcracker, as well as a sound Lance and his friends heard in Downtown Providence as teenagers. It was decided that the sound must have been a giant rat, though it was later discovered it was a sound one building emitted on purpose in order to scare away pidgins. It made sense, though, because Providence, so its bound to have some giant rats, a rat being someone who tells on someone. I do love The Nutcracker, though. Some great tunes there.
Why does it say "hime page"?
This is a type-o, I just haven't gotten around to fixing yet. I'll do it soon though.
1. View Lance's Press Kit (pdf)
2. Favorites
Thank you, everybody!
