Remembering a Legend
On March 4, 2012 we were saddened to hear that rock legend Ronnie Montrose, originally scheduled as a headliner at this year’s Redwood Run, had passed away. It is believed that the cause of death was prostate cancer, which he had been battling for the past few years.
At this year’s Redwood Run, on Friday, June 8, at 4:30 p.m., the surviving members of the Ronnie Montrose band with special guest Michael Lee Firkins will hit the stage to deliver an inspired set of music in memory Ronnie’s outstanding spirit, persona, talent, and career. This set is not to be missed.
After Ronnie’s death, an official announcement on his website read:
”A few months ago, we held a surprise party for Ronnie Montrose’s 64th birthday. He gave an impromptu speech, and told us that after a long life, filled with joy and hardship, he didn’t take any of our love for granted.”
”He passed today. He’d battled cancer, and staved off old age for long enough. And true to form, he chose his own exit the way he chose his own life. We miss him already, but we’re glad to have shared with him while we could.”
The Kiwanis of the Redwoods stand united in offering their condolences to the Montrose family. He will be greatly missed.
So don’t miss this year’s moving tribute to Ronnie from the Ronnie Montrose Band with special guest Michael Lee Firkins.
2. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real are an American rock and roll band based out of Paia, HI and Southern California. The band consists of: Lukas Nelson (vocals/guitar), Anthony LoGerfo (drums), Tato Melgar (percussion) and Corey McCormick (bass).
More information at:
3. Pat Travers
It’s early 1979, and the Pat Travers Band has just been introduced and subsequently recorded for what would become one of the slickest and hottest guitar-rock albums ever committed to vinyl. Live. Go for What You Know was a huge success on both sides of the pond, acclaimed by their musical peers, fans, and music critics alike. It was high-energy. It was electric. It was lightning in a bottle. The album, much like the Canadian musician himself, remains an influence for a whole generation of guitar slingers.
The band in question - Pat Travers, guitarist Pat Thrall, drummer Tommy Aldridge and bass player Peter “Mars” Cowling - were unarguably one of the most talented rock quartets ever to perform.
They were also responsible for a pair of bona fide studio classics - their 1978 guitar rock debut Heat in the Street, and 1980_s more musically diverse and critically acclaimed Crash and Burn. Go for What You Know was the musical meat in that sonic sandwich. Thrall’s fusion was the perfect foil for Travers, who has always put the melodic tone and feel of his solos before any fret burning. Aldridge was one of the most noted and flamboyant sticksmen of the era. Cowling was the inspiration, driving the rhythm through his ever solid, yet extremely flexible, four-string work.
Toronto born Patrick Henry Travers had already delivered a tasty trio of releases before the formation of that formidable four-piece, and would go on to deliver classy melodic eighties rock before a blues period in the nineties, but it’s that famous foursome that set standards, kicked your ass, and made such a musical mark.
From the streets of Toronto, to the streets of London, now, here to kick your ass... The Pat Travers Band.
More information at:
4. Charlie Brechtel Band
Charlie doesn’t just play the kind of rockin’ blues that is the perfect soundtrack to the biker way of life; he takes his listeners into a world that began in America’s post WWII years, screamed through the ‘50s and ‘60s and has evolved into one of the most powerful and envied sub-cultures that this country has ever produced.
His legendary music pays homage to the biker lifestyle in a way that no other musician has ever done. Charlie Brechtel weaves the personalities who pioneered this way of life into the hearts of all his songs. Men like Sonny Barger, Wino Willie Forkner, the Bravo Brothers...vintage bikes like the Indian... biker Meccas like Sturgis, Daytona Beach, and the Buffalo Chip... all supply the ever-sharp edge to the music of Charlie Brechtel.
The soul of the American biker and the music of Charlie Brechtel are truly one and the same.
More information at http://www.bicproductions.com/bands/the-charlie-brechtel -band.
5. The Fryed Brothers
Harry and Tommy Fryed started the Fryed Brothers Band in 1980 as a tribute to their older brother, Mark. For 25 years they have toured relentlessly, not only in the USA, but also Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They have headlined at most major motorcycle rallies in the country, as well as being regular performers at Willie Nelson’s annual Fourth of July picnic.
The laundry list of people they have shared stages and played with is a wide-ranging, who’s-who of American music: Willie Nelson, Marshall Tucker Band, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, The Doobie Brothers, John Anderson, Jefferson Starship, Nazareth, Steppenwolf, Tower of Power, Jonny Lang, John Mayall, Commander Cody, Asleep at the Wheel, Freddie Powers, Eric Burdon, Elvin Bishop, Eddie Money, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, David Allen Coe, Leon Russell, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Billy Idol, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and many more. Those who might pigeonhole them as “just” a biker band would be sorely missing the point.
With their wide-ranging blend of good-time American music, they’ve successfully crossed over those narrow boundaries. They rocked crowds at such diverse venues as the 2002 Winter Olympics. They have appeared at county fairs, rodeos, drag races, and for the past eight years, have been the proud performers at the American Diabetes Association’s Rip’s Bad Ride. They were, at one time, the west coast back-up band for the late great country music legend, Johnny Paycheck.
Wherever they’ve appeared, whatever the venue, for twenty-five years The Fryed Brothers Band has proven time and again, that they are a great American band, period. “May the party never end.”
More information at:
http://www.fryedbrothersband.com/index.php
Photos by Jessica Gardner
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