Ronnie Brandt “Musician at Large”
“Something keeps callin’ me, somethin’ keeps callin my name”
Ronnie’s first memory of hearing live music was when he was five years old in Plainfield, N.J. in the mid 1960’s
“I was all of 7 years old and my dad let this doowop group practice in our living room because they had nowhere else to rehearse. I couldn’t believe the sound these guys made, it was an incredibly powerful influence on me.” (That group went on to become George Clinton & Parliament)...
Ronnie Brandt “Musician at Large”
“Something keeps callin’ me, somethin’ keeps callin my name”
Ronnie’s first memory of hearing live music was when he was five years old in Plainfield, N.J. in the mid 1960’s
“I was all of 7 years old and my dad let this doowop group practice in our living room because they had nowhere else to rehearse. I couldn’t believe the sound these guys made, it was an incredibly powerful influence on me.” (That group went on to become George Clinton & Parliament)
In the early 70’s his father owned a gift shop in Asbury Park New Jersey right in the middle of where all the music clubs were.
“ You could walk down the side walk and look into some of those places and watch the bands play all afternoon, and that’s pretty much what I did. My Older brother and his friends played music in our basement, they gave me a guitar and taught me some chords.”
Ronnie fast became interested in folk, country, rock and blues and learned tons of songs, he was mostly influenced by singer/songwriters such as Hank Williams, The Carter Family, Bob Dylan, Springsteen, John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt and so many more. He loved the music but it was the words and stories that got Ronnie hooked.
”By the time I was 13, I had read Woody Guthrie’s “Bound for Glory”, Kerouac’s “On The Road”, and had my own copy of Carl Sandburg’s; “American Song bag”. I also discovered poets e.e. cummings and Lawrence Ferlingetti. I also discovered the library of congress recordings by John and Alan Lomax THAT stuff sent me reeling!”
As a junior in high school, Ronnie started writing words and music. By the time he graduated high school Ronnie was playing in clubs all over the east coast of America. Growing up on the NJ shore he became a favorite in clubs along the beach strip such as Mrs. Jays, The Fast Lane and the legendary Stone Pony. At 19 he left to go on the road with “Freewheelin’”, a country rock band based out of Dallas Texas.
Ronnie spent a few years on the road touring throughout the entire mid western United States, opening for national acts, playing concerts, night clubs, beer joints and honky tonks. After spending some time in California he returned home to the east coast, and worked as a solo doing festivals, live radio shows and colleges. He played mostly NJ, PA as well as Manhattan, and put together a string of rock & roll bands and also played solo acoustic with just a guitar, harmonica and his voice.
“ Man, I guess I played every club and hole in the wall on the east coast, I wanted to record some of these songs on disc, I’ve got so many tunes, hundreds of demos... through a friend of mine, my music was heard by the musicians who helped me record my first CD, including Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman of the Philadelphia group “The Hooters.”.
These guys helped me lay down the tracks on this collection of tunes, It was a fantastic experience working with everyone to make this record” the result was “Rudy’s Thread.” 2 years later Ronnie released another CD “Dig A Little Deeper”. “ Funny, even though the records are printed the songs still feel like a work in progress they just keep changing and growing.” Ronnie is currently working on “Dusty Road” for release in spring / summer 2005. Continuing his desire to write and perform American music. Ronnie created a school program for elementary and middle school kids to educate them about our rich American history and landscape. “Its a great way to give back to the community and help educate kids about our musical heritage by such songwriters as Woody Guthrie, The Carter Family, Hank Snow, Marty Robins, Johnny Cash and many more. The kids and teachers have fun and “This Land is Your Land” has become a favorite addition to many a schools assembly line up.”
So...here is an artist on the road forward, and as his own lyric suggests.............
He has.... Miles behind him...and miles to go
show more...
