|
Ace and the Ragers is an American band from the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Chagrin Falls. Their style is devoted to the Origins of rock and roll, but they may be more popularly known to their cult following for their part in the rockabilly and swing revivals of the late 1990s. Ace and the Ragers also played shows anonymously under the guise of ''The Moonglows'' or ''The Swordsmen''. ==Early years== Ace and the Ragers were formed in 1993 in response to the growing number of local North Coast area punk and hardcore bands enjoying success without the benefit of major label representation or promotion. Inspired by bands like the Ramones, the Ragers stormed onto the scene by adopting a fast, noisy, and raw set of favorites from the 50s, played to a frenetic punk beat. That first set list consisted of covers of Rock Around the Clock, Blue Suede Shoes, At The Hop, Teenager in Love and Splish Splash, all played several times each, about 2 hours after the band was actually formed, and without the benefit of ever having actually played together (or having ever played their specific instruments) before the first note of the first show. The original Rager lineup was Todd Nelson on drums, Jason Borkowski (Ace) on guitar and vocals, and Bryan McCleery on bass. The Ragers were then called upon to join a budding circuit for a bunch of fun little multi-band hardcore shows. Those first shows happened at spontaneous DIY hardcore "festivals" in the VFWs and basements of houses in unsuspecting neighborhoods. The highlight of these years was a 'spirited' winter formal dance at a penitentiary school. By then the Ragers' set list had grown to several hundred different songs. The Ragers played around Ohio sparingly while each member pursued primary interests in the other bands (on other instruments) that they were currently involved in. As the next few years went by, the Ragers' lineup shifted several times as they honed their sound, which by 1995 had evolved more towards a Bill Haley and Little Richard inspired Rock and Roll, including a shift from Fender Bass to String Bass for Bryan, a move from Drums to Sax for Todd, and the addition of Adam Buxton on Drums, Joe Ryan on Saxophone, and later a 15-year-old Mike Molnar on Guitar. Their sound evolved away from punk and more towards their R&B influences, like Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, Big Joe Turner, and Louis Jordan, as well as the classic country/rockabilly-type acts coming out of Sun Studios in the 50s (Elvis, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee and company). By 1996, the Ragers were developing a growing catalog of original material, and were headlining regular shows at such classic (and many now defunct) Cleveland venues as The Grog Shop, Peabody's Down Under, and The Euclid Tavern. Later gigs at The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, The Agora and The Odeon would follow. In 1996, the Ragers recorded their first EP ''Alien Baby'', which is now out of print and very rare. 1998 saw the release of their first studio album, ''Light This Sucker Up!'' which rose to #103 on the CMJ College Radio Top 200, and the follow-up release ''Ace and the Ragers Steal Your Girlfriend'' in 2000. All Ace and the Ragers records have been released on Bryan & Jason's own Pin-Up Records, based out of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and distributed through Hepcat Records in Irvine, California. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ace and the Ragers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|