Based out of Mound, MN,
a small town located near the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul,
guitarist RONNIE LAKE is quickly making a name for herself in the
music industry. RONNIE takes Rock, Blues and Surf instrumentals
"to the edge" - adding flavors, colors and textures to a hybrid sound
which she enthusiastically defines as "A Different Rock" - guitar with
attitude!
RONNIE,
who was born in Minneapolis, is the daughter of second generation
Japanese-Americans. As adolescents, RONNIE's parents were placed by
the U.S.
government in internment camps during the anti-Japanese hysteria during
the early 1940's. RONNIE has two sisters also in the arts. Her
younger sister in Minneapolis is a Japanese taiko drummer and her older
sister in New York City
performs with a modern dance company.
RONNIE
first picked up the guitar at the age of 15. She learned the chord
structures of legendary rockers Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix. The sounds of
the Allman Brothers' mixture of country, jazz and blues caught her ear -
especially the blues. RONNIE fell in love with the blues. She
moved to Chicago
to immerse herself in the classic Chicago Blues style. RONNIE
furthered her musical influences drawing on the grooves of bluesmen John
Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Son Seals and a host of other blues
greats.
After short stopovers in
California and Colorado, RONNIE returned home to Minneapolis where
she became involved in the blues scene, playing the many jams of the
city. Looking for more to enhance her music experience, she eventually
formed the "Ronnie Lake Band," a quartet with guitar, bass, drums and
accordion. The band, which played a blues and zydeco mixture, quickly
became a fan favorite wherever they performed.
RONNIE
wanted her sound to grow musically and become innovative. She also enjoyed
the reverb-drenched guitar and rolling instrumentals of Surf rock which
was put on the map by artists such as The Surfaris, The Ventures and Dick
Dale, and started
to incorporate Surf stylings into what has become her signature sound. RONNIE started performing locally with her new trio (guitar,
bass and drums) called "Ronnie
Lake
and the Men Of Iioto" gravitating more toward the surf sound. Soon
thereafter, the name of the band was renamed simply to "Ronnie Lake."
RONNIE’s
music has a natural connection with hot rod and motorcycle enthusiasts.
“Hot Rod music” sounds exactly like the traditional surf sound but with
revving engines and screeching tires overdubbed over the instrumental
tracks; add to that RONNIE’s devotion to Harley-Davidson
motorcycles (she owns two “hogs”) and her black leather outfits – and you
have the perfect combo of the cool car/bike, great music and hot
leather-clad chick guitarist.
RONNIE LAKE's
performances are fast
paced, non-stop, mesmerizing and highly energetic. The band plays without
pausing to rest in between tunes.
RONNIE
has included several of The Ventures tunes including 'Pipeline' and
'Walk Don’t Run' in her repertoire. But RONNIE adds her own
touch - "vamping on the one," as she calls it - adding blues and rock
chops - and a lot of energy to make these tunes uniquely her own.
A typical set can include
the likes of RONNIE's original 'I Heard The Smoke,' Los
Straightjackets 'Rockula,' Link Wray's 'Rumble,' the surf
classic ‘Diamondhead,' into a James Bond 007 spy tune, and The
Ventures 'Walk Don't Run' (featuring bass and drum solos).
Each of RONNIE's
shows are guaranteed to deliver fun, happy and high spirited music.
California music critic
Phil Dirt says of RONNIE, "her pacing is well metered and
deliberate... the effect is very satisfying... spunky."
Her memorable guitar
style as been described by Twin Cities Music Critic Rich Benson as
"wicked, edgy, in your face," with an "infectious rocking quality"
that is "easy to dance to."
Renowned surf guitarist
Dick Dale exclaims "Ronnie
Lake plays with a force that is her personality. The lady in black stares
you down, plays you down, keeps you guessing which way is up or which way
is down, never stops 'til she's ready. There will be no dead spots in
this performance my friends."
Eddie Angel of the Los
Straitjackets says "I dig
Ronnie
Lake's playing.
She obviously has a passion and love for the music and brings her own
originality to it. Anybody who is in to surf instros should check her
out."
"I was excited by Ronnie's sound and lead
guitar style; wow! --she just may become the foremost female 'power
electric guitar player' whose time has come! I've always felt that if our
industry could promote a feminine, girl guitarist who could hold her own
with the established rockers in terms of power and attack, touch and tone
--we'd have something special. Ronnie, Keep on Pickin' and Rockin'!" -
Art Greenhaw, Grammy Award-Winning musician, producer and leader of The
Light Crust Doughboys.
Look for
RONNIE LAKE
to be performing throughout the Midwest and Northeast.
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