RON KEEL BAND Finish Recording Debut Album For EMP Label Group
The new album is finished and set for release in early next year...the 2019 concert schedule kicks off in February....
Ron had the following to say about the Ron Keel Band: During recording sessions for their upcoming original album release FIGHT LIKE A BAND on the EMP Label Group, the Ron Keel Band warmed up by ripping through some of their favorite southern rock classics. What started as a fun way to loosen up in the studio has now turned into SOUTH X SOUTH DAKOTA Volumes 1 & 2, a pair of 6-song EPs featuring the music of Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Outlaws, Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special, Creedence and more. “At first, we didn’t even know Mike (co-producer Mike Dresch) was recording,” Ron says. “We were just having fun. But of course, Mike records everything we do, and when I started listening back I realized that we had something really cool on our hands.” Of course, the band has had a lot of practice on these tunes; many of them have been included in their live show for the past several years. Their cover of “Ghost Riders In The Sky” was the debut single and video when RKB was known as the “Badlands House Band” and “Homesick” (originally recorded by Atlanta Rhythm Section) was their 2017 summer single. Both those recordings are included on the new SXSD collections. Venturing slightly from traditional southern rock fare, the album also includes “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” and a live recording of the band’s CCR Medley of “Born On The Bayou/Bad Moon Rising/Fortunate Son.” And now the SXSD album project has evolved into a full-on concert experience as the Ron Keel Band is booking select performances which will feature all these songs and original music. Fans at the “South X South Dakota” shows will also get treated to all the southern rock classics and more, including Eagles music (“If the Eagles had been from anywhere but California, they would have been dubbed southern rock,” Keel claims) and other outlaw standards from Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels and more. “I realize that even though I’ve sold a few million albums in my career, there are still a lot of people who aren’t familiar with me or my work,” Ron explains. “But everybody knows and loves these classics, so when we do a casino show, or a big bike event, this platform allows us to give the people what they want while introducing them to some of our new original music at the same time.”
