Steve "Bop" Austin: Vocals, guitar, harp, banjo...
John Guy: Bass, backing vocals
Steven Mayer: Drums, backing vocals
Past Members...
Brian Paxton: Vocals, crunchy guitars
Steve-O: Drums, backing vocals
Occasional Members...
Dave Currall: Guitar, vocals
John Groover McDuffie: Guitar, vocals
Harry Orlove: Guitar, vocals
Influences
The Blasters, The Beat Farmers, Old 97's, Buddy Blue, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Elvin Bishop, El Vez, El Kabong, Ella Fitzgerald, Elmore James, Dave Alvin, Tom Russell, Johnny Cash, Johnny Yuma (he's a rebel), Johnny Rotten, Johnny Winter, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Dale Watson, Doc Watson, Gene Watson, Gene Vincent, Gene Pitney, Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, Marty Robbins, Marty Stuart, Martha and the Vandellas, The Seeds, The Bad Seeds, The Outlaws, The In-Laws, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Buck Owens, Iggy Pop, The Stooges, The 3 Stooges, The New York Dolls, The Detroit Wheels, The Boston Pops, The North Mississippi All-Stars, The Starland Vocal Band, Guns & Roses, Zager & Evans, The Mamas & The Papas, Juan Foot & The Grave, Cheese & Crackers, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steve Cropper, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, The Sex Pistols, L.A. Guns, .38 Special, The Clash, Fats Domino, Slim Harpo, Guitar Slim, Hollywood Fats, Fat Boy Slim, Little Walter, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton, Little Richard, Bull Moose Jackson, Gatemouth Brown, Bleeding Gums Murphy, Floyd Burney, Hot Club of Cowtown, Hot Tuna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cold Blood, Status Quo, Mott the Hoople, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Shut the Fuckup, Hangdogs, Yardbirds, Stray Cats, Rhythm Pigs, Byrds, Eagles, Fabulous Thunderbirds, I See Hawks In LA, Conrad Birdie, Robin Trower, Los Tigres del Norte, Aerosmith, Erroll Flynn, The Hellecasters, Bruce Springsteen, Yngvie Malmsteen, Shel Silverstein, Albert Einstein, The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards' pancreas, David Crosby's liver
The Ridge Route Romeos’ approach to music is pretty simple: Fill the tank with straight-ahead American rock & roll, add a liberal dose of twang, and put the hammer down!
The Romeos are the typical “boys next door” – if you happen to live next door to a dive bar in the middle of an adults-only trailer park! With rollicking songs about love gone wrong, drinking binges gone right, fast trains, slow thinking, good times, and bad decisions, the band's mission is to deliver their unique interpretation of the "Bakersfield Sound", which they describe as “something you’ll probably never hear on Bakersfield radio”.
Since their inception in 2007, The Ridge Route Romeos have appeared at a bunch of dive and not-so-dive (no, really!) bars in Bakersfield and Los Angeles, as well as multiple appearances at Ronnie Mack’s Barn Dance, L.A.’s premier showcase for Americana and Roots Music. The Romeos have also appeared at Art Fein’s Elvis Birthday Bash at the Avalon Ballroom in Hollywood, sharing the bill with such roots-rock royalty as the Blasters, the Groovy Rednecks, David Serby, Carlos Guitarlos, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Karma, Ray Campi, Harry Orlove, I See Hawks in L.A., Big Manny, Mike Stinson, the Mojo Monkeys, Jimmy Angel, Count Smokula, and a shitload of others acts with whom we're proud to be associated. There's a great roots music scene in Southern California, and we're sincerely grateful to be a part of it.
The band consists of: Steve Austin on guitar, harp, and vocals; John Guy on bass and backing vocals; and Steven Mayer on drums and backing vocals.
When asked about the band’s name, Austin explains: "’Ridge Route’ -- for those of you who ain't from around these parts -- is a reference to the old highway connecting Bakersfield and Los Angeles. ‘Romeos’ is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the band’s composition of middle-aged guys --ok, late middle-aged guys—who aren’t exactly the physical specimens we used to be. It’s our way of saying we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Contrary to popular opinion, irony isn’t quite dead yet.”
Call it roots-rock, Americana, twang, country rock, rockabilly, or just plain rock and roll...the Ridge Route Romeos play music for people who like to party!
Here's a YouTube video from a recent show at Ronnie Mack's Barn Dance in Silverlake (Los Angeles). Special guest musicians are Barn Dance Band members John Groover McDuffie on guitar and Marty Rifkin on steel -- a couple of consummate professionals, to say the least! Special thanks to Walter for recording and posting some songs from this performance.
Note- The Ridge Route Romeos are gigging and recording as a 3-piece while we search for another permanent lead guitarist with vocal ability. If you or someone you know is interested in the second guitar / vocal slot, give us a shout!
The "Elvis Medley" video (on our "Video" page is from Art Fein's Elvis Birthday Bash in January of 2009, which we had a lot of fun doing. Unfortunately, Brian ("Big Boss Man" vocals & Strat) and Steve-O (drums) are no longer in the band -- now that we've lost our "chick magnets", we may have to actually learn how to play!
Like everyone else with a computer and recording software, we're currently in the studio recording a cd of original material, and hope to have some new songs posted soon. In the meantime, we've posted our interpretations of songs from some of our favorite artists -- with apologies to Dave Alvin, the Blasters, and the Bottle Rockets. Please go see these guys live, buy all their cds, and help support music that matters!
If you've read this far...thanks! Now get back to work before the boss sees you wasting valuable time on MySpace!
Hi There, We started a Facebook site and wanted to let you know about it in you case you have one too and would like to join us there as well as at Myspace. For the link... Just Click here----->
FACEBOOK Urban Monroes Thanks a lot. Hope to see ya there!
i just wanted to stop by your page and thank you for being my friend on here...i hope that you had a great weekend and that your monday was amazing....stop by and say hello if you get a chance and let me know what you think of the songs on my player...the first song is from my new album with charlie sexton....
Below is the music and video from our new CD "A Brand New Hurt".
Check it out and drop us a comment sometime!
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Warm regards
Christian
CountryHome Magazine Editor Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany
