RONNIE LEE TWIST and The Future Cats>>>Ronnie Lee Twist (Guitar, Piano ,Vocal)
Brad Orcutt (Lead Guitar)
Tony Beck (Drums)
Nikki Danby (BGV)
Eric Todd (2nd Lead player)
And a cast of thousands!
Studio Pickers include
Willie Reinsford(Piano)
Weldon Myrick (Steel Guitar)
Hoot Hester, Kenny Sears, Bill Contraras, Buddy Spicher (Fiddle)
Pete Wade (Lead Guitar)
Mike Leech (Bass)
Brad Orcutt (Lead Guitar 'Lost a Friend)
Gene Chrismann (Drums)
Eric Todd (Lead guitar/producer 'Better than I deserve')
Glen Childress (Steel Guitar, 'Better thank I deserve)
Ronnie Cowans (Steel Guitar, Love Out Loud)
Johnny cash, Earl Thomas Conley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, many of the traditional country artists of the 70's and 80' s. Writers Mark Nessler, Harland Howard, Jennifer Pierce, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Paul Overstreet, Kristofferson, Keith Whitley, and Brian Setzer!
Sounds Like
no one else around. We try to have our unique sound and feel, but do tributes to Johnny Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee et al. Most of all he sounds like Ronnie Lee Twist! "People try to cubbyhole you as an impressionist or impersonator. I have a good time just channeling the spirits of Elvis, John, Jerry Lee and others through my tributes to them. They also tell me I sound like George Jones, Earl Thomas Conley, Waylon, Willie and Carl Perkins. Sometimes I do it on purpose, sometimes I don't. We're just there to have a good time, and I love to just do whatever comes on the stage." No two shows are ever alike.
Nashville's PREMIER ROCKABILLY TRIBUTE ARTIST Ronnie Lee Twist was born in Frankfurt, Germany and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. While the kids at Redwood High School in Marin County were listening to Led Zepplin, Pink Floydd, Steve Miller and Huey Lewis, Ronnie would barrel through the parking lot in his 1969 Plymouth Fury convertible blasting Jerry Lee and Johnny Cash.
Ronnie Lee has been a performer since age 9, when he first set foot on stage singing Folsom Prison Blues and A Boy Named Sue. His first L.P. (Vinyl for you young folks) was Johnny Cash at San Quentin. He knew then what he wanted to do. (Be a singer, not an inmate). He recorded his first single "A Beer while I'm here, and a Heartache to go" in 1978. The single didn't chart, but it was a start down the road of singing and song writing. He left home in 1980 and moved to Nashville, Tn. Where he began to meet the people that would help him understand the business. There was a lot to learn. After doing some studio work and a bit of road work playing guitar, he went back to California a bit frustrated and enrolled in Broadcasting school. Feeling that radio would be a good way to keep up on the business. He graduated first in his class and went to work right away in Gallup NM, under the air name of Crazy Ronnie in the Morning. He was a hit, and after 4 years on the air, took a job at KAJA (KJ97) in San Antonio, Tx. He continued to play music and had a recording studio in his home where he cut records, and did voice over work for networks and other radio stations. The large market radio environment proved to constrictive, so Ronnie left San Antonio in 1988 and went back to Nashville where he continued doing studio work and road work with major artists. He had since become a talented piano player, which broadened his horizons as far as what he could offer in the studio and on the road. In 1990, he once again left Nashville and moved to Riverton, Wyoming, where he got back into Radio, having the number 1 morning show in the state at KGAK FM. Known there as just plain "Ron in the Morning". When the station sold, Ronnie left and began singing at guest ranches, soon becoming one of the most sought after single performers on the circuit. He spent 1999 to 2004 managing one of the ranches and entertaining guests in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains near Jackson Hole.
In 2004, Ronnie was in talk with two major labels, and relocated back to Nashville. Unable to come to terms with either label, he and his wife, painter and portrait artist Nikki Danby bought a house and business in the Nashville Area They also opened an art gallery and gift shop www.miloartgallery.com and Ronnie began to mold his new image as a rockabilly artist. Having done a lot of work over the years in Las Vegas, he started leaning toward the tribute side of the fence. When Johnny Cash passed away in 2003, Ronnie wrote a tribute to his friend called "I Lost a Friend Today" aka "He's gone Home" . The song was met with rave reviews, and it was then that Ronnie threw his heart into his Cash! Tribute show. Since then, he has added Jerry Lee, Elvis, Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins to the lineup, along with his impressions of Waylon, Willie, Conway Twitty and others. To Quote Ronnie..."I am not an impersonator. I just have fun with the stereotypical elements of the artist that I am playing around with. The stance, the body movements...I don't do jumpsuits!"
Currently Ronnie is working on a project called Memphis to Nashville for Branson Mo. It a musical trip from rockabilly to country and how the early sounds of the rock and roll played a huge part in what country music became. "All those guys went on to be great country legends. Especially Cash. I think if Buddy Holly had lived, he would have been huge!" Ronnie has been known to end his show with his version of American Pie. "It says it all..."
Ronnie is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame as well as the Traditional country hall of fame.
He has been in the GRAMMY AWARD preliminary nominations 11 times as a solo writer and with co writer Jennifer Ember Pierce. (Who wrote 'That Old Wheel for Johnny Cash, and Some Things Never change with Garth Brooks that was featured as a duet with Garth and Chris LeDoux).
His show is fun, energetic and will leave you wanting more and more. www.ronnieleetwist.com
Hey! It is so nice to meet you!!! Thanks for the friendship.
I do read and answer all my own emails and comments so drop by anytime to say hi. I would love to hear from you!!!
If you have not already make sure to stop by and check out my website! www. KaristaSmith. com. You just use the road signs to navigate your way through the site. There is a place on my website you can join to get updates of my schedule, get special offers and for meet and greets later. This is the best way to get updates about when I am going to be playing in your area!!! It is also the only way to get my cd right now!!! Just click the banner below and that will take you to my site. Then click the road sign that says JOIN. It is free to join so why not right!
I am glad that you are my new friend and I look forward to talking to you more later! Hope to meet you in person one day soon!!!! Please stay in touch ok!!!!!!
Hey, I hope you had a great 04 July weekend. I went to see Ringo Star play on Sunday, which was a total dream. He was amazing. I'm looking forward to catching up with you soon. Enjoy the rest of your week. Laura X
