Page 8 - ROCKNATION ISSUE 27
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RON KEEL
   PAGE 8                                                                                                           ROCKNATION ISSUE 27
    VOODOO MOONSHINE



















       Hello Ron  and welcome to Rocknation. The
       first question I have to ask is about your
       http://patreon.com/ronkeel page. This is a really
       interesting way to interact with the fans. Please
       tell us about that.
       Ron Keel: Great to talk to you, thanks for the chance!
       What a good place to start…My wife Renee was
       diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and as many
       people know, that changes everything. My focus
       shifted to caring for her, as traveling and touring were
       not possible during her chemo treatments, radiation,
       multiple surgeries. I needed to find a way to continue entertaining and interacting with fans from home, online. On Patreon,
       I’ve built a place where I can give people exclusive content and interaction daily – and I’m all in. Members (we call ‘em
       Keelaholics) get All-Access to tons of video – new live streams, vintage concerts and members-only music videos, house
       concerts and whatever I can do to keep it exciting. Music and other audio like unreleased tracks, demos, full album
       downloads, rehearsals. Live online chat sessions with merch giveaways and private discussion. Just a lot of fun entertaining
       stuff for only $6.99 a month – and it’s really become a community, a tribe, a family. For me it’s like being onstage 24/7 and
       a perpetual online meet & greet, but I love it and these fans have given me a place where I can do what I love and really be
       myself.

       Your STREETS OF ROCK N ROLL radio show has interviewed many mega stars of rock and it was re-launched in
       2019. What is different about it now compared to when you first started it in 2012?
       Ron Keel: I had to put STREETS OF ROCK N ROLL on hold for a couple of years while I did live radio, 10 AM to 2 PM each
       day on KBAD 94.5 FM in Sioux Falls, South Dakota which is now home to me. When I re-launched the syndicated show last
       year, I had learned a lot from that live on-air experience – now my delivery is a lot more natural and spontaneous. The
       format hasn’t changed – the interviews are still the meat of it, and the music is always important. I take a lot of pride in
       playing the new releases from the bands we all love, while always keeping the playlist open to showcase as many new
       artists as I can. I really enjoy it, I’m really proud of it – I just try to produce a show that I would enjoy listening to, and it’s
       working.The interviews are edited for the broadcast, and then the uncensored/unedited discussions are released on The
       RonCast, my podcast which is available only to Patreon Members.


       Of all the tours Keel was on with Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Van Halen & Aerosmith, what fond memories stand out the
       most about any of them?
       Ron Keel: Bon Jovi, three nights sold out at Madison Square Garden…opening for Van Halen in front of 80,000 people at
       the Cotton Bowl in Texas, only eight years after that first Van Halen album changed my life. Opening for Crue at the arena
       in Phoenix where I saw concerts as a kid in the front row, with my parents and all my family and friends in the audience, and
       proving to them that dreams do come true. And I’m still making dreams come true – just this year, I enjoyed my first tour of
       Australia, five amazing shows there…the Monsters Of Rock Cruise, Ron Keel Band had five headline shows at the Sturgis
                                                      Motorcycle Rally in the middle of a pandemic and it was epic. We’re still out
                                                      here making some
                                                      amazing memories.

                                                      I love to fish and have been out deep sea fishing many times,  but I’ve
                                                       never been on a cruise ship yet. What is it like to be on the Monsters of
                                                       Rock cruise performing and having tons of fans on it with you?
                                                       Ron Keel: Monsters Of Rock Cruise is a big private party at sea with all your
                                                       favorite bands and thousands of good friends who enjoy the same things we
                                                       do. I have been very fortunate to entertain on eight of these awesome rock
                                                       vacation events, and they are always some of the best times of my life. I
                                                       make sure to hang with the fans from the first cup of coffee in the morning,
                                                       to the last shot of whiskey late at night, I’m not one of those artists who hides
                                                       in my cabin. I’ve even been known to take my guitar on the elevator, out on
                                                       the deck, in the buffet and sing to people. I really hope these type events will
                                                       rebound from the shutdown.
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