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.