RON WEIMER @ BUCK LAKE RANCH

——— How did you originally get the rock & roll bug? What music did you hear in the house growing up?  My Dad listened to Bluegrass & Country. The Statler Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Johnny Cash, Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys. Watched Hee Haw! My Brother listened to Kiss, ELO, BTO, Foghat, Peter Frampton.

———— What was the first record you ever bought and how does it grab you today? Boston, Don’t Look Back. Still love it but it is considered Classic Rock now.

———- Since you don’t actually play an instrument or sing (outside of the beer tent or car), how do you explain your love affair with ‘Outlaw Country’ to new friends?  Just love Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Jr., Willie Nelson style more than ever because Nashville has always dissed them thus become the “Outlaw” term. Today, Nashville created Pop Country thanks to Scott Borchetta and changed Country music. You either love Pop Country or hate it. The hatters love Outlaw Country. I really love the new Outlaw Country artists Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Cody Jinks, Jamey Johnson etc.

——— Who is on your shipwrecked island playlist today?  Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Marcus King, Billy Strings, Government Mule, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

——— Was your first concert experience really Alabama at Buck Lake Ranch?  Yes, I went with my Family in 1982. I remember every moment so well and even still have pictures from my photo album.

———– You’ve spent a good deal of time & love now revamping Buck Lake Ranch, once the ‘Nashville of The North’. What color can you share on the lay of the land for Midwest promoters in 2018?  Cut throat more than ever. People just do not realize the cost to put on a show these days. There are a couple big promoters who keep driving the costs up to try and keep small guys out. They buy massively which keeps their costs down.

———– You cut your teeth as promoter of the highly successful, annual BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass Festival in St. Joseph MI over the last 5 or so years, how does that experience inform your belief in and approach to the revival of Buck Lake?  Well as any promoter knows, it takes 3 years to build something out and become profitable. We are so excited for Buck Lake Ranch because of the Rich music history it already has. It has been awhile since Buck Lake has had anything going on so 2018 is going to be the “ Come Back” year. We have over 75 local, Regional & touring bands booked for the season. We have created our “Jammin in the Bowl” Series to be held every Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We have Blessing of the Bikes & Abate biker rides to The Ranch. We created the Americana Music & Arts Festival & many more events to come.

————- What new artists are you keeping an on eye for future festival plays who you’d love o see at Buck Lake someday soon?  First and foremost, Jake Kershaw. The kid is another amazing Blues artists who will be on everyone’s radar real soon. As you know, I have been following Marcus King to stardom and Jake is right behind him. Jake has a new CD “Piece of my Mind”, everyone should go buy! Also, a young lady Erin Coburn who also has a new CD “Queen of Nothing”. These are two very amazing young artists who you will see on the legendary Buck Lake Ranch Bowl Stage real soon. 

———— If you could book a dream 3 band bill, to be broadcast worldwide, dead or alive, who would be on the bill and what’s the ‘theme’ as you see it?  Well right now it would start with the Eagles. I am a huge Glenn Frey fan God rest his soul, but I just am also a huge Vince Gill fan and I love the current sound. Next would be Stevie Ray Vaughn, a man who had a relatively short career in just 7 years but made a massive impact on musicians worldwide. Third would be Hank Williams Sr. To most it may seem like a strange lineup but it goes with my love for versatility. As a promoter & music fanatic, I love many styles of music. So I love to bring in different styles from Blues, Classic Rock, Southern Rock, Outlaw Country to Indie, Progressive & Traditional Bluegrass, Folk & Jazz.

————– If you ever did become a musical artists, what would you call yourself and what song do you cover your first time on the Grammys?  That is a tough question to answer. Music is written about life experiences, tragedies, heart breaks, failures, successes and so on. So thinking along those lines, I would name my band Gullible. I have had a life full of challenges because I was over trusting, deceived, believed if someone gave me their word they would stand up to it. Not so anymore, you can trust no one except for a few closest to you. As for a song, Chris Stapleton is my favorite song writer. I would sing “Tennessee Whiskey” on the Grammys. Also, “Nobody to Blame” by Chris as well.

FRED STUCKY

1.0 – What is it about rock & roll that makes people feel good?

For me its the feeling I got when I heard Lou Reed “Walk On The Wild Side” on the radio when i was a boy has never really gone away. It made me love rock so much. I was probably 8 or 9. The song was so exotic. Such a trip far from my world. I was so hooked on this thing that came out of the radio. “Jumpin Jack Flash” on an AM transistor radio in Philly in the early 70’s was pretty magical.

So its escape and energy and fantasy and freedom for 3-6 minutes when tuned in. That feeling is hard to beat.

2.0 – How did you catch the roots bug?

As a kid. I heard Jerry Reed singing “Amos Moses” on the school bus for a few months. The song just pulled me in.  A little later “Tumbling Dice” was a hit. I knew I loved these songs and tones. The way they melded country and blues and their souls all together. It was clear to me they had something, some magic,  that no one I knew had. I wanted it.  It took a while but I melded them all to my satisfaction.

Also–In the early to mid 70’s all I listened to in my fathers old Jeep were 8 track tapes of, Willie Nelson live, Ernest Tubb, Charley Pride, And Hank Williams.

3.0 – Is there an artist that sets the barometer for you today?

Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and the mid period Rolling Stones

They wrote songs so honestly.  “Swinging Doors” what a brutal song. “Black Rose” is hard to top. “Let It bleed” is an amazing release as is “Beggars Banquet”.

The Stones from that 69-73 period is hard to get around. I think all of my songs have a taste of “Torn and Frayed” in them.

4.0 – Your new GAS MONEY disc Untethered is incredibly authentic, is that function of maturity now as a band?

Thank you.

I think just did not care how honest and sincere I was. It was my goal to get it right like Merle Haggard done on his classics. Every song is a true story on Untethered. With that it was easy to to be free to let the songs come to life.

I was also very tuned into the detail of the pedal steel and acoustic guitars. The levels and accents of both made it sound the way it does. All of this comes with getting older and being more patient and relaxed.

Many things on this recording were done on the spot in the studio. It was very organic you might say. And with that I let go and let people do what they do best. Very rewarding.

5.0 – What did it take to get the sound you were looking for on the record?

I knew it in my head.

I had a clear vision of what it was I wanted and but at the same time it was not letting that idea take control. The Stones song “Let It Bleed” and that LP  was the basis for the entire release production wise. The instrument selection along the way was fun too. Some of my old guitars & mandolins & banjo’s would just step right up and say this song is my song.  I then focused on the acoustic track and the snare.

6.0 – What took so long for the sophomore effort to the debut, 22 Dollars?

I had a family. My Son was born right after 22 Dollars came out. We had a daughter two years later. So life was busy for me just that simple. In  2011 we moved from an old stone house built in 1926 to a new townhouse.  No house maintenance and the kids being older was a real treat. The songs just poured out that summer.

7.0 – What’s your attitude when it comes to your gear live and/or in the studio?

Simplicity and tone.

My live gear is very basic. 59′ Grestch 6120, 58′ Fender tweed deluxe amp and a early 70’s Echoplex. That’s it.

The studio is a real treat. I have been collecting vintage instruments since the mid 80’s when I was in college. Nothing is more fun than bringing these old guitars, mandolins, banjos, steels and amps to life. I want them all to be used and to sing. Let the instruments do their job. I’m just strumming.

8.0 – How does a song usually start for you, with a riff? a title? a progression?

Typically its a title or a key line in a song and I build on that. The song “Every Empty Bottle” was originally called “Reinvent The Feel”. I came up with that line one night in my garage and wrote it on the side of a box with a sharpie pen. I looked up at that box for over a year. Then I used the phrase in the song. The idea of reinventing a feel stuck with me. The song wrote itself after that.

“High water” was written during the hurricane we had in august of 2011. The amount of rain was used as a parallel to a past romance I had. The song just spun naturally out with using the vision of a big flood and a tough breakup. The riff was much more rock as I was using barre chords. I changed the feel using the first position voicing.

9.0 – Is it true rockabilly is a way of life where, if you don’t buy in full-on, you are an outsider?

I have always been somewhat of an outsider with the rockabilly scene. Gas Money was described once as “The Replacements of Rockabilly“. We have never really been embraced as a rockabilly band per se. Nor did I want to be.  We play lots of rockabilly but there was something a little wrong about the way we played it in the 90’s.

I have a deep love for rockabilly and I always will. The shit that comes along with the music however is somewhat silly. I have had an odd relationship with the genre for a long time. The music is magic but the scene surrounding it makes me a bit uneasy. Those big rockabilly shows are like Halloween parties.

Playing live now however we do three sets of classic honky tonk and rockabilly. The bars and clubs we play are interested in dancing and drinking not original music. We don’t get paid playing our tunes. The classics are really fun and ya know who else in Philly is playing George Jones “You’re Still On My Mind” with a pedal steel player on a sat night. No one. I think in a way it helped my song writing with playing classic honky tonk songs.

10.0 – Is it possible that certain guitars may contain magical properties?

It is true. I have a few pre-war Gibson flat tops,  50’s Gretsch hollow-bodies as well as some pre-war Gibson mandolins and banjos. Each one really is unique and has its own voice and character. As a player I can pick up a guitar at a friends house or at a vintage guitar show and just “feel” it.  Especially the pre-war mandolins and banjos. They want to talk and just don’t get out like they used to. yeah old wood is magic without a doubt. It’s intoxicating if you get hooked on it.