It's that time of year again...You'd think that I had more time to write to y'all and keep you informed about us. But that just wasn't in the cards, so let's get a year's worth of catch up...caught up!
2020, what can I say, how messed up? We started January with a great show at Nick's Nightclub in Alexandria and just killed it, but that was the start of the changes for us in 2020. After that show we bid adios to two of our band members. While for two separate reasons, it was both sad and turned out to be a view of the future. We wished them well and to the best of our knowledge they are getting along fine!
We then were able to start working with a musician that the three of us had admired for a long while and welcomed "Bam" Feldman into the Rowdy Ace family. Bam is a special person and a fantabulous drummer...we are certainly honored that he choose to add us to his list of great music groups he plays with.
We played a small few shows in our very familiar and comfortable three-piece format through January and February and then March 15 hit like a ton of bricks...for all of us, I know. Elwood and I were headed to Nashville to cut our first number 1...oh that's crap, we were headed down to drink whiskey, eat like crazy people and crash a few stages. But that got called off, like everything else. But we were able to (yes, here comes the p word), pivot pretty handily the next week and do our first of what would be about 10 online shows for y'all...and you showed up!
When the warmer weather got here, but things were still shut down, we moved the online shows to the outside and played for our neighbors. And THEY showed up with y'all! What a fantastic time we had playing for people even if we couldn't see all of you. And we were proud to have been one of the first music artists to get online, play music and keep entertaining. Thank you for showing up. By June, we were back on stages. And we played, and played, and played...and had a great time! And again, y'all showed up! Along that way, Bam had some issues that kept him from behind the drum set, and so we
soldiered on (and still do), waiting for him to return. We've been lucky that Dru Broome was able to step in and play drums with us. We've been able to keep the music coming and playing for crowds all over the area.
2020 saw us play in venues that we had never played before. We worked with some fantastic venue managers and staff, and met some new people that we are so proud to call friends. In what has been a very difficult and historical year that has seen all of us lose loved ones, friends and neighbors, Rowdy Ace had a remarkable year. That doesn't happen without folks enjoying what we are doing, asking for us at their favorite places, and those venues following all the Covid-19 rules to help keep everybody safe.
So I guess I just have to say it...I'm ready for 2020 to be behind us. I'm happy for the news that a light might be at the end of the pandemic tunnel, but mostly I'm happy that we got to get out and entertain, have fun and take our minds off this crappy year. Thanks again for doing that with us. We've still got some shows to do this winter, in places that are taking seriously the need to follow the Covid restrictions. We hope to see y'all at one. And if not, we hope to see you online.
Happy New Year from all of us at Rowdy Ace, hope to see y'all soon!
~Rowdy, Gregg, Paul, Bam and Dru
