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Ace and the Ragers
Image:Ace and the Ragers 1998.jpg
Ace and the Ragers in 1998; left to right: Bryan McCleery, Todd Nelson, Joe Ryan, Craig Ramsey, Mike Molnar, and Jason Borkowski
Background information
Origin Flag of the United States Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Genre(s) Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, Punk Rock, Pop Rock
Years active 1993—2001
Label(s) Pin-Up Records (US and UK, 1998–2001)
Hepcat Records (US, 1998–2001)
Associated acts The Moonglows
The Swordsmen
Website www.ragers.com
Former members
Jason Borkowski Lead vocals, Guitar
Bryan McCleery String Bass
Todd Nelson Saxophones
Joe Ryan Saxophones
Mike Molnar Lead Guitar
Craig Ramsey Drums

Ace and the Ragers is an American band from the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Chagrin Falls. Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of Rock and roll music and emerged in the early 1950s Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993. Events January See also 2001 in music (UK Musical groups established in 2001 Record labels In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music The Moonglows were an influential American R&B and Doo-wop group based in Cleveland Ohio. Todd Nelson (born May 15, 1969 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) is a former Canadian Ice hockey player and is the older brother of Joe Ryan is an employee of CACI International Inc; in early 2004 he was stationed at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as an Interrogator. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Their style is devoted to the Origins of rock and roll, but they may be more popularly known to their cult following for their part in the rockabilly and swing revivals of the late 1990s. Rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in America in the 1950s though elements of rock and roll can be seen in Rhythm and blues records as far back A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of Rock and roll music and emerged in the early 1950s The Swing Revival was a late 1990s and early 2000s period of renewed popular interest in swing and Jump blues music and dance from the 1930s and 1940s as Ace and the Ragers also played shows anonymously under the guise of The Moonglows or The Swordsmen. Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ανωνυμία, meaning "without a Name " or "namelessness"

Contents

Early years

Ace and the Ragers were formed in 1993 in response to the growing number of local North Coast area punk and hardcore bands enjoying success without the benefit of major label representation or promotion. Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s Inspired by bands like the Ramones, the Ragers stormed onto the scene by adopting a fast, noisy, and raw set of favorites from the 50s, played to a frenetic punk beat. The Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first Punk rock group That first set list was comprised of covers of Rock Around the Clock, Blue Suede Shoes, At The Hop, Teenager in Love and Splish Splash, all played several times each, about 2 hours after the band was actually formed, and without the benefit of ever having actually played together (or having ever played their specific instruments) before the first note of the first show. The original Rager lineup was Todd Nelson on drums, Jason Borkowski (Ace) on guitar and vocals, and Bryan McCleery on bass.

The Ragers were then called upon to join a budding circuit for a bunch of fun little multi-band hardcore shows. Those first shows happened at spontanious DIY hardcore "festivals" in the VFWs and basements of houses in unsuspecting neighborhoods. The highlight of these years was a 'spirited' winter formal dance at a penitentiary school. By then the Ragers' set list had grown to several hundred different songs.

The Ragers played around Ohio sparingly while each member pursued primary interests in the other bands (on other instruments) that they were currently involved in.

As the next few years went by, the Ragers' lineup shifted several times as they honed their sound, which by 1995 had evolved more towards a Bill Haley and Little Richard inspired Rock and Roll, including a shift from Fender Bass to String Bass for Bryan, a move from Drums to Sax for Todd, and the addition of Adam Buxton on Drums, Joe Ryan on Saxophone, and later a 15 year-old Mike Molnar on Guitar. This article is specifically about the singer For detailed information about his rock and roll group see Bill Haley & His Comets. Rev Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5 1932 better known by the Stage name Little Richard, is an American Singer, Songwriter Their sound evolved away from punk and more towards their R&B influences, like Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, Big Joe Turner, and Louis Jordan, as well as the classic country/rockabilly-type acts coming out of Sun Studios in the 50s (Elvis, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee and company). Roy Brown may refer to Roy Brown (Montana politician, Montana state Senator and gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown (Manitoba politician Wynonie "Mr Blues" Harris ( August 24, 1915 - June 14, 1969) born in Omaha Nebraska, was an American Blues For the Ice hockey player see Joe Turner Big Joe Turner (born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr Louis Jordan ( July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American Jazz, Blues and Rhythm & blues Classic Country is a radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of Rock and roll music and emerged in the early 1950s Sun Studio was opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. Roy Kelton Orbison ( April 23 1936 &ndash December 6 1988) nicknamed "The Big O" was an influential Grammy Award -winning Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American Rock and roll and Country music Singer, Songwriter

By 1996, the Ragers were developing a growing catalog of original material, and were headlining regular shows at such classic (and many now defunct) Cleveland venues as The Grog Shop, Peabody's Down Under, and The Euclid Tavern. Later gigs at The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, The Agora and The Odeon would follow. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States The Agora Theatre and Ballroom is a concert club located in Cleveland Ohio. In 1996, the Ragers recorded their first EP Alien Baby, which is now out of print and very rare. 1998 saw the release of their first studio album, Light This Sucker Up! which rose to #103 on the CMJ College Radio Top 200, and the follow-up release Ace and the Ragers Steal Your Girlfriend in 2000. All Ace and the Ragers records have been released on Bryan & Jason's own Pin-Up Records, based out of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and distributed through Hepcat Records in Irvine, California. Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Irvine ( is an incorporated city in Orange County California, United States To date the Ragers have sold tens of tens of records world-wide.

Touring years

From 1998 through 1999, Ace and the Ragers all quit their day jobs and toured heavily throughout the Midwest, Deep South, Canada and the East Coast, playing around 150 shows in that 2 year time. The Ragers visited a number of cities in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, Ontario, New York, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. But the coolest little city in America, as stated by Ace and the Ragers themselves, was a little town (that they visited whenever they could) in Central New York called Alfred. Alfred is both a town and a village nested in Allegany County New York, United States and contains two colleges

Later years

In 2000 (after the van broke down), Ace and the Ragers began settling down and playing private gigs, society events, and large Northeast Ohio events. The band decided in 2000 to go on a hiatus, as Mike had left to go on tour with Ronnie Dawson and a later stint with The Bellfuries, Bryan got married, Todd moved to Las Vegas to pursue the casino lifestyle, Jason moved to California to galvanize his Rock and Roll positioning, and Joe moved to State College PA to pick up a couple of graduate degrees, including most recently his PHD in Material Sciences. Ronald F "Ronnie" Dawson (born August 11 1939 in Dallas, Texas — September 23 2003, Dallas was an American In 2003, Craig, Todd and Bryan formed the Punk band Tough Guy. Jason, Mike, and Craig then reconvened in Austin, TX in 2004 to form The Reasons. Todd joined up (on drums) with The Capgun Cowboys later that same year.

Ace and the Ragers try to get together at least once a year for some sort of reunion show, usually around the Christmas or Blossom Time seasons. Das Dreimäderlhaus ( House of the Three Girls) adapted into English language versions as Blossom Time and Lilac Time In 2005, the Ragers recorded their 4th full length album, this one live, which is (as of 2006) still unreleased and unnamed.

Where are they now?

Ace and the Ragers, 2005
Ace and the Ragers, 2005

As of the end of 2006:

Discography

Current members

(as of 2006)

Past members

External links

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