The Ronnie Buxtons

At the crossroads of rock and roll and middle and age, The Ronnie Buxtons have taken CitySound by storm and bands down the hall have taken notice… by stealing their melodies. Steve Barone, formerly of Minneapolis legends Lifter Puller and The Hawaii Show, formed the band after reuniting with his own personal Excalibur: a vintage black Telecaster-style Schecter guitar that had been on a cross country odyssey for almost a decade. The guitar—Pete Townshend’s preferred model during the dubious Eminence Front era—vanished under mysterious circumstances in NYC circa 2004, four years after Barone sold it to Lifter Puller band mate and current Hold Steady member Tad Kubler. It resurfaced in 2006 when Barone recognized it in a Brooklyn band’s Myspace photo. Discouragingly, there was no response to his generous, no-questions-asked buy back offer. In 2012, Barone received an unexpected email offering the guitar for $400. Soon the guitar arrived back in Minnesota, completing a rocktastic circle. Not one to resist destiny, Barone began recruiting band members.

Like most 21st century acquaintances, Steve and Misha’s very limited familiarity from playing in other bands was strengthened by a mutual affinity for wisecracks and droll observations on one another’s posts about pop culture, politics, and sports. Naturally, the conversation was bound to turn to ROCK. They started meeting up at CitySound in 2012 to HAVE FUN and get their chops back by sharing riff ideas and practicing cover tunes. Though still searching for their chops, songs were written (primarily by Steve; the terms “vibe,” “make it pro,” and “not pro enough” were thrown about liberally as assessments) and members added:

Misha’s known Adam since they abused Slayer and Anthrax songs in carpeted suburban basements 20 years ago as high school dill weeds. Their tastes (and Adam’s skills) have evolved significantly, though much to the annoyance of their band mates they still tear into snippets of metal tunes during lulls. Though it’s hardly his first rodeo, this is Adam’s first band, so no shining laser pointers on his fret board until he has a few shows under his boots. Steve recruited Jeaneen and Scott to round out the Ronnie Buxtons. Both have a wealth of experience in previous bands. A sense of band-family has been established quickly—our message thread on Facebook is over 1,700 posts long and counting. It’ll likely be published in book form when we get huge. A set of original tunes has been crafted (because we are craftspeople), and we’re ready to introduce people to The Ronnie Buxtons!