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Not so much the Dukes of Hazzard and more like the Princes of Oil Pans, Cleveland's Rambler 454 is a rockabilly trio that seems to take the phrase "I'll fix your flat tire, Merle" to another level. Armed with their latest ten song release, "No Name Cafe," OhioOnline music correspondent Peanuts recently made a pit stop to talk to Willoughby guitarist Dan McCoy, the head grease monkey of this fine tuned musical hot rod. |
| OO: |
How did you get interested in playing guitar? |
| DM: |
"For the first four or five years of my life, when my Dad was around, he was in bands and always had guitars around. My Mom never played an instrument, but listened to TONS of different kinds of music. I've been surrounded by so much music for so long, that it was kind of an osmosis sort of thing." |
| OO: |
What national artists have influenced you? |
| DM: |
"The same ones we get compared to: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt. It's kind of cool that people are able to hear our influences, yet see that we're not ripping them off directly." |
| OO: |
Have you guys played with any of your heroes? |
| DM: |
"Actually, I had always thought it would be cool to hook up with John Hiatt or Slobberbone. We actually opened for Slobberbone before they broke up, so that was a real thrill. They were really cool guys. Tom Petty and the Black Crowes came through town back in June and, if we would have been on that bill as the opener, I could have died that night and not minded." |
| OO: |
Run across any Ohio bands you'd like to split a bill with? |
| DM: |
"We stumbled onto this band from Cincinnati called 500 Miles To Memphis. Those guys are awesome! We've played with them a couple times and are trying to line up some more gigs." |
| OO: |
How do you describe your music? |
| DM: |
"In this day and age, I feel there are too many labels for music. It gets confusing sometimes, so I usually go the generic route and describe us as a good old fashioned rock band. We're too country for rock and too rock for country." |
| OO: |
Where was the latest cd cut? |
| DM: |
"All of our discs, including the new one we're working on, were cut at our manager's house. He's got himself a nice little digital studio set up and has done some great recording there. He really knows how to turn some knobs." |
| OO: |
Prefer playing live or just recording? |
| DM: |
"We like the studio and getting things down on tape, but we would rather play live for an audience. Studio work is cool to capture an idea, but I could spend way too much time in one and completely lose the feel for the song." |
| OO: |
Favorite Ohio venue? |
| DM: |
"I don't know that I have one particular favorite. Nemeth's in Painesville is cool, Mullarkey's and Mick's in Willoughby have been great to the guys and me." |
| OO: |
Where did the band name come from? |
| DM: |
"We were leaning towards car names and started tossing around Gremlin, Pinto, just silly car names that were never taken seriously. I thought it would be funny to take an old AMC Rambler and throw Chevy's biggest engine in it. There was a kind of silence when I said 'Rambler 454.' We liked it so much, it stuck."
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| OO: |
Any final thoughts? |
| DM: |
"Have fun, pay attention to what's going on around you because it could be gone in the blink of any eye. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: Have a drink on Rambler 454."
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