by Mike Carroll
Rambler is a gritty Southern Rock band of 7 talented musicians/song-writers with a loyal following, as shown by their recent 2010 SFCMF Award for Favorite Local Artist. The show I attended was in a modest-sized, impressively packed bar in Fort Lauderdale on a Sunday night.
Pat Terranova’s unique voice hits you the second he starts singing. Pat wrote the lyrics to many of Rambler’s songs, and you can feel the emotion as he sings about his experiences in love, heartache, regret, prison, mischievous good times, regretful bad times, and all else in between. He is an imposing figure with a tattoo-covered body, gravely voice, and Jamey Johnson-esque goatee, but he has battled his personal demons and come out all the better for it. It’s an honor for anyone to get a glimpse into the ride they’ve all been on as a group by taking in one of their shows.
Their debut album, First Things First, has sold more than 30,000 copies, mostly by pounding the pavement. You can pick up a copy at any of their shows, online at cdbaby.com, or even at your next country concert tailgate party, as they often roam the parking lots to meet new fans. It is money well spent, as you will play it over and over again, mesmerized by their sound.
Rambler has shared the stage with some pretty big names over the years out on the road. You may remember seeing them open for Lynyrd Skynyrd a few years ago at Sunfest in West Palm Beach. They recently shared the stage with The Charlie Daniels Band in December at the Toy Run, which is a charity that Rambler helps out with every year.
Speaking of charity, you wouldn’t expect such a rag-tag lookin’ group of guys to have a soft side, but Rambler does more for charity than any other local artist I’ve met. Rambler has sacrificed money, glory, and fame in order to help those in need with their charitable work, and in the end, I firmly believe it will come back to reward them.
At this particular show, they previewed some new tunes that will be on their forthcoming album. They are currently working on raising the funds to record and produce this album, and hope to have it ready to drop this year. If the songs I heard are any indication, they have a potentially huge hit album on the way. Two of the songs, “Sleep With the Devil” and “I Don’t Blame you for Running,” were excellent, but the one that really stood out was “The Answer.”
“The Answer” is an autobiographical song about Pat’s experience of 9/11, which unfolded while he was in prison. Words cannot describe how great this song is, and it is my hope that they will get their album recorded in time for the 10 year anniversary of that tragic day so that they can send it to radio stations for airplay. It’s that good.
If you’re not familiar with Rambler or their music, I encourage you to look them up on their website, which is http://www.Ramblergang.com or on Facebook or MySpace. Do yourself a favor and at least purchase a digital copy of their album, and if you like it, tell them so. I know money is tight for a lot of people these days, but I strongly believe we should always support our local artists, and Rambler is as good a place as any to start. You can also read up on them more at the above mentioned sites.
