Born and bred in the northern California Bay Area,  Ronnie’s instincts for the drums are as basic as his heartbeat  being that his Grandfather was  a working drummer in Maryland. Cutting his teeth in church on the heels of Timothy Christian (Tony Toni Tone), then in various clubs around the Bay, Ronnie proved himself an amazing apprentice, standing in for bands needing a skilled substitute.  “I’d fill in for drummers I thought were the best.  And when the gig was over, I’d be asked to stay on.  That was when I realized I was a lot better than I thought I was.”   From there, Ronnie gained a profound knowledge of his craft, sharing his gift of groove with bands of all genres; each new experience lending brogue and texture to the skills he’d already honed under the influence of great Bay Area  drummers like Billy “Shoes” Johnson (Santana,Robben Ford, Maze), Will Kennedy (Yellowjackets, Chaka Khan), Gaylord  Birch (Pointer Sisters, Larry Graham, Coldblood), Deszon  Claiborne (Charles Brown, Charlie Musselwhite), Joel Smith (Hawkins Family, Patti Austin).  “The seminal drummers—the masters—play everything.  Not just jazz or blues or rock and roll.  They are versatile.  I watch and learn from them so that when people experience  my sound, it’s as deep and thorough as theirs.”

Ronnie’s musical flavor further gained it’s exquisite seasoning in performances  with artists/groups  such as Ledisi, Goapele,  Gospel Hummingbirds, Braxton Bros., Ron Thompson & the Resistors, Sista  Monica, Alphabet Soup, Bop City (formerly Jungle Biskit), Barry Finnerty (Miles Davis, Crusaders, Brecker Bros.), Jon Hammond Group, Ron Hacker & the Hacksaws, Lydia Pense & Coldblood,  Mark Karan Band, Tal  Morris (Creedence  Clearwater  Revisited, Huey Lewis & the News, Sons of Champlin),Annie Sampson, E C Scott, Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band), Samba Ngo (African artist from the Congo) and many notable others. 

Ronnie’s current projects include being immortalized on tracks for the group Under, rising Blues songstress  Leah Tysse , and Legally Blynd, a group fundamentally comprised of his long-time musical brethren, John “Jubu” Smith, Eric Smith, Errol Cooney and Carl Wheeler.

For Ronnie, drumming is vascular and intense, beginning as much in the heart and soul as in the hands chipping the wood of the sticks.  The way he commits to his music has little, if anything at all, to do with abstractions like fame or wealth.  His convictions as a musician are consistent with the way he lives his life; mindfully, purposefully and intentionally. 

By Ronnie’s account, the way to affecting music involves immersion into all aspects of the industry.  “I eventually want to produce and write songs,” Ronnie says.  “But I’ll never stop playing [drums].  It’s too much a part of who I am.”  Certainly, his grandfather would agree with that.

Bio by Shia Shabazz Barnett