Ron Keel Band, Sioux Falls, SD

It's great to say that Ron Keel has become a friend along with the rest of his band. You aren't going to find a friendlier bunch of rockers. On June 9, 2018 they headlined a brand new festival in downtown Sioux Falls - Porkpalooza.

The "Metal Cowboy" with DC Cothern on guitar, El Diablo on bass, Dakota Scott on keyboards and the Rev on drums always put on a great show. Original Keel tunes, deep rock classics and legendary country songs are performed with all the flash and flair of Ron's 80's hair metal background.

Check them out at RonKeelBand.com.

Ron Keel Band, Fort Pierre, SD

On a beautiful Saturday night, July 1, 2017, the Ron Keel Band hit the stage outside the Silver Spur bar and restaurant in downtown historic Fort Pierre, South Dakota.

Lead by "Metal Cowboy" Ron Keel, the band's mix of exactly that - Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson tunes to AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd is a perfect fit for the cowboy town. Unfortunately the crowd was fairly small and those who missed the show should be disappointed. Hopefully the next time the Ron Keel Band appears in central South Dakota the word will have reached the masses and the audience this band deserves will show up.

More information available at RonKeelBand.com.

Ron Keel Band, the American Wastelands

In my high school and college days I dreamed of some day being a big-time rock and roll photographer. Neil Zlozower was my hero who shot all the big-name bands in Los Angeles. I followed his work in many rock magazines and shot whatever concerts I could here in South Dakota.

As a lifelong KISS fan, I paid attention when demon/bassist Gene Simmons began producing records for bands he felt had the potential to hit it big. One of those was KEEL, fronted by lead singer Ron Keel who I'd never heard of. I listened to their first Simmons-produced album, but KEEL never seemed to hit it the Motley Crue level and I lost touch with their history.

So I was surprised a couple years ago when Ron Keel showed up in Sioux Falls, fronting the Badlands House Band and DJing on KBAD Radio. I looked up a little about his history since KEEL, but didn't dig very deep.

Earlier this year I got a message that I would have never imagined in my high school days. Ron Keel wanted me to shoot some promo pictures of the new version of the Badlands House Band, now known as the Ron Keel Band. Wow, a real rock star with connections to KISS, was calling and asking for my services!

Since then I've talked with Ron about his brief tenure in Black Sabbath, some about his KEEL days and even had some great photography discussions with his wife Renee via Facebook. I read his autobiography "Even KEEL" and learned that this guy's heart is really in the music, no matter what kind of crazy life he's lived. I also learned that when he really wanted to show off KEEL at its best, he hired my old hero Neil Zlozower.

So things came full circle for me when I realized when he wanted the Ron Keel Band to look its best he called me. Here's what we came up with when Ron asked for a cowboy-biker-ruined-apocalyptic-industrial look for the photo shoot.

You can catch the Ron Keel Band in Fort Pierre this Saturday night at the Silver Spur and throughout the region this summer. Check them out at RonKeelBand.com.

Ron Keel Band, Mitchell, South Dakota

I had a great afternoon on April 7, 2017 doing a promo photo shoot with the Ron Keel Band and also shooting their show in support of Hairball at the World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

I'm leaving the promo photos for the band to release, but here's a shot my friend Thad Friedeman took of me working away.

The concert at the Corn Palace was a ton of fun. These guys are about as friendly as you could ask for, despite their cowboy/biker/apocalypse survivor image.

If you aren't familiar with Ron Keel, he's a real-deal rockstar from the 80s hair metal movement on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. You might remember his former band KEEL's hit "The Right To Rock." Ron now lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is a disc jockey on KBAD radio along with fronting the Ron Keel Band. For their first year of existence, the band was known as the Badlands House Band based out of the now defunct Badlands Pawn. 

Badlands House Band, Mitchell, South Dakota

South Dakota's newest classic country rockers, the Badlands House Band, opened the show for Hairball at the World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell on April 9, 2016. Fronted by 80s hair metal star Ron Keel, the band put a hard-edged spin on classics from Johnny Cash and their signature tune, "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

Learn more about the Badlands House Band at their website BadlandsHouseBand.com.