Ronee was born on New Years Eve 1962, in Los Angeles California "just in time to get cleaned up for the party. It must have been a good one because I don't remember a thing, but I've been smiling ever since!" It didn't take too long before he and his older brother by a little over a year, Jimmy, a talented musician himself and great drummer, caught the the innebital musical bug, "we were very fortunate to have parents that just loved music and dancing. Lots of Motown and Beatles and bits of everything else in between." Barely teenagers, the brothers formed a local band with another neighborhood kid called TOXIC. "We had a huge following and played everywhere, our parents had no idea that we were playing in so many night clubs. Back in the 70's the cops used to do these gestapo style, surprise ID checks. All the other guys had altered ID's except me so my big brother Jimbo would grab me and hide me in his bass drum case, always looking out for his little bro!" As time went on Ronee was recruited by the New Wave band, The Conservatives. "I was just out of High School when they asked me to join. It was painful because I didn't want to leave my brother hanging in a local band but we had a talk and he said go for it!" With that blessing, Ronee joined that group and appeared on their deput record, Bos De Plane, Ronee recalls, "we opened up for just about everybody at that time that had a hit record and I got to play in some really nice venues and the record was getting alot of air play on the College Radio circuit but like alot of bands at that time, substance abuse became a stumbling block and not only that, I was getting tired of taking a back seat to the keyboard player and I wanted to Rock again." The mid 80's brought back big hair Rock and Ronee jacked his hair up again just like he did in the 70's and played in a number of Metal bands in the LA circuit but was missing something. "I was getting sick and tired of playing with guys that were so screwed up they couldn't even stand up and I was missing playing with my brother." At that time Jimmy and another long time friend were forming a group and Ronee jumped at the chance to reunite with his brother and joined the Christian Rock band His Witness. "I had written alot of music prior to joining but had no lyrics, the singer in that band opened up the Bible and let God do the talking." The band went into the studio and recorded a whole albums worth but it never saw the light of day and the band wasn't making any money. Personal issues led to Ronee's departure. After that Ronee continued to play in cover bands until 1994 when an opportunity to work for a leading musical instrument manufacturer presented itself. Ronee quit playing music to dedicate himself to a wonderful new career but, "you just can't quit who you are and the passion that I have to play music and entertain people just would not go away. It's in my blood, runs deep in my family and I have balance in my life now that I never really had before. I'm a father of 2 beautiful boys and a husband to a wonderful and HOT wife Andrea, who is the driving force behind me and the one that got me back to playing music. She helped me find myself again and I have some of the greatest friends a guy can ever have in the entire world...........THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!" And indeed it has............................."Ronee has the ability to play exactly the right thing at the right time. He's professional, reliable, talented and a super nice guy. He would be a valuable asset in any musical situation." Tony Franklin-Fretless Monster for The Firm, Blue Murder, Coverdale/Page and countless others............"If he were a guitarist during my era, I would have him in my orchestra, put him on a retainer and never let him go. It's just a matter of time before someone big picks him up."
Andy Russell-Ronee's Uncle & Capital Records Legendary Entertainer and Multi Million Selling
Recording Artist........."Ronee Pena is one KICK ASS guitar player!"
Dave Amato-REO SPEEDWAGON..........."Ronee Pena is a smiling ray of sunshine. That quality shines through in his guitar playing. He can brighten up the Blues on a cloudy day"
Ricky Phillips-Formerly of The Babys, Bad English and currently with STYX......"Ronee plays from the heart. The best guitar player to play in my club!"
Bill and Denise-Owners of The Hurricane Las Vegas............."After 25 years of trying to find the right guitarist along came Ronee. You Rock, you Roll and you do it all with a smile 'n' style. Cheers Ronee The Bastard!"
Martin Andrew-Top Las Vegas Entertainer and Star of Legend's American Songbook concert series.
Check out Ronee Live w/FOREVER ROD show (ronee is on your left)
