EP (Electric Pussycat): I can't tell you how exciting the 25th anniversary reunion of Keel is for us fans. Your show in L.A. back on January 31st received rave reviews, and those of us here in the Phoenix area are lucky enough to be next on your itinerary before Keel goes on to perform at some of the biggest summer rock festivals in the U.S. As you told me, this will be a special homecoming since yourself, drummer Dwain Miller, and bassist Geno Arce are all originally from this area. I'm very happy to have the chance to see Keel in a more intimate setting prior to braving the crowds at a festival. Will you be performing in any smaller venues in any other cities, in addition to the festival gigs this summer?

RK (Ron Keel): The KEEL Reunion is very exciting for us, too, and more than a little overwhelming. The response has been great, and we’re just enjoying the ride. Right now we’re focusing on the major festivals and a select number of smaller shows, and we’re also concentrating on making our new album. The Phoenix/Tempe date is a rare club show, the routing made sense because we’re in San Antonio the following night with Queensryche and everything worked out well. As you mentioned, this is somewhat of a homecoming for several of us, including myself, and we are fired up to bring this show to our people there.

EP: One big festival not listed on your schedule is Rock Gone Wild. Is Keel in talks to perform there, too?

RK: We’re talking, I hope it works out. We’d love to do it. We think KEEL is a great addition to these festival bills, because it has been 20 years since we last performed together and the Reunion is a special event – and I believe we deliver the goods once we hit the stage.

EP: I know Keel has tons of fans all over the world. Are there any plans for the band to head out of the U.S. this year to do any shows or festivals in other countries?

RK: We promised each other and our fans that whatever we do, we’re gonna do it right or not do it at all. That includes all our tour plans and especially our new music. We have set our sights on getting back to Europe and Japan, and we’re doing all we can to make it happen. I will be going to the U.K. this fall to do my solo acoustic show opening for Y&T in England, Scotland, Wales…you can bet I’m looking forward to re-connecting with our fans over there and hopefully setting the stage for the whole band to tour there next year.

EP: You guys had an awesome set list for the show in L.A. in January. How difficult was it to choose which tunes to perform out of the many great songs from the Keel catalog and how did you go about making those choices?

RK: It came together pretty easy – we gotta do the hits, “The Right To Rock,” “Tears Of Fire,” “Somebody’s Waiting,” “Rock N Roll Outlaw,” “Because The Night”. Mix in a few fans favorites like “Speed Demon,” “Cherry Lane,” “I Said The Wrong Thing To The Right Girl,” and a few other personal favorites.

EP: Is that set list the same set list we can expect to hear at the upcoming show in Tempe, and at the festivals this summer?

RK: We were very tempted to throw in some new music, we feel very strongly about the new KEEL songs – but we’re going to wait a little while on that. The Tempe show will be pretty close to the same song list we did at the Hollywood show – that was a very special night for us, I thought it went extremely well – and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

EP: I'm going to age myself here, but I still have my vinyl versions of 1985s "The Right To Rock" and 1987s self-titled album. I'm glad I've kept so many of my vinyl records, because it's so frustrating that many have never been released on CD. I read that Universal will finally be re-releasing "The Final Frontier" and the self-titled album for download. Has that happened yet, and are there any plans in the works for those to also be released on CD?

RK: We’re very pleased to announce that “The Final Frontier” and “KEEL” albums are both available for download through Universal Music – just visit our web site http://keelband.com/ – and a special re-mastered edition of “The Right To Rock” will be coming out soon, followed by our other releases “Back In Action” and “Larger Than Live.”

EP: Congratulations on being signed to Chavis Records, by the way. It's exciting to know that we'll be getting some new music from Keel! I last heard that you have plans to re-record six previously released songs to include on the new album, along with six brand new songs. Is that still the plan or have the plans changed?

RK: Yes, plans have changed, as they often do in this crazy business…Chavis Records has apparently gone out of business for all intents and purposes, but that isn’t stopping us – we have several great offers on the table, and we are moving forward with writing and recording the new album. We’ll be able to make a big announcement about the label soon. Since we decided to commit ourselves to creating a new album, the music has been pouring out of us and these songs are capturing the energy and enthusiasm generated by the Reunion – with a couple of slight exceptions, it will be all-new material – we are re-recording a couple of rare classics, but there are 12 new compositions as well.

EP: How far are you into the new album, and when might we see its release?

RK: Everything is written and ready to go – we’ve got three weeks worth of shows – Tempe, San Antonio, then we’re off to do the M3 Festival in Maryland the following week with Twisted Sister and a host of other great bands, then the Mid West Rock Fest, and then to L.A.
to begin recording on June 19^th. We should be able to wrap it up by late July and get this thing out by mid-September, I hope. We’re going to follow that up with the KEEL 25^th Anniversary Reunion DVD for the holidays.

EP: Can you tell readers about any of the new songs Keel will be recording, for example, will the new songs retain the feel of the classic Keel material?

RK: Telling you about ‘em wouldn’t do them justice – you gotta hear it. But, I can promise a few things: we’re not re-inventing the wheel here – this will be a guitar-driven album full of hard rocking anthems in the classic KEEL style. We will make no attempt to be ‘modern,’ whatever that means – I know a KEEL song when I hear one, and I believe our fans do, too.

EP: Rock music seems to be in the beginning stages of a shift back to more traditional styles. In particular, there's a resurgence of 80s style rock 'n' roll. There is a new generation of rockers who are embracing 80s rock bands. They've become huge fans of those bands, and many are forming bands of their own that are influenced by the 80s bands they love. This has to be flattering and a vindication to bands of that era who were viciously ridiculed in the years following that time. This resurgence is what inspired me to start this webzine, to help showcase both the classic bands of that era and the great new talent now emerging. This is an exciting time. What is your take on the paradigm shift currently happening in rock 'n' roll?

RK: For twenty years, people have been telling me, “It’s coming back, it’s coming back!” and I did not believe it. I was under the impression that this style of music, while claiming its rightful place in our cultural history, would never make that resurgence. Now, I’m not so sure – I’m starting to really think it’s happening on more than just a nostalgic level. People who grew up with this music are turning their kids on to it – and young people are finding out about it on the Internet and this music has always resonated with the spirit of the young and the young at heart. Games like “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” are both exposing a new generation to hard rock and inspiring them to learn to play and sing it. You’re right, this is an exciting time – and I believe that in the next few years you will see the dawn of a new age of Arena Rock.

EP: I remember reading that you have worked on and off on an autobiography, but haven't wanted to publish it yet because it may piss off some people. What is one of your favorite stories, one that most people have never heard, that would be included in your book?

RK: I am writing the book, using the experiences of the KEEL Reunion as a framework, and hope to publish it before the end of the year. It’s time. I’m always pissing people off anyway, I might as well get paid for it. I plan to include all the stories, or at least as many as I can remember, along with interviews with people who’ve known me or worked with me, quotes from fans, song lyrics, observations by my wife Renee as she goes through this experience with us, all kinds of cool stuff. As for a particular story, you’ll have to wait and read about it in the book…