A Rainy Day Chat with Eddie Money at Ride For Ronnie 2017

Eddie Money at Ride For Ronnie 2017

A Rainy Day Chat with Eddie Money at Ride For Ronnie 2017

The third annual RIDE FOR RONNIE Motorcycle Rally and Concert, benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund took place Sunday, May 7, 2017 at Los Encinos State Park in the San Fernando Valley.  One of the glorious highlights of the day was seeing the legendary Eddie Money perform hit songs such as Two Tickets To Paradise, Shakin’, and I Think I’m In Love – in the rain!  Featured within the Eddie Money band were his three children – sons Dez and Julian on guitars and drums respectively and a co-lead vocal from the massively talented and equally charismatic daughter Jesse – and they all had the rockers and metalheads singing along rapturous to each and every song.

Right after the set, Highwire Daze Online had a chance to chat with the iconic performer about his participation at the Ride For Ronnie concert, performing the classics onstage the rain, future plans. and other amazingly wet and wonderful topics of intrigue!  Read on…

How did you become involved with the Ride For Ronnie concert?
Well I did a lot of shows with Ronnie back in the day. And I’m into motorcycles. I don’t ride anymore but you know, my wife don’t let me ride anymore, but I love bike people too. And I love Rough Cutt and you get to hear Dio Disciples and Lynch Mob. People don’t realize this but I like heavy metal music. I just do. Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, I mean come on. Rainbow with Ronnie Dio, it’s good stuff.

I think people were happily surprised to see you here toady.
You got to figure their parents, they were little kids in the car when Baby Hold On and Two Tickets to Paradise were on the radio. I was well received and they were really nice to my kids. My kids are good. You got to go to www.dezmoney.com and check out my kid’s material. It’s very good.

They did really good today. What is your favorite memory of Ronnie James Dio?
Well I’ll tell you the truth, Ronnie, for a little guy, he had a really angelic voice and all the mystical stories. It’s like my song “Trinidad,” it puts you in like a fairy tale land. And with Ronnie Dio, it puts you away from the everyday snags of life. Talking about all these fairies and this and that. I really loved his material. I thought he was great in Rainbow. Ritchie Blackmore is an amazing guitar player. And Black Sabbath, Ronnie was just a great kid. I hated to see him die. It was terrible.

What inspires you the most about events like this?
Well I get a chance to come out here and Wendy Dio is a good friend of mine and I like Rough Cutt and I love Dio Disciples and Lynch Mob is really good. Lynch played with Dokken years ago. So I’m familiar with all of his material. And it’s good. My kids are into heavy metal, so I’m stuck in the car with them all the time so I’ve got to fucking listen. I might as well like it, right?

Whats it like performing in the rain today? Is that your first time performing in the rain?
No unfortunately I’ve done a lot of shows in the rain. A lot of eye candy out here today.

What’s up next for you after this Ride for Ronnie?
Well I’ve got a bunch of shows coming up with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. Doing shows with them. And then I’m doing shows all over the country. You’ve got to figure I’ve had 14 songs in the top 100. I got Baby Hold On, Two Tickets, Take Me Home, Wanna Go Back, Shakin’, Gimme Some Water. I go out and I play the hits. We’ll have a good time. My voice is holding up. I quit smoking. I’d like to lose 15 pounds, but what are you going to do…?

(Interview by Ken Morton – Photos by Jack Lue)

Eddie Money on Facebook