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   Ace and the Ragers are making quite a bit of noise in the Cleveland music scene. 

And that's not bad for a band that formed in a bowling alley. 

In 1993, Ace and the Ragers went from hanging out in a bowling alley to being something of an overnight sensation. 

"There was a big show the next night, and we decided to crash and play," said Bryan McCleery, the bass guitarist of the band. "We formed a band." 

They played their first show that next night. 

"We were the hit of the party," he said. "There was blood and massacre." 

One of the members of the band dropped his guitar pick and cut his hand up as he continued playing. The auspicious start gave the band a sort of legacy. 

"It goes down as one of the East Side of Cleveland legends," McCleery said. 

They had an interesting origin to say the very least. The origin is matched only by the style of music. It's something you don't hear very much of anymore, but it's not exactly new. 

"We play rock & roll. Plain and simple." 

The music of Ace and the Ragers almost seems like a throwback to a generation or two past. McCleery feels that regardless of that, the music is timeless. 

"There's a crazy thing about rock & roll. You ask kids who listen to anything . . . if they hear "Shake Rattle and Roll" come on (the radio), they're going to leave it on. Everything that is happening now is happening because of what rock and roll was born as. It's never going to go away." 

The band has recently released their first album, "Light this Sucker Up." They will be having a CD release party Wednesday. The band has already played a number of shows at the Cleveland Agora, a relatively large venue. In January, they plan on starting a tour. 

The album is highly recommended, in my opinion. It's just a fun album. McCleery thinks that a lot of what makes it fun are the types of songs they sing. 

"We're not out there singing about a bunch of crazy stuff. We don't talk about how bad our lives our. We don't tell you to kill your mother. We don't whine. We sing about girls and beer."

Visit their web site

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RealAudio:
Check out some tracks off of their CD! All tracks are reproduced with the permission of Ace and the Ragers.

Girl Crazy

"Christine"

"Let's Move"

"Slumber Party"

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