The Legend of Rant and Roar
Veteran musicians and drinkers Dan Webb and Jeff Reed along with their cast of seasoned musicians, belly dancers, malcontents and miscreants deliver unforgetable performaces.
Rant & Roars hard core take on Sea Shanties & Celtic Songs are energetic and inspiring.
BAND BIO'S
Rant & Roar has been Wowing audiences up and down the east coast from Philadelphia to St. Petersburg Florida Since 2003. Their hard core take on Ancient Sea Shanties And Celtic music is energetic and exciting.
Jeff Reed - Lead Vocalist and Percussionist. Jeff formed the band with long time friend Ed Phillips in 2002. Ed had been researching and recording Sea Shanties a few years before he turned Jeff onto them. The raw down to earth lyrics inspired Jeff to throw away his drum kit and turn to more primitive tribal hand drums. He purchased a Djembe (when miked it sounds like thunder) and a Bodhran and never looked back. On stage he has limitless energy.
His strong raunchy voice brings out the animal in the crowd. Jeff grew up near Gettysburg, Pa. He left home early and spent his youth in various Baltimore-based Punk bands such as “The Eddith Massey Band”, “Gearhead”,”Ironboss”, and “Frum The Hills”. When not playing shows, he resides with his wife in an old house he likes to work on Near Harpers Ferry WV. He is a Tailor and avid re-enactor.
Jeff is now teamed up With Mandolin/guitarist Dan Webb (alas Ed is no longer with us, he’s not dead, just retired except for local gigs). Jeff, Dan, Stand-up Bassist Zak and various flute, fiddle players, bellydancers, wenches, midgets, malcontents & miscreants make up a musical experience that is Historical &, Educational and inspiring.
Dan Webb - Mandolin & Vocals. At a very early age Dan found himself strangly drawn to the old mandolin that hung on his grandfather’s wall. Every time his family visited his grandparent’s house he would disappear into that smelly old room and strum it. His grandfather died shortly thereafter, but while visiting grandma after the funeral, young Dan took it upon himself to remove the mandolin from the wall and hide it in the trunk of the family car. Days later when his parents found the mandolin in his room ( to his surprise ) he was not punished. Later on in high school Dan discovered that foul instrument known as the “electric guitar” and his life was then changed In odd and debaucherous ways he could have never foreseen.
Like a Gypsy he went from rock band to rock band, spending all he earned on new and better guitars, louder amps, overpriced effects pedals, and odorous organic substances. All the while grandfather’s mandolin patiently hung on the wall gathering dust and waiting.
After 5 years of being a singer songwriter and then a short stint as a masked Mexican wrestler Dan stumbled upon a Celtic festival where he heard something he never heard before………… melody. The Mandolin came off the wall that night and the electric guitar was sold. Dan then went to every music shop he knew of and checked their bulletin boards for traditional musicians wanting to Jam. He answered Jeff and Ed’s ad and was very impressed with the sheer un-amplified volume of sound they could put out, and also the sheer volume of alcohol they could consume. Dan plays the mandolin with an unnatural energy that frightens children of all ages…and they say his voice is like very old butter.
Zak Mabie - Stand-up Bass. In school, Zak studied violin, tuba...and, bass. Eventually, bass won out and Zak became a regionally and nationally known bass player performing with such acts as Neil Coty, and New Attitude. As time went by, Zak expanded his expertise into the field of sound engineering. He was the Sound Engineer for Atlantic Records recording artists, including Kix, and Liquid Gang.
When Zak is not performing with Rant & Roar, he is a recording engineer, producer and owner of Zax Trax Recording Studio in Frederick, MD.
