A MISSIVE FROM THE LOUNGE-O-LEERS
Ah, yes. We remember it well. It seems like only yesterday when we first made a splash at the weekly ballroom dance mixer held in the Dexter, NM Oddfellows Hall...and shortly thereafter released our 45 single of “Sway” b/w “The Magnificent Seven Cha Cha”, the sensation of the 1964 Southwest Regionals of the Rhythm Latin Dance Competition.
It was there that we were officially discovered, and we soon found ourselves a staple on the prestigious Howard Johnson’s circuit. Along the way, the greats who found their way to the HJ lounge in whatever town they might be in...Sammy, Twiggy, Jimi, Jackie, the Hef and the rest...quickly made our early 45s and phonograph albums cult classics.
As always, these cuts were recorded completely live...they are just as you’d hear them if we were playing in your living room, warts and all. Of course, all our recordings benefit from the artistry of our fab engineer, Chip Fabrizi, plus guest artists on some cuts (gal-pal Dale Fabrizi and our bud Kocoa) adding extra dimension to our live sound.
Finally, you too can groove to our long out-of-print, classic recording from the ‘sixties... The Lounge-O-Leers ‘68, featuring our most-requested hits from 1966-68. Of course, you also get our hard-to-find singles, as well as
our legendary, never-released demo of the theme song from “Love American Style”!
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Under the festive glow of colored tiki lights, experience The Lounge-O-Leers’ brand of “Music to Live By” -- described by Time Out New York as “…swinging bachelor pad music from a couple of cool retronerds…
[who] manage to keep lounge music funny without resorting to cheesy excess.” Playing a melange of bachelor pad sounds, The Lounge-O-Leers present a living soundtrack expressly for the entertainment of the subconscious mind -- including everything from classic lounge tunes to TV and movie themes to top forty transported to the land of lounge, ranging from Eminem to Britney Spears.
Named the best local New York City band in the readers/audience polls of both CitySearch New York and New York Press, The Lounge-O-Leers are Ricky Ritzel on keyboards/vocals and Aaron “Hot Rod” Morishita on percussion/vocals. The Lounge-O-Leers have appeared widely throughout New York City, and beyond -- ranging from Caroline’s Comedy Club to Carnegie Hall to Irving Plaza; from The Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to The Encounter Bar and Restaurant at Los Angeles International Airport; and from the cafeteria at State University of NY at Purchase to society functions produced by Colin Cowie. You can also enjoy the unique sounds of The Lounge-O-Leers on their stereophonic CD recordings, currently receiving radio airplay on stations from Baltimore to Houston to San Francisco to Rome. In addition, The Lounge-O-Leers are frequent guests on Joey Reynold’s late night radio show.
Join The Lounge-O-Leers for the hippest, happiest, happening
sounds this side of the swinging ‘60s.
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