Artist page
David Ronaldo & the Dice
Upcoming release
Burning (A)Live
On September 10th 2023, David Ronaldo & The Dice recorded a live concert & De Klinker (BE). The outcome: a 16-track album that will be released on October 28th!
To pre-order, visit DavidRonaldo.be
Tracks: 1. Palmyra - 2. Wasted My Life - 3. Laid-back & Easy - 4. Price on My Head - 5. Tunes for a Dime - 6. Citizen of the World - 7. What Have You Really Done - 8. Deeper Well - 9. Gipsy Woman - 10. Gunslinger - 11. World’s End Blues - 12. Refugee Blues - 13. Substance Boogie - 14. Hunted Man (Part 1 and 2) - 15. Burn Up My Love - 16. Down by the River.
The band
Together with his brother, David is the sixth generation of “Circus Ronaldo”, the famous theatercompany that tours festivals all over the world with its circuslike theatershows, from Scandinavia to Australia. Besides theater, David has an insatiable passion for music. In the early nineties, you would find him in the music scenes of Mechelen and Leuven, where he met guitarist Charly Verbinnen. They decided to join forces and together with various rhythm sections, they toured the Belgian and Dutch stages of the rock & blues circuit.
In 2017, Marco Epis (drums and percussion) and Tim Van Passel (bass) joined the band. Inspired by his greatest heroes, among whom Steve Earl, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Cash, David started writing and composing own songs. The recordings were done at Studio Fandango. One thing lead to another, and meanwhile Mr. Fandango Dirk Lekenne himself is part of the band.
The band found its own sound. The guitar-oriented Americana roots-rock music with David's recognizable husky voice has been its trademark for several years. The mood of their music ranges from dark, ominous bluesy to funky and playful, with the guitars of the Verbinnen-Lekenne duo always taking center stage.
David Ronaldo & the Dice are welcome guests in clubs and at festivals. Their albums receive rave reviews and live, their Southern roots-rock oriented Americana sound is much appreciated. With multi-percussionist Marco Epis in the ranks, the drums are sometimes replaced by congas and djembées, which allows for (semi-) acoustic concerts as well (David Ronaldo & The Dice Almost Unplugged).
Releases
To the album on Spotify, on Apple Music, on Deezer
“Tunes for a Dime”
January 2023
David Ronaldo & the Dice set a strong pace: with “Citizen of the World” in 2019, “Shoot them with Words” in 2021, the year 2023 marks the release of “Tunes for a Dime”.
In between numerous concerts, the band worked on new material before diving into the studio. The result: "Tunes for a Dime" contains ten original songs about the things of life, with here and there a heartfelt nod to the past or to themselves.
For this album too, the band called on some musician friends: Patrick Cuyvers on Hammond organ, Pieter Akkermans on piano, Wim Degeest on blues harp, Luk de Graaff and Steve Ceulemans on bass. The backing vocals are by none other than Chantal & Steve Kashala and Luk de Graaff.
Tracks
1. Wasted my Life - 2. Tunes for a Dime - 3. Price on my Head - 4. Laid-back & Easy - 5. Shadows Walking - 6. What have you really done - 7. Fix it - 8. World’s End Blues - 9. Short Fuse - 10. Hunted Man (part 1 & 2)
To the album on Spotify, on Apple Music, on Deezer
“Shoot them with words”
June 2021
Delivering a full album during a pandemic is nothing short of a miracle. Yet two years after its release, the follow-up to 'Citizen of the World' is a fact....
The second full album, 'Shoot them with words', is an ode to Johnny Ronaldo and is filled with lyrics taken from life. The guitars are still central but this time, the attention also goes to the polyphonic vocals. Nine of the eleven songs are own compositions.
The band called upon some befriended musicians to contribute to the album - Pieter Akkermans on Hammond organ, Wim Degeest on blues harp and Andries Boone on violin and mandolin. The backing vocalists are Chantal Kashala, Luk de Graaff, Piet Vastenavondt and Hedwig Peetermans.
‘Shoot them with words' is released under Fandango Music Belgium, the rootsmusic label of Studio Fandango. Meanwhile Mr. Fandango Dirk Lekenne himself is part of the band. He was not only behind the controls for this album, he also took care of the slide and lap steel guitar work.
Tracks
1. Free - 2. Midnight Sun - 3. Gunslinger - 4. The Ballad Of John And Mary - 4. Substance Boogie - 5. God Doesn’t Care - 6. urn Up My Love - 7. Mythomania - 8. The Times They Haven’t Changed At All - 9. Too Little Blood - 10. Down By The River
To the album on Spotify, on Apple Music, on Deezer
“Citizen of the World”
November 2019
“Citizen of the World” can best be described as a mix of bluesy rootsrock and dreamy Americana. The album contains 9 own songs about relations, love and the injustice in the world, and on top of that David’s interpretation of Hey Hey My My, Neil Young’s ode to the R&R and an acoustic version of Charly’s hero Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile.
Guest-musicians on this album:
Backing vocals: Pascale Michiels and Luk de Graaff
Hammond and piano: Niels Verhees
Banjo: Steve Ceulemans
Slide guitar: Dirk Lekenne
Blues harp: Wim Degeest
Tracks
1. Stick With You - 2. My Home - 3. Citizen of the World - 4. Children of the Sun - 5. Hey Hey My My - 6. Gipsy Woman - 7. Sarah - 8. Can’t Let You Take My Soul Away - 9. Hey Little Mama - 10. Voodoo Chile - 11. Refugee Blues