Ronnie King: Building a Unique Musical Culture on The Gold Coast
Grammy Nominated Musical Producer From LA is Building a Unique Musical Culture Here on The Gold Coast
This article appeared in the May 2020 Issue of Howler Magazine
Published in Guancaste, Costa Rica
Written by Mike Shannon
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Costa Rica’s most prominent natural resources are the nature and the beaches, both of which feed their #1 industry, tourism. Those are no more prominent than in Guanacaste, the northern most province of the country, and home to what is referred to as The Gold Coast, a magical strip of beach that runs from south of Tamarindo, up past Playas del Coco and points further north. These two beach towns serve as hotspot bookends to an endless variety of beaches and smaller beach towns that dot the region in between. Each of these places offer surfing, hiking, camping, fishing and exploring of this incredible country, to name only a few activities, making this region a bonified tourism hotspot. With that comes the plethora of hotels, clubs and restaurants that cater to this industry, and this, in turn fostered a concentration of local musical talent not commonly found anywhere else in the country.
“The Best Things Happen To Me in Costa Rica”
After enjoying great success as a musical producer state side, in 2000, Ronnie and close friend Alex Urbaniak decided to create a tropical annex for their musical musings and Costa Rica was an obvious choice because of the beaches, weather, proximity to the US, and stable political climate. And quite by happenstance, a close friend from LA, offered them in a beautiful sea-side home in Potrero where Ronnie set up his first center of operations. Here, he reached out to the musical community and aggressively networked to uncover the best local talent. He engaged with and recorded with the likes of Charly Lopez, a prominent solo artist and vocalist for the popular Alvacast, a hard rock band from Uruguay; Joe Hrbek, a brilliant American saxophone player who’s passion is jazz, but who’s range of style is virtually unlimited; Glass Eye, a reggae band lead by the great Bradley Brown, considered one of the best bands in the area; and Avalino, a local favorite offering authentic Latin sound with about the most jovial disposition you could ever encounter. With those efforts in the can, Ronnie was thrilled with the results and wanted to round it out with a few more local artists and eventually release “The Sounds of Tamarindo”, a musical offering that showcases the talent found in this beautiful part of the world. But never one to think small, Ronnie also wanted to take it to the next level by establishing something more permanent and regenerative that would benefit the hard-working musicians, while providing quality entertainment for the constant influx of tourists for the long term. This is where Ronnie’s full vision started to take shape.
Ronnie with Tamarindo's Brother Brutis
Upon subsequent return trips to Guanacaste, Ronnie continued to stockpile recordings of local artists, adding to the stable of talent with the likes of Brother Brutus, one of the most fun bands you’ll ever see; the talented and beautiful Chelsea Davis solo performer; and Pinky Guaro, a 4 piece band featuring Stephanie Waltrip on vocals, and Gold Coast stalwart, Jesse Bishop; plus many more. ‘The Sounds of Tamarindo’, was indeed taking shape as a true cross section the sounds of the Gold Coast and its release is anticipated near the end of 2020.
To innovate this process, Ronnie utilized his years of recording experience with downsized technology and simplified recording methods to create a uniquely relaxed recording atmosphere for the artists, and produce an authentic sound that could only come from the Gold Coast. This, in part, started to formulate the ‘brand’ that Ronnie envisioned when this process started years ago. But Ronnie being Ronnie, he wanted to go bigger yet, again.
“In attempting to create this ‘brand’, I embrace the so-called flaws and chose to leave in the faint sounds of the wind, surf and wildlife”
A short time later, Alex Urbaniak, a dedicated surfer/designer originally from South Africa, created the Black Stallion Ranch in Via Real and quickly established it as a place of going concern. Just a 10-minute drive from Tamarindo, the Black Stallion is a beautiful rustic ranch with a great restaurant, cabinas for rent, a beautiful BBQ area, cafe, pool lounge, large events room, art gallery, ATV tours, horses and stables as well as the best canopy zip-line in the area. And lets not skim over the many surfing beaches in Tamarindo and the area surrounding. Surfing is, indeed, serious business in these parts and accounts for a large percentage of the population. There is no shortage of Pura Vida on this property which of course, got Ronnie’s wheels turning. So, after extensive planning, and with the enthusiastic support of Alex and The Howler Magazine, Ronnie has established “Howler House”, a space that provides a relaxed, creative atmosphere to attract and encourage artists, performers, film makers, entertainers and musicians to congregate, collaborate and create.
“What happens when all this talent gets together, I can’t control, nor do I want to”
From these collaborations will undoubtedly come countless recording opportunities and many new original songs that will fuel the next ‘Sounds of Tamarindo’ record, and others that will undoubtedly follow. This entire process presents the artists with a unique opportunity to develop a sound, their sound, that they may not otherwise have realized. Then, with this body of work, Ronnie can put to work his extensive experience and contacts to promote and publicize this music through multiple content streams like CD sales, on-line downloads, streaming, Facebook & Instagram programs as well as live local concerts at The Black Stallion Ranch / Howler House, as well as locations throughout Guanacaste and eventually, the entire country. Plans are at work to resurrect Shark Radio, streamed on the internet, to give this musical movement a consistent voice in the area and a public platform to broadcast new local and original music, interviews and event promotions. Plus, talks with cultural officials in the Costa Rica government are aimed at eventually launching this concept on a national scale. This is Ronnie’s vision, and he backs it up with experience, connections, talent, know how, and most importantly, unbridled enthusiasm.
“I believe in a careful balance between life, work and business, and I want to offer that possibility to the local talent”
This area is very spread out, so musical talent that is in Coco generally stays in Coco, similarly with Potrero and Tamarindo. Though many performers travel all around grabbing gigs where they can, Ronnie wants to see what happens when these artists get together and collaborate and create on a consistent basis, and the Black Stallion Ranch / Howler House is the only place in the area that could accommodate them. The whole point is to remove all obstacles that may prevent true inspiration from being drawn out of these performers so they can realize their own potential while helping establish the “Gold Coast Sound”. To give them a place where they can come together for collaborations, workshops and possibly even master classes with established stateside performers as instructors.
Ronnie strives to create and promote more of a unique music scene, more so than artists who typically cater to tourists with old popular songs would. He’s constantly on the lookout for unique performers and personalities, song writers and risk takers to create and promote the area’s distinctive sound and brand by helping to bring out the unique talent that he believes all performers possess. This combined with the laid-back lifestyle, an unbridled natural beauty of Costa Rica, the beautiful people, gorgeous beaches and delicious warm weather, this area could ultimately become a musical destination for performers and fans alike, and Ronnie King is most determined to make that happen.
Ronnie King Bio
Oscar nominated producer
Grammy nominated producer
Musician, composer & arranger
Activist
Founder of Ronnie King Music
Founder of the Ronnie King Group
Co-founder of Ronnie King Entertainment.
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