The Ponderosa Aces

Anything from mellow traditional classic country to hard-hitting outlaw country rock. We tailor our performance to your crowd!

Welcome to Aces country! Banded together in the outlaw territory of Long Beach, California, The Ponderosa Aces are wanted known from north county Los Angeles down to the border for perpetrating our irresistible West Coast Psychedelic Honky Tonk.

Front and center behind behind the beard we’ve got Mike Maddux, strummin’ and croonin’ and growlin’ and stompin’. That powerful voice makes the folks smile and dance, laugh and shout, and maybe shed a tear or two. Then he calls the second number. Pull off your coat and throw it in the corner–Mr. Maddux is singin’ some homespun glory and you’re gonna want to stay for a spell.

The boys piled in to The Racket Room studios in sunny Santa Ana to record “No Particular Way.” Racket’s owner, long-time Aces buddy and session pro Marty Beal, liked what he heard. Soon he was suggesting parts and soon after that he was playing them (since no one else could). We love Marty on the record but we love him even more on stage, swingin’ a variety of Teles and stompin’ on a pedal train the size of a boogie board. He gets the devoted Aces crowd and we get the hottest lead guitarist in LA, which is a damn square deal.

It takes a rock solid drummer to keep the whole show from flyin’ off the handle. Lucky we’ve got the mighty Arthur Rodriguez to keep us on the ground. Steady as your grandpa’s watch, Art’s rhythms roll the band along like a mystery train. His whole kit could maybe fit in your pocket, but you can’t stop your toes from tappin’ when you hear that great big beat.

Twenty strings, eight pedals and four knee levers: we don’t know how Steve Meister works that contraption but our pedal steel player’s got it all figured out. Part mad scientist, part wizard and pure genius. Don’t let the black hat fool you: there’s no sound as heavenly as that steel on the strings. When Steve starts slidin’ you can see the crowd stop and look around for the angels.

We saw a lonesome traveler walking along the road after midnight, not too far from Soledad Prison. Johnny Bottoms threw his bass in the van, pulled his hat down low and pretended to fall asleep. He must’ve sinned something awful to play those low down dirty, devilish bass lines, but he’s not sayin’ and we ain’t askin’.

The Ponderosa Aces were nominated as “Outlaw Group of the Year” by The Ameripolitan Music Awards and our 2016 independent release “Honky Tonkin’ My Life Away” was called “Pure Country Album of the Year” by The Academy of Western Artists. We’ve been featured in the Los Angeles Times, OC Weekly, The Edge LB, Long Beach Independent, (link hidden), and our pictures can be seen in post offices up and down the Southland.

Grab yourself a hold of the Aces’ fine album “Honky Tonkin’ My Life Away”, watch out for the new album “No Particular Way” coming out January 2019.....or, better yet, pull on your boots, grab your hat, and come on down to see us playing live at a honky-tonk near you!

We can provide all sound equipment, PA, microphones, etc., and traditional country music material for as long as you like! We just need power!