Rams Head The Blog

Out with the old, and in with the new! 2011 has been a great year for the Rams Head. But, move over… its time to celebrate 2012. The Rams Head spices up the night with a huge New Year’s Eve Bash! And, since New Year’s Eve is only 22 days away, it’s time to start thinking of what you will do to celebrate this year. Will it be a meal at a local restaurant with some close friends or perhaps make a big night of it and go wild. Well, the Rams Head has you covered. Here’s a list of fun things you DON’T want to miss.

Rams Head Tavern Annapolis

No Cover- Just a Party |21+                                   
Free Party Favors, while supplies last
Drink Specials 9pm-1:30am
$2.00 Natty Boh, $4.00 Champagne Cocktails, & $5.00 Red Bull & Vodka drinks
Beer toast at midnight, Complimentary at the stroke of midnight* Must be 21 or older to participate
Live Music from 10pm-1:30am

33 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 | P: 410.268.4545

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Rams Head Roadhouse

No Cover- Just a Party | 21+

Free Party Favors, while supplies last
Drink Specials 9pm-1:30am
$4 Champagne Cocktails, $5 Ball Drops( bombs), $5 Redbull & Vodka drinks
Beer toast at midnight, Complimentary at the stroke of midnight* Must be 21 or older to participate
Live Music by the Tom Larsen Band from 10pm-1:30am

1773 General Hwy, Annapolis, MD 21401 P: 410.849.8058

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Rams Head Shore House

No Cover- Just a Party | 21+
Free Party Favors, while supplies last
Drink Specials 9pm-1:30am
$3 Midnight Kiss, $4 Champagne Punch, $5 Ball Drop ( bombs)
Beer toast at midnight, Complimentary at the stroke of midnight* Must be 21 or older to participate
Live Music by the Usual Suspects (9pm-1am)

800 Main Street, Stevensville, MD 21666 P: 410.643.2466

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Rams Head Tavern Savage Mill

No Cover- Just a Party | 21+
Free Party Favors, while supplies last
Drink Specials 9pm-1:30am
$3 Fordham drafts, $3 Domestic Bottles, $6 Grape, Cherry or Jager bombs
Beer toast at midnight, Complimentary at the stroke of midnight* Must be 21 or older to participate
Live DJ 10pm-1am

8600 Foundry St, Savage MD 20763 P:301.604.3454

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Rams Head On Stage

New Year’s Eve feat. Deanna Bogart

6:45pm Doors Open
$114 plus tax, fees and gratuity
Tickets available via charge-by-phone at 410.268.4545, or by visiting the box office at 33 West Street in Downtown Annapolis! Get ready to celebrate the past and welcome the future when Deanna and the boys usher us into the New Year with an evening honoring the legends of blues.Tickets to the show include appetizers, a gourmet buffet dinner, dessert and a bubbly champagne toast at the stroke of midnight! More info visit www.ramsheadonstage.com

33 West Street, Annapolis MD 21401 | P: 410.268.4545

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Rams Head Live

Get The Led Out: The American Led Zeppelin w/ High Voltage
Presented by Bud Light
Doors 8pm |$35 Advance/$45 Day of plus tax
ALL AGES
INCLUDES A FREE FORDHAM TOAST AT MIDNIGHT (21 or order)

20 Market Place Baltimore MD P:410.244.1131

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Mama, Daddy, Baby Sis. Tell your cousins all about this! The popular ska punk band , Reel Big Fish is ready to party down this Monday, November  28th at the Rams Head Live. But, before they start party hardy hardy hardy hardy! We asked Aaron Barrett the singer of RBF a few questions.

Q: You guys have played in Baltimore and specifically at Rams Head Live quite a few times. Do you have any particular Baltimore or Rams Head memories? A: (AARON B)  We love playing in Baltimore, especially at Rams Head Live! the venue is amazing and has a luxurious backstage and an awesome sound system and the audience is always incredibly energetic and loud! We were amazed last time to see that the whole crowd knew the words to EVERY song, even the weird, obscure ones! Monday is going to be a great night!                              

Q: Your band has been around, in one shape or another, for the past 15 or so years. How do you keep it new for yourself and for your fans? A: (AARON B) We just love what we do, we love to play music in front of people and i think the crowd sees how much fun we’re having and can’t help but join in the fun! We also always try to play all the songs of ours that we know people love and that’s something that’s always puzzled us about a lot of bands, once a song of theirs gets popular or they find out that people really like a certain song they will stop playing it! i figure If you do happen to get popular in one way or another and are able to actually get people to pay to come see you play then respect those people and give them something they can enjoy too. Don’t be an asshole and refuse to play the songs they like, you’re lucky those people are there to see you!

Q: The last couple Reel Big Fish releases have been covers, re-recordings  or live releases. Are there any plans for new music? A: (AARON B)  Yes, definitely! I’ve been working on some new songs and hopefully we can get into the studio this coming January before we leave for our Europe tour.

Q: What would “Reel Big Fish: The Movie” be like? Who would play you guys? A: (AARON B) I would hope that it would be a wacky comedy like “Three Amigos” or “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure“and i would hope that the cast would include Will Ferrel, John C Reilley, Alec Baldwin and Russel Brand

Q: You have great hair and sideburns. Any tips for our readers? A: (AARON B) It takes years and years of practice and experimenting to perfect such hair styles. good luck!

Q: Who takes the brunt of the jokes: the rhythm section or the horn section? A: (AARON B) We direct all of our mean spirited, humiliating, degrading jokes at our drummer Ryland

Q: What is your favorite bad joke? A: (AARON B) Wanna hear the joke about the broken pencil? Never mind, it has no point.

Q: What are some of the worst band names you’ve ever heard? A:(AARON B) I think “Reel Big Fish” is a terrible band name, but it sounded good when we were 16. at least it’s better than “Maroon 5″. haha There was a band that was playing in all the same clubs as us on our first full US tour in 1996 that was called “the Impotent Sea Snakes” , i never saw them play but i always though it was a pretty amazing/ terrible band name.

Q: Have you ever heard any phrase more than “Play “Beer” “ ? A:(AARON B)  Yes, on Facebook we hear the phrase “You guys are assholes because you’re not playing MY town on THIS tour…”much, much more often. people just don’t understand that we can only play EVERYWHERE in the world maybe ONCE a year!! We try! but yes, we do hear “PLAY BEER” at EVERY show and it must be very annoying to whoever is around the person that’s yelling. especially since most of our fans know that we ALWAYS play the song “Beer” at EVERY show!

Q: What can fans that have never been to a Reel Big Fish show expect? A: (AARON B) A non-stop roller-coaster ride of thrills, excitement, entertainment, great music and fun fun fun! 

So, with all these juicy questions and answers…. you DON’T want to miss this show.  The Reel Big Fish is like a non-stop roller-coaster ride of thrills, excitement, entertainment, great music and fun fun fun!! So, grab a ticket or 10 , put on your silly hat and head to Rams Head Live before the show Sells Outs!!

Click here to purchase tickets!

From time to time a position opens within our small & busy Marketing & Promotions Office.  And, today is that day!

We are currently seeking candidates for our Rams Head Live Marketing Manager position located at our offices in Annapolis, Maryland.  This position is full time and in charge of partnering with the booking team to execute marketing plans for Rams Head Live, one of the Top 10 Clubs in the World.*

If you are the motivated, self-starter type who gets goosebumps reading the job description below, then shoots us an email with your resume to emcnaboe[at]ramsheadtavern[dot]com.  We’ll start interviewing soon in hopes to have our new colleague join our team by mid to late September.

Could you be the next one to rock w/ our team? Details below.

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Company: Rams Head
Title: Marketing Manager, Rams Head Live
Effective Date: August 30, 2011
Department: Marketing & Promotions
Reporting To: Vice President Marketing
Job Type: Full-Time
Location: Annapolis, Maryland office with travel to and from Baltimore

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Summary
We are seeking a Marketing Manager to be responsible for developing, executing and communicating tactical marketing plans that support the booking, marketing and financial objectives of Rams Head Live.

Responsibilities
• Coordinate with booking & ticketing to set up timely & accurate on sales
• Prepare, execute & monitor comprehensive marketing/promotional campaigns
• Implement and monitor budgets and projections
• Create & distribute press releases to media outlets
• Coordinate all show press with publicists and managers
• Media buying including: online, radio, TV, print, outdoor/indoor
• Review invoices for accuracy and approve for payment
• Moderate facebook & twitter accounts
• Work with graphic design department on print ads, flyers, postcards and posters for upcoming shows
• Ensure proper communication of day of show promotions to general manager
• Coordinate street team and grassroots marketing efforts in local market
• Assist in the development and fulfillment of sponsorship programs
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships
• Post on the Rams Head blog
• Collaborate with peers to ensure consistency and accuracy of information
• Ensure the financial success of individual concerts
• Assist Marketing team in day to day activities & other duties as needed

Qualifications
• Motivated, driven, resourceful, innovative & forward thinker
• Able to understand marketing strategies and how to execute them
• Ability to build and maintain productive & positive relationships
• Experience in the entertainment industry not necessary
• Ability to work well with others on a team
• Demonstrate logical analysis and problem solving skills
• Demonstrate good listening, written and oral communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Reflect an appropriate sense of urgency
• Good computer skills- Microsoft Word & Excel
• Understanding of Twitter & Facebook a must
• HTML, Dreamweaver skills a plus

Salary
• Salary based on experience $30,000 – $45,000

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*We didn’t just assign ourselves Top 10.  We’ve actually be awarded it by Pollstar Magazine. Thanks Baltimore for keeping us rockin’.

Slightly Stoopid returns back to Pier Six Pavilion on Wednesday, August 17th with special guest Don Carlos and Karl Denson, Rebelution, Shwayze & Cisco Adler. This will be the fourth time that Slightly Stoopid has been to Pier Six. And,why do they keep returning? Well, because they ROCK! For over a decade now, Slightly Stoopid has been supplying its fans with tunes that have served as the perfect summer soundtrack and ultimate live party. Sounds fun, right?

The band is from Cali and has been playing since 1995.  You can describe their music as “a fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk“.The band was originally signed by Bradley Nowell from the band Sublime to his label Skunk Records while still in high school. How many bands can you name that were signed when they were in High School? Pretty cool. They have toured with bands like Dave Matthews Band, Sublime, The Roots, G.Love & Special Sauce, Ozomatli, Pennywise and the Vans Warped Tour. 

So, gather your friends, grab a ticket and head down to Pier Six this Wednesday night (August 17th, 2011). Click here to purchase a ticket or Call P:410.244.1131 to order.

Friday, July 1

Trace Adkins w/ Brett Eldredge

Trace Adkins has long been country music’s alpha male, a man whose commanding presence and once-in-a-generation baritone have made him a pillar of the contemporary Nashville sound.

He is the man who gave us one of modern-day country’s rowdiest classics, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” and one of its most touching, “You’re Gonna Miss This,” which earned two of his four Grammy nominations, became his third chart-topping hit, and was named the ACM’s Single of the Year. He is equally convincing across a musical spectrum that stretches from “Hot Mama” to “Songs About Me,” from “(This Ain’t No) Thinkin’ Thing” to “Then They Do.”

WPOC presents what will surely be one of the biggest country concert events of the summer.

Saturday, July 9

Frankie Beverly & MAZE

w/ Rachelle Ferrell

Combining a Philadelphia soul sound with a strong appreciation of Marvin Gaye, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly was among the top R&B acts of the late ’70s and ’80s. The distinctive Maze and its charismatic lead singer, founder, producer, and songwriter Beverly didn’t have many pop hits, but they were extremely popular among soul and urban contemporary audiences and enjoyed at least six or seven gold albums. 

Friday, July 15
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and
Dennis DeYoung:The Music of Styx
“The Elements of Five Tour”

“Hit me with your best shot!” Who does not love belting out the lyrics to this classic Pat Benatar tune? And while we are at it, you can rest assured that love was a battlefield well before our girl Jordin Sparks said so. In the heat of this July night you are gonna be living the dream all over again with a certified 80′s Queen ready to pump out hit after hit of timeless musical glory. From the reviews so far, we hear this tour is ready to show you what the good old days were all about and more importantly what we’ve been missing.

Sunday, July 17

Grammy Winner Peter Frampton

Known for his electric performances on stage, rock sensation Peter Frampton celebrates the 35th anniversary of Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the top-selling live albums of all time.

The album features some of rock radio’s most enduring classics, including “Baby, I Love Your Way”, “Do You Feel Like We Do” and “Show Me the Way,” and held on to the top spot on Billboard’s Top 200 charts for ten weeks, unprecedented for a live album.

In 2006 Frampton’s all-instrumental record, Fingerprints, earned a GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. We are excited to celebrate the anniversary of rock’s greatest live album!

Tuesday, July 19

Michael McDonald & Boz Scaggs

For the first time ever, two great blues-rock artists share a band for a night of their best-known hits, from the smash hits “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown” to “I Keep Forgettin’” and “Yah Mo B There.

Michael McDonald first made a name for himself as a guest vocalist for Steely Dan and then as a member of the Doobie Brothers. He’s penned songs for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Millie Jackson and Carly Simon and he’s had several of his own successes over the years including: “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near),” “Yah Mo B There” with James Ingram and “On My Own” with Patti LaBelle.

Boz Scaggs has an equally impressive resume having worked with everyone from Steve Miller to Donald Fagan to Duane Allman and many others. The song “Lowdown” off of the 1976 release “Silk Degrees” won Boz a Grammy Award and propelled the album to more than 4 million records sold.

Thursday, July 21
Dierks Bentley

Remember, heating up the pier this summer will not be just about the weather. Dierks Bentley, a hot commodity himself, has once again landed a chart topping single with his song “Am I The Only One“. Now lets combine the forces of foot stompin’, barnyard rompin’ tunes with what has come to be known as one of the greatest party shows on the road. Leave your bashful date at home and make it a night for the crew that can throw down on the town. Party responsibly my friends. The pier is in fact surrounded by water.

Tuesday, July 26
Emmylou Harris w. Todd Snider

As a featured artist at this year SXSW Music Festival in Austin Texas, Emmylou Harris is set to have a big year entirely and we have fixed Baltimore right in the center of it. In the heart of the summer she will bring her tour with Todd Snider coming along as support. With a new album out, dynamic instrumentation and the classic, purely soulful vocals we’ve come to love from Emmylou, the Pier will be set for a night made in music history.

 
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The boogie-lovin’ Australia’s electro-pop band ,Cut Copy is heading to Rams Head Live on July 6th.Indeed, the world’s press has been collectively breathless in their praise of the band .  I was able to catch them for the first time in 2008 with the Black Kids. I didn’t know who they were, what they sang, or anything about them. But, the whole time i couldn’t stop dancing.

 They have toured with international acts Franz Ferdinard, Bloc Party, Junior Senior and Daft Punk. And,with their new release of their third studio album, Zonoscope . They will be touring this summer, and hitting Baltimore. Spin Magazine picked Cut Copy as one of the year’s 25 best concert tours, saying “This Aussie electro-pop quartet makes dance music for people who don’t like dance music. Their new album, Zonoscope, “reveals Cut Copy’s eagerness to graduate from dance-rock cult act to something more universally admired “.

So, grab a ticket ,check out Cut Copy at Rams Head Live on Wednesday, July 6th. But, don’t forget to wear your dancing shoes!

Last year, the feel good show of the summer for me at Pier Six was Daryl Hall and John Oates. It seemed like everyone came. Old fans of the band, new fans of the band…hipsters, hip city bands; you name it they came out in droves for a taste of the old (and good) and, well, presumably because Hall and Oates’ songs have stood the test of time. We’ll see, but if I had to guess which show this summer may strike that same nostalgia chord, I’d guess INXS. Yes, I know there is the one monster difference that INXS is not as we remember them given that singer Michael Hutchence is sadly no longer with us. That being said, there seems to be a groundswell around the band. Their new album, featuring a host of high profile guest spots re-making their biggest hits has already produced a #1 single; Rob Thomas’ take on Original Sin. “It” artist Adele has already announced her intentions to cover the ballad “Never Tear Us Apart” on her next record and, like Hall and Oates, there seems to be a new generation of fans who are returning to, or just discovering, the band. Here’s to hoping that this show is just as well attended and just as well received – either way, I bet it’s going to be fun.

In eager anticipation of this monster bill for Sunday Funday on May 15th, we are offering up the chance to win tickets to catch all the action of Sunday Funday in the palm of your hand. Answer the two questions below for a chance to win. All eligible answers must be written in the comments section below.  We will select a winner and they will be able to check out all the boys of Sunday Funday for free! Hang out with WRNR! Enjoy the cornhole tournament on the lawn. Bring the kids for hula hooping, facepainting and Dippin Dots! Join in the open air yoga session. Dance the day away at the side stage featuring Kentavius Jones, Taylor Carson and Sweet Leda. Oh and it will be for FREE!!! Good Luck!

1. Name this famous actress with a famous daughter that graduated from the same Maryland high school that Eric Hutchinson attended.

2. Name this notable singer-songwriter that was in Amos Lee’s graduating high school class?

If you’ve been to a Rams Head restaurant, we hope that you’ve had the opportunity to fill out a comment card detailing your visit to our facility.    The comment cards themselves are pretty basic… name, address, email, date of your visit, rate your experience, who was your server & what would you do to improve.   But, what happens to these notes filled with your valuable insight? Do you wonder if anyone ever sees them?

For a small piece of paper our comment cards actually travel quite the distance within the Rams Head walls…

Our comment cards are printed at our neighboring print shop, Sir Speedy on West Street (shop local!).  They are then delivered to our various restaurants by way of the Kyle & Erin shuttle express.  The manager inserts them into the check presenters where they are housed until they arrive at your table.   Our hope is that you fill them out and give them back to the server, who returns them to the manager.  The manager then reads them, responds (if needed) & makes changes or praises (as needed) and they are hand delivered to my office in Annapolis where I review. Afterwards, we collect them and then send them to our Microsoft Excel guru Miss Madison at our Savage location who types in your email info to get you loaded into our e-marketing database.  And then they are recycled.

I read through each and every comment card for all of our locations.  I look for advertising trends (how did you hear about us?) and food trends (“I am very dissapointed to find out that the crab puffs were removed from the menu”) and often get a kick out of the some of the responses which may, or may not, have been written after a few cocktails.

There are quite a few themes that prevail no matter what the location, the year or the author:  free beer for all,  server X deserves a raise and I’m always shocked at the alarming number of requests for pole dancers?!?

We of course love the praises of our servers or food or better yet, both!  After all, we are in the business of service and it’s what we strive to accomplish each and every day we open our doors:

We often receive great bits of advice, which we try and take into account when strategizing for the future. I wish everyone left their contact information to allow me the opportunity to respond.  For this comment, I would tell them that we rotate our menu every 6 months.  So while not quite every 4 months as requested, we are getting in a regular rotation:

And of course we wouldn’t ask the question, if we couldn’t take the heat.  But as a small business, sometimes it’s hard to not to be hurt by some of the responses/comments, especially when you feel as though the customer’s perception is not in line with the company reality:

After taking a humbling moment, I realize that this is a review of my job – I must not be telling out story well enough, clear often or often enough in the ways that we are supporting our local community that surrounds us.   That perhaps I need to toot our own horn a little louder about our involvement & countless volunteer hours with Special Olympics of Maryland, The Chad William Muehlhauser Education Fund at the Baltimore Aquarium, the Toys for Tots, AM|FM fund, Annapolis Business Association, Annapolis Restaurant Week, Annapolis West Street Association to name a few.  In essence, I need to do a better job of telling our volunteer story.

This reminds me of a wise quote from Ryder Carrier Management Brian Koval, “Lessons are usually where you look for them.  You can learn something from anyone.” Imagine the lessons I’m learning each week with your comment cards – thank you for giving me a weekly dose of Rams Head education.

Until next time… enjoy some Food, Fun & Beer.
Erin