Jesse Ahern is a working class troubadour with a wide range of musical influences—Americana, Blues, Country and Rock n’ Roll. He has played the Subways and Open Mic Nights but found his true calling playing the Barrooms of Boston and beyond as the Singer/Songwriter for The Ramblin Souls.
Growing up in the late1980s/early 90s he was first attracted, like many in his generation, to punk rock and hip-hop, and if bands like The Clash and Public Enemy initially seem like polar opposites, their common ground was of course in their unvarnished honesty and passion. It wasn't long before Ahern began discovering the wide pantheon of American music.
By 2002 Ahern was playing with a quartet of like-minded musicians, dubbed The Ramblin' Souls, venturing out in their hometown Quincy at first, and eventually bringing their style of Rock-n-Roll to the Boston-Cambridge-Somerville circuit, and even beyond, to out of state gigs. In that initial Ramblin' Souls lineup, Ahern traded lead vocals with bassist Kevin Fitz, as drummer Scott Cunningham and guitarist Brad Bryan provided fiery backup. After their first invigorating performances on the scene, the Souls stepped back to deal with internal problems. Ahern's cousin George Camia replaced Fitz on bass by 2007, and the group worked on into 2009, adding keyboardist David Mendoza along the way.
The Ramblin' Souls had naturally petered out by 2009, however Ahern kept his musical ambitions alive by arranging and promoting package shows, where he and some cohorts--playing as "Jesse Ahern and His Roots Rock Rebel Revue"-- would perform as part of a multi-band bill, teaming up with other roots-oriented acts from the scene.
But then a funny thing happened and the Ramblin' Souls had a second life. A friend of the band now living in Los Angeles had taken a song of their first album back to California, where it was heard by some people in the tv business. Early in 2010 Ahern was notified that HBO's "True Blood" series wanted to use the Ramblin' Souls song "Late Nite Horizon" for an episode. Ahern quickly re-formed the Souls for a series of shows. For the moment, the Ramblin' Souls are playing selected shows several times a year.
Ahern had taken some time away from music after that burst of attention for the Ramblin' Souls in 2010. But a friend, Quincy surf-rock songwriter Dana Martinson, coaxed him into doing some guest shots on Martinson's 2011 album "Laughing and Crying," and Ahern began seeing the potential for his music all over again. With a new band and a new emphasis on his own life experiences informing his songwriting, Jesse is rededicated to creating and performing some new material while recording his new album and you can be sure it's gritty and real, laced with the authenticity of the workin' man who lived it, and the immediacy of music that just can't wait.