Biography
Jim Ronayne concentrates on elaborate fingerstyle techniques for the acoustic guitar, carrying forward approaches pioneered by John Renbourn within the British folk revival. Born and raised in Birkenhead, a busy maritime gateway, he received his initial instrument from his father, who had resumed employment after the war. That early guitar demanded physical force rather than finesse, prompting Ronayne to observe later, "I just assumed all guitar players' fingers bled profusely after playing for four or five hours, and I would eventually 'get used to it.'" The experience fostered what he described as "an obsession for my playing guitars with very, very low action." His mother soon supplied a superior nylon-string model that remains in his possession.
He acquired his first skills through television broadcasts, notably John Pearce's Hold Down a Chord and the regional program Scene at Six-Thirty. As Ronayne recalled, "John showed us all how to play every song in the universe using C, A minor, F, and G7." A single appearance by Ralph McTell left an indelible mark; just before the expected performance of "Streets of London," McTell delivered "Blind Blake's Rag," an event Ronayne summarized by saying he was "hooked line and sinker on acoustic from that moment on."
At sixteen he entered engineering school, yet devoted five to six hours nightly in his bedroom to the guitar. A mid-1970s John Renbourn concert in Liverpool marked the decisive shift, after which he abandoned prior instructional materials to concentrate exclusively on Renbourn's repertoire. "John remains my mentor in all things 'guitar,'" Ronayne later wrote. He began frequenting folk clubs to hear Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, and Martin Simpson. In 1978 he entered the folk circuit himself, forming the duo Jasmin with vocalist Yvonne Thomas; the partnership toured the northwest of England for the following seventeen years.
After a period away from music, Ronayne resumed performing in 2003. During an extended visit to Ireland to see relatives, he toured the replica ship The Dunbrody and conceived a suite of pieces centered on emigration and the Atlantic passage. He later recounted, "Having read a few books by my good friend Jim Rees and seen a few films pertaining to the emigration, it was still a shock to me to see a full-scale replica, and I've no reason to believe that my experience was very different to many other visitors. Firstly how small she is and secondly the conditions on board. It had quite an effect on me. I starting putting this CD together shortly afterwards, and 'Voyage of the Dunbrody' was the first track written."
The resulting 2004 release, Voyage of the Dunbrody, presented a detailed cycle of compositions that conjured distant eras and locales while featuring Ronayne's interpretation of Renbourn's "The Pelican."
He acquired his first skills through television broadcasts, notably John Pearce's Hold Down a Chord and the regional program Scene at Six-Thirty. As Ronayne recalled, "John showed us all how to play every song in the universe using C, A minor, F, and G7." A single appearance by Ralph McTell left an indelible mark; just before the expected performance of "Streets of London," McTell delivered "Blind Blake's Rag," an event Ronayne summarized by saying he was "hooked line and sinker on acoustic from that moment on."
At sixteen he entered engineering school, yet devoted five to six hours nightly in his bedroom to the guitar. A mid-1970s John Renbourn concert in Liverpool marked the decisive shift, after which he abandoned prior instructional materials to concentrate exclusively on Renbourn's repertoire. "John remains my mentor in all things 'guitar,'" Ronayne later wrote. He began frequenting folk clubs to hear Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, and Martin Simpson. In 1978 he entered the folk circuit himself, forming the duo Jasmin with vocalist Yvonne Thomas; the partnership toured the northwest of England for the following seventeen years.
After a period away from music, Ronayne resumed performing in 2003. During an extended visit to Ireland to see relatives, he toured the replica ship The Dunbrody and conceived a suite of pieces centered on emigration and the Atlantic passage. He later recounted, "Having read a few books by my good friend Jim Rees and seen a few films pertaining to the emigration, it was still a shock to me to see a full-scale replica, and I've no reason to believe that my experience was very different to many other visitors. Firstly how small she is and secondly the conditions on board. It had quite an effect on me. I starting putting this CD together shortly afterwards, and 'Voyage of the Dunbrody' was the first track written."
The resulting 2004 release, Voyage of the Dunbrody, presented a detailed cycle of compositions that conjured distant eras and locales while featuring Ronayne's interpretation of Renbourn's "The Pelican."
Albums
