Whether engaged in a full-time career or enjoying your days in retirement, it is not likely that many of us would also devote the time and  energy needed to sustain a successful local rock band.  But for Ross’S hit Show, they are doing just that to make  up for lost time after a long break from the music scene.  

“Everyone’s story in the band is a little different,  but we are all older guys who love music and have  found a way of getting back into playing it again,” said  Joe Murphey, an East Cobb resident and the band’s  drummer, vocalist, and harmonicist. 

About 10 years ago, founding members Ross Veal  (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Ron Caird (Vocals, Lead  Guitar), and Joe Murphey (Vocals, Drums, Harmonica)  met at a Saturday jam event at the now-defunct  Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Atlanta. The event was  meant to draw in local musicians who experienced a long hiatus from music to place focus on other life  endeavors such as a career, family, marriage, etc. When  the event ended in 2019 due to the permanent closure  of the bar, the three musicians met weekly to practice  in their garages and basements. It was then they decid ed to start a band to provide local entertainment and  eventually raise money for charity. 

“We are all life-long musicians, but with some  gaps in time,” Murphey said. “[I] really didn’t touch  my drum kit for almost 30 years as college, law school,  and having/raising kids all took precedence. After  becoming an ‘emptynester’… I started looking for a  way to get back into the music scene.” 

Their first major performance was initially planned  for spring 2020, but this was quickly canceled due to  the COVID pandemic. They continued to meet and  rehearse to fine-tune their sound and remain ready to perform. In April 2021, they played a charity show at the  Oak Street Bottle Shop in Roswell allowing them to raise  $8,000 for Lunches for Learning, a non-profit organization providing lunches to school children in Honduras to  remove them from begging on the streets and promote  their education. Playing the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers  album in its entirety to commemorate its 50th anniversary, this show began the band’s partnership with the  Rotary Club of East Cobb. 

“Ross’S hit Show was happy to support the cause.  So successful was that concert, that [we] did it again  in September 2021,” Murphey said. “Proceeds and  donations collected support Lunches for Learning’s  mission to provide lunches for starving school children in  Honduras, which keeps them in school and thus breaks  the multi-generational cycle of poverty that persists in  much of rural Honduras.” 

As time went on, the band grew adding more  members including Owen Barnes (Bassist, Vocalist),  Harvey Glickson (Lead Guitar), Mike Miccoli  (Saxophone), Mike Davis (Percussionist), Greg Austin  (Keyboard, Fiddle, Vocals), and Tom Hamlin (Guitar).  While most reside in East Cobb, Hamlin lives in Roswell  and Barnes is in Cherokee County. While Murphey is  currently in a law firm with his wife along with being a full-time mediator at Miles Mediation & Arbitration,  many of the members are either retired or thriving in  other career pursuits of their own.  

When it comes to their music, they enjoy consistently  changing their sound. Rather than covering the same  “tired classic rock songs”, they prefer to play the less er-known works from various rock and folk artists of the  60s and 70s with a few more recent alternative country  tunes also added to the set list. 

“From the outset, our vision was to create a sound  that was familiar and approachable but also edgy and  different,” Murphey said. “We also try to keep it fresh by  changing it up.” 

The band finished out the month of April with  performances at Porter Brew & Que in Dunwoody and  the Hog & Ale House in Marietta. However, they will be  doing their third charity show for Lunches for Learning  returning to the Oak Street Bottle Shop on May 7 with  their continued partnership with the rotary club. Ross’S  hit Show continues to play hard long after the work  bell rings. 

To follow the band and learn more about upcoming  performances, visit their self-titled Facebook page at  www.facebook.com/RosssHitShow where you can also  enjoy videos from shows and rehearsals. 

Article Written by Adam Darby and can be read online HERE.