Origin of the Rager
Ragers started in 1988 with the advent of my mom’s 50th birthday.
Donna Kelsen (née Musgrove), was a phenomenal singer and musician. I’m not just saying that, check her out with Benny Goodman:
All our family and friends were/are artists and musicians. Everyone loved my mom. We invited everyone to the party and what happened was…well, you just had to be there. Every musical discipline was represented and everyone jammed together, without ego, head trips, fear or agenda.
Every Rager has at least one profound subplot, or under-lying special event that may or may not be known at the time.
The first Rager was the last time Dean and Donna Kelsen performed live.
Oh yeah, my dad, Dean Kelsen was a brilliant, exceptional jazz piano player (and so much more). Here’s a quick clip of him:
Alright, so I’ve established that our (Mike & me) parents are probably better than we’ll ever be. We accept that. But the point is:
This event that we’ve called a Rager for 30+ years is such a special, transformative, outstanding, magical, event, I was hesitant to adopt the name.
But any that have been to one will attest that it’s a special event, beyond words.
Anyway, that’s where Rager Band came from. Here’s my mom and dad playing together for the last time: