Ernest Robert Boetz

I grew up in North Georgia. Musical influences started with the 1950's Rock n' Roll that my parents liked, followed by the hard rock of the 1970s. I began playing guitar and writing songs in high school in my first band, Hellrazor around 1984.  In 1987 I formed the original hard rock band Lowdown in Athens, GA.  For the next 3 years Lowdown played clubs in Athens and recorded some demos in local studios. 

In 1990 I recorded my first solo material, a 3-song demo titled “Ernest Robert Boetz's Thunder East” at Maxwell Sound studio in Athens, GA.  After moving to Atlanta that year, I shopped this demo around the music scene in Atlanta. This allowed me to meet and audition many players and also led to meeting Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent's original singer) and sitting in with his band a few times in the early '90s in Atlanta.  

In 1993, myself and guitarist Michael “Lucky” Forrester formed the band The Brass in Atlanta, GA.  In 1994 The Brass recorded a 3-song demo at Skip Bryant Studio in Atlanta.  The Brass played around the greater Atlanta area and began expanding our range. In 1996 our lineup included Chuck Rogers on drums and Justin Senker of The Atlanta Rhythm Section on bass. That year The Brass recorded our self-titled 11-song album at Holly Berry Studio in Alpharetta, GA. Engineered and mixed by Jeff Sisk.  The Brass song “Agent Pain” was selected for the 1996 Musician's Magazine's Best Unsigned Bands song competition. The Brass would continue to play throughout Atlanta, the Southeast and also into Indiana.  In 1998 The Brass recorded a 3-song promotional disc for industry and music press titled “Christmas Bonus” at Micro Groove Studio in Atlanta. The Brass received great reviews from music press across the U.S. (See the ‘Reviews of The Brass’ page for archive reviews). We had some small-market airplay and maintained a reputation as an impressive live band, opening for several national acts including White Zombie, Warrant, Buck Cherry, Derek St. Holmes, Hank Williams III and Sponge. *(The Brass' music, photos and poster art will soon be available on Bandzoogle and this site will promote those releases and feature a link.)

In 2001 I recorded a solo project album titled “Call To Arms” at Exocet Studio in Atlanta. Preceding the album sessions, I recorded 2 cover songs with drummer Sean O'Rourke, “Nights On Broadway” and “Oh Boy!”. The rest of the album sessions were performed by myself and original drummer of The Brass Tim Golden.  Lemmy Kilmister contributed a duet vocal track on the title song. Bob Kulick engineered Lemmy's track in L.A.  Bruce Bennett engineered and mixed the sessions at Exocet. “Call To Arms” received great reviews from music press from around the world. (See the 'Reviews" page for archive reviews). Following the album project, myself and drummer Pat Turner formed the band BOETZ and began playing throughout Atlanta and the Southeast, receiving small-market airplay and opening for National acts including Nashville Pussy and .38 Special. In 2002 BOETZ recorded a 4-song promotional disc for industry and music press known as the “Southern Tears” disc at Exocet Studio in Atlanta. These sessions had Pat Turner on drums and J.C. Keever (formerly of The Brass) on bass. Bruce Bennett also engineered and mixed these songs. This disc also received great reviews from the hard rock music press.

By 2003 the repercussions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (media-deregulation) had resulted in several negative circumstances for a traditional original rock artist. The Rock side of the industry focused solely on the trend in alterna-rock. Clubs closed or stopped having original bands, radio formats changed and many of the indie labels were bought up by majors. The audience for classic hard rock is the most supportive and loyal in the world but the industry suddenly had no interest in a new band playing in that style. Despite great reviews and support from fans, by 2004 the changes in the music biz and its subsequent effects in music culture had landed fully. An original band is a full-time affair. The lack of gigs to play combined with the loss of income and loss of management shut down the band. I continued to write, record demos and get up with other bands for a song or two occasionally.  Despite many efforts to get another original band project going, the prospects for an original hard rock band playing in the classic style were slim. 

In 2005 I was hired as a co-producer and studio musician on a movie soundtrack project. Over the next 6 years these recording sessions were done in Nashville, TN and at Rodney Mills Masterhouse studio in Duluth, GA.  In 2010 during the Nashville sessions I recorded 5 songs of my own with the Nashville players assembled for the project. These recordings were engineered by Jim Prendergast in Nashville while further tracks were recorded, engineered and mixed by Rodney Mills in Atlanta. Some of my songs from those sessions are available on this site. Unfortunately the film/soundtrack project was halted due to issues with a related film project and the author/lead producer was unable to proceed. However, the music of that project will be made available soon on Bandzoogle. This site will promote that release and feature a link to it. 

Shoulder injuries in 2012 and multiple surgeries that followed would create many delays in pursuing music over the next decade. In 2017 I began recording demos of new material in my home studio. By 2019 I had recorded rough demos of 20 new songs.  During this period I continued to write and occasionally got onstage with other bands for a song or two. After further setbacks following my last surgery I eventually resumed recording to finish the songs. In 2025 I started having them professionally mixed and mastered and began recording new music again. This recording process continues and new songs will be up on this site as they are completed. 

I am now in the beginning stages of forming or joining a band. 

I am committed to making honest, original music in the classic rock style. There is no auto-tune (obviously) or AI involved in my music. I write, play, record and perform my original music. 

Long Live The Spirit of Real Music and Long Live Rock n' Roll!

-E.R.B.