Ron Mael
Ronald David Mael is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwriter and younger brother Russell Mael in 1971. Mael is known for his quirky and idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, his intricate and rhythmic keyboard playing style and for his deadpan and low key, scowling demeanour onstage often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Ron Mael is also noted for his conservative clothes and unfashionable moustache. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records.
Early life
Ronald David Mael was born on August 12, 1945, in Culver City, California. The Mael brothers grew up in Pacific Palisades – an affluent beach suburb of Los Angeles – with their father, Meyer Mael, who was a graphic designer and caricaturist for the Hollywood Citizen-News, and their mother, Miriam, a librarian. After being educated at Palisades High School, both brothers enrolled at the UCLA; Ron began a course in Cinema and Graphic Arts in 1963 while Russell studied Theater Arts and Filmmaking between 1966 and 1968.Sparks
Ron Mael plays the keyboards and synthesizers and writes most of the songs for Sparks. When the band hit the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, he was well known for his strange appearance, often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Ron's conservative clothes and unfashionable, Charlie Chaplin-esque toothbrush moustache attracted much attention, as does his current pencil moustache. Onstage, Ron alternates between playing the keyboard and engaging in comic mime routines, often in connection with projections on backdrop.Mael has used Roland keyboards and synthesizers for many years, customising the "Roland" company logo on the instruments to read "Ronald".
The pair appeared as themselves in the 1977 disaster film Rollercoaster, performing live. They also appeared in episode twenty-two of season six of the Gilmore Girls.
In June 2018, Edgar Wright announced he is making a documentary on the cult pop-rock band Sparks. He had covered the band's concert in London in May at O2 Forum Kentish Town. This concert will also be a part of the documentary.
Personal life
In 2017, a reviewer noted that while the brothers' biographies recount an LA childhood in which they surfed and were both models for mail order catalogues, their private lives are otherwise almost entirely unknown. "Well, we're in good company with Bob Dylan", was their reported response. "We feel the less you do know, it keeps the mythology and the image in a better position." Even to the question of whether they have partners or spouses, they refused to give an indication, insisting that "the vagueness is more interesting than the reality."Discography
With Sparks| Year | Album |
| 1971 | Halfnelson |
| 1973 | A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing |
| 1974 | Kimono My House |
| 1974 | Propaganda |
| 1975 | Indiscreet |
| 1976 | Big Beat |
| 1977 | Introducing Sparks |
| 1979 | No. 1 in Heaven |
| 1980 | Terminal Jive |
| 1981 | Whomp That Sucker |
| 1982 | Angst in My Pants |
| 1983 | In Outer Space |
| 1984 | Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat |
| 1986 | Music That You Can Dance To |
| 1988 | Interior Design |
| 1994 | Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins |
| 1997 | Plagiarism |
| 2000 | Balls |
| 2002 | Lil' Beethoven |
| 2006 | Hello Young Lovers |
| 2008 | Exotic Creatures of the Deep |
| 2009 | The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman |
| 2017 | Hippopotamus |
| 2020 | A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip |
With FFS