Ricky + Ronnie w/ Friends, Pigeon Hill, 1991

“Me and Ronnie was close. It was fun being kids but when I turned 10, I had to be a grown-up—help mom raise me and my brother. She’d take me with her on her job cleaning restaurants. We’d work from 4 in the afternoon ‘til 1 in the morning. My stepdad would watch Ronnie or he’d tag along and sleep. If I could go back to my childhood, I’d make some changes—stayed in school and not worked nights, played more sports.”

Ricky + Ronnie @ Southern Winds Inn, 2011

“I was working two jobs. I let Ronnie move in with me and my family. Two weeks later my wife told me she was sleeping with my brother—she left with him. Later on, Ronnie was at my cousin’s apartment. I was upset with him. My wife was there too. I had a wedding picture in my wallet and I set fire to it, threw it on the ground and yelled, ‘You ruined our family!’ Ronnie and I got into a fight. Cops showed up and I did 4 months for arson and battery. I got out and forgave them both. I try to get along with my brother because of mom, but we’re not as close.”