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• Tanya Tucker at The Palace Theatre (PA) on 10/13/2012 08:00 PM EDT: 10/14/12
  

  Tanya Tucker
  The Palace Theatre (PA)
  10/13/2012 08:00 PM EDT
  $35 - $40 reserved
  buy tickets

  Tanya Tucker
  
  One of country music’s greatest legends, Tanya Tucker, has just released her much anticipated new CD, My Turn, on Saguaro Road Records. On this new album Tucker takes classic country songs originally recorded by the all time great male legends of the time and turns the tables, giving classics such as “You Don’t Know Me” and "Oh, Lonesome Me" a powerful reconstruction from a woman’s point of view. Only 13 when her provocative "Delta Dawn" caused a nationwide stir and became a Top 10 country hit, Tucker has built one of the most successful and compelling careers in music. Considered one of the very few females of the "outlaw" country movement, she holds a Grammy award, two Country Music Association awards, Two Academy of Country Music awards, and three CMT Awards. 23 of her albums have landed in the country Top 40 chart since her 1972 debut, and she has amassed 10 #1 country singles, 33 that have reached the Top 5, and 41 in the Top 10. Always reinventing herself, Tanya again became a media darling in 2005 as the star of her own television reality series, Tuckerville. The primetime series was a huge hit for TLC, generating the cable network’s highest Neilsen ratings ever, and guaranteed the show’s return in 2006. Having sold over 50 million records over the last three decades, country music icon Tanya Tucker is among the all-time best selling female vocalists in country music. "Surprisingly mature at a very young age, Tanya Tucker continues to grow today, taming and conquering tunes long assumed to be a man’s territory. As the great George Jones said…'she does it her way and makes it her own.' - Emore Magazine, Annie Dinerman Awards

  Venue Information
  The Palace Theatre (PA)
  21 West Otterman Street
  Greensburg, PA 15601
  http://www.thepalacetheatre.org/
  

• Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang at The Palace Theatre (PA) on 06/15/2012 08:00 PM EDT: 06/16/12
  

  Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang
  The Palace Theatre (PA)
  06/15/2012 08:00 PM EDT
  $49.50 - $59.50 Reserved
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  Jonny Lang
  
  Jonny Lang has a message for you. Sure, he's been in touch before, speaking often with his guitar in the language of deep blues and searing rock & roll. But Turn Around is different. The guitar is still there, whispering sometimes, occasionally even screaming. Now, though, it's just one voice in a chorus of sounds—the tight band, the passionate singing, and lyrics that conjure beauty as well as pa...in and speak the truth, all at the same time.The GRAMMY-nominated, former prodigy instrumentalist, who topped the Billboard New Artist chart with his first album at age 15, stands now as a mature creative force, made more sensitive yet also toughened by life's adventures. He's learned what it means to rise above hard times and to find meaning where chaos seemed to rule. These insights, and the emotions they unleash, makes Turn Around the pivotal album of Jonny Lang's career to date—a passage that links the triumphs of his past to the promise of his future. A soul-stirring organ, played by GRAMMY-winning producer Shannon Sanders, forecasts the surge of music that follows on Turn Around: the stomping funk of "Bump in the Road," the startling climax that closes "The Other Side of the Fence," the electrifying vocal exchanges with Michael McDonald on "Thankful," and on the opposite extreme, the work-gang chant that drives "Turn Around" and the profound intimacy of "Only a Man."Turn Around is all of this and more, a tumble of musical colors that dazzle and soothe. And in the end, they achieve coherence through the meaning that Lang conveys so urgently. "With this album I want to focus, more than ever before, on my purpose in life," he explains. "I've been so incredibly blessed. My wife and I just had our fifth anniversary. I get to do what I love for a living. But it wasn't so long ago that I was spiraling downward in a lot of ways."For all the conviction that Lang brings to Turn Around, the album began almost as an afterthought. Lang was in the studio one day with his producer, Ron Fair, who is also president of A&M/Interscope Records. There wasn't anything pressing on the agenda; they were doing routine work on the final stages of Lang's previous record, Long Time Coming. Then, out of the blue, Fair said something completely unexpected."He looks at me and goes, 'Dude, you need to make a gospel record,'" Lang says, laughing at the recollection. "Now, I hadn't really mentioned much to Ron about that side of my life, but for some reason he knew where I was at. So I thought about it for just a second and said, 'Yes, I do.'" There is plenty of gospel in Turn Around, especially in the choir that riffs through "Thankful" and "It's Not Over." But rustic country ("On That Great Day," with guests Buddy Miller and Sam Bush), Motown funk ("One Person at a Time"), jazzy folk ("My Love Remains"), and other influences flavor this music too. In this varied setting, "gospel" has more to do with the spirit that animates these tracks than any category it might inhabit. Again, the unity in this diversity comes from Lang himself. A professional musician since age 12, Lang rocketed from his hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, to international renown in his mid teens. While kids his age were still playing high school gigs, he was touring with giants like the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, trading licks with mentors like B. B. King and Buddy Guy, and being lauded by U.S. News and World Report for having "the voice of a grizzled blues veteran … and guitar skills to match." Turn Around proves that, unlike many one-time wunderkind performers, Jonny Lang has grown to exceed the expectations that heralded his ascendance. Produced by Ron Fair (Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Counting Crows), energized through collaboration with songwriter/performers Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders, anchored and elevated by former Prince NPG rhythm dynamo Michael Bland, Turn Around is Lang's fifth album—but it's also the first of what will become his most moving and enduring works. "Every record I've done has felt progressively more and more like the real me," he sums up. "But more than anything I've done, this one comes straight from my heart."That, then, is the message of Jonny Lang: To Turn Around, you move ahead. It's that simple—and powerful.

  Venue Information
  The Palace Theatre (PA)
  21 West Otterman Street
  Greensburg, PA 15601
  http://www.thepalacetheatre.org/
  

• Tech N9ne at Rostraver Ice Garden Arena on 06/10/2012 07:30 PM EDT: 06/10/12
  

  Tech N9ne
  Rostraver Ice Garden Arena
  06/10/2012 07:30 PM EDT
  $30.00 - $35.00
  buy tickets

  Supporting Acts: Machine Gun Kelly, Mayday, Krizz Kaliko, Prozak, Stevie Stone

  Venue Information
  Rostraver Ice Garden Arena
  101 Gallitin Rd. & Route 51
  Belle Vernon, PA 15012
  http://www.therostravericegarden.com/index.htm
  

• Sonny Landreth at Diesel on 05/19/2012 07:45 PM EDT: 05/19/12
  

  Sonny Landreth
  Diesel
  05/19/2012 07:45 PM EDT
  $25.00 - $30.00
  buy tickets

  Sonny Landreth
  
  Bassist Dave Ranson was one of the first to be blown away by Sonny Landreth's six-string prowess. He was 12 or 13, and he went to a Lafayette party where the budding virtuoso, a whole year older, was playing with his band. "He might've been 14, maybe even 15. I know I wasn't drivin'," Ranson recalls, thinking it was a tune by The Ventures he first heard coming from the youthful combo. "We just went, 'Wow! These guys are good.'" More than 30 years later -- in cities around the globe -- Ranson observes the ripple effect night after night from his onstage position as Landreth's musical alter ego. "You see people just standing there with their mouths open," he says. "It's really great." After shows, witnesses have been known to tell the bassman, "I play a little slide guitar, but after hearing him, I'm going home and break all my slides." "If I've heard that once," Ranson relates, "I've heard that a million times." Fans of Landreth's soulful sound -- and anyone who wants to find out what all the fuss is about -- can catch up with "king of slydeco," Ranson and drummer Michael Organ on "Levee Town." Landreth's Sugar Hill debut is his first solo outing in five years, and the disc offers ready confirmation that there's much more than just jaw-dropping technique behind the glass of the bandleader's slide. The album opens with a mythic tale of an Atchafalaya Basin flood and pulls roots influences from Clifton Chenier to Duane Allman through tales of zydeco rides, romance and the mysterious allure of the Deep South. "Levee Town" offers brilliantly produced readings of a dozen original tunes, all colored by Landreth's unique gifts as sonic painter. His guitars, vocals and lyrics speak in rhythmic slurs by turns floating and biting. From the acoustic-electric bottleneck blues of "Broken Hearted Road" to the ethereal pulse of "Love and Glory," the disc is the culmination of decades of musical innovation and what nearly everyone interviewed for this piece identified as a core issue: finding your own voice. Meet the neighbors Writing the title cut trigged a circle of inspiration for the 50-year-old songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, bandleader and producer. "That's the first time that I actually wrote a song where when I got through with it, it sparked a whole concept," Landreth says. "I had a concept of an album of these story songs. And I had this whole idea about a setting in and around a fictitious town based on those in our area, about all these characters, about them and their experiences in and around this town. And it just seemed to offer a lot of potential." Landreth was born in Canton, Miss., and moved to Lafayette as a kid, and his Faulknerian vision offers listeners "something to sink their teeth into. And I really wanted to stretch the seam with the solo sections of the songs, and with the narrative form of the songs. What that amounts to for me is a lot more words. But there's a cadence to that, there's a rhythm to that." And that rhythm sends John Hiatt's "designated driver" on a tour of tales and aural textures that mixes the influence of The Band with the rattlesnake rhythms of zydeco, the swagger of swamp pop and a floating Cajun waltz. The trio comes out blasting on the title cut, which features Hiatt on backing vocals and a two-minute outro guitar solo, one of several such eruptions on the disc. The first single, "This River," follows, crackling to life with a percussive acoustic guitar lick, Ranson's fluid bass lines and Landreth's dueling electric guitar riffs. From there, the record runs through roots rockers, ballads and a pair of full-tilt instrumentals, picking up backing vocalists Herb Pedersen and Jennifer Warnes early on, and closing out with saxophonist Jon Smith and trumpeter Steve Howard on two cuts. The middle section of the record features cameos from Bonnie Raitt (who backs Landreth's vocal on the swaying "Soul Salvation") and fiddler Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil and Traiteurs accordionist Errol Verret, who are paired on the gorgeous "Love and Glory." But the album's core sound comes from the power trio completed by Ranson and Organ and powerfully augmented by longtime friend and keyboardist Steve Conn. Raitt describes Landreth's fifth "official" release as a "killer record by one of the most astonishing guitarists I know. I'm a huge fan of Sonny's singing and writing as well as his slide playing and am thrilled he asked me to be part of the record. Let's hope this one finally gets him riding the acclaim he so deserves." The album is Landreth's first since 1995's "South of I-10," and it ably mixes co-producer Mike Post's interest in "widening the street" with co-producer R.S. Field's mojo hand. "Turning With The Century" When nearly two years of touring wound down in 1996, Landreth had only two new tunes written and needed to regroup. Session work with a variety of artists, writing and a 10th anniversary reunion with Hiatt & The Goners all piled on the plate, and "Levee Town" began rolling down a serpentine road from La. to L.A. and back again. Sessions with friend, noted TV soundtrack producer and longtime Louisiana music fan Mike Post led to an invitation to begin work on the record at his studio on the Left Coast. "We mixed six of the tunes and the consensus was that we'd just gone a little too far from the center," Landreth explains. The Breaux Bridge-based slideman decided to bring the project home, reuniting with Field, who co-produced Landreth's two previous albums, and ace engineer Tony Daigle, another longtime collaborator. The tribe set out to re-mix a couple of cuts and work on the rootsier side of the record at Dockside Studios in Maurice. "Tony has a great sense about what works and what doesn't, and he's also a musician, so he has great ears. He's really helped me to hone my sound in the studio over the course of countless projects." The resulting hybrid album showcases several significant Post contributions, among them the half-time feel on the verses of the rocker "Turning With The Century" and the Dixieland "tailgate" rhythm of "Angeline." The record also offers seamless shifts into the double-clutchin' sound of "The U.S.S. Zydecoldsmobile" and the blistering blues of "Broken Hearted Road." Landreth says his goal is "just to always keep pushing it. I could say, well, I'm a blues guitar player, so I'll make blues albums for the rest of my life.. And that's a beautiful thing, that's where my heart is. But I sort of hear the call of the wild, you know. It's when you really get into seeing where something can take you -- it's like the writing process, it's the same thing with discovering new techniques and new sounds, and going in different directions with the actual performing end of it on guitar." Much of Landreth's inspiration this time around was literary & Joseph Campbell, Richard Ford, Jane Roberts, Darryl Bourque, even The Portable Plato. Armed with his talent for getting inside songs and leading a band, Landreth worked on the new disc while touring and recording with Hiatt and simultaneously beginning "Levee Town's" follow-up projects, which include a collection of original blues tunes and an all-instrumental outing. "Soul Salvation" Buckwheat Zydeco says, "Talent and personality, that goes hand-in-hand," and Landreth's bandmates are quick to explain that his gifts extend far beyond the world of music. Journeyman drummer Organ signed on for a three-week tour in '95 and has been part of the team ever since. "The thing about Sonny is he's a great artist, he's a great musician and a great songwriter. And when he puts something down it's going to have it's own identity, it's own pulse, it's own phrasing." But, the California-based drummer adds, longtime partners Landreth and Ranson both leave room for him to find his own voice and become part of the music with them. "Sonny has perhaps been my biggest influence, musically and personally," Louisiana-to-Tennessee transplant Conn adds. The man behind some of the most intricate chord changes he's ever heard, he says, is "very concerned with the way everyone is treated, from the big fish down to the tadpoles. That's very important to me. He has always done a lot of things in his life that I just talked about, and seeing him actually live it has really affected me. Sure, he's a musical genius, but that is not as important to me in the long run, and it won't be important to any of us at the final bell." The pair met 25 years ago, and have played together ever since. "He hears the whole song," Conn says, noting that during a session for his "River of Madness" disc, Sonny wrote a chart with nothing other than the letter A on it. "You come up with a lick and that's really cool," Landreth explains. "And you can put it down on tape, and that's cool too. But to take it to the next step there has to be something behind it. Not like it has to shake the world, and it's not like you have to make a big statement, but it's coming from someplace. 'Cause I know for me -- and especially with instrumentals -- the whole time I was growing up I would hear something that really would just draw me in and it would immediately make a mental image or a picture. That's a real intimate experience, and I think music is that for people." Playing bottleneck -- and exploring the chordal tunings that accompany the style -- offered Landreth a chance to find his own voice on the instrument, an otherworldly burst of sound that channels all kinds of melody and percussion instruments. His trademark slur, he says, emanates from time spent as a schoolboy trumpeter. "The phrasing that comes about from having to take a breath has its own warmth -- to me that makes it very vocal. And by slurring you make the most of the phrase and it ends up behind the beat: you anticipate it sometimes and you're on the back of it other times. You elongate even that one beat. If something tastes really good, you can either just scarf it down or you can take your time and reeeaaaaallly stretch the moment." Landreth's rhythmic feel comes from native influences, especially time spent on the bandstand with another great channeler of styles, late zydeco king Clifton Chenier. "There's rhythm in this area that we draw from we don't even think about. It's by osmosis, it's part of our daily routine. My attempt to emulate that -- when I was actually consciously thinking in terms of rubboard or fiddle or accordion -- that desire pushed me to discover some of the new sounds and new ideas and those techniques. And I think it's just the sound of a frustrated wanna-be on several other instruments." When Landreth discovered a way to play behind the slide -- allowing fretted strings to pass beneath the glass and combine with the sound of the strings touching the slide -- a world of possibilities were opened to him. "He called me up one day and was just all pumped-up telling me about that," Atchafalaya Basin resident Ranson remembers. "He was really excited. And then when I heard it, I saw why." One thing led to another, and Landreth began developing a vocabulary of techniques and tunings to expand his unique vision. Since that time, the frustrated multi-instrumentalist has found ways for his playing to suggest a range of instruments being played simultaneously. "Deep South" "Sonny plays with all that technique and still with just so much soulful feeling," Ranson opines. "And a lot of technique players, they just lose that. Sonny lacks neither." Dobro ace and six-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas concurs. "I think that the reason he sounds so different is 'cause of where he's from. I can hear fiddles a lot in his playing, just from the way he raises the notes. Slide is just another voice you can have. You can really make a guitar sound like a person, and he knows what that's about." Perhaps what's most amazing is that so much of Landreth's sound -- which integrates rhythm and lead lines as well as a wide palette of instrumental colors -- comes primarily from the action of his hands on the strings, long before the signal even sees the sweating tubes of an amp's power section. Through fingerpicking and a combination of palm and thumbpick techniques, Landreth alternately coaxes ghostly overtones and roaring, full-throated harmonies from his instrument. Coming across these discoveries has further fueled his quest. "That' s the nature of inspiration. Once you experience that, you want it again, like a lot of things in life. And you should always think in terms of 'Well, if that happened, then what else is there?' I think it's when you quit asking questions you'll quit finding answers. I mean you really have to open yourself up to the possibility of the moment and what that can bring." Landreth's attempt to capture his most inspired performances led him to record a good bit of "Levee Town" in his home, in between studio sessions. "You wanna get it right before that part where you know it too much. There's just something about being on the edge. You're in this space where it's a gray area, you're sort of flying by the seat of your pants for inspiration and you either fly or you fall by what you come up with. But when you really nail it, when you really ride that, when you really feel it, that's the magic. If you go back and try to recapture that, it's impossible. I've never been able to do that, not completely." "It's a lifelong goal to be able to achieve that, to be able to tap into it whenever you want to and to be able to hold on to it. It's like you're not trying to analyze it while you're in the heat of the moment, but you're focused in a different way, and it's more instinct, it's more inspiration." "I read one time, John McLaughlin said this: 'Your role is to play to inspire yourself and your fellow musicians and others.' And it's like a wheel, it's like one thing does lead to another and one thing inspires the other." It's just like the flood headed for Levee Town, and you better watch out for forces of nature. They just might change your life. -- Todd Mouton

  Venue Information
  Diesel
  1601 East Carson St
  Pittsburgh, PA 15203
  http://www.liveatdiesel.com
  

• Ronnie Montrose at Diesel on 05/14/2012 08:00 PM EDT: 05/15/12
  

  Ronnie Montrose
  Diesel
  05/14/2012 08:00 PM EDT
  $21.00 - $25.00
  buy tickets

  Ronnie Montrose
  
  MONTROSE Music legends aren’t born easily. It has to be just the right band, with just the right sound, coming along at just the right time. That band was Montrose, and that sound was heavy, melodic, no-holds-barred rock and roll. The critics called them “a scorching outfit…” “incredibly impressive…” “part [Jeff] Beck, part Led Zeppelin, and three-fourths nitroglycerin…” “sheer rock and roll ecstasy.” The original Montrose remains the stuff of rock and roll legend, the ultimate stateside power trio with vocals. The songs are a virtual greatest hits of American hard rock: “Rock the Nation,” “Bad Motor Scooter,” “Space Station #5,” “I Got the Fire,” “Jump On It,” and the immortal “Rock Candy.” The fans have been begging for more ever since. But Ronnie Montrose has always followed his heart. Ever anxious to take his music to the next level, in 1979 he founded the trailblazing band Gamma, a group whose trio of ahead-of-their-time albums were an explosion of guitar and synthesizer pyrotechnics anchored by a bluesy edge. Between and beyond these band forays, Montrose the player devoted himself to exploring instrumental guitar music on landmark albums like Open Fire and The Speed of Sound. Fans periodically clamored for another taste of the original Montrose power trio format, but he wouldn’t revisit Montrose – that huge, heavy sound; those rich, pealing riffs -- until the time came when he could do it with total conviction. That time is now. Montrose has returned full force, playing the tunes that rocked a nation with heart-thumping, foot-stomping, fist-pumping energy. Jump on the train, it’s gonna come rollin’ through your town!

  Venue Information
  Diesel
  1601 East Carson St
  Pittsburgh, PA 15203
  http://www.liveatdiesel.com
  

• The Grandmothers Of Invention at Rex Theater on 05/06/2012 07:30 PM EDT: 05/6/12
  

  The Grandmothers Of Invention
  Rex Theater
  05/06/2012 07:30 PM EDT
  $25.00 - $30.00
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  The Grandmothers Of Invention
  
  The GrandMothers of Invention ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIOGRAPHY "Great news for Zappaphiles!"..."If you ever dug Zappa, you don't want to miss the GrandMothers of Invention."..."They are THE authentic live version of Zappa's music."..."This isn't just another comeback, this is the reincarnation of the Mothers of Invention!"..."From Zappa's mid to late 70's Mothers bands, the GrandMothers are touring the world and keeping Zappa's music alive."..."The evening contained a lot of the contradictory eclectic, serious and circusy flavors of a Zappa show...the GrandMothers were able to go deeper into the material, rather than merely parroting Zappa's notoriously tricky composed lines." The GrandMothers of Invention are the only Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention alumni who have been consistently performing the music of the maestro since 2003. From the classic “Freak Out”, “Absolutely Free”, "We're Only In It For The Money", "Uncle Meat", and "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" - to - “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”, “Apostrophe”, "The Grand Wazoo", "Overnite Sensation", "Roxy & Elsewhere", "Bongo Fury", and "One Size Fits All" - they have performed on a very long list of classic Frank Zappa & the Mother's of Invention's albums, movies and other projects. (See their combined Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention discography and videography lists.) "Rare are the musicians who can even play Zappa's music, let alone make it live and breathe. So Thank the Lord for the GrandMothers of Invention."..."With three different Zappa eras represented, the GrandeMothers have a wide palette of material to choose from."..."They served up vintage psychedelia - rock songs with surreal lyrics, jazz-like harmonies and melodic complexity, with flashes of wacky satire."..."Amazing virtuoso musicians, fun and funny." The GrandMothers of Invention are: NAPOLEON MURPHY BROCK (with Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa from 1974 thru 1984), on vocals, tenor saxophone, flute, suavenicity, and dancing(!) - TOM FOWLER (with Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa from 1973 thru 1976), on bass, hats, and musical M.D. - DON PRESTON (with Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa from 1967 thru 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1974 as a Special Guest), on keyboard synthesizers, electronics, IPOD, magic tricks(!), and vocals. Also featuring the incredible MIROSLAV TADIC on electric guitar, and the masterful CHRISTOPHER GARCIA on drums, percussion, marimba, and vocals. The GrandMothers were formed in August of 2002, when four legendary former members of Frank Zappa's “The Mothers of Invention”, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Roy Estrada, Bunk Gardner, and Don Preston were invited to perform the music of Frank Zappa in Leipzig, Germany. It would be the first time that these esteemed “Mothers of Invention” alumni would be getting together to rehearse and perform classic Frank Zappa material. Finally, on March 27th 2003, after 6 months of intensive rehearsals, The GrandMothers of Invention took the stage to a standing room only audience in Leipzig, Germany. This event was recorded, filmed, and released by Warner Classics in Europe, and has been broadcast and re-broadcast repeatedly on European television. Due to the overwhelming demand since then, they have performed more than 140 concert events across America, Canada and Europe, including performances in: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. Each performance providing indisputable proof that "THEY CAN (AND DO) STILL DO THAT ON STAGE!" The list of dates at clubs, concert halls and festivals is long, and includes headlining the Frankfurt Jazz Festival, the Zappanalle Festival, the Vancouver Folk Fest, performing classic Frank Zappa material with the Bergen Filharmonik Orkester in Bergen Norway, performing the orchestral music of Frank Zappa under the baton of Kristan Jarvi, the Ottawa Blues Fest, the Winnipeg Folk Fest, the Sarajevo Jazz Festival, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, the Vancouver Jazz Festival , and performing classic Frank Zappa material with string orchestra (the

  Venue Information
  Rex Theater
  1602 E. Carson Street
  Pittsburgh, PA 15203
  http://rex.greyareaprod.com/
  

• Fair To Midland at Diesel on 04/21/2012 06:00 PM EDT: 04/21/12
  

  Fair To Midland
  Diesel
  04/21/2012 06:00 PM EDT
  $12.00 - $15.00
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  Supporting Acts: Dead Letter Circus, Lionize

  Fair To Midland
  
  Fair to Midland is an American art rock band formed in 1998, consisting of Darroh Sudderth (vocals), Cliff Campbell (guitar), Jon Dicken (bass), Brett Stowers (drums) and Matt Langley (keyboards). According to the band's official website, their name comes from "…an old Texan play on the term 'fair to middling'." The group has released two independent albums, one studio album and an EP. Live at Coachella 2007 the band performed a live improvisational version of their song "Walls of Jericho" featuring the guest vocals of Serj Tankian. The band has toured with Serj Tankian, Dir en grey, Flyleaf, Wednesday 13, The 69 Eyes, As I Lay Dying, Chevelle, and 10 Years. Fair to Midland was formed in 1998 by friends Darroh Sudderth (real name, Andrew) and Cliff Campbell. After their independent debut album in late 2001, The Carbon Copy Silver Lining, original drummer Jason Pintler left the band and former percussionist Brett Stowers took over the drums. For their second album, inter.funda.stifle, Matt Langley joined the band. He had previously played keyboards on The Carbon Copy Silver Lining. inter.funda.stifle was released in 2004. The album and the shows promoting it caused the band to get noticed by Serj Tankian, who signed them to his Serjical Strike label in 2006. The Drawn and Quartered EP was soon released, featuring interviews with the band, songs from inter.funda.stifle and live recordings. Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True, Fair To Midland's major label debut, was released in June 2007. The band chose to re-record many of the songs from inter.funda.stifle which they felt could benefit from the bigger production values. A short re-release of their album inter.funda.stifle was available via the band's website in September 2009. The first 100 buyers obtained signed copies. Fair To Midland is currently touring the USA with 10 years, Saving Abel, and The American Plague. In June 2008, they will once again team up with Serj Tankian and tour parts of Europe (Germany, mostly) promoting Fables From A Mayfly. They are set to perform at both Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, two notable concert events, in June 2008. Fair to Midland were the winners of the 2007 and 2008 Dallas Observer Music Award in the Best Metal category.

  Venue Information
  Diesel
  1601 East Carson St
  Pittsburgh, PA 15203
  http://www.liveatdiesel.com
  

• Y & T, Lize at Diesel on 03/07/2012 08:00 PM EST: 03/8/12
  

  Y & T, Lize
  Diesel
  03/07/2012 08:00 PM EST
  $20.00 - $25.00
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  Y & T
  
  Before Motley Crue, before RATT, even before there was a Metallica, when Y&T formed in the early 1970s, they set the standard for hard rock bands that trailed. Many of the most popular heavy rock bands of the '80s, at the birth of their careers, opened shows for headliners Y&T; and they all cut their teeth on Y&T, as evidenced by the Y&T mentions in the tell-all books by acts such as Metallica and Motley Crue. Hailing from the East Bay, Y&T is one of the San Francisco Bay Area's own innovators of the hard rock sound. World-renowned headliners on their own, for years Y&T remained the most requested supporting act on the hard rock road, touring with rock icons including Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Motley Crue. Y&T was always sure-fired to whip the crowd into a frenzy with their high energy set, performing to overflow houses of fifteen to sixty-thousand across the U.S. at home, as well as in Japan, Europe, and the UK. Even today, thirty-plus years after the band first formed, the call of Y&T's fans has never silenced. Dave Meniketti (lead guitar/lead vocals), Phil Kennemore (bass), Leonard Haze (drums), and Joey Alves (rhythm guitar) charged through the '70s and into the '80s with their San Francisco Bay Area brand of hard rock music. After two '70s albums on London Records, a new record deal in 1980 with A&M Records prompted the band to shorten their moniker, and encores with fans chanting Y&T, Y&T, Y&T sealed the condensed name. The '80s brought several changes, including Jimmy DeGrasso (Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Megadeth) on drums and Stef Burns (Alice Cooper, Berlin, Huey Lewis) on guitar. And today, three decades later, Y&T's legions of fans are still as captivated by the band's melodic heavy rock-n-roll as they were yesterday, proving Y&T's music timeless. Y&T's 1985 hit Summertime Girls received tremendous airplay worldwide, played frequently in the BAYWATCH television series and several feature films, remained at length in heavy rotation on MTV as well as MTV's top video playlists, and the hit song plays on today in regular airplay on classic rock radio stations throughout the country alongside other Y&T hits. Y&T songs grace the soundtracks of numerous movies and television shows, and their popular videos, such as Lipstick & Leather, Don't Stop Runnin', Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, andSummertime Girls, are still featured videos on VH1 today.

  Venue Information
  Diesel
  1601 East Carson St
  Pittsburgh, PA 15203
  http://www.liveatdiesel.com