Pittsburgh Rock Musicians Concludes River Concert Season
‘Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers’ perform with Bruce Springsteen at Wonder Bar July 18. The Pittsburgh band will perform in Kittanning Riverfront Park this Saturday night. (photo by John Cavanaugh - via the band’s website)
by Jonathan Weaver
Temperatures are changing and some local students are already back to school, but ‘Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers’ will provide one last concert in the summer sun along the Allegheny River this weekend.
The rock band that has been centered in Pittsburgh for the past nearly-40 years will headline the final Arts on the Allegheny concert in Kittanning Riverfront Park Saturday evening.
“We’ve had a long, illustrious career,” the lead vocalist said.
While he mainly sings and plays guitar live, Grushecky plays mandolin, harmonica and bass in the studio while recording or writing music. While he may be 65 years old, Grushecky committed to performing center stage “until I can’t do it anymore.”
“It’s just what I do – it’s part of me. Like any other artist if you ask ‘Why do you paint?’ ‘Why do you sculpt?’ (or) ‘Why do you write?,’ it’s just part of your fabric,” Grushecky said.
Last year, Grushecky’s band, “The Houserockers” welcomed New Jersey saxophonist Eddie Manion – who Grushecky said he has known for years based on his out-of-state performances with “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.” Manion recently got married and moved to Pittsburgh.
“It gives us a different flavor, maybe a little more soul/R&B. Ed’s a tremendous musician – he can play anything,” Grushecky said. “Another big gun to fire. He’s a legendary New Jersey/New York saxophone player.”
Grushecky’s 16th studio record will be released this Fall, but the band is already starting to prepare another along with a live record recorded in New Jersey this October.
“The brand-new one is going to be a lot of acoustic and the next after that will be very blues-y. The songs that I was writing just lent itself to a very blues-y approach,” Grushecky said.
“We got plenty of stuff coming down the `pike.”
Grushecky, 65, recalls performing at a bar in Rural Valley and concluded that he is happy to be back in the area.
“We love Western Pennsylvania – it’s our home, so we’re always glad to play,” Grushecky said. “I know the Arts on the Allegheny is a very positive event for (Kittanning), so we’re really looking forward to playing.”
Saturday’s show begins at 7PM with New Castle blues band “Sweaty Betty” as the opening act.
Local News | jweaver August 26, 2015
