Iron City Houserockers
Encyclopedia
The Iron City Houserockers were an American
rock band
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, led by singer/guitarist Joe Grushecky
, that existed from 1976 until 1984. Lumped into the heartland rock
genre, critically praised but commercially unsuccessful, the band's fans view them as one of the great "shoulda-beens" in the history of rock and roll
.
teacher in Pittsburgh, the band was a fairly typical bar band. The band was distinguished by Grushecky's taut, focused songs about life in the open hearth and a distinctive, harmonica-and-guitar driven sound owing much to the Rolling Stones
and the J. Geils Band, but which also seemed to borrow a lot of the thrashing fury of punk rock
. Most of the members of the Iron City Houserockers came from a genuine blue collar background: Art Nardini was the son of a mechanic and a part time college student, Joe Grushecky was a coal miner's son, and Gil Snyder's father was a construction worker. In 1977 they signed to Cleveland International Records, headed by former Epic Records
A&R
chief and Pittsburgh native Steve Popovich
. Popovich christened them the Iron City Houserockers, but this caused some problems when touring outside their native Pittsburgh — when they played Cleveland their tires were slashed. The band's debut album Love's So Tough
was released in April 1979. With dense, no-frills production by Popovich and Marty Mooney, AKA the Slimmer Twins, the album successfully captured the band's live sound. "Hideaway" (the first single) and "Dance With Me" were viewed as standout cuts.
The band's follow-up album Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!
was featured by Rolling Stone
magazine as its showcase review with the headline "New American Classic" and The Village Voice
called it "the strongest album an American band has made this year." The tandem tavern-set tracks "Old Man Bar" and "Junior's Bar" were especially praised. Production was credited to the Slimmer Twins and Mick Ronson
, with arrangements by Ian Hunter
and Steven Van Zandt
. According to the liner notes within Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers
, Van Zandt left after producing five songs due to musical differences between himself, Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson.
The Houserockers' third album, Blood on the Bricks
, was more restrained, but a lot richer and more consistent; for the first time, Grushecky's ballads measure up to his faster anthems. Produced by Steve Cropper
, the album crackles with restrained intensity. The 1983 edition Rolling Stone Record Guide praised it as the band's best album, although it had good marks for all of them.
The band then changed its name to simply The Houserockers to avoid the geographic limitation the "Iron City" moniker had put them in. It also shed harmonica player Marc Reisman, Ned Rankin quit and was replaced by Ron "Byrd" Foster (from the recently disbanded Silencers, previously with Sweet Lightning and Roy Buchanan's band) and saw Gil Snyder adding synthesizers to his trademark piano and organ. The subsequent album, Cracking Under Pressure
, like all the band's previous efforts, drew critical raves but did not sell well. The band was dropped from MCA Records
shortly after the album's release, and broke up a few months later.
Joe Grushecky went on to a modestly successful career on his own, often under the name Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. He has co-written several songs with fellow heartland rocker Bruce Springsteen
and made a number of on-stage appearances with him.
The Iron City Houserocker's first two albums, Love's So Tough and Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive! were released on compact disc in 1999. Blood on the Bricks and Cracking Under Pressure are still unreleased on CD, although cuts from both albums are present on Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers.
Ron "Byrd" Foster died at the age of 61 on June 30, 2011, in Deltona, Florida
, from liver cancer
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, led by singer/guitarist Joe Grushecky
Joe Grushecky
Joe Grushecky is an American rock musician known for his work with the Iron City Houserockers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and for his works since the late the 1980s with his act Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers and his solo career...
, that existed from 1976 until 1984. Lumped into the heartland rock
Heartland rock
Heartland rock is a genre of rock music that developed in the 1970s and reached its commercial peak in the 1980s, when it became one of the best-selling genres in the United States. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a...
genre, critically praised but commercially unsuccessful, the band's fans view them as one of the great "shoulda-beens" in the history of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
.
History
Started in 1976 as the Brick Alley Band by Grushecky, a high school special educationSpecial education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
teacher in Pittsburgh, the band was a fairly typical bar band. The band was distinguished by Grushecky's taut, focused songs about life in the open hearth and a distinctive, harmonica-and-guitar driven sound owing much to the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and the J. Geils Band, but which also seemed to borrow a lot of the thrashing fury of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
. Most of the members of the Iron City Houserockers came from a genuine blue collar background: Art Nardini was the son of a mechanic and a part time college student, Joe Grushecky was a coal miner's son, and Gil Snyder's father was a construction worker. In 1977 they signed to Cleveland International Records, headed by former Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
chief and Pittsburgh native Steve Popovich
Steve Popovich
Steve Popovich , was an American record company executive.Popovich was born in Nemacolin, Pennsylvania, and in 1962 started in the warehouse at Columbia Records Cleveland...
. Popovich christened them the Iron City Houserockers, but this caused some problems when touring outside their native Pittsburgh — when they played Cleveland their tires were slashed. The band's debut album Love's So Tough
Love's So Tough
Love's So Tough is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Released in 1979, the Iron City Houserocker's first album attempts to capture the presence of what was essentially a Pittsburgh bar band playing to a blue collar crowd every night...
was released in April 1979. With dense, no-frills production by Popovich and Marty Mooney, AKA the Slimmer Twins, the album successfully captured the band's live sound. "Hideaway" (the first single) and "Dance With Me" were viewed as standout cuts.
The band's follow-up album Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!
Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!
Have a Good Time but Get out Alive! is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Something of a heartland rock masterpiece, Have a Good Time but Get out Alive! was where the Iron City Houserockers showed just how good they could be with the right songs and producers...
was featured by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine as its showcase review with the headline "New American Classic" and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
called it "the strongest album an American band has made this year." The tandem tavern-set tracks "Old Man Bar" and "Junior's Bar" were especially praised. Production was credited to the Slimmer Twins and Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
, with arrangements by Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (singer)
Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...
and Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
. According to the liner notes within Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers
Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers
Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers is a compilation album by the Iron City Houserockers. Released in 1992 under Rhino Records, it was at that time the only Iron City Houserockers material available on compact disc Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the...
, Van Zandt left after producing five songs due to musical differences between himself, Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson.
The Houserockers' third album, Blood on the Bricks
Blood on the Bricks (Iron City Houserockers album)
Blood on the Bricks is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. A more restrained album than their previous two efforts, the album was produced by Steve Cropper instead of hard rock producers like Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!...
, was more restrained, but a lot richer and more consistent; for the first time, Grushecky's ballads measure up to his faster anthems. Produced by Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, the album crackles with restrained intensity. The 1983 edition Rolling Stone Record Guide praised it as the band's best album, although it had good marks for all of them.
The band then changed its name to simply The Houserockers to avoid the geographic limitation the "Iron City" moniker had put them in. It also shed harmonica player Marc Reisman, Ned Rankin quit and was replaced by Ron "Byrd" Foster (from the recently disbanded Silencers, previously with Sweet Lightning and Roy Buchanan's band) and saw Gil Snyder adding synthesizers to his trademark piano and organ. The subsequent album, Cracking Under Pressure
Cracking Under Pressure
Cracking Under Pressure is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Cracking Under Pressure was the Iron City Houserockers' fourth and final album under the moniker and also their final album released under MCA. Veterans Ned E. Rankin and Marc Reisman had left the band and in their place...
, like all the band's previous efforts, drew critical raves but did not sell well. The band was dropped from MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
shortly after the album's release, and broke up a few months later.
Joe Grushecky went on to a modestly successful career on his own, often under the name Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. He has co-written several songs with fellow heartland rocker Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and made a number of on-stage appearances with him.
The Iron City Houserocker's first two albums, Love's So Tough and Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive! were released on compact disc in 1999. Blood on the Bricks and Cracking Under Pressure are still unreleased on CD, although cuts from both albums are present on Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers.
Ron "Byrd" Foster died at the age of 61 on June 30, 2011, in Deltona, Florida
Deltona, Florida
Deltona is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and is the largest city in Volusia County. It is located east of DeBary and north of Lake Monroe. It is the twenty-ninth largest city in Florida, with a 2010 Census population of 85,182...
, from liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
.
Lineup
- Joe GrusheckyJoe GrusheckyJoe Grushecky is an American rock musician known for his work with the Iron City Houserockers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and for his works since the late the 1980s with his act Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers and his solo career...
- rhythm guitar, vocals - Gary Scalese - lead guitar (first album)
- Eddie Britt - lead guitar (subsequent three albums)
- Art Nardini - bass
- Gil Snyder – keyboards, accordion
- Ned Rankin - drums (first three albums)
- Ron "Byrd" Foster - drums (Cracking Under Pressure)
- Marc Reisman - harmonica (first three albums, True Companion)
- Joffo Simmons - drums, percussion (after the fourth album)
- Bill Toms - guitars (after fourth album)
- Joe Pelesky - keyboards (after fifth album)
- Bob Boyer - soundman (first four albums)
- Johnny Grushecky - acoustic guitar (A Good Life and East Carson Street)
Iron City Houserockers
- 1979: Love's So ToughLove's So ToughLove's So Tough is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Released in 1979, the Iron City Houserocker's first album attempts to capture the presence of what was essentially a Pittsburgh bar band playing to a blue collar crowd every night...
- 1980: Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!Have a Good Time but Get out Alive! is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Something of a heartland rock masterpiece, Have a Good Time but Get out Alive! was where the Iron City Houserockers showed just how good they could be with the right songs and producers...
- 1981: Blood on the BricksBlood on the Bricks (Iron City Houserockers album)Blood on the Bricks is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. A more restrained album than their previous two efforts, the album was produced by Steve Cropper instead of hard rock producers like Have a Good Time but Get out Alive!...
The Houserockers
- 1983: Cracking Under PressureCracking Under PressureCracking Under Pressure is a studio album by the Iron City Houserockers. Cracking Under Pressure was the Iron City Houserockers' fourth and final album under the moniker and also their final album released under MCA. Veterans Ned E. Rankin and Marc Reisman had left the band and in their place...
- 1992: Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City HouserockersPumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City HouserockersPumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers is a compilation album by the Iron City Houserockers. Released in 1992 under Rhino Records, it was at that time the only Iron City Houserockers material available on compact disc Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the...
Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers
- 1989: Rock & Real
- 1991: Swimming with the Sharks
- 1994: End of the Century
- 1995: American Babylon
- 1998: Coming Home
- 1999: Down the Road Apiece Live
- 2004: True Companion
- 2009: East Carson Street
Joe Grushecky
- 2002: Fingerprints
- 2006: Outtakes and Demos 1975-2003
- 2006: A Good Life