DATELINE Pittsburgh
New to Pittsburgh’s Radio 45 project is the legendary Gary Bickerstaff, well known as the front-man for Pittsburgh’s Bon Journey and Steel City Yacht Club. Bickerstaff is a seasoned performer and a natural front-man for a rock band. Bickerstaff is one of the best front-men to have, when having a front-man really matters. And with Radio 45, it matters a lot.
Bickerstaff’s voice is singular. Covering Steve Perry is no easy feat — and Bickerstaff covers both Perry and Jon Bon Jovi with ease. His voice is rare, and appears to be growing stronger with age.
History
Bickerstaff and Radio 45 Founder C. Scott Gilbert worked together as teenagers in western-Pennsylvania’s Ten Till Destiny in the 1980s and again with Ten Till in 2010. The two recorded the first full-length album of their careers — What About The Dream — together with Ten Till Destiny band mates Bill Hubauer (Neal Morse Band, We Came From Space), David McKee and John Eric McNiel.
Young American Bickerstaff
Bickerstaff spent years touring the US and Canada bands as part of Young American Showcase — joined for a short time by Gilbert. Here Bickerstaff turned natural talent into finely crafted showmanship. Live, Bickerstaff owns the stage — and a lot of that comes from years performing on the road with YAS.
Gary Bickerstaff in the Studio with Radio 45
In the band for a mere 20 minutes*, Bickerstaff got right to work in the studio recording lead vocal on Radio 45’s latest single Come Alive (to debut in spring 2023). A bootleg mix of the track can be found here.
The Come Alive single is a power pop ballad featuring textured guitar stylings by Radio 45’s Aaron Greer — a different side of Greer than the Eddie Van Halen shredding we’ve been used to. The single also places Bickerstaff’s signature vocal resonance front-and-center (and in both ears). The song’s finale kicks off with Gilbert’s particle accelerator (now appearing in every Radio 45 song in one way or another) and a whopping 13 layered vocals tracks by Bickerstaff. This is neatly packaged over 6 individual guitar tracks by Greer — and a rock solid rhythm section provided by Gilbert and Radio 45’s beat master Mark Wesesky. Never a dull moment there.
First Live Appearance at the Hard Rock Cafe Pittsburgh
Bickerstaff makes his first appearance with Radio 45 this Friday night, March 10th, at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh.
Radio 45 will be shooting footage for the music video to accompany the Come Alive single. If you’ve ever wanted to get yourself in a rock video — or see one being made — get down to the Hard Rock this Friday night.
* “I know I’ve only been in the band for 20 minutes, but…” is a Radio 45 inside joke, and almost resulted in the band being renamed “The Doot Stacks”