Local musicians Billy The Kid, Rule of Two & Christian Beck impress | CPT PPP Coverage
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Local musicians Billy The Kid, Rule of Two & Christian Beck impress appeared on www.timesonline.com by Scott Tady.
Next year, Billy Evanochko gets inducted into the Beaver Valley Musicians’ Hall of Fame. Though the Sewickley guitar slinger won’t rest on his laurels.
On Oct. 18, Evanochko and his blues band, Billy The Kid & The Regulators, release a new album, “Nice Ain’t Got Me Nothing,” showcasing the Hopewell Township native’s blazing guitar paired with no-holds-barred lyrics.
The single is “B.S. Barbie” (my abbreviation), a fiery tune throwing verbal darts at a blue-eyed, mascara-spackled liar. An anthem about ending a toxic relationship, the song’s Barbie character is inspired by a real person.
Asked to elaborate, Evanochko simply says, “I don’t write books, I don’t write essays, I write songs.”
The “Nice Ain’t Got Me Nothing” title track rides a J. Geils-ish organ riff supplied by Ghost Hounds’ keyboard wizard Joe Munroe, who produced the album in his Center studio.
The three Billy The Kid & The Regulators originals include the sassy “Say You Want a Woman” and smoldering “Sweet Honey Child,” with guest slide guitar from another Beaver County six-string ace, Dan Bubien. A separate, acoustic version of “Sweet Honey Child” closes the album.
From an ornery cover of Tommy Castro’s “Nasty Habits,” to the danceable “Ain’t No Fun,” The Regulators (John Bartholomay, bass; Ublai Bey, keys; Ben Davis, drums) keep the sound gritty and groove-driven.”
Shake That Thing” and “Bang Bang Baby” are covers from Evanochko’s guitar hero, the late Glenn Pavone, who electrified stages as a member of the Billy Price Band.
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Third-place finishers in the 2014 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Billy The Kid & The Regulators consistently entertain Pittsburgh area crowds at festivals, casinos and jam-packed bars.
Now with national representation, the band routinely tours the Atlantic seaboard, including this month’s scheduled seven-night Florida swing that took a hit from Hurricane Ian. Someone sent Evanochko a video of one of those venues as its outdoor stage floated away in rising waters.
Well, it’s not like true blues artists haven’t sung about floods before.
“I can’t wait to get back on the road,” Evanochko said. “This is what we do. You build your brand and audience.”
With no western Pennsylvania gigs on the calendar, find “B.S. Barbie” next week on Spotify and the full album Oct. 18 on most major platforms.
Meanwhile, I’ll alert you when Beaver County Musicians’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony details are announced.
“I’m very honored to be inducted,” Evanochko said. “To be included with so many of my peers and heroes is exciting and humbling.”
Rule of Two rocks again
Crunchier than a walk through autumn leaves; sturdier hooks than a deep-sea fishing boat.
Rule of Two took its time, but the Beaver County hard-rock trio has released a solid new album, “Pharaohmoans.”
Not bad for a band that gave up playing in 2018.
“We threw in the towel. We were spinning our wheels,” Rule of Two singer-guitarist Aaron Bender recalled in a Sept. 30 Facebook post. “Playing the same gigs to the same people and mulling on the same old riffs with little inspiration. However, we were sitting on a handful of solid unreleased tunes. We decided that we owed ourselves and our friends the opportunity to preserve these tried-and-true originals on record.”
Starting in 2019 by recording the drum tracks, Rule of Two patiently pecked away at finalizing the album.
“Over the next three years, in between the birth of my two sons, I managed to chip away ? literally an hour here, and hour there ? at guitars and vocals on my own in my basement,” Bender, a Beaver resident, said.
The band’s “Beast on Bass” R. Herm Staving couldn’t contribute to the recording, so Bender dusted off an old Fender J bass guitar and recorded the bass lines himself.
“The silver lining is that we were able to capture and include two live tracks, which feature Herm in prime form,” Bender said. “In all, we are very proud of this release and glad to finally get to share it with everyone.”
“Pharaohmoans'” career-spanning songs include “Mr. Security,” where a man accepts it’s not his looks or bank account that’s made him a keeper for his woman, and “The Letter,” which reminds us karma always comes back around. “All Hail The Minotaur” dates to the band’s 2012 inception when Rule of Two shined at the Rockin’ The Suburbs music festival in Harmony Township.
Rule of Two regularly played Pittsburgh clubs like The Rex and Smiling Moose, and Beaver County joints like The Fallout Shelter, Thursday’s, and Long Branch Saloon in New Brighton (where the album’s two live tracks were recorded.)
The album’s 10 tracks share a vibe Bender describes as “positive, fun, heartfelt, raw rock.”
Released last Friday at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon and Deezer, “The reaction has been awesome,” Bender said. “We’ve received so much positive feedback and support from people from all over. It’s overwhelming. When you’re in your basement recording bits and pieces over a few years, you lose sight of the final product and forget the emotion and the soul behind it all. It isn’t until it’s finally released and behind you that you can sit back and enjoy it and, more so, watch others enjoy it.”
So what are the odds of Rule of Two reuniting?
“We never really ruled out playing some one-off shows here or there, but I have two little boys of my own now ? 3- and 1-year-old ? so it might be a couple years until I can get out there again,” Bender said. “Might need to brush up on my riffs and shed some of the dad bod first.”
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Beck rides momentum
Beaver County country singer Christian Beck will perform alongside famous national acts in the 8 Man Jam concert Nov. 3 organized by radio station Y108 at Rivers Casino.
Beck, of Freedom, is part of a lineup that includes Jon Pardi (“Dirt on My Boots”), Russell Dickerson (“Yours”), 2021 ACM New Female Artist of The Year Lainey Wilson, Nate Smith, Bailey Zimmerman, Niko Moon and Pittsburgh singer-songwriter Frank Vieira.
Voters in a Pittsburgh City Paper “Best Of” issue recently named Beck as Pittsburgh’s top country artist.
Can’t wait to hear the songs he’s been working on at Music Garden Studios in New Brighton.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.
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