Two years ago, Bruce Springsteen joined Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers for “That What Makes Us Great,” a celebration of the American Dream that stood in contrast to President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.
This week, the Houserockers re-released the song with a new lyric video after Grushecky approached Cleveland International Records President Steve Popovich Jr. about the project.
“We need unity now more than ever and I want to continue to do my part,” Grushecky said in a statement. “ ‘That's What Makes Us Great’ is more relevant now than ever.”
The patriotic video opens with an aerial shot of the Statue of Liberty and goes on to depict steelworkers, farmers and mechanics on the job, along with children at play, as Grushecky and The Boss sing, “It’s up to me and you/love can conquer hate/I know this to be true/that’s made us great.”
“Our U.S. motto is ‘E Pluribus Unum’ or One From Many,” Grushecky said. “In these troubled times, truer words were never spoken. We need unity, compassion, and respect for all of our countrymen and women. Love conquers hate.”
‘Lightning’ charge
Chip & The Charge-Ups have had “Lightning in Our Veins” ready since early April, but the release show was postponed due to the pandemic.
Now that COVID restrictions have eased some, the Pittsburgh power-pop band will release the album with a show at Jergel’s in Marshall on Saturday.
The album consists of six new originals, ranging from the spunky leadoff track, “Feel Electricity” sung by frontman Chip Dominick to “Iced Tea and Lemonade,” a rare beverage-themed acoustic love ballad sung by his teenage daughter Maleena, to a ska-flavored soccer stadium anthem called “Glory.”
On a previous record, the Chargeups mashed up Green Day’s “Good Riddance” and Poison’s “Fallen Angel.” This time they do a seamless metal mashup of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” with Courtney Handlovitch in the Gaga role.
“Mashups are a beautiful challenge that we love to surprise our fans with,” Dominick said in a statement. “The average person would never detect the compositional similarities of ‘Bark at the Moon’ and ‘Bad Romance,’ but it is insane how perfectly these songs sit on top of one another.”
“Lightning in Our Veins” also has Maleena taking the lead on a pop-punk version of Blondie’s “The Tide is High” and a closing with the previously released hometown holiday anthem “Black and Gold Christmas.”
The release show will feature a Charge-Ups lineup with drummer Jeff DiPerna, returning from elbow surgery, and new-ish guitarist DJ Carothers The 8 p.m. show will begin with a performance by Ashley Mullens featuring Gregg Campayno. Admission is free. Attendees under 21 are permitted with a parent or guardian.
New Jack Swing
It isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of when Isaiah Ross becomes a national item.
The Pittsburgh CAPA grad is the frontman of Jack Swing, an explosive power trio infused with blues, rock and funk. Each of the three songs on the band’s new EP climaxes with a furious, Ross-led guitar jam. It should be noted that Ross, who resembles Gary Clark Jr. or Donald Glover, looks pretty badass doing it, in the video for the gloriously funky “Get What’s Mine for You.”
Totally Wired magazine raved, “Guitar player Isaiah Ross is possibly the coolest frontman I’ve seen for a while, and unquestionably awesome-looking in this video with his rockin’ red Jaguar and standout performance.” It rightly concluded, “This is rock n roll for the 21st century.”
First Published: October 1, 2020, 4:12 p.m.
