Grey Dealer puts out debut album

The local band formed three years ago but is just now releasing its self-titled debut album.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

When you’re in a new local band, you definitely need a hook. Grey Dealer bassist Pat Lane thinks he may have it.

“We sound like Motorhead meets Tom Jones,” Lane said proudly.

Now that’s a description you hear once in a lifetime, at best. The notion of women throwing their undergarments to Lemmy is something truly special.

“When we found our singer, Chuck Shaffer, we wanted somebody who actually had melody and could do notes,” said Lane, a 2001 Canfield High School graduate. “He’s actually trained in classical music.”

Built around an old-school, classic-rock foundation of a band like Rush, with a new-school, alternative-metal veneer, Grey Dealer formed three years ago. The outfit is finally getting around to releasing its self-titled debut effort. The band celebrates the album with a CD release show Friday at The Cellar in Struthers.

There are plenty of new songs that Lane and his band mates — Shaffer, James Putnam (guitar) and Tim Harrigan (drums) — are excited about. This includes “Slick and Waxy.”

“That’s the one song from the get-go to the end it’s nothing but in your face the whole time,” said Lane. “But we’re not screaming emo or any of this new-age rock.”

He quickly added, “And ‘This Side of Town’ is definitely our ballad, and our longest song. It’s about six minutes long, and it’s kind of whimsical at first with a Chris Cornell feel to it. But it’s progressive rock, and it gets heavier and heavier and it really showcases Shaffer’s talent.”

The quartet has firm plans to focus its efforts over the next few years to push “Grey Dealer” around the area.

“This album is definitely our lift-off point,” Lane said. “We’re definitely trying to play outside of the area, and spreading out toward Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus and even Chicago.”

Having recently opened for Fuel, as well as a supporting gig for Drowning Pool in the past, what does it mean that Grey Dealer keeps getting offers to play with established national acts?

“It tells us we’re obviously doing something right,” Lane said. “And for as hard as we’ve worked, it only means greater things are to come as long as we keep pushing this album and don’t give up on each other as a band.”