Graphic Pink will rock again

The news that Graphic Pink is reuniting brought back memories of seeing the band at Irish Bob’s on the South Side, where it once regularly played.

The area’s top cover band for much of the ’90s, the reformed Graphic Pink will play its first show Saturday at The Cellar in Struthers.

The band ended its run more than a decade ago, and until recently, the likelihood of it ever getting back together was slim. The four members have since found success in other fields, and their bonds of friendship had been scorched.

Mark Tirabassi is GP’s drummer and the owner of Hubbard Music — the basement of which serves as the practice space for the newly reformed act. That’s where he pulled up a drum stool and talked about the band’s history, the musical branches it grew, and how it came back together again.

Graphic Pink first surfaced in the ’80s at Hubbard High. Originally called The Us Band, it embarked on a 14-year run that included regular shows in Youngstown, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Members cycled in and out of the band over the years, including local musician John Koebel, who was the original singer.

“We were a hard-working cover band,” said Tirabassi. “We had no day jobs in our heyday, and some of us put ourselves through college with Graphic Pink money.”

The band began playing originals just before calling it quits in the late ’90s. “We felt [Graphic Pink] had run its course, so we shut it down to go out on a high note,” said Tirabassi.

But it basically reformed soon after, when three of its members hooked up with Vertigogo, the fast-rising band fronted by Ken Cooper. Brian Patrick, Graphic Pink’s guitarist, was the first to join Vertigogo. He was followed by Dave Markaskey (bassist) and Tirabassi. Some of Graphic Pink’s original songs were incorporated into the new band.

Vertigogo had a rocketlike ascent, quickly getting signed to major-label Atlantic, releasing a CD and touring the nation as an opener for bands such as Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick. Due to a copyright conflict that arose early, Vertigogo changed its name to Sin-O-Matic — but Tirabassi was already gone by then.

Sin-O-Matic imploded perhaps a year or two later. It lost its record contract and crashed back to earth, done in by the stresses, sacrifices and fickleness of the music business.

Markaskey then went on to become Buckcherry’s bassist for a while. These days, he is an electrical engineer in South Carolina.

Incidentally, Markaskey is not part of the reformed Graphic Pink. Version 2.0 is a trio with Tirabassi, Patrick and lead singer Rajma.

Patrick has long since become an audio engineer and runs Jungle Recording studio in Lorain (he produces Downplay, the band led by Salem native Dustin Bates). Rajma owns a Web-design company and also works for a company in Pittsburgh. In addition to owning Hubbard Music, Tirabassi is an occasional drummer with Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.

A few years back, Tirabassi and Rajma had a successful run with Sugarfuzz Orchestra.

But Patrick had been out of touch with his one-time bandmates for a decade. Still, it was he who contacted the others with the idea of reuniting Graphic Pink.

“We hadn’t talked since the Vertigogo days,” said Tirabassi of Patrick. “The three of us hadn’t been in the same room together in 10 years.”

The pressure-cooker that was Vertigogo/Sin-O-Matic caused a falling out that wasn’t soon forgotten. Friendships were frayed to the breaking point as the dream of rock stardom had turned into a nightmare.

But enough time had passed to put everything in perspective. The time was right to reunite Graphic Pink.

Tirabassi stressed that Saturday’s show at The Cellar is not a one-time thing, saying more shows will be announced at the gig. The set list will include covers from the past two decades.

‘PHANTOM’ MAKES CLEVELAND APPEARANCE

The national touring production of “The Phantom of the Opera” playing at the Allen Theatre in Cleveland can best be described as lush. The set design enhances the imagination, transporting the audience from a dank theater to a vibrant opera house and then to a watery subterranean lair.

No expense is spared in recreating the period and the macabre atmosphere. A false proscenium becomes a stalking ground for the mad, music-loving Phantom. A magnificent chandelier literally brings down the first act, crashing from the ceiling.

Having never before seen the landmark musical, it was easy to see why it has become such an unprecedented hit.

A gothic tale of a disfigured and disturbed musical genius who lurks in the Paris Opera House, “Phantom” moves through its scenes with the spectacle and clarity of a big-screen blockbuster. At the center of it is the great Tim Michael Gleason as the masked Phantom, and Trista Moldovan as the young opera singer who steals his heart.

“Phantom” opened on Broadway in 1986 and never closed, becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history. But the touring production is in its final months. After the Cleveland stint ends Aug. 22, it will move to Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center beginning Aug. 25.

THE BLUE STREAK PROJECT IS STILL ALIVE

The bad news is the Blue Streak restoration project finished 15th in the July Pepsi Refresh Everything online contest. The top 10 finishers each got $50,000. The good news is, the top finishers who wound up just out of the money automatically get invited back for the next month’s contest.

So once again, you can vote for the project to refurbish the 72-year-old roller coaster at Conneaut Lake Park and get it running again before the end of the season. Go to refresheverything.com/conneautlakeparkbluestreak. Sign up if you haven’t already. It costs nothing. Votes also can be submitted by texting 100510 to Pepsi at 73774.

As of press time, the Blue Streak project was in second place. Voting ends at the end of the month.

WHAT A WEEK for music

Has Youngstown ever seen such a busy week for live pop music? Probably not in a long while. Saving Abel/American Bang was Tuesday at the Covelli parking lot; B.O.B. was Wednesday at Club Gossip; Rick Springfield is Friday at Covelli; Wiz Khalifa is Saturday at Covelli; and Vexfest is Sunday.