The Penn Rock Scholarship- FINALS

At a concert venue in the strip district of Pittsburgh that used to be a church and is now called the Altar Bar held a gathering that was almost as interesting as Sunday service. The finals of the Penn Rock Scholarship took place on Saturday, August 30 and there were three bands battling to be the chosen one.

The event was hosted by SuperMonkey, a Pittsburgh born rock band whose latest album was nominated "The best rock album to come out of Pittsburgh" by SouthernBluesRock.com They kicked off the show by playing some of their songs off that album. They opened the night with "Nashville." You can hear 105.9 The X play their kickass hit, "Last Rock God," that has an intense guitar and drum beat. SuperMonkey closed their set with the very catch "Corporate America" and sang their words "Corporate America, it ain't the life for me." That may not be the life for this group, but rock 'n' roll sure is.  

SuperMonkey. Photo by: ToriOnTourPgh

The first of the 3 finalist to come on stage to showcase their talent was Nightly Standard. This unique band is fronted by the pin-up-esque tattooed lady, Laura. Her strong vocals set the standard for the rest of the band that includes two sax players, a trumpet and the standard guitar, bass and drums. They were all dressed to the nines and easily had the crowd groovin' to their sound. Their cover of The Beatles "Oh! Darling" is what got my attention because of their creative twist on it. Check them out on their Facebook for details on upcoming shows.

Nightly Standard. Photo by ToriOnTourPgh

Next up was The Semi Supervillains. All of these guys attend Duquesne University and call themselves "garage rock." I considered them to have a punk/rock sound. They looked like Weezer, rocked like the Foo Fighters and interacted with the crowd unlike any other band. In their pastel colored dress shirts, they got the crowd clapping and singing along to their music. Not only are they great with interacting with the crowd while on stage, I noticed their lead singer went to every Penn Rock Scholarship event in these last few weeks and he modestly said he enjoys supporting local music. They closed their set with their catchy song "Learned My Lesson" off their album "Tricks." See where you can catch the villains next on their Facebook page.

The Semi Supervilllains. Photo from their Facebook page.

Just when the crowd didn't think they could rock out anymore, Solar Burn came on stage. These guys are KICK ASS. It's an instrumental hard rock group that blew me away the first time I seen them a few weeks ago. Backed by an amazing drummer, the two guys that front the group are one of the greatest guitarist I've seen who head bangs his long hair and a bassist who's facial expressions really show how hard they rock. After their set that almost melted my face off, I have to admit I bought their CD. Very talented musicians. Check them out here.

Solar Burn. Photo from their Facebook page.

After some deliberation, the winner was announced online via social media. It didn't matter how many tickets each band sold to the event because this wasn't a battle of the bands. This was a showcasing of local music and the winner was chosen on 4 categories: songwriting, musicianship, live performance and crowd reaction. Drum roll please...

The winner of the first annual Penn Rock Scholarship presented by SuperMonkey Recording Co. and Pat DiCesare is... THE SEMI SUPERVILLAINS! They get a prize pack including a recording agreement produced by SuperMonkey Recording Co, 1,000 CDs, studio time at Soundscape Studios, mastering by Audible Images, A Gretsch Guitar, $500 gift card to Hollywood Music, Dean Markley Artist Endorsement, showcasing opportunities in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Philadelphia, a photo shoot with Rich Follini and Coda Photography, a write up with PA Music News and a free case of Straub beer every month for a year!

The PennRock Scholarship- Friday August 15

SuperMonkey Recording Co. and Pat DiCesare present The PennRock Scholarship tomorrow at Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville that is sponsored by Straub Brewery.

This annual showcase helps to build and promote bands from the Pittsburgh region, to Ohio, New York and West Virginia.

A celebrity panel of judges including lead man from jam band Rusted Root, Michael Glabicki, will pick a winner based on points per category including: songwriting, live performance, musicianship and crowd reaction.

Each act will get 20 minutes to perform a few of their original songs and one interpretation of a Beatles song in celebration of of the 50th anniversary of their performance in Pittsburgh in 1964.

Prizes for the winning talent are phenomenal and include a recording agreement with CD's produced, showcase opportunities at venues across the region and free Straub Beer for a full year!

President of SuperMonkey Recording Co. and front man for his band, SM sat with me this morning and said, "Ditch the idea of a battle of the bands because this event is so much more. Our goal is to help local talent take their musical careers to the next level."

SuperMonkey will be opening the night with some of their original songs and of a course a Beatle's classic as well. They were recently nominated the best rock band to come out of Pittsburgh.

Be there tomorrow on the very artistic and fun Butler Street in Lawrenceville. The doors are at 8 pm and tickets are $10 at the door. To preorder tickets visit Thunderbird's website.

And come say "Hi" to me! I'll be helping promote and selling SuperMonkey merch and probably enjoying a Straub Beer.


For a full list of prizes and details on the event please check out the website.

By Design Band- My Niagara Falls Souvenir.

On a mini vacation with my two favorite gal pals, my mother and grandmother, I didn't expect to literally walk right into some raw music talent.

First night of our trip, my mom and I venture to the lobby of the Niagara Falls Hilton in Ontario, where we were staying to grab a few drinks at Spyce Lounge and unwind. On the outside patio we hear a familiar tune, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." We know it from Pearl Jam's cover but the original tune was by soul singer Otis Redding who actually recorded the song just days before he died in a plane crash in 1967.

The two guys Sittin' On The Edge of the Stage covering such a beautiful song with their guitars in front of them drew us inside to hear more. Immediately they realized we were Pearl Jam fans since we recognized the song and came right to the front to hear more. They then played "Black" and "Better Man" and the longer haired one, who'd soon introduce himself as Marty, admitted he was an avid Pearl Jam fan too.

After they covered some more great 90's songs such as "Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms and "Crush" by Dave Matthews Band, the two guys came over to chat with us.

(Brett and Marty of By Design band)

By Design is their band name and they go by Marty and Brett. Their individual style is as unique as their drink of choice.

Long hair and a personality as big as his smile, Marty was full of surprises just like his long island ice teas he drank all night. Then there was Brett with his short styled hair, shyness and a voice as surprisingly strong as the craft beers he enjoyed during their performance.

I asked how long they have been playing music for and Marty said, "I started playing at the age of 7. I played whatever I could get my hands on including piano."

Being from Canada they admitted to being huge hockey fans. Their rockin' cover of Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" had me throw out a quick "Let's Go Pens!" chant under my breath since that song was in a Pittsburgh Penguins commercial. That would get me dirty looks at the very least in most hockey cities but in Canada, everyone is friendly.

"We even say 'sorry' during hockey fights," Marty joked.


They reign from St. Catharines, in Ontario Canada and you can hear them play anything from 90's acoustic, country, classic rock and today's hits.

Canadians, be sure to look out for them playing at the Niagara Ice Dogs new hockey arena in October when they sing the national anthem.

"If you hear (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay in a Northern Canadian real estate commercial anytime soon, know that it is us covering it," Brett told me.

Big things are on the horizon for these guys but it's always humbling to know that they are just ordinary people making beautiful music. Marty and Brett are family men and hard working. They are both married with small children near the same age. Marty admitted to having to wake up the next morning at 7 after their show that ended at almost 2 am to get to his other job as a carpenter.

It's amazing how much good music came out of two normal guys and what amazing and diverse vocals they both had. As it says in the Foo Fighters song "Hero" that they covered that night, "There goes my hero, he's ordinary."

They ended the night with the very popular, "Closing Time" by Semisonic and reminded us all to "go back to the places you're from" as the song suggests. All good things must come to an end, but I know I will continue to check in on their music.

I asked where fans could find them on social media for updates and Marty laughed, "We're men. We don't have Facebook." 

Check them out on their website and I'm sure you won't be disappointed. If you plan on being near Niagara Falls in the future, check out their gigs page where they always have shows booked.