Classless Act Bring The Most Wonderful Tour Of The Year To The House Of Blues Orlando
Orlando, FL(December 7th 2022)
People have been counting rock music out for years. For a time it seemed like the untimely predictions were starting to get timely. Just when the scene was starting to get dire with the lack of new blood flowing a new youth movement started. Bands like Dirty Honey and Greta Van Fleet pumped in new energy and excitement. When the Stadium Tour featuring Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett finally lifted off, the tour introduced a new member to the young guns club, their opener Classless Act.
Based out of Los Angeles, ground zero to the 80’s metal scene and countless other bands, this quintet is very much a product of the current time as they all met through social media. The band consists of vocalist Derek Day, guitarists Dane Pieper and Griffin Tucker, Bassist Franco Gravante, and Drummer Chuck McKissock. With some help from the teams that worked with the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, The White Stripes, Metallica, and Soundgarden they were able to craft their introductory album Welcome To The Show recently.
After their run on the Stadium Tour they hit the road with a vengeance and now are on The Most Wonderful Tour Of The Year. With the buzz they generated opening for Motley Crue, people were primed to see them in a more intimate setting and the stage at The House Of Blues Orlando would be everyone’s chance in central Florida.
There would be no fanfare, drama, or special intro music. With a simple introduction, the band hit the stage hard and launched into “This Is For You” from their introductory album Welcome To The Show. With the level of energy they came out with, any build up before the show wouldn’t have done the band justice. Lead singer Derek Day Worked the stage like a seasoned pro and guitarist Griffin Tucker was firing off wicked solos while whipping his hair like a rock star. For all those catching them for the first time, between the song, which is an arena ready banger, and the performance you couldn’t help but become a fan.
With a band like this, they know how to keep things at full throttle with ease. Their next song “Give It To Me” kept the energy level sky high. While it’s one thing to bring a lot of energy to a show, just two songs in and its easy to see they are having the time of their lives. Guitarist Dane Pieper, bassist Franco Gravante, and drummer Chuck McKissock along with Day and Tucker always look like they are having the time of their loves on stage. That joy was even there when they played “All That We Are” a bluesy rock anthem.
After they finished playing “Circles”, a really well done ballad drenched in the blues, they decided to show off all their musical chops on the one cover song they would perform. Instead of just diving right into the song, the band pulled a switcheroo. Griffin handed his guitar off to Day, Griffin took over from McKissock behind the drums, McKissock grabbed Gravante’s bass, then Gravante took over on rhythm guitar leaving Pieper to man the keyboards. Yes, every member switched up instruments as they played a high octane version of the Led Zepplin classic “Rock and Roll”.
Their last song of the night was “Classless Act”. This is the song that Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil appeared on and it also appeared on the Retaliators soundtrack as well. If there was a song that really encapsulates the band it’s this one. This song is chock full of swagger and blues that harkens back to the early eighties, and without question there’s tons of energy to go along with everything.
For all those that think rock is gasping it’s last breath, they have yet to see Classless Act. If you get to see them live, you’ll know that the genre isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and is in good hands. Between their musicianship, energy and swagger, they have perfectly combined all the elements and added their own secret sauce to make one helluva live band.
Classless Act:
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