Steelhead
Take some rock and roll roots, blend in a healthy dose of blues and Alaskan country rock top it with three lead singers and you’re probably talking about Steelhead. That “little ole’ band “ from Big Lake, Alaska has been performing in lodges, clubs, breweries, bars and music festivals since ’99, where they effectively blend the musical genres into a soundscape as diverse as the Great State itself. Drawing upon influences such as Tom Petty, Three Doors Down, Paul Butterfield, Van Morrison, Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Alan Jackson, band members Dan Hammacher (guitar and vocals), Alan McCarroll (guitars, bass and vocals), Barry Billings (bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals) and Doug Herschbach (drums and percussion) offer up original songs and great, but sometimes obscure, covers with a distinctive sound unique to the band. For the opening beat of the first set, until they turn the lighs out (on, actually) you can't help but to want to get up and dance to the music, Steelhead lands a sound that has captured the attention of music peers and fans alike. Steelhead has been staying busy performing and promoting the CD, gigging all over the state, and writing and recording new material for a yet to be released CD. Look for them at a venue near you, when they're not out enjoying what they can of the very short summer in Alaska.
Hi-Res band photo click here
Alan "Shred" McCarroll brings some wild guitar playin' and great vocals to the band, adding a hard rock sound that blends well with the STEELHEAD tradition. You'll find him jumping around the stage like a wild man. Just the way we like it. He occasionally fills in on bass when nobody else wants to....Alan performs with the all original rock band, "Distraught"and has been in several local bands. When he's not performing, you can find Alan riding his Harley, kicking butt in pool tournaments, and asking the existential question, why?
Dan kind of assimilated into Steelhead a couple winters back, and plays several different genres of music. He adds some blues and hard rock style of playing and vocals that cranks it up a notch, and can shred with the best of them. We're glad to have him on board. Dan has also been a part of a couple of local bands, which part, we're not sure. His life history is classified information, known only to those that need to know... We think he's in the witness protection program.
Barry sets back and pumps out the bass that really gets you “feeling” the music, and layers that with some great vocals. At times, he fills out the sound, from mellow to rockin’, on acoustic guitar. Barry and Doug together have played in Steelhead since its inception in '99. Little else is known about him, other than he likes to drink India Pale Ale while shouting, "Save The Ales!". He's also a tech geek and doubles as the sound man at many of our shows.
Doug '"Moose Magnet" (ask us, it's a great story) was “raised on Rock and Roll”, So when he starts laying down a backbeat, you can’t help but want to get up and dance. A pro drummer since he was a kid, Doug is solid, tight and utterly in the groove. A long standing (well, he usually sits) member of the band, Doug also fills in on the bass on our acoustic numbers. As a lifetime Alaskan, we figure he has swatted more mosquitoes than the rest of us combined.