Pittsburgh Area Band Celebrates 20 years with Reunion gig…

By JJ Ulizio

Mushcup, the Pittsburgh, PA (specifically Beaver County) area defunct hard rock band that spent many years rocking their way through the club circuit recently celebrated 20 years since their inception with a reunion show.

Tracing back to the ripe year of 1996 when the music industry was a strange place, then again it’s always been kind of a strange place. In the depths of Beaver County, Pennsylvania five guys got together with the intent of making music. They released their first album, Free Ballin, in 1999. Shortly after, due to their relentless regional touring Mushcup became one of the earliest bands to be sponsored by Jägermeister, thus they were given the opportunity to be the live house band for two episodes of the long running daytime talk show hosted by Jenny Jones. Jägermeister also presented the band with multiple opportunities to play with national touring acts like Drowning Pool, Coal Chamber, Otep, Sevendust, Lacuna Coil, Jimmies Chicken Shack, and Damage Plan featuring the late guitarist Dimebag Darrel amongst many others. Their relationship with Jägermeister helped them transcend regional status giving the ability to perform up and down the East Coast and even gigs in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

With the trials and tribulations that many bands face, Mushcup weathered various lineup changes as they released two other albums through the 00 decade. The Drained e.p. and their final self-titled album showed the band finding a more focused and guitar driven sound. This coupled with riff based and hip-hop influences that still set them apart from the rap driven nü metal of the time.

Through years of playing nonstop shows Mushcup earned themselves a loyal fan base that would come out week after week and show after show as they played a wide array of venues, music conferences, and festivals. As time progressed, various members of the band had families that grew, and things changed in their personal lives. The band grew apart and various members had to be replaced until they finally had to call it quits.

Since they played their final show, circa 2007, the comments on their social media and requests for more have never ceased. Typically when an underground and unsigned bands hangs up their instruments their social media eventually dies off and you can see dust starting to form. This was not the case with Mushcup. The fans still requested and wanted more, every now and then out of nostalgias sake I would drop by their page to just take a look and see a random comment posted here and there or catch other fans posting old pictures and videos. The love from their fans never seemed to totally die off.

Fast forward to summer 2016. Rumors start flying around about a reunion. Finally, on 07/25/16, a flier for a 20^th anniversary reunion show was posted! I immediately started boiling with excitement. The first of many times that I had seen them was when I was a young and impressionable sixteen year old. Seeing them perform as many times as I have played a major role in my development as a music fan. In fact my constant following of the band actually, indirectly, lead to me meeting Mr. Josh Drespling which in turn lead me to falling into my role in the initial run of with Empire Magazine. Which of course lead me to today, where I’m writing this article and rambling long winded about a band I love. But anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. After hearing the rumors about a possible reunion I was browsing Facebook and found the flier for a 20^th anniversary reunion show, this time sponsored by Coldcock Whiskey. A flood of excitement raged through social media and through the local/regional music scene.

After waiting patiently for 2 months, 09/24/16 rolls around. The night I had wished for for nearly a decade was here. The Mushcup 20^th anniversary reunion special sponsored by Coldcock Whiskey and featuring opening support from Cannonsburg, PA’s East End & Loosing September from Muncie, IN.

A packed parking lot and a long line flowing out the door of the venue. Thursdays Bar and Restaurant in Bridgewater, PA, set an intense tone early as plenty of eager fans began flowing through the door to fill up every corner and open space available for sitting or standing to view the spectacle of music as East End took to the stage. They provided a healthy warm up with music and vocals reminiscent of bands like Five Finger Death Punch.

                Loosing September came next with their own brand of metal music, tearing through melodic vocals, harsh screams, chunky guitar riffs and a natural ability for working the crowd. They caught me off guard as they took the stage to the theme song from the Starz TV show Black Sails. They made quite an impression with the fans as they ripped through their set with their own brand of metal music.

Finally the moment was here. The bar was filled to capacity and sold out as the employees working the door had to turn people away and deny them entry. Featuring the, dare I say, “classic” lineup that recorded the Drained e.p. with an assortment of guest musicians who have played with the band through the span of its career. Former members flew and drove out from New Jersey and Arizona to attend and perform tonight. Mushcup took the stage. Opening their set with “Can’t Explain” from the mentioned e.p. followed by “Prophecy” from 1999’s Free Ballin. They played every song from both the e.p. and the self-titled album along with various songs from their debut. As the band played on the crowd grew louder and louder singing each lyric as if they had just seen them on perform last week.

The hard riffs and the rhythms never stopped as drummers Timothy Ford and Justin Coffini alternated beating the skins through the majority of the set. Midway through the set, they brought out their original singer from the early days before their first album, Chris Bias, and played a handful of songs with more of a funky groove to them. The best way I can relate them to someone who didn’t see it was if Sublime ditched the reggae and played only rock music. After the short set with Chris, vocalist Brian “Kaos” Hagar returned to the stage for the two of them to sing together after which the band returned to playing their heavier stuff.

No Mushcup set is ever complete without a handful of their trademark covers. Songs by Jimmies Chicken Shack, Guns ‘N Roses, The Cult, and the fan favorite; En Vogue’s 1992 hit, “Free Your Mind.” They gave it out hard and the fans gave it right back. They kept steam rolling through the night, while cracking jokes about being old now and old shows they’ve played, until they finally closed the sweaty night with their radio hit “Wasted.”

It was the most fun I have had at a show in a while. Rumors have already started circulating that the band is tossing some ideas around for doing another show sometime next year, for the fans that were turned away due to the show selling out. Only time will tell if that will materialize or not. Until then I, like so many others will keep checking their Facebook page and listening to their albums to tide me over. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll see them roaming around randomly in the wild buying school clothes for their kids and a weirdo like me will come up and poke them in the ribs and say “Hey, you should do that again and make sure to Get it Right” like you did last time.

Mushcup is (from left): Ian Saleese, turntables & vocals/ Justin Coffini, Drums/ Brian Steff, Lead Guitar/ Chris Bias, vocals/ Brian “Kaos” Hager, vocals/ Timothy Ford, Drums/ Bus Driver Steve/ Shaun Haklo, Rhythm guitar/ and Scott Davis on Bass

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About Author

JJ Ulizio

JJ has been a contributing writer and huge asset to Empire and Empire Extreme since the very begining. He is always digging for new bands and has a true heart and desire to see the bands grow and succeed.

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