As a young teen we make mental notes of the names of amazing guitarists and drummers that we hear about from the mouths of our peers or reading about them in the last Hit Parader Mag. We also make notes of the names of amazing musicians that live in our community and those names begin to construct a relative context of who’s who around town. For me, Nick Giannakos was one of those local up-and-coming legends. I heard his name back in high school in the 80′s and the collective word of mouth seemed to indicate that this guy was a bad-ass metal axeman; a shredder. I had heard that he worked at Warren Music or some music store and I had also heard of his band WRETCH. It’s surprising, but the two of us had never crossed paths over the decades, and I’m sure we’ve performed on the same stages. I was happy to have finally met him and he made a great first impression. Nick was a very cool down to earth guy who listens to alot of the same metal music I do. Click on the podplayer now and read while you listen. I also recommend listening to other interviews while you post photos of kittens, favorite football players, or the latest cinnamon experiment youtube video on crackbook.
Playing with Castle Black and power metal bands Breaker and Wretch, Nick has played with heavy hard hitters Colin Watson, Mike Cykon, Tim Fredrick, Chris Koshock, Dave Hayes, Shaun Vanek, Butch Likens, and many more. Wretch has performed in Germany and to this day the Headbangers Open Air Metal Festival uses their song “Make This Garden Burn” as their event anniversary song. They’ve been featured in HEAVY Magazine and on the Heavy Artillery Compilation. Please type in your email below and give a short review or leave a comment. Enjoy.
http://www.facebook.com/WRETCHMETAL
BUY WRETCH CD HERE
Mentions:
Bill Peters
Tim Ripper Owens
Tim Frederick
Butch Likens
Dave LeMasters
Auburn Records
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LEFT END was the quintessential local hard rock band of the 70’ and 80’s in the Mahoning Valley club scene.
Could you imagine a Left End without Dennis? I couldn’t. Yet, the band started as an R&B outfit with a soulful singer named Odie Crook. The night Left End played their final show with Odie at The Apartment in Youngstown Dennis Sesonsky of the fusion band “Holy Mackerel” walked in backstage and told the band he wanted in. The rest is history. The local music scene was never the same again.
What great shows in the 70’s at the Packard Music Hall in Warren. Thousands of people packed the hall to hear Left End peel the paint and bring the roof down in a proper concert setting. All those hot and sweaty club gigs at Lefty & Jim’s and Foxy’s burned the memory into our brains much like the silhouettes of Japanese citizens burned onto concrete walls left standing after the bomb fell on Hiroshima. Life changing experiences for sure. The powerful wall of sound. The flamboyant stage presence of Dennis T. Menace leading his rock-n-roll army decked in mini-skirts and wedding dresses. We were ready and willing to submit to his command of the crowds. HOGHEAD!
Even in their twilight years in the early 2000’s the band still rocked with the power of their heyday. What pleasure to introduce a whole new generation to the Left End experience as I did when I took my 16-year old son for his first concert at Yankee Lake in 2003 when the band opened for Ted Nugent and Z Z Top. What a show! The rain let up just before Left End took the stage and gave the muddy campgrounds a sunny Woodstock vibe for the rest of the day. We’ll never forget that show, even though I heard that the little old band from Texas wasn’t very cordial with their opening act. Dennis and Co. have opened for many big national acts and he has plenty of backstage tales to tell of rubbing shoulders with rock’s royalty.
Wish we could bring them back for more encore performances. What a band! The music of Left End lives on. Thanks Dennis!
-Jimmy Taylor
Please read Andy Gray’s weekly piece in the Warren Tribune TICKET insert or go here:
TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT TICKET.
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Tim Frederick walked into my living room one day in 1987, looking like an Amish Heavy Metal fan, and said “Man! you’re a hard guy to get a hold of.” Cool peculiar like most bass players, it wasn’t long before we were jamming with him. I can remember doing songs with him, PJ Reese, and Rob Sheitrump like “Highway Star” and Alice Cooper’s “Under My Wheels.”
He was shy but aggressive with the 4-string. You’ve heard stories or the phrase “Mispent Youths” leading to stand-out talent. Well, Tim is one of those achetypes in real life.
He’s a hard working multi-talented guy who always has many musical irons in the fire. He’s played in bands like Easy Action, Rat Salad (Sabbath Tribute Band ) Diligaf, Happy Hour, Buzzer, Detrimetal, Peroxide, Paul Rader Band, Damian Knapp band, decimater, Castle Black and many more. Musicians and Friends are often two worlds, and with Tim Frederick you get the best of both worlds.
RAT SALAD (see new rehearsal audio medley added to Jim’s History Page at very top)
Wretch 
https://www.facebook.com/WRETCHMETAL
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/make-this-garden-burn/id261985246
ETERNAL LEGACY 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eternal-Legacy/116394071750202
BUY Eternal Legacy records HERE.
STAY TUNED FOR THE NEW ALBUM “Seek No Peace”
COMING SOON: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DENNIS T MENASS Left End.
Interview Teaser CLICK BELOW
I Hope to have the Dennis T Menass inteview posted by the 22nd. Those who subscribe to the Rss or eMailing List will hear it first, and get a listen to portions of a few unreleased left end tracks.
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TIM FREDERICK MP3 PODCAST PLAYER BELOW
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