Joe Grushecky is a true rock 'n' roll survivor, the talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist first bursting onto the scene in 1979 with his band the Iron City Houserockers and their critically-acclaimed debut album, Love's So Tough. By the time the band released a follow-up in 1980's Have A Good Time But Get Out Alive, Grushecky had sharpened his songwriting skills to a razor's edge, and his intelligent blue-collar anthems mixed muscular, guitar-driven rock with elements of blues and soul like nobody before or since. After two more albums that earned great reviews but sold few copies, the Iron City Houserockers called it a day. Grushecky, a Pittsburgh native, returned home to Steeltown and resumed his day job as a teacher working with at-risk youth, a position that he has pretty much held ever since. ...show more

Joe Grushecky is a true rock 'n' roll survivor, the talented singer, songwriter, and guitarist first bursting onto the scene in 1979 with his band the Iron City Houserockers and their critically-acclaimed debut album, Love's So Tough. By the time the band released a follow-up in 1980's Have A Good Time But Get Out Alive, Grushecky had sharpened his songwriting skills to a razor's edge, and his intelligent blue-collar anthems mixed muscular, guitar-driven rock with elements of blues and soul like nobody before or since. After two more albums that earned great reviews but sold few copies, the Iron City Houserockers called it a day. Grushecky, a Pittsburgh native, returned home to Steeltown and resumed his day job as a teacher working with at-risk youth, a position that he has pretty much held ever since.

He stayed out of music for the better part of a decade, returning with a new band - Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers - which included his old ICH bandmate Art Nardini on bass, and released the acclaimed Swimming With The Sharks album. Twenty years and eight albums later, Joe Grushecky is still rocking at an age where many musicians have retired and started collecting social security checks. He hasn't had a label deal in 15 years, Grushecky and his long-time manager and his compatriots the Houserockers going it on their own, braving the tidal changes that have assaulted the music industry by rocking harder. Through the years, Grushecky has continued to hone his craft as a songwriter, and if fame and fortune have eluded him, he remains committed to music as a powerful creative force.

Meeting him in 1995, and asking why a 50-year-old man would give up his job to hit the road with a band (for his American Babylon album), Grushecky simply smiled and said, "it's rock 'n' roll, man, it's rock 'n' roll..." East Carson Street is Grushecky's first album since 2006's A Good Life, and his first with long-time band the Houserockers in six years. After venturing out on his own for an album, what did Grushecky want to accomplish with East Carson Street? "I wanted to have a really good band record," says Grushecky. "I approach every record the same, try to make it the best record that I can at that particular time. I got lucky this time because I'd been on a hot streak writing, and it was a very relaxed record to do." Grushecky also took a different tack in the recording of this album, which is also the first in years to feature a new band line-up. ...show less