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Head on over to YouTube at 6:00pm on Sunday April 12 and watch our live show at the Butler Art Center!

Album Review – Deguello

In the 70’s and 80’s, there was hardly a cooler band than ZZ Top. The long beards, the cheap sunglasses, the fuzzy guitars, the MTV videos, all made for legendary Rock and Roll. The trio made up of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard were the epitome of ‘coolness’, consistently serving up a spicy blues version of rock and roll tunes about hot girls and hot cars. Deguello was the band’s sixth studio album, released in 1979. That little ol’ Band from Texas had a thing for Spanish album names, having already enjoyed a fair amount of success with Tre Hombres and Tejas. 

Deguello means ‘complete destruction of the enemy without any mercy’, which is signified on the album cover with the bullets piercing through a white surrender flag. The inside album sleeve reiterates this sentiment with the phrase ‘Expect No Quarter!’ The wildly creative album art was designed by Bill Narum who was also the artist behind so many other ZZ Top albums.

Because the band had been in hiatus for a couple years, many critics thought maybe they were finished. ZZ Top was not finished though. They hadn’t surrendered at all. In fact, they were about to go on a run of success that would put many more songs on the charts; tunes that would live on in rock music infamy, and eventually propel them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Deguello boasts of several songs that still receive considerable radio play. I Thank You, I’m Bad I’m Nationwide, Manic Mechanic and Cheap Sunglasses are the anchor songs on the album that have maintained their staying power for decades. There’s a universal appeal to the kind of epic songs that provoke the irresistable urge to blast the car stereo and press down on the gas pedal, and that’s what ZZ Top does best with this album. The tough-guy, gearhead lyrics sung by those unmistakeable raspy voices laid over top of sassy guitar and tight drum rhythms compel you hit replay and come back for more. 

Well I was movin’ down the road in my V-8 Ford
I had a shine on my boots, I had my sideburns lowered
With my New York brim and my gold tooth displayed
Nobody give me trouble ’cause they know I got it made
I’m bad, I’m nationwide
Well I’m bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, I’m nationwide

Sometimes simple is best. No one would accuse ZZ Top of being lyricly clever. There is nothing complicated here. By the same token however, nothing says ‘coolness’ like Cheap Sunglasses:

Now go out and get yourself some thick black frames
With the glass so dark
They won’t even know your name
And the choice is up to you cause they come in two classes
Rhinestone shades
And cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah

ZZ Top is the kind of band that likes to throw a surprise or two into their music every once in a while. A horn section manages to find its way into the second tune on the album, She Loves My Automobile. The term ‘automobile’ and the use of horns in a Rock and Roll song doesn’t sound very hip, but ZZ Top pulls it off with matchless style in this catchy song. The muscle car engine revving in Manic Mechanic and machine gun shots in Esther Be the One adds a twist to the music that helps put those songs in a category all by themselves. We may wonder who Esther is (and her sister), but the song stands out as being ominously different from the rest. It’s a really well done tune and a great one to wrap up the album. 

While all the charts have other ZZ albums listed higher in popularity and sales, Deguello is a really nice addition to any music library. It is a complete package of amazing album art, fun lyrics and super smooth Texas-style Rock and Roll sounds.

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Cancelled Events

Due to the Coronavirus measures that the Federal, State and Local officials have put into place, we are forced to cancel the following events:

• Smiling Moose on Friday, March 27
• Saturday Night Special on Saturday March 28

We hope to get these rescheduled as soon as possible and will let you know the details as soon as they are available!

Saturday Night Special – March

The March Edition of Saturday Night Special is shaping up to be one of the loudest and heaviest so far! Take a look at this lineup: 

Yaro and the Static – an Alt Rock, Grunge and Metal band from the Pittsburgh area, who recently hit the stage at Mr. Small’s Theater to promote their new music release, ‘The Art of Adolescence‘.

Modern Welfare – a Rock/Emo/Pop Punk band from Pittsburgh, who have a 6-song album releasing on April 26.

Griffen Handshake – another band from Pittsburgh playing genre-inclusive alternative rock sounds. Their 9-song debut album, ‘My Box’, will be released in April.

Antimatter – a classic rock band from Cleveland, who were finalists in the 24th Annual High School Rock Off at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame just last month.

As if these four bands weren’t heavy or loud enough, Trevolta will take the stage at the end of the night to damage any remaining eardrum functionality! Get to the Butler Art Center on Saturday, March 28 at 6pm. Cover charge is $5.00.

EP Release Party Update

We have a date for the release of the new Trevolta EP! We are very pleased to announce that we will be releasing our EP this coming May 17th!

The last eight months have been filled with intense writing, endless practice and meticulous tracking. Along with our producer Matt Muckle and engineer Matt Vaughan from Hollywood Studios of Pittsburgh, we’ve been able to create something that we’re very proud to share with you!

Get ready! This EP contains three bold Rock ‘n Roll songs specifically designed to overpower your senses. Our music will be available on all the major streaming music platforms. We’ll even have some CD’s available for those who like to have a hard copy of their music. Besides, there will be some awesome photos and printed lyrics that you might just want to add to your collection.

We’re inviting you to join us at our release party which will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe at Station Square in Pittsburgh. We will be joined by some very special guests, Macro Aggression, The Cryptids and Commissioner: amazing bands who will help us celebrate with some heavy hitting tunes of their own! You cannot miss this event!

Get over to our CONTACT page and get ahold of Sean for tickets!

Smiling Moose Announcement

Hey Trevolta fans! We have another opportunity for you to come see us play some abrasive Rock ‘n Roll music! On March 27, we will be making some loud sounds on Pittsburgh’s Southside at The Smiling Moose. Doors open at 6pm. We’ll have some old Trevolta favorites of course, and we might throw some new ones in there too!

There will be three other bands with us also: Griffen Handshake, Clay Coast and Fox Illumination X. It’s always a good time on E. Carson Street, so we hope to see you there!

Get in touch with us for tickets. Check out our contact page .

EP Release Announcement

Trevolta is very pleased to announce that we will be releasing our new EP this coming May!  The last eight months have been filled with intense writing, endless practice and meticulous tracking. Along with our producer Matt Muckle and engineer Matt Vaughan from Hollywood Studios of Pittsburgh, we’ve been able to create something that we’re very proud to share with you!

Get ready! This EP contains three bold Rock ‘n Roll songs specifically designed to overpower your senses. Our music will be available on all the major streaming music platforms. We’ll even have some CD’s available for those who like to have a hard copy of their music. Besides, there will be some awesome photos and printed lyrics that you might just want to add to your collection.

We’re inviting you to join us at our release party which will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe at Station Square in Pittsburgh. We will be joined by some very special guests, Macro Aggression, who will help us celebrate with some heavy hitting tunes of their own! You cannot miss this event!

We will be sharing our exact release date very soon, so stay informed here or on our other social media.

High School Rock Off Finals!

We have our time slot! This Saturday, at the 2020 Tri-C High School Rock Off Final Exam, Trevolta is scheduled to perform at 7:50pm. There’s still time to get tickets for this event!

If you’re one of our friends from the Pittsburgh/Butler/Saxonburg area, this is a great opportunity to take a two-hour road trip to Cleveland to see us and the other bands at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It would be great to look out into the crowd and see a bunch of familiar faces!

Contact us here, or see one of the band members for tickets. They are only $12!

Saturday Night Special – February Edition

Saturday Night Special for February has been moved to Saturday the 22nd, so be sure to update your calendars! We will be at the Butler Art Center starting at 6pm. Our special guests this month are Miranda Brandon, Halfway Down, End of Thought and Macro Aggression. It’s going to be another night of some serious Rock ‘n Roll, so we hope to see you all there! Cover charge is only $3. Trevolta T-shirts will also be available for $15.

Rock Off Finalists!

Trevolta will return to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on Saturday, February 29, 2020! We were one of four bands from Round 1 of the High School Rock Off that qualified to move on to the Final Round at the end of the month.

Ticket information will be available soon!