ABOUT
Rock & Roll | Country | Southern Rock | Oldies
Our Band Members:
Dan Chute - Lead Guitar
Roy Richardson - Bass
Frank Paskiewicz - Drums
Yumiko Takahashi - Keyboard
Josh Allen - Lead Singer and Rhythm Guitar
Josh Allen has been singing all his life and he has always loved music. Josh says when talking with people it is difficult to not break out in a song as many people unknowingly say something that are lyrics in a song.
People have always told him he needs to be in a band but he never thought people would want to hear him. He decided to say, "What the heck," and do it. He tried out for several bands but things didn't work out for various reasons. Josh talks fondly of the tryouts and rehearsals that didn't quite work out the way everyone wanted. He says they are all great memories and have help to make him who he is today as an artist.
He met Larry Orf and Bryan Smith through Rand Gardner. The day they met they played for the first time together in Strasburg. The show was a huge hit with the show ending in a standing ovation and requests for encores. Their final song was House of the Rising Sun and to this day the Josh Allen Band ends their shows with that song.
"We try to do requests", says Josh "I always tell the audience, if we pull it off it is because of the guys (he points to the other guys in the band and if we mess it up it's because of me".
Roy Richardson began playing bass on a broom handle imitating Paul McCartney as seen on the Ed Sullivan Show. Looking in a mirror, he appeared left handed and that was cool. He eventually graduated from broom stick to something that resembles a bass guitar but by today's standards would not even pass for junk wall art.
After some rudimentary lessons he learned to play the classics like 'What I Say', 'Wipe Out', 'Midnight Hour' and of course 'Mustang Sally'. Over the too many years to mention Roy has played with a wide variety of bands with rock being the mainstay genre.
As the decades rocked by he as handled the bottom end of many bands performing originals, country, disco, top 40 pop and what used to pass for 'hard rock/metal', but now is called 'classic rock'.
Since relocating to NoVa in 1989, he has performed with many different bands and configurations including two trips to the UK on mini-tours (4 gigs is a tour isn't it?). Bands include Due Process, Quasimodo, Rock Monger, South of Here, Indoe Loop, Joe Herbert's Mad Amalgamation of Musical Friends, The Rockits, Rock-O-Diles, Viki Nova, The Twangmasters, The Dixie Prix, The Incontinentals, Johnny & the Rebels, Martha Capone Band, Apple Core (1 night), BlueStone, Justified, The Firebirds and now at home with Josh Allen Band.
Influences: Jack Bruce, John Entwhistle, Paul McCartney, Berry Oakly, James Jamerson, Chris Squire, Phil Lesh
Gear: Modulus Quantum 5, EBMM Bongo 6, Ric 4001, Fender Jazz bass, EBMM Stingray, GenzBenz Shuttle 12x2
Frank Paskiewicz has been with the Josh Allen Band since December 31, 2014. He retired from his government job at noon that day and was playing a New Year Eve gig 8 hours later; so much for retirement.
He began playing the drums at the tender age of twelve, and his first “kit” was a snare, hi-hat, and ride borrowed from a neighborhood friend.
His early musical influences were The Beatles (of course) and The Doors, and all-time favorite artist is James Taylor.
Like many young musicians back then there was a string of garage and basement bands up to his mid 20’s, then a long break to be a husband and father. Around 2010 Frank picked up a new drum kit, some descent cymbals, and began a cycle of startup bands which led to meeting Josh Allen and eventually joining his band as its drummer.
If you ever get the chance to hear this band please do yourself a favor and go, you will not be disappointed.