Grand Funk Railroad to headline Chingawassa Days
Grand Funk Railroad, the top-selling American rock group of the 1970s, will be the featured act at the 11th annual Chingawassa Days festival at Marion.
Known as "The American Band," the high-energy five-piece group will play June 7 in Central Park.
Mike Powers, Chingawassa steering committee chairman, said, "We're excited to bring such a high-energy, entertaining group to Marion."
Hits including "We're An American Band," "I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home," "Locomotion," and "Some Kind of Wonderful," still receive continuous airplay on classic rock radio stations.
The group has 19 charted singles, eight Top 40 hits, and two number one singles with "We're An American Band" and "Locomotion." The group has 13 gold and 10 platinum records with sales in excess of 25 million copies sold worldwide.
Grand Funk Railroad includes original founding members Don Brewer, vocals and drums, and bassist Mel Schacher. Joining them is singer Max Carl, best known for writing and singing 38 Special's hit "Second Chance" and as a co-founder of Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. Lead guitarist Bruce Kulick is known for his 12 years with KISS and has credits with Michael Bolton, Meatloaf, and Billy Squire. Keyboardist Tim Cashion has a master's degree in music from the University of Miami. Known as "Dr. Tim," his credits include a stint with Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band.
"Check out their website," Powers said. "People will be surprised at how many of their songs are familiar."
The official website is www.grandfunkrailroad.com. Chingawassa Days is listed as a stop on their 2007 tour.
"Watch next week's paper for an exciting addition to the Chingawassa lineup that will take place on Friday night after the Marion National Bank barbecue," Powers added.
"The addition will make for the biggest Friday-Saturday entertainment lineup in Chingawassa history," he said.
"We're excited and we think the public will be pleased with the announcement."
A new column, "Chinga Talk," will begin next week as well. Each week, a different issue concerning the Chingawassa Days festival will be discussed and explained.
