Granicus was an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band formed in 1969 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. After performing in clubs in Cleveland, and then playing before label bosses, the band were then later signed by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

on March 15, 1973 and released their eponymous debut album in the same year. The band later opened for such performers as Bob Seger, Cactus and Spirit to promote that first record, which has since been critically acclaimed in some classic rock circles. Soon after, though, the group disbanded, feeling unsupported by their label and being deserted by their manager. Most of the group later reunited, some 25 plus years later, after finding their first record pirated and selling in Europe. In 2009, they released ''Thieves, Liars and Traitors'' on an

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

in 2010. from a collection of unreleased material recorded in 1974. A third record, Better Days, has also since been released independently. The group was known for their mix of heavy

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and heavy metal. Initially formed by guitarist Al Pinell and drummer Joe Battaglia, the group would practice in his home before moving to a Cleveland warehouse to develop what would be their first record. The group's music was highly influenced by popular bands of the time, including late-60s

artists such as

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

as well as early-70s hard rock giants,

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. The band featured two guitars, with bass and drums, and were led by a signature vocal. Lead vocalist Woody Leffel had a high-ranged delivery very similar to

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

and

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

. In 2016, the band made a third recording, and were attempting to regain control of their since-pirated first record. Three members of the original group, Battaglia, Pinell and Bedford, teaming up again with guitarist Artie Cashin and bringing in vocalist Gerry Schultz. Leffel opted not to work on the third record. The band's second and third records are available on CDBaby.com

Members

;Principal members *Woody Leffel – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica *Wayne Anderson – lead guitar *Allen Pinell – rhythm guitar *Dale Bedford – bass guitar *Joe Battaglia – drums *Howard Ross - lead guitar ;Guest artists on "Thieves, Liars and Traitors" *Artie Cashin – guitar *Jesse Rae – vocals Granicus III, Better Days: *Gerry Schultz - vocals

Discography

* Granicus (1973) # ''You're In America'' # ''Bad Talk'' # ''Twilight'' # ''Prayer'' # ''Cleveland Ohio'' # ''Nightmare'' # ''When You're Movin # ''Paradise'' * Thieves, Liars and Traitors (2010) # ''Thieves Liars and traitors'' # ''Space in Time'' # ''Equator'' # ''I'm Not Sick'' # ''Hollywood Star'' # ''Wizard of Was'' # ''Taste of Love'' # ''Slings and Arrows'' # ''When You're Movin'/Back Seat of My Car/Bad Talk'' (Live Jam) * Granicus III, Better Days (2016) # ''Better Days'' (title track) # ''Southbound'' # ''Walk Free'' # ''Living In Darkness'' # ''On The Road Again'' # ''Gotta Win Tonight'' # ''Take Me Back'' # ''Give And Take'' # ''Still Wanna Rock It''.

References

https://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Granicus

External links

LA Weekly website
* https://www.amazon.com/Stairway-Hell-Chuck-Eddy/dp/030680817X " The 500 best heavy metal albums in the Universe ", pg. 116 * http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-06-17/the-10-greatest-obscure-metal-bands-from-the-1970s-who-should-have-been-huge {{Authority control American hard rock musical groups Musical groups from Cleveland Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Rock music groups from Ohio