San Diego has had a hard rock or heavy metal scene practically since the day the genre was invented. Over the years, numerous local musicians have played the world’s biggest stages as sidemen, including Jake. E. Lee with Ozzy Osbourne.
Meanwhile, a few bands ” notably Bay Park-based Ratt in the 1980s ” have made their own climb into the charts. However, it has only been in recent years that San Diego metal and all it’s various offshoots has begun to make a major national impact.
The ascent began with South Bay’s “nu metal” combo P.O.D., but really picked up steam with the release of “grindcore” band As I Lay Dying’s “An Ocean Between Us” in 2007. Though the band is hugely popular, with virtually no radio play, just about everyone was taken by surprise when the album entered the chart at No. 8, eventually earning a Grammy nomination.
Today, labels big and small are taking a look at San Diego’s hard-edged rock scene. One veteran group attracting attention, and scoring choice gigs in the process, is Sledd, which performs at Brick By Brick on April 4, opening for ’80s metal band Y&T.
The band has been performing since 1995, with a few line-up changes during it’s existence. The current edition of Sledd is made up of core members, including brothers Peter DeLuke Jr. (keyboards, backing vocals) and Dino DeLuke (drums) as well as Cary Rothman (lead vocals), Eric Meyer (lead guitar) and Billy Deane (bass).
The group originally came together from the ashes of classic rock cover band which the brothers performed with, Nemesis.
“We were together for 15 years, but when we disbanded my brother and I decided to focus on original music,” said Peter DeLuke.
Named for a rare 1950s-prototype automobile, simply because “it had a gangster look,” the band made a splash almost immediately.
Sledd cites Pantera, Led Zeppelin and Rush as influences, but growing up in New York, the DeLuke brothers’ earliest exposure to music came through their father, who was a reed player and session man.
“There were always all sorts of people coming over to the house and my brother and I were exposed to that. Booking agents, managers, people like Stan Getz. It was a real education,” Peter DeLuke said.
Though he is now a highly respected keyboard player, he started out on trumpet, switching instruments “because I wanted to play rock,” he said.
The band released an album, “Dopamine” in 2000, selling 5,000 copies in short order. Their initial success brought Sledd to the attention of labels and management, with the band eventually working with guitarist Mark Kendall, of rock quartet Great White.
A follow-up album was recorded under his guidance, but things came to a halt on Feb. 21, 2003, when tragedy struck during a nightclub fire that broke out during a Great White show back east, killing 100 fans.
“That album may very well come out someday, but under the circumstances, everything got put aside,” Peter DeLuke said.
Rather than try to salvage the sessions, the quintet has opted to skip the release of the second album altogether and has begun work on its third. Sledd has already completed sessions with producer Alan Sanderson (Rolling Stones).
Peter DeLuke considers the act of creating music his favorite thing.
“Writing material is special to Sledd. Coming up with something new is what drives us,” he said.
DeLuke considers San Diego to be an excellent location for a musician of any type to reside.
“There is so much going on here that it offers the independent artist or musical group an opportunity to expand on their musical careers,” he said.
Looking back at more than two decades performing in the area, Peter DeLuke has seen the ups and downs of the business. Despite the gloom and doom of the larger music market, Peter DeLuke has his own assessment on local affairs.
“The media should be focusing more on the enormous amount of talent in this city,” he said. “The local music scene is thriving.”
Sledd opens for Y&T at Brick By Brick, located at 1130 Buenos Avenue, on Friday, April 4. Tickets are $25. Showtime is 9 p.m. and the performance is geared for those 21 and up. For more information, visit www.brickbybrick.com.