Artist description Echo Grove is a Neo-Alternative, Retro-stylerock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band features Johnnie Eckert (guitar, vocals), Paul Fresty (guitar, keyboards), John "Atzy" Atzberger (bass) and Bob Malinky (drums).

Music Style Rock and Roll

Musical Influences The Beatles, Steppenwolf, Stone Temple Pilots

Similar Artists Stone Temple Pilots

Artist History The past brings experience. The present brings maturity. The future brings possibilities. All meet in Echo Grove, the culmination of four lives, weaving the tumult of friendship with the mystery of music.Echo Grove is a band whose musical roots are both broad and deep. Through the years the band has evolved into a rock band with a retro-'70s hard rock flavor that successfully mixes the members' many influences: The Beatles, Hank Williams Sr., The Stone Temple Pilots, Elvis, among many others.The band (then known as Stonehenge) started in 1977 when their average age was 12. Like most kids who weren't into football, they held onto dreams of being rich and famous and getting the girls. With the cheapest of equipment and very little knowledge of their instruments the band began to follow their dreams. Most bands typically whither and die at this stage of development. However, unlike most bands, this group stayed together as a unit for eight years and learned their craft together. All through high school and into their college years they kept at it, working at their music, mining their talent and keeping faith in what they were doing. During the early 1980s they started getting better gigs and opened some shows for Cleveland-area legends like American Noise and Moonlight Drive. As Stonehenge, they recorded a six-song demo in 1983 that was basically their last finale as a band in the 1980s. Shortly after that, the members went their separate musical ways. Drummer Bob Malinky and bass player John Atzberger formed the popular Led Zeppelin tribute band ZOSO a few years later and worked on that project for several years, gaining a good deal of notoriety and success. That project evolved into the band Welfare Limousine that played the Cleveland area throughout the mid-1990s.Lead singer, songwriter and guitar player Johnnie Eckert had moved on to several other bands during these years including Johnnie and the Commodes, Skin 4 Skin, and a variety of other projects. However, he spent much of his time during the next 12 years writing songs. Songs that eventually came to light in Echo Grove.Guitar and keyboard player Paul Fresty went to Kent State to get a degree in photojournalism. As a graphics artist and later graphics editor, he moved from Kent to Pittsburgh to Florida to Pittsburgh to New Orleans only to end up back home in Cleveland as a creative director for a web design company. He worked on a few recording projects in Florida and played his guitar nearly daily during these years. By the time he arrived back in Cleveland, the stage was set for the reunion of the band.As the high school band Stonehenge they never made much of a splash, and played mostly high school dances and clubs that would let underage musicians in the door. When they went their separate ways in 1984, the band always held the faint hope of getting back together someday. After more than a decade apart and living thousands of miles from each other, it happened. The band reformed in December of 1996 with the original 1977-1984 lineup intact.With all of its members almost twice the age they were when they started, they are back out there creating music. The band has traveled a long road that has truly lead them back home. As far as the music goes, Echo Grove has rediscovered it's joy, found their fountain of youth, and really made some good music they are very proud of. They ditched all the old "Stonehenge" material and worked on new music that comes from their years of combined experiences both together and apart. The band looks forward, realistically, to a future where they get to play the music they love, have fun doing it, and maybe make some gas money. Of course the guys still hold that flicker of hope in the backs of their minds that someday Echo Grove might get lucky and get that big contact in the sky. But when that happens to a band, it is usually equal parts skill and luck. In the Blues Brothers movie it became the legendary line... "We're puttin' the band back together man." If luck is what they need to get that big contract, some would say they are the luckiest group of guys on the planet right now. They got the old band back together. How many people are as lucky as Elwood and Jake?Echo Grove recently completed "Psycho Magnet", a 12-song album at Audioworks Recording Studio. The band released the CD on Aug. 22, 1998 and is currently performing in support of the album throughout the Ohio region.Echo Grove is a proven band. As musicians and as friends, this musical group has not only stood the test of time, but also continues to grow musically. With a substantial following of both original and new fans, Echo Grove is bringing its music back home.

Group Members John Atzberger - Bass, Johnnie Eckert - Guitar and Vocals, Paul Fresty - Guitar and Keyboards, Bob Malinky - Percussion

Instruments Gibson Les Pauls, Fender Telecasters, Fender Percission Bass, Ludwig Drums

Albums Psycho Magnet (1998)

Press Reviews The members of Echo Grove first picked up their instruments in 1977, with nary a guitar chord in their junior high repertoire. Going under the name Stonehenge, the band got better, played clubs in the early 1980s, and enjoyed modest success opening for Moonlight Drive. Bob Malinky (drums) and John Atzenberger (bass) went on to form Zoso, the popular Led Zeppelin tribute band. Singer/guitarist Johnnie Eckert gigged with a variety of bands including the Commodes and Skin4Skin. Paul Fresty (guitars and keyboards) earned a degree in photojournalism at Kent State and found work as a graphic designer. The guys reunited in Cleveland in 1996, playing again under the moniker Dovetail Joint. After writing new material and laying tracks at Audioworks Digital Studio, the foursome became Echo Grove - and Psycho Magnet is their triumph. Echo Grove announce their return with"State of Mind" and "Pissing Spit," a pair of rockin', ear friendly foot stompers. Fresty lays the groove for "A Nice Sad Hurt" with a three-chord organ riff. He also contributes guitar and keys to "Ain't That You," and joins Eckert on some tasty lead guitar work all over the disc. The band's ambition comes forth on "In Doubt," an acoustic-based song with a progression that gets heavier and faster as it builds. Atzenberger's bass line powers "Salvage" to a chunky guitar segue and extended solo, while Fresty adds his synth horns in the background. John P. Lyon plays cello on twangy ballad "Another One," while (producer) Eddie Tomecko tickles classical guitar strings during "Climbing Out." Nod for best song goes to "Wreck Your Day," a Rush/Police-minded rocker with a cool reggae-influenced bridge. Recorded in 1983, lost nugget "Superannuation" captures Eckert's tale of forgotten youth. The leftover piano/guitar classic is a fitting way to wrap up Magnet - a catchall mix of noisy guitar rock, pop keyboards and Beatles-style arrangements. Shaun BennettScene Magazine, Cleveland

Additional Info Buttons, Stickers, Guitar Picks, Shirts, etc.

Location Cleveland, Ohio - USA

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