I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Clinton Clegg, the lead singer for the red-hot rock and soul outfit The Commonheart from Pittsburgh, PA. The Commonheart return to the Three Rivers with “Do Right Pittsburgh” a show at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale that benefits the Light of Life mission.
I started off by asking Clinton what The Commonheart have been doing of late. They’ve been busy touring up and down the east coast while working on their sophomore effort, the follow-up to their debut disc “Grown”. There is no release date as of now for the still-unnamed-CD but Clinton promised it will be out sooner rather than later. I was hoping it would coincide with the November 24 gig at Mr. Smalls but it’s not meant to be.
Since The Commonheart were busy with gigging this summer, I asked Clinton what his favorite festival show was. He said that he enjoyed playing the Bunbury Festival in Cincinnati and the Outlaw Music Festival that the band played in front of hometown fans at Key Bank Pavilion with Van Morrison and Willie Nelson.
I also asked Clinton about the aforementioned show at Mr. Smalls. The show is to help their area fans kickoff the holiday season in high gear. What’s better than turkey, football and Black Friday? How about a little high-energy blues and soul and rock & roll! It is also benefits the Light of Life mission, to help spread awareness of the drug plague that has hit too many of our local neighborhoods, schools and families. The show is a chance to bring people together and share the band’s positive spirit of community while enjoying some good times with some great music.
Community is something that Clinton knows about, having drawn inspiration from the Mon Valley area in which he was raised along the banks of the Monongahela River. Many of the songs on the “Grown” CD were based on his experiences growing up, hence “Grown”. Clinton says he’s using the trials and tribulations of being in a band and striving to climb the musical mountain, “trying to keep the band going in a good way” and translating that into the current crop of songs for the next CD.
Asked if there were any immediate plans to tour, Clinton said that we’ll just have to wait and see. The band will have some exciting announcements in the future. In the meantime, tickets are on sale now for the “Do Right Pittsburgh” show at Mr. Smalls that is presented by Opus One Productions and 102.5 WDVE to benefit the Light of Life. It’s a worthy cause and a fabulous band. If you don’t get your tickets soon, you may miss out on a group that is not-to-be-missed. This band is one of my favorites and sure to be one of yours.
