Any in-depth discussions the last few decades about the Beaver Valley's top guitarists likely included the name Bob Eaton.
The clarity, speed and heaviness of tone with which Eaton plays has made him a splendid six-stringer for local bands such as the Eaton Brothers and Ego Trip.
This past Friday, Eaton released "I See the Lord," a six-minute contemporary Christian single available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby.
Starting with simple acoustic strumming, the song's riffs get more intricate, unfolding into a melody that's pure Southern-rock, with Eaton's bluesy-rootsy vocals supplying an emotional heft to lines like, "my guilt is gone, my sins have been forgiven."
Vocally, I'd compare the track to Chris Stapleton.
"That's funny you picked up on that; everyone says I sound like Gregg Allman, Chris Stapleton or a really growl-y Paul Rodgers," Eaton said, "so when CD Baby asked me who do I sound like I said those three."
Eaton recorded the track at Studio Joe in Center Township, heeding the advice of studio owner Joe Munroe, a Beaver County Musicians' Hall of Famer.
"Joe told me I know you can play guitar like 1,000 mph, but now let's hear something from your heart," Eaton said.
The single, and another one Eaton hopes to release by month's end, will be part of a Christian-rock album from the Economy resident.
"I've been saved for 22 or 23 years, and it's been in my heart to serve," Eaton said.
He's simultaneously working on a bluesy, countrified rock album, too, which he also hopes to release this year.
"One last non-Christian album just to get it out of me," Eaton said.
Company of Thieves at Stage AE
Walk The Moon marks the brightest spot on this week's concert calendar.
I'd expect the indie-pop band to draw a full crowd Tuesday to Stage AE, and you know the place will go wild once Walk the Moon sashays into its 2015 smash "Shut Up and Dance."
Judging by earlier tour dates in the Northeast, crowds are arriving on time to see opening act Company of Thieves, back together after several years' hiatus, and rocking a politically-charged new song, "Treasure" recently picked up by radio.
"It was written in 2016 during the presidential election when we were feeling overwhelmed and enraged about what was going on, this incredible divide culturally with a lot of hatred and aggression that was coming to the surface," Company of Thieves singer Genevive Schatz said. "That was scary, so we acknowledged that and coming to terms with the truth about where you put your attention and what you give your power to. We wanted to address all the darkness but turn more to the the light and love and take responsibility for ourselves."
The first Company of Thieves single in six years, "Treasure" has fans, new and older, talking.
"They're saying a lot of things," Schatz said. "They're very passionate about it. Some hear the political side; some are going through a breakup or divorce and recognizing they can say no to something that's not serving them and invite in something that's better for them."
"Treasure" has a depth Company of Thieves might not have attempted a decade ago, when the Chicago band was fresh on the alternative-rock scene with a song "Oscar Wilde" that turned up on TV's "Gossip Girl," in a Dove Go Fresh campaign and as a recommended Discovery Download by iTunes. Schatz and guitarist Marc Walloch taped an episode of TV's "Live at Daryl's" with Daryl Hall in 2009, but soon record label struggles and interpersonal issues ground their momentum to a halt.
"We were much younger then and trying to live our lives and take care of things which was difficult for lots of reasons," Schatz said in our phone chat.
Group members tried solo careers and joining new bands, including Walloch who hooked up with AWOLNation in time for its Heinz Field date supporting the Rolling Stones.
But fate had a plan to bring Company of Thieves back together.
"We kept running into each other through mutual friends at shows in L.A., and really noticed how much we enjoyed seeing each other," Schatz said. "We have a chemistry that's very special and unique and just needed awhile away from each other to explore that."
Before agreeing to reconvene, band members put their friendship to the test, scheduling an off-the-grid camping trip in California's Big Sur.
"We rode bikes and made a campfire and got back to seeing what it felt like to be friends," Schatz said. "We talked about how we were the only ones holding us back from playing with each other."
The comeback trail now leads them to Pittsburgh's North Shore, to the delight of Schatz who fondly recalls the band's last local show, at Mr. Smalls in Millvale.
"We're excited to be coming back to Pittsburgh because it feels like the arts community there is experiencing a comeback allowing independent businesses to survive," she said. "Every time we're there we find there are new places to eat and new boutiques and shops upcycling things they're making as new."
If Pittsburgh is like other cities, some concertgoers Tuesday will remember the band, but many won't.
"To a lot of people we're totally new. They've never heard of us, which is totally exciting for us because we get to pick up from where we truly are," Schatz said.
The band's merch table will sell advance copies of their new album, described by Schatz as "cinematic, emotional and very colorful."
Tidbits
*Lottery winners will score $25 tickets for "Wicked," the beloved Broadway musical playing the Benedum Center from Wednesday through Feb. 11.
Each day of the performance, a lottery will be held for a limited number of orchestra seats two-and-a-half-hours prior to showtime. Those present at the Theater Square Box Office, at 655 Penn Ave., whose names are pulled from the lottery drum, will gain a pair of $25 tickets in prime seats that normally go for $144 to $189.
This doesn't include the 2 p.m. Feb. 3 autism-friendly performance.
*After four years of releasing songs, EPs and albums and touring, Beaver County-Pittsburgh garage-pop band Wreck Loose releases its first music video Jan. 29, for the song “Carwash.” Director/drummer Derek Krystek used a 1990s camcorder for the video, focusing on the phrase repeated throughout the song: “When I see something beautiful, I just wanna tell someone” projected over Hopewell Township singer Max Somerville moving in slow motion.
*Last Friday's blizzard forced Beaver County post-rock band Steel City Ruins to reschedule its album release show for March 23 at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.