EXCLUSIVE: Carbondale drummer Carl Canedy to receive Lifetime Achievement Steamtown Music Award in Scranton
Before the announcement party for nominees tomorrow night, the Steamtown Music Awards are announcing the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award today exclusively on NEPA Scene. As part of the sixth annual Electric City Music Conference, this year’s ceremony will honor Cabondale drummer and accomplished producer Carl Canedy, a member of the legendary heavy metal band The Rods.
“Carl’s name has come up every year that we’ve presented the Lifetime Achievement Award, and he’s always been beyond deserving. Not only did The Rods achieve outstanding success in the ’80s – they still have a cult following today. Not to mention his producing career. Your favorite metal and thrash bands have undoubtedly been influenced by him, whether you know it or not. I feel like every time I log into Facebook, I see a post about Carl jetting off for Europe to play in front of tens of thousands of people at an open air festival,” noted Joe Caviston, co-organizer of the Steamtown Music Awards.
Canedy, a longtime resident of Carbondale, is a drummer, noted producer, and a real estate agent by day. The Rods, formed in Cortland, New York, have only played select shows in recent years, including a 2016 concert at Thirst T’s in Olyphant as part of the Electric City Music Conference, but Canedy is still an active drummer in the area for groups like the Jeffrey James Band. He also released his own solo album, 2014’s “Headbanger,” and is known for producing classic albums by Anthrax, Overkill, Exciter, Possessed, and Attila.
Caviston continued, “I’ve known Carl since I was in elementary school. He was actually my drama club teacher. Oddly enough, he wrote and produced a play called ’50 years of Rock and Roll’ that I was the lead in. I was exposed to the history of rock and roll for the first time through that play. So, in a way, Carl gets some credit for my love of music. He’s also always been supportive of everything that I’ve done. The Rods played their first local show ever at Eleanor Rigby’s when I was running it. They also performed at the Electric City Music Conference. Carl always offers solid, constructive, and supportive advice to everyone he encounters.”
Canedy is the drummer of The Rods, who were signed to Arista Records and released classic ’80s albums like “The Rods,” “Wild Dogs,” “In the Raw,” and “Let Them Eat Metal,” touring with the likes of Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, and Motorhead. Canedy also played on Jack Starr’s 1985 album “Out of the the Darkness” with Rhett Forrester of Riot and Gary Driscoll of Rainbow. The band also released albums under the labels Shrapnel Records, Combat, and Music for Nations.
In 2008, The Rods announced that they were reuniting with the lineup of vocalist/guitarist David “Rock” Feinstein, bassist Garry Bordonaro, and Canedy, and by August of that year, they played at Metal Rock Fest in Lillehammer, Norway. Their comeback album, “Vengeance,” was released in 2011 to positive reviews. Before passing, legendary singer/songwriter Ronnie James Dio, cousin of Feinstein, recorded vocal tracks for the album.
On June 7, they released their latest album and first full-length record of new original material in eight years, “Brotherhood of Metal,” which hit No. 17 on the U.S. metal radio charts.
While he is an accomplished drummer, Canedy also has producing credits for 30+ albums, including classics by Anthrax (“Armed and Dangerous” and “Spreading the Disease”), Overkill (“Feel the Fire”), Exciter (“Violence & Force”), Possessed (“Beyond the Gates”), and Attila (“Rolling Thunder”).
“What can one say about Carl Canedy’s lifetime achievements? Besides being one of the finest drummers in the USA, he had the golden ears that propel our record company Megaforce to the stars with his super talented skills as a record producer. I also must mention Carl is a real nice guy,” Jon Zazula, also known as Jonny Z, commented.
Zazula is the owner of Megaforce Records, an independent label that has released albums by Metallica, Blue October, Anthrax, Overkill, Testament, Mushroomhead, Ministry, Bad Brains, They Might Be Giants, and Meat Puppets.
While the recipient of this Lifetime Achievement Award has been decided, the other Steamtown Music Awards have yet to be voted on. The nominees will be announced on Friday, July 5 starting at 6 p.m. at Stage West (301 N. Main Ave., Scranton). The announcement party will feature live performances by The Boastfuls, Elephants Dancing, Send Request, These Idol Hands, Joe Lombardo, and Joylynne Raye Frie.
The 2019 Electric City Music Conference will kick off with the Steamtown Music Awards on Thursday, Sept. 12, and the rest of the conference takes place on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14 with over 150 bands across 12+ venues, along with an educational component with industry professionals. The first 67 acts were announced in March, followed by another 40 in May.
Venues returning for this year’s ECMC are Ale Mary’s, the Backyard Ale House, The Bog, Harry’s, the Irish Wolf Pub, The Keys, the New Penny Lounge, Peculiar Slurp Shop, Thirst T’s Bar & Grill, and The V-Spot. The new venues added this year are Finnegan’s Irish Rock Club and Stage West, which both opened within the last year.
Organized by music promoter Joe Caviston and Graces Downfall singer Kenneth Norton, last year’s conference featured performances by over 150 bands from five states in 10 venues throughout the Scranton area, the Steamtown Music Awards ceremony with many new awards and special performances of its own, and free panel discussions and mentoring sessions for local musicians, professionals, and music fans. As the largest event of its kind in Northeastern Pennsylvania, this celebration of the diverse local music scene is much more than a music festival, bringing hundreds of artists and music industry professionals together annually to meet and network while recognizing and showcasing established and up-and-coming musicians.
See NEPA Scene’s photos from the 2018 ECMC announcement party here, the 2018 Steamtown Music Awards here, and the entire Electric City Music Conference here. Listen to Caviston and Norton talk about the conference and the awards in depth in Episode 75 of the NEPA Scene Podcast:
