Get the Led Out stays faithful to original Led Zeppelin songs

As director of operations and programming at Greensburg’s Palace Theatre, Teresa Baughman knows a good thing when she sees it.

Such was the case with Get the Led Out, a Philadelphia-based Led Zeppelin tribute group.

“I first saw Get the Led Out at a 2010 booking conference in New York City, where promoters/presenters are pitched acts by agents and can see ‘showcases’ which provide a live sampling of their work,” Baughman says. “GTLO played at what was then the Nokia Theatre at 44th and Broadway in a full concert, not just a 15-minute showcase segment.

“The crowd was so receptive and the band so impressive that we booked them at The Palace for the first time in November 2010 and sold about 900 tickets. The audience went crazy and begged us to bring them back,” she says.

Now a perennial area favorite, the band will visit The Palace for a Jan. 17-18 doubleheader.

The venue also has a special spot in the band’s collective heart, says guitarist/mandolin player Paul Hammond.

“They always give us a warm welcome and it’s a fantastic place to play,” he says.

‘Virtual sell-out’

After GTLO’s initial appearance at The Palace, Baughman says, “It was January 2013 before we found a subsequent mutual (available date), and that was a virtual sell-out.”

“GTLO’s return in January 2014 sold out well in advance, so we started the winter doubleheaders in 2015 on two consecutive nights, again selling out by mostly word-of-mouth.

“Last year was the first time we brought them in an extra time for a one-nighter in July on the holiday weekend, booking that so their fans in Somerset, Altoona and Morgantown had a show option without risking a January blizzard,” she says.

What makes the band so popular? The first thing must be the music itself.

In a 2015 interview quoted on their website, lead singer Paul Sinclair said, “Led Zeppelin are sort of the classical composers of the rock era. I believe 100 years from now they will be looked at as the Bach or Beethoven of our time.”

Another reason must be that GTLO is faithful in playing the music as it was originally recorded.

From the beginning, Hammond says, he and childhood friend Sinclair agreed that “we’d only do this if we did it like the records. We didn’t try to act or look like Led Zeppelin. We recreate the songs exactly as they were on the records.”

Different songs

That takes an ensemble larger than Zeppelin’s original four members.

In addition to Hammond and Sinclair, founding members of the group — formed about 16 years ago in Philadelphia — are drummer Adam Ferraioli and guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Marchiano, joined by bassist Phil D’Agostino and keyboard player Eddie Kurek. Diana DeSantis adds vocals on “The Battle of Evermore,” and on occasion, members of the crew and management team also lend a hand.

Attendees also appreciate that no two concerts are exactly alike, Hammond says.

“Even if (fans at The Palace) come both nights, they’ll be hearing eight to 10 different songs each night,” he says, thanks to set lists tweaked between performances by Sinclair.

That attention to detail applies to all GTLO shows, which Hammond says numbered 132 all across the U.S. in 2018.

And that’s what makes his job equal parts challenging and fulfilling, says Hammond, whose personal favorite Zeppelin songs include “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” “Rock and Roll” and “Black Dog.”

“If this ever got old, I’d pack it in,” he says. “Led Zeppelin’s music is so wide-ranging, from classical to blues to folk and acoustic. It makes it very musically challenging. It never gets boring and you’re always on your toes.”

Baughman recommends that locals see GTLO when they have the chance.

The band was in New York on Jan. 12 for another round of that aforementioned booking conference, meaning “a whole new lot of national and international concert promoters will be competing for future GTLO show dates.”