Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Working Breed

Mike Palm
Monday, Oct. 6, 2025 8:05 a.m. | Monday, Oct. 6, 2025 8:05 a.m.

Wes Mason

Pittsburgh’s Working Breed

Brian Herman

Pittsburgh’s Working Breed

Brian Herman

Pittsburgh’s Working Breed

Back in April 2020, Pittsburgh’s Working Breed had planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” album with a show, but the covid-19 pandemic wound up scuttling those plans.

“The pandemic took its toll, and in the middle of it all our original venue, the Rex Theater (RIP), closed its doors,” Working Breed singer Erika June Christina Laing said. “All of that was disappointing, of course, but the redirection gave us space to write our second album, ‘Gaslighter.’ You can even hear traces of the No Doubt study sessions in those songs, especially in the vocals.

“The ‘show-that-never-was’ never left our minds — the original poster still hangs in our practice space — and we tried more than once to revive it without success. But in hindsight, those obstacles brought us here: about to perform the album on the exact 30th anniversary of Tragic Kingdom’s release. And since we’ve had a five-year headstart, you can bet we’ll be knocking it out of the park now that the time has finally come. Sometimes things really do work out for the best, even if the path there is full of detours.”

Working Breed and an all-star cast, including members of The Commonheart and Cisco Kid, will mark the 30th anniversary this time, with an Oct. 10 show at Mr. Smalls Theatre. They’ll be joined by Addi Twigg and Sarah Siplak on guest and background vocals, Abby Gross, Nate Insko and Abby Lannan on horns, Dan Styslinger on keys, AJ Arnett on percussion, and Jojo Gustafson on additional keys and guitar.

Rising femme-fronted band Heading North will open the show, and the Brazilian drumline Timbeleza will close the set. Part of the night’s proceeds will go to Girls Rock! Pittsburgh, which has a summer camp where girls and gender-expansive youth learn how to write songs and form their own bands.

“The idea is to showcase women in music across generations — past, present, and future — and celebrate the magic of each new wave building on the last,” Laing said.

No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” album — with songs like “Don’t Speak” and “Just A Girl” — made an impact on every member of Working Breed.

“We’re all products of that generation, so there’s a lot of memories flowing into this show,” Laing said. “The CD lured me to make my first purchase from the old Columbia House music club scam. Jake stole it from his sister. Dugan listened to the album on repeat while playing video games, trying to figure out the songs by ear on guitar. And Nick saw them live at Star Lake in ‘97 on their Tragic Kingdom tour, the exact tour we are modeling this show after!

“One super fun thing about telling people about this show is everyone else’s memories popping up, from having the album on cassette to seeing them live with all kinds of other iconic 90s bands. This show has been so fun to work on and share, and we haven’t even done it yet!”

The band, with self-described “full theatrical energy,” relish the chance to play live.

“The connections we make with each other and the audience are probably the best part of any live performance, because we experience being in a flow state with everyone present. We believe that if we, as a band, are having fun together, then the vibe will ooze into our fans and everyone can spend just a little moment in a place far from the turbulent minutiae of our days,” Laing said. “It’s a gift every time. We’d be happy to do it absolutely anywhere, but some of our favorite spots to play are Mr. Smalls (any of their venues), Spirit, The Original Pittsburgh Winery and The Government Center. However, some of us have even played in front of a Dumpster at Primanti Brothers and still managed to have a good time!”

Laing filled in TribLive on what else we should know about Working Breed:

Band: Working Breed

Band members: Erika June Christina Laing (lead vocals, trombone, musical saw, synths); Michael Dugan (guitar, vocals); Jake Churton (bass); Nick Tolkacevic (drums)

Founding story: Working Breed is a constantly evolving animal. We began in a Dormont basement a little over a decade ago and by the end of that first meeting we knew we had something interesting going; as Dugan put it that night, “this thing’s got legs!” Over the years, we’ve taken on many shapes and tones as we’ve had different players in the mix, each one leaving an indelible footprint on a band that seems to have a life of its own.

Origin of band’s name: We tossed around a zillion names! When we settled on Working Breed, which refers to a category of dogs at the dog show (think Dobermann and Rottweiler), it felt right as a name indicating a kind of productivity and boldness that we grew to inhabit. Although in individual personality, the majority of us are a lot more like Corgis or some such fluffy chill pup!

For fans of: The playful, eclectic, theatrical and kinetic. Think Talking Heads and Of Montreal, or locally, Big Blitz and The Garment District. And No Doubt, obvi!

Influences: We each have our own influences that run the gamut, which is perhaps how we wind up as cross-genre songwriters together. We pursue inventive guitar work, proggy experimentalism, theatrical glam, unusual instrumentation and high-energy showmanship, so Radiohead, Bowie, Zappa, Jane’s Addiction, Morphine, Bjork, St. Vincent, Neutral Milk Hotel and so many others wind up in the room with us when we’re crafting our sound.

Releases: “Gaslighter” album, May 2023; “Hieroglyphica” album, August 2019

Next show: Oct. 10, No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” 30th anniversary tribute at Mr. Smalls Theatre

How to find them: Working Breed can be found on their website, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp and Spotify.

Three other Pittsburgh area bands to check out: Cisco Kid, Millvin and the Etnoids, Beach Boise ID

Favorite pizza shop: There’s an even split between Fiori’s, Badamo’s, Mineo’s, and Spak’s!

Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.

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