PUB RALLY – IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PARTYY!
By Robin Clark Noll photos by Rachel Rocks
It was a cold and blustery night as we headed out to experience Pub Rally at Ceolta’s Irish Pub in Harrisburg. We arrived at 10:45 and the party was in full swing. Ceolta’s was packed! Pub Rally had the crowd dancing and singing along.
Several birthday parties were going on as friends were getting together to celebrate and Pub Rally’s music was providing the tunes to keep the party going. They were even dancing outside as they were coming up to the door to get in. Obviously Ceolta’s is known to be ‘the party place’ and there is never a cover, which is a plus. When you walk in the door they have a bar set up so you can purchase your preferred beverage and join the party immediately.
Pub Rally plays sing-a-along cover songs, they want the crowd to be able to join in the performance. Usually they have maracas, tambourines, and other hand held instruments for the crowd to use but alas, this night they 
were missing. Hmm…it seems, for some reason, their fans thought they were giving them to them to take home, but that’s not the case, they would like to get them back for future shows. So, if you have any of the hand held instruments you’d like to return to Pub Rally they would surely appreciate getting them back. (They promise they won’t press charges and no questions will be asked). They just want more people to be able to participate in the performance, it’s a big part of their show, crowd participation. You can also bring your own instruments to their shows and join them on stage, that’s the key to making it fun for everyone. The more singing along, the better, the boys say.
were missing. Hmm…it seems, for some reason, their fans thought they were giving them to them to take home, but that’s not the case, they would like to get them back for future shows. So, if you have any of the hand held instruments you’d like to return to Pub Rally they would surely appreciate getting them back. (They promise they won’t press charges and no questions will be asked). They just want more people to be able to participate in the performance, it’s a big part of their show, crowd participation. You can also bring your own instruments to their shows and join them on stage, that’s the key to making it fun for everyone. The more singing along, the better, the boys say. They refer to their show as ‘Band/Karaoke’ performing songs such as; “Kryptonite”, “Land Down Under”, “American Girl”, “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Zombie”, “Runaround Sue”,
“Sweet Home Alabama”, “867-5309” plus thousands of other songs. Their objective in every performance is to have fun and make sure the crowd has fun too. It isn’t all about the execution of the music, it’s more about “partying”. The reason most people go clubbing is to meet other people drink a few brews, forget about the hassles of life and have a good time for an evening and go home with a smile on your face. That is Pub Rally’s goal, for you to go home having a smile on your face.
“Sweet Home Alabama”, “867-5309” plus thousands of other songs. Their objective in every performance is to have fun and make sure the crowd has fun too. It isn’t all about the execution of the music, it’s more about “partying”. The reason most people go clubbing is to meet other people drink a few brews, forget about the hassles of life and have a good time for an evening and go home with a smile on your face. That is Pub Rally’s goal, for you to go home having a smile on your face. John Mayernick (lead vocals, guitar), Jay Kleman (bass) and Rick Steele (guitar, vocals) were neighborhood “buds” from kindergarten on. They all had an interest in music and worked on various projects through their 
early teens and twenties. Sometimes working together but never with all three at the same time. Jay was in an original project with Steve Rodriguez and they became fast friends. They are all self-taught musicians. John took lessons for a while at age 13 but mostly he learned from his brother who is very gifted musically.
early teens and twenties. Sometimes working together but never with all three at the same time. Jay was in an original project with Steve Rodriguez and they became fast friends. They are all self-taught musicians. John took lessons for a while at age 13 but mostly he learned from his brother who is very gifted musically. Steve had an interesting story of his drumming career. He’s Spanish and his whole family plays guitar, so he does play guitar but his real musical passion was always drums. His mom and dad couldn’t buy him a set so he improvised by raiding an ice
cream store dumpster for the ice cream barrels and would pound them to a pulp [by the way, he didn’t say pulp] and then go and get more. He bought his first (almost) set for $50 in his early teens and beat that to a pulp as well. As soon as he got a job he saved up and bought his first full set for $,2400. He was playing death metal at the time and never did say what happened to that set, I imagine he beat that one to a pulp too.
cream store dumpster for the ice cream barrels and would pound them to a pulp [by the way, he didn’t say pulp] and then go and get more. He bought his first (almost) set for $50 in his early teens and beat that to a pulp as well. As soon as he got a job he saved up and bought his first full set for $,2400. He was playing death metal at the time and never did say what happened to that set, I imagine he beat that one to a pulp too. All of them were in various projects when Rick came up with the idea for starting a cover band. His idea was to keep it simple; learn the songs everyone else was playing, add their own little twist to each tune to make it their own and PARTY HEARTY! They didn’t want to stress out about the music so they could party along with their fans plus actually earn a little extra money.
Rick called on his good friend Jay, and Jay brought Steve and the three of them got together. The chemistry was right, it felt and sounded good. They knew an element was missing, and that element was their good “bud” 
and great vocalist and guitarist John. They invited John to Jay’s birthday celebration and got him drunk and harassed him all night long to join them. Finally he said, “Ok, Ok!” When he got together with them, it just clicked. The missing element was in place and Pub Rally was complete. John did hang on to his other project for awhile but then Pub Rally started taking off and they were getting busier and it got to the point he had to decide which project he was going to commit to and he chose Pub Rally (after all, they are “buds”.)
and great vocalist and guitarist John. They invited John to Jay’s birthday celebration and got him drunk and harassed him all night long to join them. Finally he said, “Ok, Ok!” When he got together with them, it just clicked. The missing element was in place and Pub Rally was complete. John did hang on to his other project for awhile but then Pub Rally started taking off and they were getting busier and it got to the point he had to decide which project he was going to commit to and he chose Pub Rally (after all, they are “buds”.) Pub Rally hasn’t looked back from the day they started. One gig led to another and it hasn’t let up. Jay, Steve and John give Rick all the credit for keeping Pub Rally running smooth. He handles all the booking and the management of the band and does a great job. They also hooked up with Apollo Artists out of Broomall, PA and that has opened up even more venues and opportunities. They love playing at the shore.
Right now they are able to pick and choose what gigs they do, as they all have full time careers plus family schedules to work around (except for Jay, he’s single ladies). They would love to become a full time band but for now they enjoy being together and having fun with little stress, because they are true “buds” and they are having a whole lot of fun being Pub Rally.
Be sure to “party hearty” with Pub Rally at a club near you. Their first appearance at Tubby’s will be May 3rd. Ceolta fans, come up to Perry County, parking is free, the stage is huge for plenty of people to get on, and there is a lot of dancing room.
Check out their monthly schedule in the PA Musician or keep tabs of them on www.myspace.com/pubrally. Also to book them in your venue contact Apollo Artists at 610.328.6500 or call Rick at 570.259.2027 and let the party begin!
