Southern by Choice

Southern by Choice (SBC) is one of Pittsburgh's hottest new country bands with a sound all our own. Some call it edgy, some call it new, but everyone agrees that we're a full-blown country party!
JIM McCUE
Lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica
Jim McCue started singing at a very early age, in fact, he was so young, he doesn't remember just what age he started. Everyone around him was amazed about the small child who was always singing. As a young child, around 6 or 7, he would walk around the neighborhood singing for candy and treats....and states that those were his "first paying gigs". Jim participated in choir at school, a church choir, numerous garage bands, and sang just about anywhere that he could.
Throughout the 80's, he fronted a lot of small unknown bands that ranged from Punk to Classic Rock music, but even at that time, his dream was to perform Country Music, in a city that didn't like Country music. Jim has lived in the City of Pittsburgh for most of his life.
Toward the end of the 80's and being completely fed up with the local music scene, he took a leave of absence, to start concentrating on writing, vocal tones, voice range, and the harp (harmonica).
Now he is back... "With a trunk full of good ole songs that would make Ronnie Van Zant want to sing."
When putting together Southern By Choice, McCue looked long and hard at the stylings of all of his Country music heroes, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, combined that with the sounds of the Southern Rock that he grew up on...Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, The Allman Brothers, Blackfoot, and modern Country Music such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Jason Aldean, and many more.
Southern By Choice's sound was born out of the melding of old and new, from the more traditional and the new cutting edge. Southern By Choice likes to play a good hard beat and give the people something to dance to. Jim loves the stage, loves to create his own songs, and play music. "Hell I love my job! ... There is nothing better than writing a song and watching people dance to it."
Southern By choice will leave Pittsburgh someday, but Pittsburgh will never leave Southern By Choice.
The values that Southern By Choice has learned from this great city will always be instilled in their stage presence and their music.
FRED GRIEST
Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic guitar, vocals
One of Fred Griest's earliest memories is sitting on the fireplace hearth watching the television program Hee Haw with his father. At that time, before the world of cable TV, there was only three television stations available in their hometown. Fred says "Now there was this guy that was playing this thing (guitar) and singing. I thought it was the coolest thing other than spending time with my dad," (who let him stay up till 9:00 to watch the show featuring Buck Owens and Roy Clark), who, Fred states: "were just a pickin' and a grinnin'". On the show, Glenn Campbell played Green Sleeves. He must have caught a few re-runs because he thought all Campbell's songs sounded the same. His father informed him that it indeed, was the same song. Fred reminds everyone that he was only 6 years old at the time.
Griest started formal education on guitar at age 11. The duration of the formal training lasted just about two months, in which he learned basic cords. The rest of his musical education was self-taught. He states that tabs are still a bit of a challenge for him. Fred Griest has been a member of multiple bands, and has always ended up, "just having a blast."
When he is on stage, it all seems to come together and all the daily stress just washes away.....It's all about the performance and showing the audience a good time. Fred plays a Les Paul which his family and friends gifted to him on his 40th birthday. He also owns a few Ibanez guitars, and an acoustic Alvarize that Southern By Choice's lead singer, Jim McCue gave to him. Fred has played rock for many years, and it is influential in the sound of Southern By Choice, and visually in him.
Fred states, "But, the bottom line is ...If I ain't havin fun ......I'm done."
CHRIS BRENNER
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Chris Brenner was born and raised on the streets of Pittsburgh. At 16, Brenner borrowed $85, jumped 2 buses across the city and found his first guitar in the basement of a North Side pawn shop.
Through the years as his passion and dedication increased, Brenner has found himself sharing the stage with a host of local musicians.
Chris Brenner has pulled influence from a vast array of musical genres, and has even touched on the teachings of music theory at Duquesne University. Today, Chris Brenner continues to gather inspirations, applying them to create a personal style and presence you'll find hard to forget.
HEATH CLEEK
Bass, vocals
Heath Cleek started out his love for music at a young age when he got a Casio keyboard in 7th grade and taught himself to play the keys. In his later teens, he and a group of friends wanted to form a band, and weren’t able to find anyone to play Bass guitar. At Christmas, he received his first Bass as a gift and poured through many instruction books to teach him self how to play the Bass.
Heath has performed with numerous bands before joining Southern By Choice, (which is his first Country style band), including Defiant, Flashback(which was an 80's hair band tribute), Withdrawn (all original rock), and Rokbot. Cleek’s musical influences include Alabama, Toby Keith, and Trace Adkins. He was raised in West Deer Twp and spent a lot of time in Virginia, where his family roots are.
Cleek states: There is no better high than being on stage and no bigger rush than hearing a crowd sing the words to a song you wrote or see them dance to a song that you created. Being a musician has always been one of my biggest dreams. His musical instrument preferences are Ibanez and traditional 4 string basses.
JEFF GRIEST
Drums, vocals
Jeff Griest has been playing drums since the "ripe old age of 6", drumming on his mother's pots and pans along side of his brothers. Jeff received his first real set of drums at the age of 9, as a gift from an uncle. After that first set, he obtained a set of Singerland drums and then moved onto Pearl drums. Jeff states that he found his sound through Tama drums and have been using Tama drums ever since along with Paste cymbals.
Jeff Griest has been in numerous rock bands such as Second Chance, Armageddon, Redline, Felon, Vendetta and Flashback.
Through the years, his influences have been with such national drummers as, Troy Ferral from White Lion, Fred Corey from Cinderella, Rick Allen from Def Leppard and other artists whose techniques have caught his attention. Jeff's strongest vocal influence would have to be Kenny Chesney.
On percussion, he likes to stay a bit on the subtle side and doesn't like to overpower the band. He prefers to have a strong, sharp sound on snare and a good driving beat for the dancing crowd.
CHECK OUT THE LIVE SBC VIDEOS BELOW - "I NEED YOU" filmed at Sunseris.
"BLACKBERRY LANE"