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Buckwild is a rockin' country cover band hailing from Pittsburgh, PA. With members from the The Hillbilly Way, Chris Higbee Project, Journey Through The Ages, and Whiskey High, Buckwild delivers a top-notch live show experience for all ages. Buckwild's song list is made up of today's best country hits from A~Z and a few well known rock and metal anthems. Buckwild’s high energy show is sure to entertain all types of concert goers. Buckwild is Pittsburgh’s rockin’ country band!!!
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scott bradley - lead vocals
What can I say?!?! I’ve had a very long and blessed career of being able to do what I love and am so passionate about my performance, each and every night. Being a front man for bands such as Whiskey High, Silk 9, Sicksense and now BUCKWILD, it is so much more than just being the lead singer…It’s turning what might be someone’s worst day into their best night ever! Live music has a way of healing the soul for the people on AND off stage. I’ve performed in front of thousands of people yet continue to get the same feeling each night we take the stage, no matter how big or small the venue. Everyone gets the best of me night after night after night.
Fronting a country band like BUCKWILD has enabled me to spread my wings and dig into a side of my singing I never knew I had. We do not have an on/off switch!! From the moment we hit the stage, it’s always ON. What can you expect when you come see BUCKWILD? A full tilt, high energy, in your face, dance your butts off, sing along, drinking, laughing, forget about your troubles, hell of a good time. Hope to see you at a show soon.
KEITH KLEINHAMPL - DRUMS/DRUM PROGRAMMIMNG
Keith has been playing drums since the fourth grade and his earliest memories of his drumming career are when he used to set up a “drum kit” using his mom’s pots and pans and would play them using her wooden baking spoons. From those earliest drumming years, Keith knew that drumming was his passion.
After only one year of private lessons, he became self-taught and learned to play the drums mainly by listening to, and playing along with, 80s hair metal and pop rock. Tico Torres, drummer for Bon Jovi, was one of his first major influences. After playing in several high school bands including “IMPACT” and playing a handful of gigs, Keith’s musical tastes began to change. Leaning toward heavier metal styles and more technical playing, Dave Lombardo from Slayer, Scott Rockenfield from Queensryche and Neil Peart from Rush quickly became Keith’s obsession which continued to shape and sharpen the drumming style he still plays today. After several years as a member of “REQUIEM” and “CHAPTER SEVEN”, Keith settled into more mainstream pop/rock styles and played in bands such as “SONG”, “COLORFAST” and “THE SPEEDS”.
Fast forward several years and Keith began playing country music and Contemporary Christian/worship music which has dominated his playing for the last 15 years. Keith was fortunate enough to play with amazing country artists such as TERRY LEE SPENCER, MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER, ANDY DAVIS, JOHN PAUL VON ARX and THE HILLBILLY WAY. His most memorable musical moments are sharing the stage with PARMALEE, THOMPSON SQUARE, CHARLIE DANIELS and DAVID ALLAN COE.
Keith is now enjoying success with the electrifying country party band, BUCKWILD, from Pittsburgh, PA. Playing a perfect mixture of rockin’ country party anthems to increasingly larger crowds, BUCKWILD, is lighting the regional country scene on fire with their high-energy, can’t miss performances. Check out the tour dates page for a list of all the current shows. See y’all at a show soon!
GEORGE KALANTZIS - GUITARS AND VOCALS
George has always had a passion for music. He started playing trumpet and guitar at an early age and ended up pursuing guitar in his teens. During that time he cut his teeth playing in Chicago-area rock bands playing metal and progressive rock, being mostly influenced by Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, and Alex Lifeson. As his passion for the guitar grew, he had the opportunity to study guitar with Chicago Jazz great Frank Dawson while in college. Through his studies he not only learned about music and composition, but the importance of being able to perform a wide range of styles, have a deep repertoire, and the importance of a performance.
After moving to Pittsburgh, George became highly involved with Blues, Country, and Contemporary Christian music. Throughout his music career, he has been fortunate to play with, and support, many great artists which have led to openings for Glenn Frey, Todd Rundgren, The Average White Band, Charlie Daniels, Dustin Lynch, David Nail, Michael Burks, James Solberg, and many others.
Some of his current (and ongoing) influences include Robben Ford, Jimmy Herring, John Scofield, Scott Henderson, and Tim Stewart. And his diverse love of music is evident in the wide range of styles he’s been involved with and can cover - from country and rock to blues, jazz, pop, and funk.
George is excited to be part of the Buckwild family and to bring non-stop, high-energy, can’t-miss Buckwild performances to the stage. Come check out Buckwild to see and hear what the Buckin’ buzz is all about!
BRADEN ESPOSITO - GUITARS & VOCALS
Well being the new guy in the band I guess I should tell ya’ll a little bit about myself!. Some of my earliest musical memories was watching The Beatles “Help” and “A Hard Days Night” over and over again not only enjoying the movies themselves but also enjoying the music I was hearing. Because of those movies I started playing drums in school from third to fifth grade but unfortunately lost interest. Fast forward to my teenage years when I first heard AC/DC’s “Back In Black” album for the first time I knew right away that I wanted to play guitar!. Throughout high school and after graduation I played in various bands and eventually I joined my first working band The Drama Kings in 2018 out of Butler, PA. Since then I’ve had a lot of great musical ventures including playing in the bands Supermoon, Jukebox, Shady Mugs, and currently playing the role of Mick Mars in the Motley Crue tribute band Steel City Crue since 2020. In addition to gigging I also really enjoy being a hired gun as well as getting the opportunity to play on recording studio sessions and video productions. Some of my favorite shows that stand out for me so far was getting the chance to open for the Los Angeles based band The Iron Maidens and getting to back up Pittsburgh’s independent country artist Gary Pratt opening for Confederate Railroad.
My biggest music influences on guitar are Angus Young, Jimmy Page, Warren Haynes, and Ace Frehley among to many others to name!. I love listening to and playing anything from Motown, 70s funk, country, metal, classic rock and just about anything that catches my ear. It’s definitely not uncommon to catch me listening to Megadeth followed by Shaina Twain for example!.
I am really excited to have been accepted into Buckwild and I hope to bring my energy, dedication, focus, and passion for music to the band and to hopefully keep growing and learning more as a musician. I can’t wait to play for and meet our very dedicated fan base and I hope to see all of you out there having a bucking great time!
RICK CERRA - BASS & vOCALS
Throughout my music career, I’ve been fortunate to have played with amazing musicians at some of the best venues in Pittsburgh. I played bass and had lead vocal duties with Power Trio, Neutral Loss and shared lead vocal duties for the 80’s Party Band, Ferris Bueller’s Revenge. I played guitar, bass and shared lead vocal duties in a 4-piece acoustic band, American Honey. I currently play bass and do vocals with Journey Through the Ages and play guitar and sing lead vocals in my current acoustic act, Rick & Tony. One of the highlights of my career was playing at several Penguins games between periods! I’ve also had the pleasure of guest playing for a few of the ‘Burgh’s best bands!
To be honest, I didn’t discover my love for country music until about 3 years ago. I’ve always played and been more influenced by Classic Rock and Metal. While I still love those genres, my main listening focus nowadays is Country. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to play in this high energy, hard driving, rockin’ Pittsburgh country band!
I can’t wait to meet the incredible BUCKWILD fans and locking down the rhythm section each night on stage.
