Fred Mascherino at the Raccoon Motel -- March 10.
Monday, March 10, 6 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Lauded for his work as lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist in alternative rock band Taking Back Sunday, and currently active with outfits The Color Fred and Say Anything, Fred Mascherino headlines a March 10 concert event at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, The Color Fred's 2022 recording A Year & Change praised by I Am Tuned Up as a work that "sounds fresh and driven, and the stories here are sincere and slightly unnerving."
Mascherino was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1974, and was raised in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, where he earned a degree in jazz guitar, and from 1992 to 1999, Mascherino was in the band Brody, whose members included Kevin Ruggeri, Bill Loughin, Billy Warburton, Brodie Ruland, Keith Cucuzza, Pat Higgins and Dan Sagherian. It was during this time that Mascherino met Eddie Reyes, then of Clockwise. Brody released a 7-inch EP on Creep Records titled Against Forgetting and the full-length CD Worth Dying For. Brody was also featured on several compilations, including Blackout! Records' Punk Rock Jukebox.
In 2003, Mascherino joined Taking Back Sunday, replacing original guitarist/singer John Nolan after Nolan left the band with bassist Shaun Cooper to pursue the outfit Straylight Run. During his stint with Taking Back Sunday, Mascherino was a major collaborator, and was responsible for co-writing the majority of Louder Now, as well as many songs from Where You Want to Be. The musician's main guitar is a Gibson SG Special, while his main amp consists of a Marshall JCM 800 2203 100-watt head, and a Marshall 1960A cabinet with Celestion Greenback speakers. He notes that the cabinet accounts for 75 percent of his sound.
The Color Fred is Mascherino's solo project. On October 30, 2007, Equal Vision Records released a full-length CD for the project titled Bend to Break. Although considered a solo project, Mascherino was joined on the recording by Steve Curtiss on drums, PJ Bond on bass and backing vocals, and Keys/piano played by Clint Stelfox. At the time of the CD's release, the group was on tour with Straylight Run followed by tours with Angels and Airwaves, The Vans Warped Tour, and the Give It A Name Tour in the United Kingdom with Four Year Strong and Mayday Parade. In 2009, The Color Fred's The Intervention EP was released to commemorate Record Store Day. The CD had acoustic versions and demos of songs from Bend to Break as well as unreleased songs. And in 2022, having reunited with a new lineup three years prior, The Color Fred released its sophomore album, A Year & Change, on indie label Heading East Records, which was founded by Mascherino earlier in the year.
Fred Mascherino plays his Davenport engagement on March 10 alongside the touring Denver musicians of Holdfast, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $19.84, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
