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Get The Led Out singer heralds importance of small heartland cities to classic rock, plays Marietta on Jan. 13

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In December, the Peoples’ Bank Theatre (222 Putnam St.) in Marietta was rocked by British Invasion front-liners Herman’s Hermits — whose lead singer, Peter Noone, spoke to WOUB shortly beforehand. Many of Herman’s Hermits records featured guitar from an uncredited session player by the name of Jimmy Page… who just happened to later become the guitarist for a band that you might have heard of, Led Zeppelin.

A month later, on January 13, the catalog of Led Zeppelin will rock the ornate walls of the Peoples’ Bank Theatre. But it won’t come from Zeppelin themselves, as they haven’t toured since their break-up in 1980.

Instead, the Zeppelin sounds will come from Led Zeppelin tribute band Get The Led Out. But don’t get the wrong idea; this tribute band is not your local weekend warriors in wigs. Get The Led Out is based in Philadelphia; and they play hundreds of shows across North America every year.

In advance of the Marietta show, I spoke with GTLO lead singer Paul Sinclair. We discussed how GTLO distinguishes themselves not only from other Led Zeppelin tribute bands, but also from live performances of Led Zeppelin themselves – who utilized their concerts more as a vehicle for jamming and improvisation, rather than recreate the arrangements that we all recognize from the studio recordings on their blockbuster records.

Paul Sinclair of Led Zeppelin tribute band, Get The Led Out on stage during one of the band's gigs. Blue and green stage lights beam down and stage fog is rolling in the foreground.
Paul Sinclair of Led Zeppelin tribute band, Get The Led Out. [gtlorocks.com]
Sinclair also delved into how, contrary to what coastal music industry pundits might speculate, smaller cities in the heartland are thriving hubs for classic rock – a finding that WOUB had discussed with another one of Led Zeppelin’s ’70s contemporaries, David Freiberg of Jefferson Starship, as they embarked on a tour of smaller cities across Ohio in addition to Cincinnati.

You can listen to our full interview segment with Get The Led Out lead singer, Paul Sinclair, in the Soundcloud widget above. Tickets for Get The Led Out’s show in Marietta can be purchased on the theater’s website, peoplesbanktheatre.com. A full list of their upcoming tour dates can be browsed at gtlorocks.com/events.