If your record collection is filled with the likes of Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC and Pink Floyd or you’re lucky enough to be discovering these classic rockers anew then Rock Rising is the live show for you.
Created by members of Big Generator, Rock Rising (a reference to the classic 1976 Rainbow album) is a journey through the evolution of classic rock.
Limerick Post sat down with guitarist Dave Hockedy for a chat about the show.
The band Big Generator have been on the circuit for over 30 years, formed by ex-members of Royal Flush as a rock band playing covers as well as writing original material.
Dave has been a fan of the band since those early days
“I saw them play in The Shebeen, at The George at Christmas 1992. They blew me away, playing really high quality stuff that was well practised.”
The guitarist comes from a family steeped in music, his father Johnny Hockedy played with Granny’s Intentions, studied classical guitar and taught at The Limerick School of Music for about 40 years. Johnny would practise for hours and the young Dave naturally picked up the guitar, learning to play by listening to Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler’s guitar techniques.
Dave has played guitar in various lineups in the city since the 1980s and joined Big Generator on two occasions and was also part of Barry McGuigan’s backing band for a time recording with the Clones Cyclone in the UK who is as good a singer on stage as he is a champion in the boxing ring.
Dave was asked to fill in with Big Generator for a few weeks in 2001, and four and half years he was still there. He returned to the band in 2018 and Rock Rising is a new project for the musicians and something of a dream come true to be able to produce a stadium style show with a seven-piece band with state of the art sound and lights.
Looking at the rock rising setlist, it is filled with classic tracks from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, tracks that were chart hits back in a time when the charts varied from pop to rock to reggae to dance. These songs were part of our soundtrack growing up, you probably have most of these records in your collection at home.
The idea for Rock Rising was proposed during the pandemic with the four members of Big Generator adding in three extra musicians to play the classic rock they are all passionate about to a theatre audience. They have played five shows that were house full so far.
The players in Rock Rising demand of themselves that they get the instrumentation, the technique and the feel of a song absolutely right before playing it to an audience.
“There isn’t a bigger critic of me, but me, to the point of being like swiss cheese (laughs) – Some people see the cheese, I see the holes all the time. That’s how I think about it.”
“I have done jamming for years with the Funk Junkies. We just go up on stage and jam it out and it’s great fun, but there are certain melodies played on the guitar and parts of certain songs that are integral to the tune. Something like the guitar playing in Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd). It is so iconic that I learned it all note for note, because it is phrased and melodic.”
That is the level of musicianship that is the backbone of Rock Rising, performing the songs to a high standard with additional production in sound and lights with visuals controlled live on a screen behind the band.
It takes a seven-piece band and quality musicianship and stagecraft to make this show featuring rock anthems from legendary acts such as Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Journey, Foreigner, Toto and Thin Lizzy and more.
A labour of love from fans of the genre, Rock Rising is a set of timeless classic songs, huge hits, all painstakingly recreated and delivered with a unique sense of honesty and vibe, encapsulated in a stunning custom designed light and pyrotechnic show.
Rock Rising play Lime Tree Theatre on Saturday September 9.
