The Grande Machine
Vic Champion
Robbie Dee
Ernie “The Fridge” Piccolo
Mash Ando
About
Created in 2008, long time collaborators Vic Champion and Robbie Dee had the intention of putting together a band that shuns modern convention and gets back to the basics of good ol’ rock’n’roll: visceral, energetic, primal and loud. Calling on their good friend Ernie “The Fridge” Piccolo to come out of “early retirement” after a recent stint at an undisclosed military testing facility. The foundation was set!
While rehearsing, Mash Ando – who was singing in an act down the hall – was drawn to the sounds erupting from their studio. Champion, thinking Mash was there to audition, asked if he knew the words to “Search & Destroy” by Iggy and the Stooges. Suddenly the light shined down upon them, and they were sanctified!
Press
Looks are important to Glam Rockers. Listening to the Grande Machine’s nosebleed-level maximum energy glam slam, you might expect them to look like an explosion in a leopard-print fabric factory that has been doused with mascara. Amazingly, the pictures make them look like four guys from your IT department playing at a wedding, which, in a way, is far more intriguing than if they’d just come straight from Motley Crue school. A lot of the initial reviews have little variation on “Slade meet the New York Dolls….” and we’re going to go with the flow here and sing along with that particular chorus. Songs like Wild in the Street and All the Love are timeless glam nuggets that would have done everyone from The Stooges in 73 or The Dictators in 77, or The Wildhearts in 91 or The Hellacopters yesterday proud. One listen to this and you know that one day this band will play the best gig you’ll ever see.Tommy Udo, Classic Rock Magazine
