My Favorite Guitar shines a spotlight on Terry Engelman of Rust Valley Revival & Low Kings
(My Favorite Guitar is a monthly feature where The Times asks prominent local guitarists to share the story behind their No. 1 go-to guitar.)
Terry Engelman became serious about playing guitar at age 15, when a good friend saw him pick up a guitar and attempt to play it.
"He jokingly told me I was terrible, and I’d never learn to play guitar and something inside me snapped," Engelman said. "I sat down and taught myself to play and 25 years later I’ve never put the instrument down."
And that's been a blessing for fans of Rust Valley Revival, the popular Beaver County rock band, with a bit of R&B seasoning, co-founded last year by Engelman.
Beaver Valley music fans previously cheered on Engelman's guitar wizardry for metal band Die Lorelei, then the acoustic duo Double Edge and former rock band The Dashboard Saints. Those latter two acts both drew a loyal fan base until co-founder Frank Caratelli died in 2020.
"Upon his passing, I joined some friends in a Pittsburgh based Celtic rock band called the Low Kings of which I still play," Engelman, of Rochester, said. "Needing more straight-up, in-your-face rock and roll in my life, I started Rust Valley Revival last year with three other very talented guys from the Beaver Valley area who have also been in the local circuit for a long time.
"My first time on stage I was 17 and went to a jam night at the Monaca VFW," Engelman said. "I got up to jam with David Granati and I was as nervous as I could be. "I’ll never forget him telling me, 'Being on stage is like a roller coaster, you’re going to get on and it’ll scare you to death but after that first ride, you’ll want to keep getting back on it.' He was so right; I haven’t stopped since. I started off playing with a rock band called Living Lie in the early 2000s. We played all the Rockin’ The Suburbs festivals and all around the area with bands like Mushcup and Gutterfly."
With Rust Valley Revival, he's performed this month at Big Sewickley Creek Brewing, and at Ellwood City's big July 4th weekend festival, for which he also served as soundman for sets by other bands like Hat Trick, featuring his former Dashboard Saints bandmate Ray Fernandez.
Engelman also has an original recording project, Deviant Grey, a duo that composes and releases hard rock tunes.
For all that rocking, we salute Engelman, this month's profile for "My Favorite Guitar".
My favorite guitar is ...:
Engelman: I’m a big fan of new and old Gibsons, as well as Fenders and PRS’s that I’ve amassed over the years, but my most played and loved guitar is my ‘63 Reissue Custom Shop Gibson ES-335. It’s a Pelham Blue color you don’t see very often on these, as they are usually Cherry Red or Sunburst and it took me a long time to track this one down.
That being said, my 1980 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst is a very close second and more sentimental to me as it belonged to the late Frank Caratelli, a well-known musician in the Beaver Valley area. He was a great mentor, friend and bandmate to me and had asked his wife and daughter to give me that guitar when he passed away in late 2020. He toured all over with that Les Paul and opened for many national acts. It’s truly lived a rock and roll life.
It’s my favorite because:
I’ve found that a really good 335 can handle anything you throw at it. I can clean up the tone with the volume knobs and go from BB King to pushed-a little-harder in the style of Eric Clapton during the Cream era. Pushed to the max, it can handle any rock & roll riffs and licks I can throw at it. There’s a variety of sounds in that guitar just by utilizing the volume and tone knobs, and the neck just feels like home when I play it. The sound of that guitar through my ‘76 Marshall Lead Half Stack that I bought from my friend Dennis Trivilino is as close to my perfect tone as I think I’ll ever get. With a good 335 you can rule the world, this one is great! I get a lot of people who are both musicians and non-musicians that come up to me at shows and ask about it and tell me it’s one of the most beautiful guitars they’ve seen. I’ve played hundreds of gigs with this thing and hope to play a lot more in the years to come.
Some of the most memorable places I’ve played my favorite guitar...
The Hard Rock Cafe always hits a soft spot for me as I remember being a kid and dreaming of playing on that stage. Horse Trading Days (in Zelienople) opening for Gaelic Storm was really memorable, as well as playing Jergel's, The Crafthouse, Tequila Cowboy and all the Pittsburgh and surrounding area's Irish festivals. Of course, it’s also seen its fair share of Beaver County staples like Mario’s, Kendrew's, Paradise Pub, Beaver County Boom and so many other places across Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
See me and my favorite guitar again on stage ...
With the Low Kings on July 29 at Riley’s Pour House in Carnegie from 8-11 p.m., and with Rust Valley Revival on Aug. 4 at Mario’s 410 Grille in Bridgewater from 8-11 p.m.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Terry Engelman of Rust Valley Revival discusses his most go-to guitar
