Get Petty Bios
Meet Brian Gates, the lead guitarist behind the electrifying guitar solos of GetPetty. With over three decades of professional guitar experience, Brian has been shredding since 1983, wielding his beloved Fender Telecaster as his weapon of choice. From his days rocking out with the 80s metal band Time Bomb to his stint with cutting-edge 90s rock group Diner, Brian’s musical journey has been legendary. He has an unparalleled passion for music and a knack for captivating audiences.
Throughout his career, Brian has graced countless stages across Pennsylvania and Maryland, sharing the spotlight with top-tier national acts and earning a nomination for the CPMA award for best cover band in Central PA. In addition, Brian released an e.p. in 1990 with Time Bomb and a CD in 1996 with Diner. Brian moved on in 2020 to join a Tom Petty Band, which led to the creation of Get Petty.
Meet Dave Grim – Lead Vocals/Guitars
Dave started singing as a small child and performed his first vocal solo at a Christmas pageant in 4th grade. After that he performed in various school related performances. His first role as a front man came at age 17 when he joined his first rock band and played his first ever live show, he was instantly hooked! In his early 20’s he performed with local/regional rock acts “Deceiver”, 1990 York Interstate Fair Best of Bands Winners “Hyde Your Daughters” , “ Scarlett Gypsy”, “Thunderstruck”.
Life took a turn when he met his wife of now more than 32 years and he decided it was best to be home and they have raised two wonderful kids. During this nearly 25 year hiatus from the live rock scene he served as a worship musician and as principal lyricist and vocalist for Christian metal outfit “Messiah Prophet”, on their 1996 UCan Records release “Colors”.
In 2018 Dave returned to the rock scene fronting local 80’s rockers and 2019 CPMA “Best Cover Band” Nominees “Time Bomb” opening for the likes of 80’s rock acts, “Every Mother’s Nightmare”, “Bang Tango”, “Faster Pussycat”, “Warrant”, “KIX”, and “Stryper”.
Dave’s influences include: Geoff Tate, Lou Gramm, Klaus Meine, Tony Harnell, Don Dokken, Miles Kennedy, and of course Tom Petty. Dave also builds one of a kind custom guitars under the name “GCG” (Grim Custom Guitar). In 2024 as luck or fate would have it, his friend and colleague of more than 30 years Brian Gates (Lead Guitarist for Get Petty) reached out looking for a vocalist to take the helm and the rest is as they say….history!
Meet Lincoln Cross – Drums
Lincoln was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. He was influenced to play the drums by his drummer brother Sal by the age of 15. His first influence was the Beatles, he was also highly influenced by British Rock and Prog Drummers such as John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, Bill Ward and Ian Paice in which he listened to with his friends, from there they started a band. Lincoln began taking drum lessons by the age of 16 at The Musical Carousel with Taso Kotsos. As he progressed in his studies his influences expanded to include Bands such as Genesis, YES, ELP, Gentle Giant, Al Di Meola and Weather Report, etc.
Lincoln has played with many bands in and around the Mid-Atlantic Region
From religious retreats in Jacksonville Florida, Syracuse NY and for the late
Pope Francis during the former Pope’s most recent trip to Philadelphia, PA.
Between 1995 – 2010 Lincoln took a break to raise his children and has been back at it with full force and passion for almost 15 years.
Lincoln is enthusiastic about this project and has dedicated a considerable amount of time and labor to accurately portray the drumming of Stan Lynch and Steve Ferrone. He is currently using Baltimore Drums, Gretsch, Tama, Zildjian and Sabian cymbals.
Meet Rich Rollo – Bass and Harmony Vocals
A born-and-bred NYC kid my Mom from England, insisted I take piano lessons as a boy, while she taught me harmony singing hymns and the spiritual songs of her culture. Seeing the Beatles while visiting in England 1963, set me on the road to a lifelong career in music. Decades of bands from High school soul bands, to 70’s punk and New Wave groups where I wrote my own music, and played with my bands “Traitors” and “Pleazer”. We played on bills with Robert Gordon, Cyndie Lauper, Brian Setzer and the Plasmatics, at venues from Max’s Kansas City, and CBGB’s, to the shores of Asbury Park. I spent the 80’s in my next original band the “Waffles”, and while recording our songs seeking a contract, I earned money playing bass with a series of Do-wop revival shows like Brooklyn’s “Excellents”, and the “Treble Chords” from the Bronx
The 90’s I dedicated my time to “Route 66” where we performed the music of the 60’s performing everything from Motown to the British Invasion.
In 2002 I became a Tour Guide for a company taking “Pilgrims” on trips to Liverpool and London visiting the Homes, and original starting points where the Beatles cut their teeth. While on my trips to the Beatle stops, I played myself, at The Casbah Club, the Cavern Club in Liverpool and Several Venues in London as a “Tribute” to the Beatles. Moving to Pennsylvania in 2017 I joined a few local bands playing the “Antler” circuit, and finally found a home in “Get Petty” playing bass and singing harmony where I feel like I belong.
Meet Phil Johansson – Keyboards/Guitars/Vocals.
Born in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, Phil started piano lessons in grade school. He then moved onto drums and played all through his high school years.
After high school he took up playing guitar, bass, ukulele, and harmonica. At the age of 19 he started playing in local bands.
Some of the more popular bands:
Moon, Fat Chance, Silver City, Signal 21, Hyde Your Daughters, Luv Gods, and Cheap Sneakers.
A keyboard nomad who builds sonic landscapes with a talent for programming keyboards and transforming them into impressive productions live on stage. He meticulously crafts patches and sequences that flawlessly reproduce the intricate layers of studio recordings, bringing a level of polish and fidelity to our live performances which is truly exceptional.
Phil’s production programming ensures every live show feels as rich and full as the popular songs we emulate, making him an indispensable asset that helps give us that perfect “record-like” sound.
We are honored to welcome him to the Get Petty family.
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