PITTSBURGH (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Joker Productions’ Joe Rinaldo has taken over the former Nick’s Fat City on the south side of Pittsburgh, reviving the club and taking it to the next level by booking national acts starting in February.
The club, now called Diesel, has been completely refurbished and has a new capacity of 600.
“They’ve completely revamped the place inside,” Rinaldo told the Tribune-Review. “It’s beautiful. The first time I walked in, it was like I didn’t know it used to be Nick’s Fat City. It’s sparkling.”
Rinaldo plan is in concert with another Joker Productions venue, the Club Café, which has a capacity of only 150, and often loses the acts he helped develop to larger venues such as the Rex Theater and Mr. Small’s Funhouse Theatre.
“I’ve definitely lost a few artists because of that,” he says, noting that K.T. Tunstall and Carbon Leaf easily sold out Club Café and soon headed for larger venues.
Rinaldo told the paper that he expects Diesel to enhance competition with other local promoters, such as Elco Concert Productions and Opus One Productions, but believes it will ultimately benefit the scene and its fans.
“I’ve been talking to people in the industry who I have worked with for years and they’re pretty excited for me about the club,” Rinaldo said. “And the owners of the club are excited. They realize they need to be a little more diverse, that they can’t have dance music every night.”
Rinaldo has already lined up indie rockers Cute Is What We Aim For plus special guests for February 20th at Diesel. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
