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Thrash band Nasty Savage reunites for a night, maybe more

 
Ron Galletti, vocals, Fred Dregichan, bass, and David Austin guitar, made up part of the thrash metal band Nasty Savage in the 1980s. The three reunite Saturday (Nov. 19) to headline a show at the Crowbar in Ybor City.
Ron Galletti, vocals, Fred Dregichan, bass, and David Austin guitar, made up part of the thrash metal band Nasty Savage in the 1980s. The three reunite Saturday (Nov. 19) to headline a show at the Crowbar in Ybor City.
Published Nov. 17, 2016

The executive producer and publisher of Born to Ride television show and magazine sits in his Brandon office proudly wearing a ring from his father Albert, a 23-year New York Police Department veteran, who died in October.

At 54, Ron Galletti is reflective.

The husband and father of two teenagers produces a television show that has spanned more than 20 years, and he has published more than 200 monthly magazines. His creative mind constantly generates ideas, whether it's producing a movie with some recognizable Hollywood names, pitching a reality television show idea or closing a book deal.

Collectables worthy of any man cave surround him, but it's the CDs, vinyl records and concert posters from a time gone by that stand out.

More than 30 years ago, Galletti starred as Nasty Ronnie, vocalist and showman of Nasty Savage, a thrash metal band that powered its way out of Brandon and onto the global heavy metal scene in the early 1980s.

Now the group talks of releasing new music and hints at a possible 12-day reunion tour through South America in the future. For now, three of the original five members of Nasty Savage will spark all those possibilities by headlining a five-band concert lineup at Tampa's Crowbar in Ybor City Saturday (Nov. 19) as a tune up to Famine Fest in Portland, Ore. Feb 10-11, 2017. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $15-$20.

"As you get older in life you want to reach out to what you had when you were younger," said Galletti, who will team with original bassist Fred Dregischan and original guitarist David Austin - all Brandon High School graduates.

"It's a part of who I am and where I've been," Galletti added. "I'll be Ron Galletti all day long on the 19th, but at 11:30 when we come on stage, it's time to turn that switch on all the way."

It's a far, rebellious cry from 1983 when Wage of Mayhem became an underground cult classic, vaulting Nasty Savage to sign with Metal Blade records and launch six albums en route to European and South American tours. The last U.S. tour was in 1990. Before the band disbanded, it played 60 shows in 65 days. Nasty Savage has since played a couple reunion shows in 2012 and 2014 using various musicians.

Earlier this year, Galletti asked Dregischan if he wanted to get the band back together and start writing new music.

"I didn't even hesitate for a moment, and answered, 'Hell yeah!'" said Dregischan, 53, who lives in Bakersville, NC. "Nasty Savage 2016 began to blossom and I am stoked beyond belief."

Austin was next. A 54-year-old father of two, he never really left the metal scene behind. He's a machinist at a sheet metal plant in Tennessee who has worked with the likes of Obituary, Testament, DSI and Chris Jericho on charity projects.

"I said sure let's see how it goes and maybe write some new music," he said, recalling past shows where wrestlers would bring snakes on stage, and Nasty Ronnie smashed TVs and exited the stage bloodied. "We've never had a great number of fans but we have enough to make us want to get together and play live. It's an outlet for me, I can't escape it."

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The trio will be accompanied by drummer Greg Gall (of Six Feet Under) and Tampa musician Demian Gordon on guitar. The result of the amalgamation, said Nasty Ronnie, will be, "Slayer meets Kiss meets pro wrestling meets Jim Morrison."

Tom DeGeorge, owner of the Crowbar, has hosted a Nasty Savage concert before.

"It's an old school, Tampa metal crowd," he said. "They come out for them. It's always a fun time. They are really good guys."

At 54, Nasty Ronnie is ready to be revived.

When he takes the stage, he wants to "burn images in people's brains and create mayhem for first-timers and fans who haven't seen them play in more than 30 years."

On stage, it's about anti authority — not parenting and publishing. The power, progression and complexity of a local thrash band that started a movement is back.

"Here we are in our 50s and we really have to deliver," Galletti said. "It's coming people."

Contact Eric Vician at hillsnews@tampabay.com.