“By the end of the set, the crowd is in a lather,” says Bill Ford, drummer for Central PA party machine 3rd Degree. That description may be a ‘little more literal than it sounds, as the band had just supplied the soundtrack to a bikini bike wash event at a York bar the day before we spoke.

Ford boarded the 3rd Degree train less than two years ago, although the band has been together in some fashion for upwards of a decade, always ‘centered around the vocals and guitar of frontman Spike. Shortly after Ford joined, 3rd Degree’s bass player quit and was replaced by a Lancastrian named Ray. This change in lineup was followed by a shift in direction that Ford credits for the band’s increasingly busy schedule.

“Our set list has definitely changed over the last year and a half, and I think because of that, our fan base has changed and grown,” Ford explains.
“The bass player and I have more of a heavy metal/hard rock background,” he says, “and Spike’s background is more blues and southern rock, and we’re kind of in the process of melding the two.”

That careful balance seems to be the key to 3rd Degree’s popularity. While blues has its obsessively dedicated cult following the world over, hard ‘rock and country are certainly more reliable ‘crowd-pleasers. Ford makes an effort at being ‘charitable to the blues genre, but is realistic about its prospects when people are looking to party. ‘“Not that there’s anything wrong with blues. ‘Blues is cool and everything. I love listening to it and I love playing it, but after a while the crowd starts to go to sleep, and that’s not what you want.”

3rd Degree definitely does not want that. There is nothing that says buzzkill like a drowsy bikini bike wash. Instead, the band sticks to its plan of delivering a finely balanced set that spans “everything from Hank Williams Jr. to Metallica,” Ford says. “You might hear some AC/DC one second, and the next thing you know, it’s Charlie Daniel’s band!”

So, how does 3rd Degree unite the diversity of ‘material, from Aussie cock-rock to U.S. bar rock? Very carefully, apparently. Ford describes his thought process in designing a set: “I would say, it may start out easy and relaxing, and then it builds. I try to give it a crescendo, so to speak.” That crescendo, he explains, ‘is the part where the crowd gets caught up in the party atmosphere and finds itself “in a lather.” A lot more goes into this process than the careful selection of songs, however. When asked what people can expect from a 3rd Degree show, Ford says, “We do all kinds of things as far as getting the crowed involved. The bass player and guitarist will go out and sit at your table and use your beer bottle as a slide on a guitar. ‘We occasionally will have trivia questions, and the winner of the trivia questions will get prizes and sometimes drinks on the band …”

Whether in adolescence or during a midlife ‘crisis, everyone eventually has some moment of philosophical reflection when it comes to carving out an identity. That goes for bands as well. Every band eventually has to figure out what it is and why it exists in the first place. In the world of cover bands, the issue is more pointed. To write originals or not to write originals, that is the question.

For some, the answer is complicated and varying, as the inner artist strains to get some airtime while the outer pragmatist suggests otherwise. Ford admits to experiencing some of this tension, but stresses that 3rd Degree knows without a shade of doubt what its role is: that of proletariat party suppliers. “We’re a typical cover band,” he insists. “When I say ‘typical,’ I mean we learn a song, we go out and do it the best we can.”

Original 3rd Degree songs may indeed emerge ‘someday, though it doesn’t sound altogether imminent. Ford explains, “We have one original that we’ve started working on. … I mean, as far as doing an album or something like that, I’d love to see that too.” However, Ford has that kind of uncomplicated business acumen that cover bands seem to possess more consistently than wide-eyed songwriters. He remembers playing in “all-original” bands fondly, but acknowledges that “it’s a much tougher sell in this area.”

That said, Ford sets his sights on a more realistic degree of satisfaction: Maybe developing one or two 3rd Degree original tunes that the faithful can latch on to. “I’d love to have at least one or two signature songs …” Ford says, getting downright wistful. “There’s ‘nothing like playing an original song that you created and seeing the fans singing the words that you wrote; getting up and hootin’ and hollerin’.”

If these presumably attainable goals come closer to fruition, the members of 3rd Degree might just have to get used to a little more attention, both in and out of the bars where they play, despite the fact that according to Ford, Ray “just isn’t into a lot of glory and attention.” For now, they are quite content to show up, play hard and be the living, breathing jukebox a party at a bar needs in order to keep things moving.

“It’s just a good time. No B.S.,” Ford says of the band’s live show. “We’ll have a ball with anybody that wants to come out.

“If you want to come out and let your hair down, a 3rd Degree show is the way to go.”