Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2012. The band is composed of singer-guitarist Rebecca Ryskalczyk, bassist Patrick Ronayne, singer-guitarist Christina Puerto and drummer Jon Gernhart. Bethlehem Steel has described their band as at first "our sound was a lot softer, through the anger of everything, we were able to transform the sound of the band.” In 2016 they were named as one of 14 bands that impressed at South by Southwest. Bethlehem Steel has been known for playing the party game Ninja, which was the basis of one of their singles music videos. They have previously toured with Cold Sweats, Pleistoscene, Haybaby, Baked and Painted Zeros. History Becca Ryskalczyk, Jon Gernhart, and Zephyr Prusinski were part of a closely knit music community while students at SUNY Fredonia, and SUNY Purchase (Zephyr Prusinski). They had played in separate bands, but knew each other well just from spending time in similar circles. Through performances at house shows and the bar and club scene of Buffalo, there were enough places for developing musicians to flourish in Western New York. Gernhart and Ryskalczyk established a friendship that lead them to Brooklyn upon graduation of their Fredonia music community, they were the only two from their group of friends who ended up relocating southern to Brooklyn: where they continued to become close-knit while working on their musical ambitions. Gernhart ended up working in sound engineering, while Buffalo native Ryskalczyk took her time finding her place in the city she was a nanny before fully immersing herself in the Brooklyn DIY music scene. The original trio decided to call themselves Bethlehem Steel. In explaining why, Ryskalczyk stated "It's a good way to stay connected to the industrial cities from which they all hail originally." Additionally, paying tribute to her hometown prevented Ryskalczyk from feeling as though she was abandoning her past.