Speedealer originally formed in 1992 in Lubbock, TX, under the
name REO Speedealer. In 1997 when REO Speedwagon served the band a cease-and-desist order on their moniker, they shortenedimew their name to Speedealer and released their debut, self-titled album on Royalty Records. The following year, after the departure of drummer Todd Mcglaulin and guitarist Mike Noyes, the hard rocking foursome — made up of singer/guitarist Jeff Hirshberg, bassist Rodney Skelton, and newly added drummer Harden Harrison(Rigor Mortis) and guitarist Eric Schmidt(Pervis) –, recorded and released their follow-up record, Here Comes Death, on the same label. Royalty Records went bankrupt soon after the band’s second release, leaving Speedealer to their own devices for exposure.
Label-less and musically driven, they played 309 shows in 1999 to stay in the public eye, pairing up with such like-minded, aggressive rockers as Motörhead, Fu Manchu, Neurosis, Zeke, and GWAR. Speedealer’s efforts finally paid off when Palm Records A&R man Michael Alago (who signed Metallica to Elektra and White Zombie to Geffen) contracted the band to his label. Palm Records re-released Here Comes Death in 2000, and Second Sight (produced by Jason Newstead of Metallica) in 2002. In 2003 Casey Orr (Rigor Mortis, GWAR, Ministry, and Burden Brothers) took over bass duties for Speedealer. Then came Dead Teenager’s release of Bleed, and Radical Record’s release of Speedealer’s live at GBGB recording Burned Alive. In 2012 Jeff Hirshberg decided to stop playing live shows but continues writing music with the band. Speedealer's forthcoming album titled Blue Days Black Nights will be released May 6, 2019 Current touring lineup is Eric Schmidt /Guitar, Harden Harrison/Drumsvocals, Rick Pearson (Buck Pets)/ bass, Daniel Barron