Rock band Str8pipe has been playing the Gainesville scene for several years, but Friday will be just the second time with their new lead singer, Joanna Dean.

Guitarist Larry Newman, who has been playing guitar for more than 30 years, said it's great to have a female singer and she'll be belting out tunes ranging from classic rock to Sheryl Crow.

We caught up with Newman to find out what locals can expect from Str8pipe on Friday at Wild Wing.

Question: Where did you come up with the name of the band?

Answer: It's really based on the fact that we are a loud rock ‘n' roll band, like a straight pipe off a motorcycle - that is the connection to it. I joined the band later and they already had this name, they just spelled it that way to be different.

Q: Tell us a bit about the band's history.

A: The band was originally formed in 2004 and I joined probably three years ago and the new lineup has a female singer who is Joanna Dean who actually had quite a few albums out in the '80s and '90s ... myself Larry Newman, Mike McAllister and Jef Allen. Jef is the original founding member.

Q: Who are some of Str8pipe's influences?

A: We have a lot of different influences from blues to rock to ... we're basically classic rock, and when we started playing it wasn't classic. ... Everyone has different influences, whether it's from English blues or American blues and then going into more rock.

I grew up playing more Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan. My style is pretty much along those lines.

Q: How often do you play in Gainesville and what is the crowd like in this area?

A: It's exciting. There's usually a good crowd; they can get pretty rowdy there in Gainesville.

Q: What can folks expect from your show this Friday at Wild Wing Cafe?

A: With the brand-new singer ... you are going to hear a good variety of music. From some softer stuff all the way to AC/DC, harder stuff to Led Zeppelin to Sheryl Crow, we are going to be all over the board on this.