Turn it up: Car audio competition set for Sunday in Greensburg

“Just kick a little somethin’ for the cars that be bumpin’.”

That’s the admonition that kicks off “The Boomin’ System,” the first track on old-school rapper LL Cool J’s landmark album, “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and it extols the virtues of having a high-powered sound system in the car.

Or in LL’s words, “I got a trunk full of amps, ain’t no room for a spare.”

Car audio enthusiasts from all over the region will be on hand Sunday at The Stereo Shop in Greensburg, looking to come out on top in a battle to see who can boom the loudest.

“I’ll be there with my car, but I’m not going to compete,” said Donald Wilson, 58, of New Kensington, better known at the competitions by his nickname, “Sodda Pop Kid.”

“I’m an O.G. I’ve been into car audio since 1989,” Wilson said. “I’m originally from Homewood and work as a barber. And I remember guys used to ride by the barbershop with their music real loud — one guy even shook the barbershop. And I remember thinking, ‘When I get a car, I want to have a sound system like that.’ ”

Ever since he got a friend to install two 12-inch subwoofers in the backseat of his 1976 Oldsmobile Omega, Wilson has been playing his music loud. And, since winning his first competition in 2003, he’s racked up hundreds of wins at audio battles all over the country.

That’s how Wilson connected with the group organizing Sunday’s event.

“We’ve been doing these since 2016, but we found our home at The Stereo Shop,” said Andy Magill of North Huntingdon. “I’ve been doing car audio ever since I could drive.”

Stereo Shop owner Dan Barrett said Magill had a built-in following from hosting similar events.

“You had all these guys who compete in similar corporate-funded events, and, after he met a few people on Facebook with the same interests, they’d start meeting out in the middle of nowhere and got a pretty decent crowd,” Barrett said.

There are two types of competitions. One is based on the quality and fidelity of a stereo system — “That’s where I fall. I’m not a big bass guy,” Barrett said. And then there’s sound-pressure level competition, where amps and subwoofers rule the day.

“We break them down into stock, modified, extreme, etc.,” Barrett said.

Using a decibel meter, competitors are judged across 12 classes.

“It goes by how many subwoofers you have, how much power you’re clamping and how much equipment you have,” Magill said.

So what about the neighbors?

“My first thought was to go talk to the Greensburg police to make sure of what we can and can’t do,” Barrett said. “They couldn’t have been nicer about it. As long as I’m not bothering anyone around, we can make as much noise as we want until 9 o’clock at night.”

Both Barrett and Magill said they always have made sure nearby residents know the competition is happening.

“Honestly, we haven’t had any problems at The Stereo Shop,” Magill said. “That’s part of why we don’t do the competitions quite as often.”

Barrett said participants regularly come from all over Pennsylvania, as well as eastern Ohio and West Virginia.

“So far, it’s been great, and we’ve had no issues,” he said. “Everyone’s had a great time when we’ve been here.”

The TeamSPLoud “Spring Into Summer” car audio competition will take place from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, May 29 at The Stereo Shop, 201 East Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg. The cost is $20 to compete, and there is no cost to attend.