This week, Makin Waves shares a scene report on Bouncing Souls, Monster Magnet, Well Wisher, Jeff Lane, Crazy & the Brains, Teenage Halloween, Chris Pierce, Little Dickman, Hub City Stompers, Silent Knight, The Band Called FUSE, Atom Driver, Mr. Payday, Flemington DIY, Mike Montrey Band, Anthony Krizan, P-Funk North, Mikeromedia, Randy Now’s Mancave, “Shooting Clerks,” Coach ’N Commando, and The Silver Hounds
When The Bouncing Souls chatted with me in 1991 outside the old Pizza Hut on Albany Road in New Brunswick about their debut EP, “Ugly Bill,” I don’t think any of us had any idea that they and their Chunksaah record label still would be makin waves 26 years later. But here we are, and the Souls, three-quarters of which are originals members – vocalist Gregg Attonito, guitarist Pete Steinkopf and bassist Bryan Kienlen with newer drummer George Rebelo – have a slew of sold-out shows coming up on a tour with Rancid and Dropkick Murphys, including Aug. 3 at the Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing and Aug. 4 at the Stone Pony Summerstage. Tickets are still available, however, for Aug. 6 at Coney Island Amphitheatre at www.Ticketmaster.com.
Three weeks after playing the sold-out Rancid/Dropkick Murphys show at the Summerstage, the Souls will return there Aug. 25 for their annual Stoked for Summerfestival. Sharing that bill will be Lucero, The Menzingers, Mickey Rickshaw, and Timeshares. Stoked for Summer will be followed by an after party at Asbury Park Yacht Club with Chunksaah. Beforehand, DJ Pete Steinkopf will get things cookin’ on Aug. 24 at House of Independents with a Stoked for Summer Pre-Party also featuring sets by Dave Hause & The Mermaid and Jared Hart of The Scandals …
Napalm Records will reissue Red Bank-based stoner rock legends Monster Magnet’s first two albums, “Spine of God” and “Tab,” on Sept. 1 on vinyl and CD. You can preorder them here. Napalm also will release a brand new Monster Magnet studio album later this year, so stay tuned …
Do you miss dollys? Well, even though the great indie-pop trio have broken up, you still can hear a new record, “Tense,” on Sniffling Indie Kids. Plus, former dollys singer-drummer Natalie Newbold remains busy with her new project, Well Wisher. On Aug. 4, she’ll play a Planned Parenthood Benefit at Asbury Park Music Foundation with Secret Mountain, Curtis Cooper, and EVL MOMMZ. Highlights also will include sponsor raffle prizes from Cookman Creamery, Swagger and Blade, Bond Street Complex, Parlor Gallery, and Dainzie's Psychic Readings (Madame Marie's Fortune Tellers), who’ll be on hand to provide readings.
Nats also will perform Aug. 12 at Heart of Athenia Bar & Grill, Clifton; Aug. 23, Asbury Park LIVE on the boardwalk’s 1st Avenue Green with Chris Brown; Aug. 26, Planet Express, Philly; Sept. 2, JAX, Jersey City; Sept. 13, The Barbary, Philadelphia, and Sept. 15, back at Asbury Park Music Foundation. Well Wisher often is Nats solo, but dollys bassist-producer Erik Romero sometimes plays with her in a trio.
Romero has been busy making records at Lakehouse Recording Studios, while dollys guitarist Jeff Lane has been playing solo acoustic shows, including July 30 at a New Brunswick basement show with Liz Asheley, Kississippi, Pixel Face, Pictures of Vernon, and Mandancing, and Aug. 11 at Asbury Park Brewery with Ernest,The Chordaes, and Idle Wave ….
Two Jersey bands psyched to open for the legendary Bridgewater-originated, Brooklyn-based band The World/Friendship Inferno Society are Asbury Park/New Brunswick-basedTeenage Halloween, who share a bill Aug. 5 at Brooklyn Bazaar in BK, and Jersey City-based Crazy & the Brains, who will play with World Inferno on Aug. 12 at PhilaMoca in Philly. Also playing Aug. 5 at Brooklyn Bazaar will be Vic Ruggerio, while Posers and Pushin’ 2 the Limit will be on the Philly date.
Crazy & the Brains also have shows coming up July 28 at Sunnyvale in Brooklyn with Toranavox, Dad and Eleanor; Aug. 5 at Bond Street Complex with The Battery Electric and Governess, and Sept. 9 at Party for Peace 2, a benefit for Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement at The Pet Shop in JC. More details about that will be announced soon.
You also can see Teenage Halloween at the aforementioned Planned Parenthood Benefit on Aug. 4, as well as Aug. 7 at The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, with Rozwell Kid, Chris Farren and Great Grandpa; Aug. 20, The Silent Barn, Brooklyn; a New Brunswick basement Aug. 31 with Realdom from Iowa, Cheap Fantasy from Minneapolis, Yung Buffy from Philly, and My Heart & the Real World from New Brunswick, plus Aug. 12 in Columbus, Ohio; Aug. 13, Michigan; Aug. 14, Toronto; Aug. 16, Pittsburgh; Aug. 17, Richmond, Va., and Sept. 16, Rochester …
Chris Pierce of Volume IV studio, as well as the bands The Groucho Marxists, Speed Queen, Doc Hopper, Mikey Erg Band, and more, may be a year older on Aug. 7, but he’s as busy as ever. Fans of Hunchback and The Ergs!, two bands who made great albums for New Brunswick-originated Don Giovanni Records at Volume IV, will be in their glory when former members in Mikey Erg and Exmaid perform there on July 29 with Risk Relay and Moss Music. The superhuman Pierce also will be rocking out that night with Speed Queen at The Visionary Tattoo Arts Festival After Party in Little Dickman Records’ and Joy Vay’s tribute to all that is glam at Anchor’s Bend in Asbury Park with Tight Lipped and The Electric Mess. Speed Queen also will play Hub City Sounds’ ROCK New Brunswick After Party on Sept. 10 with Experiment 34, The Clydes and The Turnbucklers. And Mikey Erg Band will play Aug. 16 at Asbury Park Brewery with
The Capitalist Kids, Erotic Novels, and Wild Rice …
Speaking of Little Dickman, the Asbury label will release Brooklyn indie rockers Looms’ sophomore LP, “How It Has to Be.” Check out Looms live at shows on Aug. 2at Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn; Aug. 3, Laundromat, Morristown; Aug. 15, Connie’s Ric Rac, Philadelphia, and Aug. 16, Sunnyvale, Brooklyn, that will sandwich a tour from New England to the Midwest.
In other Little Dickman news, the label will present an amazing show on July 29 at The Asbury hotel with High Waisted, The Nude Party and Little Dickman recording act Fruit & Flowers …
Having skanked it up all summer on tour, the highly entertaining New Brunswick-based Hub City Stompers’ road work will wind down with shows on Aug. 1 at Mexicali Live with Chilled Monkey Brains and Dusters; Sept. 1 at the first of three days of War at the Shore at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park with a total of 15 other ska and punk bands, and Sept. 10 as headliners of Hub City Sounds’ ROCK New Brunswick festival in Boyd Park with Killer Shrimp, Vertical Fixation, DJ Don Dazzo, Cook Thugless, The Anderson Council, Silent Knight & The Band Called FUSE, and Sharief in Burgundy …
Speaking of Silent Knight, the New Brunswick rapper has put together a great show for a great cause. On July 28, he will present “Take Back the Knight,” a benefit to fight human trafficking featuring the talent of Laurence Hart & Michael Steinbruck, Danielle Illario, Sad Lips, Foxanne, and The Turnbucklers. The free event requests a suggested donation of $10 for The Salvation Army's New Day New Home program, which provides comprehensive, holistic services for young women who were trafficked for sex as minors and are aging out of child protective services.
Silent Knight then will play with The Band Called FUSE on July 29 at The Old Bay in New Brunswick …
Atom Driver, featuring ex-members of Buzzkill and Boss Jim Gettys, and Mr. Payday, featuring ex-members of Pleased Youth and Bad Karma, will celebrate a joint record release party on Aug. 26 at Pino’s in Highland Park. Atom Driver will release “In the West,” their second EP within six months named in honor of the New Brunswick studio where they recorded it.
Mr. Payday will release their third LP, “Welcome to the Modern World.” Sharing the bill on Aug. 26 will be Little Dickman recording act Dentist and Sux, featuring former members of Adrenaline O.D. Mr. Payday also will play Hub City Sounds’ ROCK New Brunswick Warmup Party onSept. 9 at Volume IV with Spowder, Glazer, and Schwervon! from Kansas ...
Here’s some hot stuff coming up at Flemington DIY:
Upstart Theatre’s production of “Summertree,” various time July 28 to Aug. 6
The Scottish band Pinact with State Champion recording Decoration, New Brunswick noise popsters Resounding No, and Tula Vera, a garage band from Montclair, 7 to 10 p.m. July 30
Flemington DIY Karaoke Fundraiser, 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 11, Lone Eagle Brewing, also Flemington, featuring karaoke games with prizes from Princeton Record Exchange, State Champion Records,
Jersey Community Acupuncture, Act 2 Books, Be Here Now Yoga, Software School, Diamond Heart Studios Body Piercing, and Comic Fusion
“Bear Witness: A Group Photography Show,” 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 12 …
Mike Montrey Band are headed to L.A. in early August to record at PLYRZ Studios with Grammy-winning producer Jim Scott (Wilco, Tom Petty) and Grammy-winning keyboardist John Ginty (Robert Randolph, Citizen Cope). While out in La La Land, MMB havw a gig Aug. 8 at Johnny Depp’s fabled Viper Room …
Jersey slide guitar great Anthony Krizan has a tasty gig on July 27 with Louisiana “slydeco” king Sonny Landreth as part of 90.5 the Night’s Songwriters Series on the Beach in Belmar. The 7 p.m. show is free. Landreth is touring behind his new album “Recorded Live in Lafayette.”
In other Krizan news, the accomplished songwriter and producer collaborated with Cheryl DaVeiga on a new summer anthem entitled “Jersey Style.” Sung by Flemington-raised rocker Christine Martucci, proceeds from sales of the single will go to VetRest.org, an organization that helps veterans with healing and other needs. Recently played on Q104.3 by Shelli Sonstein, the tune is the second collaboration between Krizan and DeVeiga. Their first, “Home Don’t Feel Like Home,” is an ASCAP Award-winning song about vets have a tough time returning to civilian life …
The funky reggae-rock band P-Funk North recently were handpicked to open for the Sublime tribute band Badfish at The Stone Pony after playing with them at Starland Ballroom and Jenkinson’s. Among the new songs they played is “So Damn Destructive,” which they’ll capture in the studio with their percussionist Ryan Weil behind the board. The plan is to release four EPs digitally and then collect them all together into a physical product. In the meantime, P-Funk North will play Aug. 5 at The Old Bay in New Brunswick and Aug. 12 at Legends Ale House in Roxbury …
Mikeromedia will present “It’s Network Day!” 1 to 5 p.m. Aug. 13 at The Old Franklin Schoolhouse in Metuchen. Admission is $5 for the opportunity to find new players for your band, hire an affordable photographer or just make new friends within the local music scene. Acoustic performances will include Freddy Unreal of The Turnbucklers …
Talk about coming full circle. On Aug. 5, Randy Now will screen a documentary about many of the New York hardcore bands he presented throughout the 1980s and ’90s at City Gardens in Trenton. “The NYHC Chronicles,” featuring Agnostic Front, Murphy’s Law, Sick of It All, Biohazard and many, will be shown Aug. 5 at Randy Now’s Mancave in Bordentown. Director Drew Stone will participate in an audience Q&A after the 8 p.m. screening …
Jersey filmmaker Kevin Smith and his “Clerks” cast members Jason Mewes, Ernie O'Donnell, Brian O'Halloran, and Scott Schiaffo will be on hand for a screening of “Shooting Clerks,” a comedy-drama about the making of the film by Christopher Downie. The director also will be present for the 8 p.m. Aug. 5 screening at Atlantic Highlands Cinema 5. The film also will be show Aug. 6 at The Brightside Tavern, Jersey City, and Aug. 13 at Monmouth Film Festival at Two River Theater in Red Bank. Tickets are available at http://buytickets.at/shootingclerks for Atlantic Highlands, http://shootingclerksfilmscreening.brownpapertickets.com/ at Brightside or www.monmouthfilmfestival.org/shootingclerks ...
The great jam band Fatty Lumpkin will reunite with all their original members on July 29 at Pino’s in Highland Park. The popular spot is owned by front man Steve Weinstein …
“Awesome: The Podcast, Punch & Pie” will present “The Second Annual Awesome Show” with Coach ’N Commando, Mass Folk Commons, Disposable, and Bon Bon Vivant July 29 at Roxy & Dukes in Dunellen. However, if you can’t make that show, you also can see Coach ’N Commando and Mass Folk Commons when they play the last-ever Makin Waves Rock Circus on Oct. 21 also at Roxy & Dukes with The Silverhounds, Anthony Carrera, Vivi Noir, Vertical Fixation and Dean Formica. Coach ’N Commando’s Matt Witte expects to release a solo album by year’s end …
Speaking of The Silverhounds, they’ll play at Roxy & Dukes on Aug. 16 with fellow punkabilly hellcats The Koffin Kats. They’ll also play July 27 at The Lucky 13 Saloonwith Feejee Mermaids and World War IX.
Bob Makin is the reporter for www.MyCentralJersey.com/entertainment and a former managing editor and still a contributor to The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him at [email protected]. Like Makin Waves at www.facebook.com/makinwavescolumn.
