New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Dennis Zimmer Is Singing A different song


By Gary Wien

originally published: 01/01/2005


There's something interesting going on in the world of New Jersey cover bands. Several of the most popular groups are taking a break from performing Bon Jovi classics in front of their usual throngs of fans. Instead, they're finding themselves in clubs where a couple dozen people could be called a good night. In other words, they're taking a stab at the original music scene. Two of the major players in this movement include the popular bands Big Orange Cone and The Benjamins. The former currently has front man Dennis Zimmer touring under his own name in support of his debut CD as well as members playing in the band Full Out Freak. The latter has decided to mix original music shows within the band's schedule. Historically, fans of NJ cover bands have not show support for local original music. Dennis Zimmer hopes to slowly change that, and in fact, at his early shows there are signs that he's making some inroads. His performances at venues like Stingers (Long Branch) and the Stone Pony (Asbury Park) won over new fans and led to return bookings. I talked with Dennis before a show in Asbury Park about going the original route. You're used to playing in front of hundreds and thousands of people, why take a chance at playing to dozens?
Desire, just desire. It's the challenge. I want to breathe a little bit and have some fun. I've had plenty of fun and still am having fun with Big Orange Cone, but it's just desire. During the day I have a lot of time to write, so I've been sitting down in that basement and spending a lot of time creating music. It's fun. There's a vision that I've had. I'm a huge Black Crows fan, huge Stones fan, Lenny Kravitz - I just always loved the way a rock and roll band with a couple of girls in the back looked. And to have this vision and watch it come together. It felt so good to have this picture in my mind out there. For a while it's going to fall on some deaf ears, but I think it'll turn around. What was it like during that first show at Stinger's? You're used to seeing that flood of people in front of you. What was it like to play again for a dozen or so?
It felt great! I was so excited about it. It's a new challenge. Is that how you felt about making your debut album?
Yeah, every step in the process of getting it out there is exciting. It's exciting despite these small crowds. And I'm definitely coming out at a tough time. The first show was in the middle of November; the second show was the end of November; the third show is two weeks before Christmas. It's a tough time to launch. I think some of those Cone people will get on it eventually. They'll come check it out - out of curiousity. Can you build on the Cone audience or do you think that they're two separate audiences?
I'll have a few curiousity seekers and some die hards that will be interested. There definitely will be a small infiltration of Cone people, but I'm not expecting the masses to come over because they want to hear us play Bon Jovi and Blink 182. I'll get some, but I'm not expecting the masses. But let's call a spade a spade. If Big Orange Cone was playing a Wednesday night at the Stone Pony in the middle of a freezing night two weeks before Christmas, I don't think we'd be doing all that great anyway. And that's another reason it's tough because I have to do it on the nights that people don't like to go out. But I have no choice, the Cone takes precedent right now. So will you be doing Cone shows while trying to squeeze in original shows here and there?
Yeah, well that's my plan - pursue them side by side. I know what I have with the Cone and I'm not going to screw that up. It's a great thing we've built. Like Big Orange Cone, another big cover band in the Benjamins have started doing original shows now. Is there any particular reason why this is happening now? Or is it just coincidence?
That's a great question. I don't know. Maybe it's just a gut feeling. Sort of like maybe the time is right?
The ship may turn because in the early 90s it was all about girls flocking to original bands now they flock to cover bands. Now the Benjamins are going out as the Benjamins. The only confusion they're going to run into is if they say The Benjamins at the Stone Pony; people may come here hoping to hear them play Bon Jovi perhaps. I've gone completely separate. Big Orange Cone / Dennis Zimmer - one's cover and one's original. The Benjamins may draw but people may be wondering where the Bon Jovi songs are. They have to really specify that this is an original show. I guess it's just gut. It seems that lately the gut tells us to get on it... to get something going. You can hear tracks from Dennis Zimmer's debut record, In My Head, and see where he's playing at his official website www.denniszimmer.com

Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


John

John Lee & Friends

Thursday, July 03, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Blues

Blues People with Special Guest: Jeff Levine

Saturday, July 05, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

Straight

Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90’s Part 2

Tuesday, July 08, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music


 

Frisson

Frisson Winds

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Three

Three American Troubadours: A Tribute to James Taylor, Carly Simon, and Carole King

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Axelrod Performing Arts Center
100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park, NJ 07723
category: music


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

An

An Interview with Dan Kurtz of The New Deal

Formed in 1999, Toronto, Canada based trio The New Deal, is a pioneer in jam-based electronic music. The group was founded by remaining members Dan Kurtz (bass) and Jamie Shields (keys), along with Darren Shearer (drums) who left tND in 2011. Since its inception, tND has remained committed to its improvisational roots and has served as a model for other jamtronica bands bridging the gap between multiple music genres as well as the border between Canada and the United States.



Two

Two NJ Jazz Musicians Will Play with The Jazz Ambassadors in Morristown

Pianist Anthony Pocetti grew up in Hamilton, NJ, studying piano, "doing sort of traditional piano lessons. I have an uncle who was always encouraging me to get into the jazz thing. He gave me the (Miles Davis) Kind of Blue CD, and he knew that the jazz pianist Jim Ridl was living in Hamilton."



Asbury

Asbury Lanes presents There, There - A Tribute to Radiohead

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Asbury Lanes presents There, There on Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 8:00pm. They are the premier Radiohead tribute act, playing songs from throughout the band's iconic multi-decade catalogue.



bergenPAC

bergenPAC presents Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90's Part 2

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- After a totally fly 2024 summer tour packed full of 90s boy band, pop, and R&B hits, RIAA-certified Gold a cappella group Straight No Chaser is back by popular demand with "Straight No Chaser Summer: 90s Part 2." The tour comes to Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) on Thursday, July 8, 2025 at 7:00pm.



Blue

Blue Curtain presents 2025 Summer Concert Series in Princeton

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Blue Curtain returns to Pettoranello Gardens Amphitheater this July with a free three-concert series. The 2025 season opens on Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm with a performance by internationally acclaimed trombonist, composer, and bandleader Jimmy Bosch, also known as El Trombon Criollo.