"I had planned on starting a label for years, but finally found the right partners to do it with," said Brighton Bar owner Greg Macolino who will be joining forces with Jon Caspi & Doug Lane of Jarze Records (the label that has released the prior Jon Caspi albums), and a fourth silent partner, to create Brighton Bar Records.
Future plans include a compilation scheduled for a fall release featuring national old-school punk rock acts, many of which have performed at the Brighton Bar. Captain Sensible of the Damned, the Angry Samoans, and Anti-Nowhere League are among a list of well-known acts that have already signed on.
Macolino, Caspi & Lane will begin releasing material from their own bands at the April 27th launch party, where they will unveil two new CDs. The first is an EP by Macolino's band The X-Men, Kid Blast, which is the first release by the band in nearly 25 years. The second is a full-length by Jon Caspi & The First Gun called, Sucker. In addition, a 7" 45 vinyl split featuring songs from both bands will also be released for the party.
Both bands performing at the April 27th launch party have a long history in the New Jersey music scene. The X-Men is a celebrated guitar-riff driven punk band that was born at the Brighton Bar roughly 30 years ago and still going strong. The band includes former members of several notable Jersey Shore bands such as The Chronic Sick, The Secret Syde. and The Beast. The X-men are Greg Gory, Rafe Levinore, Dave DeSantis, and The Hinge. They released two "almost legendary" demos produced by Daniel Ray, producer for The Ramones. They have also recorded for Mutha Records as well as Buy R Records. Known for their high-energy live performances, they have toured with and opened for many national acts and were even joined on stage once by Bruce Springsteen during one of their shows. More info at www.facebook.com/xmennj
Jon Caspi & The First Gun is an indie/punk trio that shares roots with Asbury Park, NJ notables like Springsteen, The Gaslight Anthem, and The Bouncing Souls. The band's most recent release, The Little Ones, produced by Pete Steinkopf (guitarist for the Bouncing Souls) came out in late November 2011, and quickly showed up on top album of 2011 lists. Sucker will be Caspi's 6th solo release and his third with The First Gun -- all of which have showed up on best-end-of-the-year lists. Jon's music has charted on CMJ Top 100, and has appeared on TV, MTV, in films, and on stage (in musical theater productions). In 2011, three of Jon's albums were included in a book called "Are You Listening" that listed the best 100 albums to be released between 2001-2011 by New Jersey artists. The First Gun's lineup also includes recognized producer/bassist Doug Lane and Central NJ's most active and loved drummer, Jimmie Mizell. More info at www.JonCaspi.com
The Brighton Bar is located at 121 Brighton Avenue in Long Branch, New Jersey. For more information visit ww.BrightonBarRecords.com
