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Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Check the Calendar" by Dentist

by Bob Makin
09/02/2022

Dentist’s latest single, “Check the Calendar,” from their brand new album, “Making a Scene,” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week. PHOTO BY GARY STRACK  

The Asbury Park fuzz-pop trio Dentist has released their fourth album, “Making a Scene,” their second for the L.A. indie Cleopatra Records.

The beloved band’s latest single, the 12-song LP’s lead off track “Check the Calendar,” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Check the Calendar,” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 2 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you also can tune in any time in the archives at Radio Jersey or MixCloud.

According to the band — vocalist-bassist Emily Bornemann, guitarist Justin Bornemann, and drummer Matt Hockenjos — “Check The Calendar” is about “a summer fling that is beginning in the dead of winter. We were picturing a New Jersey winter where the energy of youth couldn’t be contained even though most people are hibernating. This was one of the last songs written for the album but one of our favorites.”





 

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Emily added, “Covid definitely played a role in the songwriting process and the timeline that everything got done. We wound up with different songs and a different album than we would have otherwise, but believe that it’s better than what we were working on prior to the pandemic. That’s the silver lining that we try to see about the unfortunate situation.”

Recorded at Lakehouse Recording Studios in Asbury with production by the band, engineering by Nick Semanchick, and mastering by Jurgen Engler of Die Krupps, “Making A Scene” touches on love, loss, grief, anxiety, and nihilism — expressing that no matter what happens nothing really matters.

Other singles released prior to the album are:

* “Don’t Let Me Catch You,” which chronicles how hell hath no fury like a woman scorned

* “Let Me Let Go” about a partner so terrible in a relationship that they actually did the other person a favor by making it so easy to let them go

* “Spilled Coffee,” one of the LP’s earliest songs and a live staple. 

Speaking of live, the ever-busy Dentist will be one of the few Asbury bands participating in the star-studded Sea.Hear.Now Festival featuring Green Day, Stevie Nicks, My Morning Jacket, Billy Strings, Cage the Elephant and much more on the beach of the City by the Sea. Dentist’s set will be on the Sept. 17 date of the weekend-long adventure. The other Asbury acts are Lost in Society, The Vansaders, and Dogs in a Pile. Visit Sea.Hear.Now Festival. 




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Dentist also will play Oct. 22 at Windjammer in Brooklyn. For more about the band, click www.dentistband.com. 

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected]. 



New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
About the author:

New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.


 



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Joe

Joe Russo's Almost Dead

Thursday, November 12, 2026
@ 7:30pm

State Theatre New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ

Joe Russo's Almost Dead is Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Tom Hamilton, Scott Metzger and Joe Russo. We're a Grateful Dead cover band.

 

McCarter

McCarter at the Museum: An Evening with Jason Robert Brown

Thursday, November 12, 2026
@ 7:00pm

Princeton Art Museum
Princeton, NJ

Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum. 

 

John

John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band

Friday, November 13, 2026
@ 8:00pm

Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center
Carteret, NJ

The legendary Rhode Island multi-platinum rock’n’roll group JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND began their career in 1973 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the “Eddie & The Cruisers – Motion Picture Soundtrack”. The hit single “ON THE DARK SIDE” held the “#1” position on the Billboard Rock charts and the MTV video charts for five consecutive weeks.

 

Griffin

Griffin House

Friday, November 13, 2026
@ 7:30pm

Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ

“If you are looking to be blown away by raw talent, then look no further than Griffin House.” —American Songwriter

 

Floyd

Floyd Pink - Celebrating The Music of Pink Floyd

Saturday, November 14, 2026
@ 7:30pm

Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ

FLOYD PINK is a Pink Floyd tribute band from the New York metro area, celebrating the music of Pink Floyd.  

 

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EVENT PREVIEWS

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey and Relix present Joe Russo's Almost Dead on Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 7:30pm. The band was formed in Brooklyn, NY in 2013. While they are a Grateful Dead cover band, they are known more for interpreting songs by the Dead rather than attempting to replicate the band's work.



NJPAC presents Gregory Porter with special guests Madeleine Peyroux and Catherine Russell

NJPAC presents Gregory Porter with special guests Madeleine Peyroux and Catherine Russell

(NEWARK, NJ) -- With a voice that can fill a concert hall and make every listener feel personally embraced, Gregory Porter has become one of the most beloved artists in contemporary jazz. On Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00pm, the two-time GRAMMY® winner returns to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) with special guests Madeleine Peyroux and Catherine Russell for an evening of soulful expression, exquisite storytelling and remarkable vocal artistry, presented as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival.



Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House on Friday

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House on Friday

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House on Friday, November 13, 2026 at 7:30pm. Griffin House is an American singer-songwriter and storyteller who has been making records for over 20 years.



KANSAS to perform at Scottish Rite Auditorium on Friday

KANSAS to perform at Scottish Rite Auditorium on Friday

(COLLINGSWOOD, NJ) -- One of classic rock's most iconic bands, KANSAS, will perform at the Scottish Rite Auditorium on Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00pm. This "garage band" from Topeka released their debut album in 1974 after being discovered by Wally Gold, who worked for Don Kirshner, and have gone on to sell more than 30 million albums worldwide. A limited number of tickets remain.



NJPAC presents Jesse Cook on Saturday

NJPAC presents Jesse Cook on Saturday

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents Jesse Cook on Saturday, November 14, 2026 in the Victoria Theater at 8:00pm. A global artist in every sense of the term, Jesse Cook redefines music's power to connect people across cultures and continents.



Forte Piano Music Company presents Exquisite Contrasts: Haydn & Schubert Piano Trios

Forte Piano Music Company presents Exquisite Contrasts: Haydn & Schubert Piano Trios

(PARAMUS, NJ) -- The Forte Piano Music Company presents a Piano Trio Concert - "Exquisite Contrasts" - Haydn & Schubert on Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 2:30pm. This program brings together two landmarks of the piano trio repertoire, revealing the evolution of the genre from the Classical era to early Romanticism.



Mahwah Museum Hosts "Les Paul from Start to Finish" with Jim Wysocki

Mahwah Museum Hosts "Les Paul from Start to Finish" with Jim Wysocki

(MAHWAH, NJ) -- Come to the Mahwah Museum on Sunday, November 15, 2026 for a discussion of a 29-year friendship, rare memorabilia, and the story behind Les Paul's home with Mahwah Mayor Jim Wysocki from his nearly three-decade friendship with legendary musician and inventor Les Paul. The event begins at 2:00pm.



Atlantic City Punk Rock Flea Market - Holiday Edition to take place on Sunday

Atlantic City Punk Rock Flea Market - Holiday Edition to take place on Sunday

(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- You can get your holiday shopping done on Sunday, November 15, 2026 when Anchor Rock Club hosts the Atlantic City Punk Rock Flea Market - Holiday Edition.  The event runs from noon to 6:00pm.



Song of the Meadowlark takes place on Sunday in Hopewell

Song of the Meadowlark takes place on Sunday in Hopewell

(HOPEWELL, NJ) -- Song of the Meadowlark takes place Sunday, November 15, 2026 at Highland Design Farm. This is a meditative rock odyssey weaving reimagined contemporary songs, stream-of-consciousness poetry, and live painting. Doors are at 2:00pm, showtime is 2:30pm.



Avenel Performing Arts Center presents Chris Smither

Avenel Performing Arts Center presents Chris Smither

(AVENEL, NJ) -- Chris Smither will perform at the Avenel Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at 7:30pm. Born in Miami, during World War II, Chris Smither grew up in New Orleans where he first started playing music as a child. The son of a Tulane University professor, he was taught the rudiments of instrumentation by his uncle on his mother's ukulele.