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Makin Waves Song of the Week: "When Pigs Lie" by Public Serpents

By Bob Makin

originally published: 03/03/2023

“When Pigs Lie,” the latest single from Public Serpents’ forthcoming LP,  “The Bully Puppet,” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week. PHOTO COURTESY OF SBÄM RECORDS

At the end of the month, the Jersey Shore-based ska-core band Public Serpents will release “The Bully Puppet,” their debut LP for the Austrian SBÄM Records.

“When Pigs Lie,” their latest single from the 13-song LP, is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “When Pigs Lie” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on March 3 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin or MixCloud.

The single deals with founding front man Skwert Gunn’s prison stint on drug and gun charges.




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A succession of professional and personal setbacks also include the end of his marriage, as well as another state of homelessness, which he endured throughout his youth, leading to his joining fellow squatters in the infamous ska-core band Choking Victim in 1993.

"My whole life is invested in this (album),” Skwert says. “Artistically, physically and mentally, I’d probably die without it. There literally would be no point in living at this point."

Fortunately, Skwert has a lot to which to look forward, including an incredible amount of label support, a record release party on April 28 at The Meat Locker in Montclair, and a second European tour in as many years.

“The Bully Puppet” follows several releases on Skwert’s own Tent City Records, most notably the 2008 debut LP, "The Feeding Of The Fortune 5000.”

For more about Public Serpents, click https://linktr.ee/PublicSerpents

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




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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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(CARTERET, NJ) -- The Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center presents John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band on Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00pm. The legendary Rhode Island multi-platinum rock band began their career in 1973 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the "Eddie & The Cruisers – Motion Picture Soundtrack".

Outpost in the Burbs Presents Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips in Benefit Concert for Toni's Kitchen on November 21st

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs will present an extraordinary evening of music featuring singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at the First Congregational Church in Montclair. The special concert will serve as a fundraiser in support of Toni's Kitchen, the Montclair based nonprofit dedicated to combating food insecurity and related challenges in Essex County and beyond. Showtime is 8:00pm.
 

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