The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Strange Bird," a re-recording of The Grip Weeds 1988 debut single. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEM RECORDS
When the veteran power-pop band The Grip Weeds were starting out in the New Brunswick music scene in the late ‘80s, one of the first original songs they played was “Strange Bird.”
The just-released third version of the song written by singer-guitarist-keyboardist Rick Reil is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Strange Bird” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 20, on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin and Mixcloud.
“The first version of ‘Strange Bird’ was recorded in the early 90s, released as our debut single release in 1993 on Twang! Records in Germany and went out of print for decades,” co-founding vocalist-drummer Kurt Reil said. “The band recut the song a second time and included it on our sophomore album, ‘The Sound Is In You’ online Ground Up Records. Still feeling it could be done better, we took yet another crack at it this year while recording our currently-in-the-works new album, slated for release in early 2025.
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“Three times a charm,” Kurt continued. “This is the definitive recording of our earliest song!”
Also cut during recent recording sessions for the new album on Jem Records is "She Brings The Rain," which was the other side of the debut single. It will follow "Strange Bird" and be digitally released in October 2024. Release of the physical version will be concurrent with the upcoming Grip Weeds album of all new material in 2025.
Also guitarist Kristin Pinell and bassist Dave DeSantis, the band will play Oct. 25 at Bowery Electric in New York City opening for The Chesterfield Kings for their new album release. The Jellybricks will share the bill.
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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The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "By the Light of the Moon," the title track of Highland Park-based bluegrass outfit Magnolia Street String Band's sophomore LP.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is celebrating 58 years together with an All the Good Times: Farewell Tour performance at MPAC in Morristown, NJ on October 9, 2024.
(NEWARK, NJ) -- This Fall, AG Touring and Mammoth, Inc. proudly present the Rod Wave - Last Lap Tour. This large-scale multi-city outing will feature Rod Wave headlining 36 of North America's top arenas coast-to-coast. The tour will kick off on October 19 at Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, AZ visiting major markets across the country, including Newark’s Prudential Center on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 with special guests Moneybagg Yo, Toosii, Lil Poppa, Dess Dior and Eelmatic.
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![Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Strange Bird" by The Grip Weeds](https://www.newjerseystage.com/events2024/waves-Sep20.jpg "Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Strange Bird" by The Grip Weeds")
