With the ink still fresh on the signing on of New Brunswick’s Nico Blues for their re-release of Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements, there was a lot of excitement in the crowd at the Jan. 6 event… not to mention a lot of new faces. All five bands on their roster are heavy hitters in the Tiny Giants Collective, an indie rock support and networking group making waves from Philly to New York and ever expanding. With Jersey City’s Cicada Radio and No Pasaran, Kearny’s Secret Country and Invisible Lines and now New Brunswick’s Nico Blues, the lineup was a rogue’s gallery of the Hudson County music scene.

I got to Maxwell’s around 8 pm for some food with my friends Billy Gray of Bomb’s Away (ex Ben Franklin) Gönul Aksoy (Gönul and What Army) and Jameson Edwards (I Am The Heat). The bar was filled with familiar faces from the local scene, members of They Had Faces Then, Meet Pause, Holy City Zoo, SpillPeak Media, photographer James Damian… You get the picture — the place was packed with great people involved heavily in the scene.

Shortly after we arrived, Cicada Radio took the stage. Pat Keefe, Chris D’Ambrosio, Mike Kundrath and Mike Keefe form Cicada Radio, a band whose urgent guitar-forward sound is a mix of hardcore with upbeat breakdowns that made for a great beginning to the night. Killing Horse released the band’s EP Imposter on CD last year, and I can’t wait to see what they have in mind for a longer album.

Then Reed Adler, Skylar Adler, Evan Campbell, Eric Goldberg and Danny Goldberg of the Nico Blues took the stage. The crowd was loosening up a bit and the venue section of Maxwell’s was beginning to fill out. The band played some tracks off Blame the Boredowm, Blame the Basements, including one of my favorites, Unprofessional. Harkening to late-90s alternative rock and updating the grunge sound, they offer a new take on a familiar recipe. There was a little bit of shimmying and shaking during the performance but no out and out dancing just yet.

Invisible Lines’ big piece of news for the night was that they were playing their first show with new guitarist Geoff Bennington. Alan Gomez, Mike Clifford, Lucas Gonzalez and Will Acevedo make up the rest of the band. You could see they were excited to get up on stage — this was the first show since their car accident in late fall. Thankfully, everyone was ok aside from a few bumps and scrapes.

The Wise Up EP came out in 2009 and since then the Lines have changed their lineup. Their sound is aging nicely, the road rock sound giving way to a more 70s guitar-rock sound, vocals taking a back seat to the band’s technical proficiency with their instruments. Fans came out massively for them. The band played a couple new songs too, but all too soon they were finished — with five bands, you’ve got to keep these things moving.

No Pasaran came on shortly after. Eric Mason, Romel Espinel and Tom Barrett are Jersey’s post-rock trio. During the set they added Tom Unish on guitar for a few songs, and Michael Venutolo-Mantovani of the Everymen came on to sing for one song. No Pasaran’s set was notable for a few reasons: the addition of a couple of friends for the night and because they are taking a hiatus from playing shows for a while. They will certainly be missed — there’s an energy to their music that personifies the rock scene here, and they certainly renewed my fervor for reporting on these shows. Come back soon, guys.

Secret Country had a couple announcements to make. Katie Siegal and Killing Horse’s own Ryan Gross have been added to roster. Eric Mason, Jay Monaco, Joe Hart, Matt Siegal, Tim Siegal and Yan Izquierdo are the rest of the Secret Country army. By now everyone was ready to dance it out. Square dancing, line dancing, good old-fashioned two stepping — you name it, people were doing it. Whiskey drenched as well as sweat soaked, we all go down. This is the next logical step in country music — it’s fun, unashamed and just out to make you dance and laugh.

After the show I stuck around with Mike and Ryan. They talked about another big announcement coming soon: they will be working with the Jersey City band Cold Fur on a project. It looks like they have a lot in store this year for themselves. I for one welcome our Killing Horse overlords.

Photos by Zac Clark

Then I took stock of my reply, and decided that because of the time of the year and the possibility of Dave taking me literally and ultimately being slightly disappointed, I told him that I’d definitely be there without bells. He chuckled.

Fast forward to the night of the show. I hopped on the L Train, then took the PATH to Grove Street and ambled over to Lucky 7.

There’s a sort of magic about not being in town every day. Jersey City had been my home for four years and it’s refreshing to take a trip over and see all those familiar faces. Among them in Lucky’s were such local rock celebrities as Dancing Tony, Pat Byrne (They Live/DJ Lucha Sound System) Augie Catarella (Radio Exiles) and a host of other local contributors to the rock scene, each one geared up with PBR in hand to get their paws on Wyldlife’s new record.

“I never really got the idea of a listening party, so we’re just gonna have a show,” Feldman wrote in a recent email. A novel idea indeed — and the one that got me across two rivers to buy the album. (Note to Self: Purchase record player)

So the gents from Wyldlife loaded in. Sam Allen (guitar) Spencer Alexander (bass) Russ Barrnett (drums) and Dave Feldman (vocals) are the garage rock phenomenon sweeping North Jersey known as Wyldlife.

The album itself is pure mayhem, a joyride on the back of a drunk luck dragon. (You can read my review here.) The band started the show with “(She’s making me) Nervous.” And Lucky 7′s became a maelstrom of dancing and cheap beer.

Wydlife played most of the album and a new song. Then at 10:41, the group announced they had completed their set. But their fans weren’t finished rocking — they demanded more.

Wyldlife huddled. There was a moment of chatter, and then they emerged with “Gloria,” a cover originally by THEM. The entire bar sang along.

Sweat-soaked and smiling like kings, Wyldlife thanked the crowd and the DJ took over. The night didn’t end there, as Wednesday is the much-celebrated Punk Night at Lucky’s. Everyone stuck around and rocked out while Chuck Daly (Jersey City Tattoo) and Pat Byrne hit the ones and twos.

I decided a little later it was time to head back home to Brooklyn. I think my ears are still ringing. If you see Dave Feldman in the hall, tell him he played a great game, and tell him you liked his article in the newspaper.

Photos and video by Zac Clark

Lemme start by saying before I digested the album I was pretty much in love with their Nicotine EP and their “City of Inbreds” single, but I thought I’d be hard pressed to find any of their newer songs in my mental playlist. I was dead wrong. “City of Inbreds” graces the album with a brand new recording quality that adds some serious dimension to the band’s already stellar sound.

The star track of this album for me has to be “The First Time I Killed Someone.” It’s a murder fantasy about a girl, where Dave compares himself to the greatest serial killers of all time. “Ted Bundy, he’s a real good buddy … Manson, Dahmer, the Unabomber … all good friends of mine.” I think Dave’s asides and inflections really make this song; it takes a lot of balls to pull a “No way, Jose!” and get away with it.

Every song on the album is raw energetic rock, with rocksteady bass, killer guitar and drumming that could wake the devil himself if he weren’t singing lead. Forget amazing “local” rock album, this is one of my picks for album of the year — in any genre this sound is undeniable.

My suggestion: fork up the loot and own it, listen to it til your neighbors complain and then get out to Wyldlife’s next show and join me at the front before these guys are too big to see at a small venue.

Wyldlife plays the Garden Stage at this Saturday’s 4th Street Art & Music Festival at 6:30 pm. You can find the album on Bandcamp.

I live a charmed life … there I said it. Anyone who has heard me gripe about women or my job or various run ins with John Law probably looks at me with a certain level of disgust. But behind all that sullen behavior lies a big corn-fed smile. I take it all in stride. Why? The answer is simple. No matter how poorly all the rest of the stuff in my life goes, what really counts is that my friends rock. Some do it hard, some fast, some do it weird, but by god, they do it. That’s why I sleep well at night (and often into the late afternoon). So you’ll have to excuse me if things were going rather excellently on a recent Tuesday when Ben Franklin and Holy City Zoo played at Lucky 7 Tavern. If my countenance was so saccharine that it caused offense when you saw me that night, well, I can’t really apologize. For I was in the company of good friends, guitars, drums and whiskey.

Holy City Zoo is quickly moving up the ranks in the New Brunswick basement/bar scene. Let me tell you from experience: that’s one hell of a proving ground; one must be on the constant watch for decent parking and the breaking up of the often frenzied but rarely legal basement shows. Holy City Zoo plays with an urgency that just blows the mind. Hearing them on record is one thing, but to see them play is to grok them. Joe (guitar/vocals), Frank (guitar vocals), AJ (bass/vocals), and Brian (drums) are arguably one of the best post hardcore bands I’ve seen play this scene. They’re making waves in Jersey City, and you can expect to hear a whole lot more of them as the months go by.

If you’ve been paying attention to me over the last two years then maybe you can understand my affinity for Ben Franklin. Billy (guitar), Eddie (bass), Sarah (drums), and recent addition Adam (guitar) have become more than just a band I like to see. I’ve watched their style and swagger develop just as much as they have watched mine. I can usually be found on the frontlines at their shows, inches away from a nose or the end of a guitar possibly even looming dangerously close to the drum kit taking pictures, only to dive back into the crowd during a chorus. To paraphrase them in a recent interview, Ben Franklin is the result of friends playing together in a band. Its the musical equivalent of that game where you cross you arms and fall backwards knowing that you have to trust the people behind you. I say all that to say this: they sound much much cooler than that poor metaphor (you can download their LP and EP on their site as proof). After this show, the band was planning to go into the studio and begin recording their new LP. I, for one, welcome our historical rock overlords.

It seems this May the weather is once again out to foil our plans of merriment on Wednesdays (today being a crucial exception). The first Groove on Grove saw temperatures in the low 50s and last week’s show was canceled due to the rain. The May 11 show was only marginally better, with a windy low-60s forecast, but a nice crowd still turned out to check out three bands.

This week I climbed out of the PATH station to be greeted by the Porchistas. Alan (guitar/vocals), Adam (guitar/vocals) and Sam McMickle (drums) were wheeling and dealing. Once I came into view they tossed me a quick shout out (it’s nice to be recognized). The Porchistas are a socially and environmentally conscious folk rock group from Montclair who recently put out a new LP titled Save the Earth. One of my favorite tracks is the “PBR Song,” about a man that robbed PBR blind and now drinks Johnny Walker Blue.

The Ashes set up next. Shane (vocals, slide/guitar, harmonica, piano and drums), Thomas (violin, bass, tuba), Alec (trombone, mandolin, guitar), Kevin (bass, banjo) and Pat (drums) are an Americana-style country band. These fellows were all business; that is, if business is good old fashioned country jams. Bursting with wit and charisma, Shane’s voice is a singular phenomenon in the local rock scene. In fact, the Ashes are sort of their own thing — there are plenty of alt-country bands out there, but they bring something authentic to the mix. I wanted to jump up on stage and play the jug.

Fairmont is Neil (guitar/vocals), Andy (drums/samples), Christian (synths/pianet) and Sam (vocals/percussion). One of the things that makes them stand out is the use of a xylophone. Sam and Neil have a very cool dialogue when they play together, and there’s an undeniable chemistry between them that lends itself well to their songs’ subject matter. Unfortunately their set was cut short due to a medical problem with the drummer, but the band plays relatively frequently around Jersey City. Be sure to check ‘em out next time.

VIDEOS:

Adam Copeland likes Doctor Who, but his favorite Doctor is not Tom Baker. It’s odd to me, because Baker is securely the best Doctor all around in the categories of dry humor and style of dress. But I digress — Adam and I met at a show some six months ago and have been competing for Jersey City geek supremacy ever since. But more importantly, he’s also the lead singer and guitarist for Black Water. I suppose this is where I should mention that his band played with the Lost Gloves at Lucky 7 on Tuesday, April 12.

Lost Gloves started up first. Brian (guitar/vocals) Rebekah (keys) Mike (bass) and Pete (drums) are a Brooklyn based indie-pop foursome. What sets Lost Gloves out from the rest of the bands out there is their bouncing conflicting guitar and bass trade off as well as their keyboard, which sort of reminds me of my little brother’s Casio from 1987. (The main difference being that Rebekah actually knows what she’s playing, and my brother just kept hitting that damned button to play “Yankee Doodle” and then set about pounding on the rest of the keys like a barbarian with reckless abandon.) They careened through the set in about 30 minutes and played all their songs. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they come up with as they play out more.

Speaking of barbarians Black Water’s drummer Lloyd Naideck is a wild man, a veritable Ghengis Khan of the snare (we also heard that he totally ravaged Oshman’s Sporting Goods). Conflict rock seems like a good category for Black Water. Adam Copeland (guitar/vocals) Gerry Griffin (bass/vocals) Gary Laurie (guitar) and Naideck have melded a musical style of contention into their songs. Some songs have an almost old-world feel, like “Arizona,” which is a fictional story about reverse terrorism. The vocals are downright haunting, and the guitar and bass are the perfect tangible compliment. They ended the set with “7 Years,” which is also the final song on their full length which (you can get it for free on their website).

LOST GLOVES: “EASY SHAPES”

BLACK WATER: “ARIZONA”

BLACK WATER: “SPIN”

BLACK WATER: “7 YEARS”

On Saturday, March 12, we fought the law and the law won … but not before we shook the very foundations of 2nd Street. When I say “we,” I really mean No Pasaran!. The boys in blue paid a visit to Lucky 7 Tavern to see what all the fuss was about. When they got there, they shut the music down mid-set.

“Don’t worry, it’s happened to us before,” said guitarist Romel Espinel. North Jersey’s post-hardcore trio are no strangers to “melting off the faces” of their fans. Another day in the life, I suppose.

But let’s backtrack, shall we?

Tree of the now defunct Any Day Parade made it into town with her new project, The Old Glorys, all the way from her new home of Kentucky. Country rock through and through, Tree’s been busy during her hiatus. Wes Meek (accordion), Tom Hanslowe (fiddle), Shane Vidaurri (guitar, vocals), Joe Schlaak (bass), Tim Brennan (drums) and, of course, Tree (vocals, guitar) make for quite a mountain music sextet. They just put a new EP, Brunswick Street Demos, up on iTunes and Amazon, and headed down to SXSW right after the Jersey City show.

VIDEO: THE OLD GLORYS

The Nolan Gate thrusted onto the forefront after. Paul Andress (guitar, vocals), Tom Farkas (bass, vocals) and Darin Galgano (drums, sadism) are serious dudes. They thrashed and twisted for a little over a half hour, and when it was over, most of us were left trying to pickup the pieces of what had just happened. We had been rocked from the Achilles to the hippocampus. Nothing would ever be the same. Watch the video with extreme caution, and secure all vases and porcelain in the room first, for godsakes.

VIDEO: THE NOLAN GATE

No Pasaran! had been in the back filing their teeth down. When they began everyone in the crowd lurched forward to get into it. Tom Barret’s drums, Eric Mason’s bass and Romel Espinel’s guitar were merely conduits in their masters’ hands. Rock ensued. I was dirty and we were filled with cheap booze and, let’s not forget, it was loud: a picture perfect post-hardcore scene. These guys aren’t just an act, but a recipe for how it’s done. They don’t waste time chatting up the crowd or shouting out their friends, they lay down as much rock in as little time as they can.

VIDEO: NO PASARAN!

I suppose that’s what led to John Law and Roscoe P Coltrane breaking down the door, and bringing an end to the music for the night. But no fines were levied and everyone had a good time, and at the end of the night, that really what matters. My ears are still ringing a week and a half later.

Once a year the cats and kittens in the Jersey City’s art community come together and take over City Hall for the 4th Street Ball, a now annual (this being the second) event that promotes local artists and artisans in town. There’s lots of art, a few bands and then the whole thing is capped off with a fashion show. It’s quite a lofty achievement to be able to take over a government building for the night. Wine is served, everyone gets dressed to the nines and we all get to have a few hours of high times.

I spent the week prior to this year’s ball, held on December 10, agonizing over just how to represent myself this year. I decided if anyone knows how to rock a look and do it well, the always well-dressed duo Meika & Warren of Another Man’s Treasure surely would have something rad, yet refined, to suit my tastes. And suit it they did. I picked up a solid 1960s vintage suit that went great with some shoes I bought from them a couple of weeks back.

Dressed to kill and ready to don my mantle as the Rocker Tycoon once more (some sort of music-defending superhero), I took off with camera in tow for the ball around 7:30 pm. Once I got in I was greeted by Mike McNamara, local photographer and one of 4th Street Arts’ founders. I took a look around at the art and had some wine and food while the Ukeladies played their brand of novelty ukulele music.

The Ukeladies are an unique mix of music act, variety show and improv routine. Frequent costume changes and crowd participation are the bread and butter of the act. They can play their ukes as well, and it was very much a vaudeville experience. The kids that were there couldn’t get enough of them.

Afterward, I went downstairs and had my picture taken by Bryan of Dubworks; that’s about when Pat Byrne showed up, telling us some story about his band not being able to make it, so he’d have to do solo songs about his messed up family. I was quite sure I’d seen all the members of his band around, but hell, I’m along for the ride – I decided he likely had some sort of plan up his sleeve. Indeed he did. Pat’s band appeared mid-song and they rocked out. After seeing the set I was left to believe that combined with Byrne’s vocals, Tom Breen (bass) Mike Tralazze (drums) and Martin Lin (guitar) — known that night as The Last Minute Musician Friends — are the Frank Zappa of Jersey City.

The dark, somber and theatrical Shayfer James took the stage after. There’s no other band in Jersey City right now that sounds like these guys; the haunting vocals are coupled with piano (Shayfer James), bass (Mr. Gillespie), drums (Dusty Bones) and organ/washboard (Dante Edmont). They played some songs from their album The Owl & the Elephant; after the show I picked up the album, and it’s been playing on repeat for the last several days in my room.

Once the music was over everyone piled into council chambers for the fashion show. Kristen of Kanibal Home saved me a seat in the front, so I had the best spot in the house. I took a light reading and started snapping away at the models rocking samples from Kanibal Home, Aspasia’s Boutique, Gypsy Warrior Vintage, Another Man’s Treasure, and Fein on the runway.  I have to say I was a little bummed out that there weren’t any male looks at these shows. What this town really needs is haberdashery of some kind. But anyhow, I’m not a fashion analyst. I did my time in the fashion industry; it was like boot camp for learning how to email, which is all I really took from it.

P.S.: As I was writing this I was informed that I won the “Best Dressed” contest and a gift certificate to LITM. The free drinks are nice, but you can bet I’ll be using my new title to obtain some kind of leverage in the next few weeks.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get out to Lucky 7 Tavern for a rock event. Luckily that changed Tuesday when The Micks (formerly the McMickle Brothers) and Jorge & Aliah played, and I was invited to emcee the show, introduce the bands and crack a couple of really bad jokes.

Lucky 7 Showcase founder James Dower was on a much-deserved vacation, so I took the driver’s seat at my old haunt. I was nervous and excited to take the stage from James, but I resolved to get out the message: Local Music is alive is Jersey City! (If you happen to have talent, or you know someone with talent, we want to hear from you — email L7Showcase (at) gmail.com or Rockertycoon (at) gmail.com.)

Jorge & Aliah brought the soulful songs about love and loss, boosted by the smooth combo of Aliah’s pipes and Jorge’s guitar. This is not your typical garage-rock indie sound, it is a different feel altogether — there’s nothing like a little musical diversity to help the scene flourish.

The Micks have kicked into overdrive with the change in name. (Sadly, they decided not to go with my suggestion: The Flying McMickle Bros.) With Matt McMickle on vocals and guitar and Sam McMickle on percussion, these guys are becoming veterans on the Jersey City scene. The Tuesday night crowd really responded to their songs, clapping and singing along to create a great vibe. The camaraderie of the crowd along with Matt and Sam’s goofball attitude made it hard to to not get involved, and by the end of the show everyone was having a blast. Matt even coerced Aliah to join him for a duet of “Purple Rain.” Their exchange is beyond hilarious — check out the video.

Tuesday also heralded the start of a new DJ night at Lucky 7′s, courtesy of DJ Motor Funker, aka Jersey City’s Ryan McEnerney. Motor Funker is a radio DJ in Princeton and he brings his own brand of funk and disco to the table. It’s a perfect transition from the live music on Tuesdays as well, as everyone just decided to dance the night away (Van Halen reference intentional).

This Friday began early for me as I got out to check out Creative Grove, and see how the shops would set up with Groove on Grove’s special appearance for JC Fridays. I spent some time wandering around checking out the local art scene and the available wares. With items ranging from screen printed T-shirts to homemade organic cookies and lemonade, there was something for everyone.

Around 6 pm the music started up, with four acts slated to go on.

Heather Duby kicked it off, with her voice and keys — coupled with Tom Barrett on drums and Thomas Unish on guitar — pulling the scattered crowd into the tent. I snagged my ceremonial “start of the show” beer from the Bar Majestic booth and dug in for the set. Heather Duby has this amazing sound that sort of pulls at your heart; it’s hard to put the band’s sound into words. Most of the people were swarming from the PATH and staying for a couple of songs — I’d have to imagine it was a comforting sound to start the weekend to.

Next up was the Rebecca Vallejo Project, bringing the Latin-style funk with a jazzy scat feel. I felt like I was at a jazz club in the seedy side of 1930s Chicago. Her version of “Girl from Ipanema” is amazing; she takes this and other classics makes them her own, and she does it well. After the set I saddled up to the Sawadee Booth and dug into some veggie dumplings.

Last year’s fall installment of JC Fridays was my first taste of Tris McCall; he performed as part of Overlord. Ever since then I suppose he’s been right at the peripheral of my conscious, but I just never was about to find the time to get out to see him live. After seeing him here, I have to say I really regret not finding the time — I think my life would have been slightly more bright for it. I’ve heard locals tell me things like “This guy is the David Byrne of Jersey City!” and often other bands raving about the fountain of talent and musical production that he exudes. Frankly, I take a lot of that with a grain of salt — I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to music. But after seeing him again — backed by the Housing Bubble — it’s so apparent that I think I must have been having some kind of auditory illusion to not realize it nine months ago. I highly suggest you find a way to get your hands on Let the Night Fall, his latest LP. Track seven — “First World, Third Rate” — is an instant hit.

Wrapping up show was the One & Nines, with eight band members crowding onto what I had previously thought was a pretty large stage. As usual, the band had a large crowd — ranging from toddlers to seniors — out for the show. Basically, if you can hear, this band is for you. While the big soulful sound is hard to pull off with proficiency, the One & Nines do it in style, with every song feeling more epic than the last. The extended brass section the band had on Friday only served to reinforce how contagious the atmosphere gets when they get on stage — just see the video! After the set was done, the crowd dispersed quickly, but that’s JC Fridays for you — there’s something going on everywhere in town.