North Jersey Notes: Road Zombies, Piston Driven, Charetta, Hello Eden

Matty Z recently emailed me to let me know that The Road Zombies just welcomed their new drummer, Lee Nassor, into the band. Lee will be making his debut with The Road Zombies sometime in early February, so keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming show at myspace.com/theroadzombies. You can also keep your tabs on Matty Z’s goings on via his brand new website, mattyzmusic.com.

I just read this blog posted by one of my new favorite North Jersey band’s, Piston Driven. Turns out, back in October, the band parted ways with singer Mike Affinito amicably due to “creative” differences. Since October, through the word of mouth, the boys from Piston Driven have been auditioning singers while they continued writing for their long-awaited full-length CD, which they hope to have out by this spring. In the meantime, it looks like they’ve finally found what they were looking for, and will be announcing who the new crooner will be in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to find out who it is by logging onto myspace.com/pistondriven.

Hello EdenI might have mentioned this before, but have you heard the new songs posted by Hello Eden? Oh my god! They’re awesome! If you haven’t heard them yet, you need to log onto myspace.com/helloeden. The songs “Yellow Hell,” “Number 7,” and “Caroline” really show maturity in the band’s songwriting. It’s no wonder they’re showcasing so much for labels lately! They also recently opened for Scott Weiland over at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. If you want more info on my boys from Hello Eden log on to helloeden.com.

Over the holidays, my lady friend received a rough mix of the upcoming Charetta CD from our mutual friend and my bro, Charetta guitarist Dave Chisolm. You might recognize Dave’s name from Sixty Miles Down and 1000lb. Head. Well, I did what any boyfriend would do and I stole the CD to listen to myself, and I have to say that the production on the CD was really good! The songs sounded much heavier than when I first heard the and singer Angelina really shines on these songs. Look out for the release of this new CD! In fact, you can hear a track from it on Charetta’s MySpace page, myspace.com/charettamusic.

And finally, Dexter’s in Riverdale, NJ, is having a weekend long “Long Live The Rock Pre-Super Bowl Bash” this weekend featuring tons of special guests and local and nationals bands. Proceeds from the weekend-long bash will go to benefit the Woodbridge Buddy Ball Organization For Children With Special Needs Sports Program and will also go to help keep the music alive at Dexter’s! The line-up for the whole weekend is filled with bands from all over the country donating their time to raise money for the organization. The guest list includes “Bumblefoot” Ron Thall from Guns ‘N’ Roses, Metal Mike from Sebastian Bach/Rob Halford, Steve Brown and Gus from Trixter, Jose Hernandez from the HBO series OZ, and 1991 Playboy Centerfold Cheryl Bachman, just to name a few. This is shaping up to be a huge event! For more info and tickets, log on to dextersentertainment.com.

That’s all for now! And remember, if your band is from North Jersey and you want some exposure, send your demos and press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140 Little Falls, NJ 07424. No cover bands, please!

Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!

NJN Concert Calendar:
1/28—Steve Brown (Acoustic)—The Copper Bottom, Florida, NY
1/29—Steve Brown (Acoustic)—The Forge, Ringwood, NJ
1/30—Bound Alive—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/30—Black Water Rising/White Knuckle Battery—Chubby’s Red Bank, NJ
1/30—Steve Brown (Acoustic)—Lorenzo’s, Secaucus, NJ
1/30—Dexter’s Long Live The Rock Pre-Super Bowl Bash—Dexter’s Riverdale, NJ (Day 1)
1/31—Endall—The Break Contest @ Cedar Grove VFW, Cedar Grove, NJ
1/31—Rahway/Killcode—Club 35 Player’s Lounge, Sayreville, NJ
1/31—Dexter’s Long Live The Rock Pre-Super Bowl Bash—Dexter’s Riverdale, NJ (Day 2)
2/6—Charetta—The Broadway, Amityville, NY
2/6—Martyrd/Bent Brother—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
2/7—Screaming Metal/LowBuz/Black Water Rising—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/7—Borgo Pass—Mr. Beery’s, Bethpage, NY
2/7—Rahway—The Junkyard, Rochelle Park, NJ
2/7—White Knuckle Battery—The Silo, Reading, PA
2/13—Killcode—Crash Mansion, NYC
2/13—Rahway—Millennium Music Conference 13, Harrisburg, PA
2/14—Endall—Millennium Music Conference 13, Harrisburg, PA
2/15—Borgo Pass—Mr. Beery’s, Bethpage, NY