North Jersey Notes: Cascadence, Venus Vegas and HMS Revenge

CASCADENCE—Freehold, NJ

I recently stumbled across a great band out of Freehold, NJ that goes by the name Cascadence. I found them accidentally on reverbnation.com, when I clicked on their song “The First Time.” The song was so catchy and full of rock energy, that I needed to hear a second tune, which led me to another great track called “Let’s Get Ready.”

The songs kept getting better and better! I continued to listen to the rest of the songs on their reverbnation page, and I have to say that my favorite was a song called “Break Out,” because of the catchy guitar riff that opened the song. Singer Johnny Oak’s voice is actually pretty amazing too.

Formed back in 2007, Cascadence is an all-out, heart-pounding musical trio that looks to pound on your musical senses. Their diverse taste in music and experiences create complex yet simple songs that are easy to listen to, and difficult to get out of your head. I know that I was humming that song “Breakout” for a few hours. Cascadence is made up of singer/guitarist Johnny Oak, bassist Bryan Vitalo and drummer Dar Franks.

The band is currently shopping their self-titled EP, which is also available on iTunes. Each of the songs that I mentioned are featured on the EP. For those of you who are in tune with the Jersey scene and don’t know about these guys, you will soon. They really rock and I cannot believe that I haven’t heard of them until now! Check them out at myspace.com/cascadence.

NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
The boys from Venus Vegas recently returned from Los Angeles after, what they called, an amazing recording session out there for their upcoming CD Morning Still Life, which they hope to release sometime this month. So, keep an eye out for that. They also just posted some new promo pics from a recent photo shoot on their facebook page, facebook.com/VenusVegasBand.

I just found out that my bro, Mikey “Dreads” Meselesohn from Black Water Rising, also took part in Steve “Buckshot” Seabury’s Heavy Metal recipe book Mosh Potatoes: Recipes, Anecdotes, and Mayhem From the Heavyweights of Heavy Metal. Mikey Dread’s recipe joins exciting recipes from legendary Metal icons like Lemmy from Motorhead, Zakk Wylde from Black Label Society, and members of Pantera, Megadeth, GWAR, Anthrax, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Hades and many more. Buckshot, who also plays bass for Moth Eater, set up a charity for the artist proceeds from each sale of the book to benefit the Meals On Wheels Charity. Meals On Wheels delivers over a million meals a day to senior citizens who are experiencing economic hardships or disabilities and can’t afford to buy food. You can buy Mosh Potatoes now at Amazon, and don’t forget to check out Black Water Rising at myspace.com/blackwaterrising.

And finally, I just received word from HMS Revenge drummer Dan Monda that the band will be officially releasing their self-titled EP on Jan. 7 with a live performance at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ. Also, performing the CD release party is Thank You Scientist, Urban Lenny and Matt Olsson. For more info on HMS Revenge, log onto myspace.com/hmsrevenge.

That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140 Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at chigger273@aol.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next. No cover bands, please!

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

Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.

NJN Concert Calendar:

12/8—Third Kind—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

12/9—Val Emmich/Reverse Order—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

12/10—Black Water Rising—Trash Bar, Brooklyn, NY

12/10—Hands on the Stereo—Fusion Café, Bultler, NJ

12/10—Shat/Piston Driven/Boundalive—Ding Batz, Clifton, NJ

12/12—Borgo Pass—Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY

12/11—Hands on the Stereo—Paramus VFW, Paramus, NJ

12/17—Evan Toth and Band/Della Valle/Third Kind—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

12/18—Atom Strange—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC

12/18—Belladonna/Black Water Rising/The Zombie Mafia/Hostile Rage/Bone Yard—Ding Batz, Clifton, NJ

12/18—Christine Martucci Band/C.C. Coletti—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

12/19—Angel Vivaldi—Ding Batz, Clifton, NJ

12/19—With Daggers Drawn/Shadows Fall—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ