A couple of weeks ago, I ventured up to The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ to see a bunch of friends open for the ultimate all-female Judas Priest tribute band, Judas Priestess. Now, before I go on about the local openers, let me just say that if you’ve never seen Judas Priestess before and you’re a Judas Priest fan, do yourself a favor and check these chicks out! They are flawless in their representation of the metal gods and singer Militia has some set of pipes on her. She used to front the local original band, Swear On Your Life, which featured my old drummer Jeff Hardee. Find out where Judas Priestess is playing next at judaspriestessband.com.
I swear, I go out one night and I’m bombarded with information for this week’s column! Not to mention, I was being congratulated all night on my recent nuptials, so I thank everyone for that. So, the first band that I wanted to mention this week is the guys from CausticAudio, which also features another former drummer and brother of mine, Scotty O. This is the second time I’ve seen these guys in a live setting and this time they killed it! Not that they didn’t the first time I saw them. They just sounded awesome on this night! Plus they played by favorite song “Magazine,” which features this awesome bass lick from bass player Rich Tanis. Singer and guitarist Pat Piegari seems to be getting more comfortable with playing and singing, but the thing that I love about this band is that they are so diverse that they all sing! I always loved Scotty O’s drumming, even when we played together, so my love for this band grows every time I see them live. Check out CausticAudio at facebook.com/causticaudiomusic.
The band that came on after CausticAudio was a bunch of guys I haven’t seen live in a while. It was my buds from Ixion Lux. These guys are just an all-out metal band with no drama. They just want to play hard and play loud! Singer John Mosher pulls no punches with his retro-metal singing, where at times he reminds me of Geoff Tate, King Diamond and even Bobby Blitz from Overkill. Musically, these guys are as tight as they come. I also loved that in between songs, they had a sampler playing quotes from speeches and lines from movies. I hate seeing a band where there is just no interaction with the crowd by the singer or as we call it in radio, dead air! Ixion Lux covered all the bases with their live show and their music. Keep an eye on these guys! Check them out at ixionlux.com.
Then, my bros from Audio Empire came on to a very nice and warmed up crowd. This is the first time I’ve seen them live with new guitarist Dan Neary, and they didn’t let me down. They were tight as always and by the crowd reaction to the band, you can tell they were on their “A” game. I was talking to my bros, bassist Roy Brunston, singer David Marcus and drummer Chris Manfre, before their set, and they told me this was the only show they wanted to take on while they put the finishing touches on their upcoming debut full-length CD, which they plan to release with a CD release party at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ on April 3. The consensus about the new CD from the three band members was unanimous, though, and that was excitement for people to hear this new Audio Empire music. For more on Audio Empire, log onto audioempireband.com.
And finally, one more notable that I learned that weekend; I ran into my bass bro Mikey Ferreira and guitarist Dennis Kozar from Civic at The Pony, as well, and Mikey and Dennis were telling me how the recording of their new CD was going and they both seemed to agree that they liked the direction their music was heading. They said it wasn’t as alternative as I first heard them and that it’s taken a little bit more of a hard rock edge. I can’t wait to hear it! Check Civic out at civicband.com.
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 tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
NJN Concert Calendar:
2/25—Charetta/RED/3 Years Hollow/Islander—The Gramercy Theatre, NYC
2/27—Corevalay/New Day Dawn/Jaded Past/Burial Park/The Foundry—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
2/27—Midnight Eternal/Flames of Fury/Aurin/Endless Lament—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/27—Calabrese/Biters/The Zombie Mafia/Cheap Cigaretts, Murdersmile—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
2/28—BoundAive—Bound Brook Hotel, Bound Brook, NJ
2/28—We Our War/World Lost/Givethemrope/Alekhine’s Gun—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
2/28—Killcode/Terror Garden/Armed and Dangerous—Even Flow Bar and Grill, Bay Shore, NY
2/28—Black Angel Down/Mind Riot/Roulette/10 Paces/Escape From Crete—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
2/28—ANAKA/Sworn Enemy/Brick By Brick—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
3/1—Sekond Skyn/Devour the Day/Like A Storm/HellYeah—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
3/1—Mobile Deathcamp/Edge Of Annihilation/Deth Cactus—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/4—SYKA/John 5—The Gramercy Theater, NYC
3/6—Don Jamieson from That Metal Show/Circuitry/Flowers to Flames/Tilted/Concrete Burial/Judgment/Hammerfight/Wolfcloak—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/7—Common Wealth—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/7—Mindswitch/Smack DMZ/From Evil/Gas NYC—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/7—Full Scale Riot EP Release Party—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
3/8—John Rango and Friends—The Hilltop Tavern, Lodi, NJ
3/12—J.Rad/Otherwise/Eternity Fallen/Terra Stigma—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
3/13—Killcode/Mother—Maxwell’s Tavern, Hoboken, NJ
3/13—Krown Point/Crash NY/Casey Honig/Sliver Spade—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/14—Shore Metal Madness III featuring: Stagger/Scars of Envy/Ominous/Continuum/Cyperna/Dead Wings/Through the Grey/Paralysis/The Gates of Ivory/Eye of Anubis—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/14—For the Kill/Steel Reign/Cause of Affliction/Threatpoint—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/22—J.Rad/Frank Hannon (from Tesla)—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
3/28—Thanantotic Desire—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
