North Jersey Notes: Stillphase, Seas Of Wake, The Atomic Bitchwax and More!

My singer, Nick Hade, in the band Rahway also sings for another great Jersey band that he keeps telling me about. I finally got to check them out and he wasn’t kidding! They’re pretty good! The name of the band is Stillphase and you’ll be able to catch them live at the Food Truck and Rock Carnival at Oak Ridge Park in Clark, NJ along with my band Rahway. So, basically, Nick will be performing double-duty that weekend. Anyway, I logged onto the band’s website and listened to the songs “The King,” “Clouds,” “Whiskey Night” and “Go Straight Jersey,” and after jamming with Nick and hearing his voice on the Rahway songs, this is a different dynamic for him vocally. It really shows how great and diverse of a singer he really is. (God, I hope his head fits through the door to the rehearsal studio after reading this!) Besides Nick’s vocals, the music was hard, heavy and riff-tastic! Just the way I like it.

According to their bio, Stillphase is made up of singer and guitarist Nick “Hades” Bianchini, drummer A.J. Perri, bassist Joe Reed and lead guitarist Matt “Mezzy Shredder” Robertson. Nick and Joe stuck together since they played in the band Sleeping Colossus, which fell apart due to members leaving for personal reasons. It wasn’t long before they started their search for the right musicians to complete the sound they were looking for. Joe contacted an old friend of a friend from school, drummer A.J. Perri, and guitarist Joe Zolofra. Nick and Joe would team up with the two new guys and started working on new material under the name Relentless Soul. After only a short period of time, Joe left the band with little notice just before their first show. That’s when Nick picked up the guitar and started singing. Matt ended up being the missing piece of the puzzle and Stillphase has not slowed down since.

Stillphase, who calls the Jersey Shore home, released their debut EP, I Was Wrong, within their first year of existence. They would follow I Was Wrong up with their second EP, Lost. Stillphase currently has their eyes set on getting their name out there with more shows and eventually extending beyond New Jersey. Luckily for Nick, he has two opportunities to do that with Rahway as well. Don’t forget to catch Stillphase at the Food Truck and Rock Carnival in Clark, NJ on Sept. 19 and 20. For more info on Stillphase, visit stillphase.com.

 

NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:

The boys from Seas Of Wake will be returning to the stage for the first time in about a year and a half when they hit Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on Nov. 13. The fellas have been away working on their upcoming CD, Depth Of The Morrow, and can’t wait for fans to hear the new material. For more on Seas Of Wake, their return show on Nov. 13 at Dingbatz and their new CD, Depth Of The Morrow, visit facebook.com/SeasofWake.

The Atomic Bitchwax has hit the road, but not before they bestowed upon us a brand new music video for their song “No Way Man” off of their latest CD, Gravitron. The opening bassline and guitar riff are so tasty that your musical taste buds will have you salivating all throughout the video. Oh, and “Thunder” Bob Pantella from Monster Magnet behind the kit doesn’t hurt the song either. Catch The Atomic Bitchwax live at The Bowery Electric in NYC before the anarchy of The Rock Carnival kicks off on Sept. 18. Check out the video for “No Way Man” at youtu.be/C3nQBv1hqbA and for more on the Bitchwax, visit theatomicbitchwax.com.

And finally, Maxwell’s Metal Melee is coming to the iconic Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ on Sept. 12 and will feature four “rapidly rising local bands” from Jersey’s thriving metal scene. On the bill will be one of my favorites, Robots And Monsters, another favorite Common Wealth and two I’m unfamiliar with in Moon Tooth and Unkept Herald. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on BrownPaperTickets.com. For more on this show, visit my bros from Robots And Monsters at facebook.com/robotsandmonstersband, or my buds from Common Wealth at facebook.com/commonwealthnj.

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:

9/3—Darrow Chemical Co./Children of October/Graveyard Tree—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

9/4—Don Jamieson/Silent Future/Restless Spirit/True Will/Thrashole/The Fall Of Autumn—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

9/4—The One 2’s/High Violet/Forget the Whale/Experiment 34—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ

9/6—Mikell’s Plot—Pompton Lakes Day Festival, Pompton Lakes, NJ

9/9—Gothic Knights/Angra—B.B. King’s Blues Club, NYC

9/9—Reality Suite/Strive/Corevalay/Another Distraction/Me With Creeps—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

9/10—TOTH—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

9/10—Metalfier/Marty Friedman—The Gramercy Theatre, NYC

9/11—Unearthly/KroW—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

9/12—Robots and Monsters/Common Wealth/Moon Tooth/Unkempt Herald—Maxwell’s Tavern, Hoboken, NJ

9/12—Aurin/Adage/Lethal Affection/Flathead Sky —Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

9/12—Full Scale Riot—Grease Monkey Block Party, Brooklyn, NY

9/13—Battlecross/Ashes of Your Enemy/Monument of a Memory/That of a Lion—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

9/14—Prophets of Addiction/Blackout Stereo—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

9/18—End of an Era/Pop Will Eat Itself—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

9/18—Atomic Bitchwax—Bowery Electric, NYC

9/19—The Festimony of The Damned/Ixion Lux/NUSE/Division 1.1/Framework/Thrashole/Killed at the Alter— Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ

9/19—Primadonnaz—The Boneyard Bar and Grill, Atlantic City

9/19—End of an Era/Pop Will Eat Itself/Die Warzau—Santos Party House, NYC

9/19—Food Truck and Rock Carnival Day 1—Oak Ridge Park, Clark, NJ

9/20—Food Truck and Rock Carnival Day 2—Oak Ridge Park, Clark, NJ

9/25—Rahway/Ace Frehley/Brand of Julez/Knucklebone—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ