North Jersey Notes: Face The King, Shore Metal Madness IV, Common Wealth and More!

Okay, I know these guys aren’t from North Jersey, but they’re from Amityville, NY, which is close enough for me! Long Island bands need love too and I am loving these guys! The name of the band is Face The King. They have more of an alt-rock feel to them that is reminiscent of Radiohead, 30 Seconds To Mars and especially U2, but their songwriting is just so tasty! I accidentally stumbled across Face The King while searching ReverbNation for a band to feature this week. I have to be honest, I feel like I struck gold because I have not stopped playing Face The King’s playlist since I came across them. The songs “You, Me And The Sound,” “The Sea,” “The Burning And The Falling Down,” “The Stage” and “Colours” are so well-crafted, I’m so jealous that I didn’t write these songs myself.

Face The King is an alternative rock band based out of Long Island attempting to redefine the local rock scene with their arena-sized sound, both live and on CD. According to their bio, Face The King was formed back in 2009 by singer and guitarist Eric Zirlinger, lead guitarist Dan DelVecchio, bassist Joey Dammacco, and drummer Randy Palumbo. They won the Ernie Ball Battle of The Bands three times, earning them appearances at the Rockstar Uproar Festival, Vans Warped Tour three years in a row, the 2014 CBGB Festival main stage in Times Square, and most recently, one of the largest music festivals in Milwaukee, Summerfest 2015.

Face The King recently released their new single, “The Sea,” produced by Rob Freeman of Gym Class Heroes fame and already they’re receiving much praise for it (including from me!). The anticipation for their next full-length record, which will be released by CI Records, is through the roof with their rapidly-growing fan base dying to hear more. Face The King sounds like one band who is ready to take on the world one city at a time. For more on Face The King or to find out where you can catch them live, visit FaceTheKingband.com.

 

NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:

Well, the lineup for “Shore Metal Madness IV” has been released. This year’s installment will take place at the Headliner Night Club in Neptune, NJ on March 12 and will feature Vision Of Disorder, VSSLS, Cyperna, Scars Of Envy, Stagger, We Our War, Ixion Lux, Paralysis, Eye Of Anubis and Comb The Desert. This is one head-bashing event you will not want to miss! For more info and tickets, visit facebook.com/events/161387030887899.

I was just chatting with Common Wealth singer Christian Carson and he sounded pretty excited to get the band’s new music video for their song “Mend The Pieces” released. He said they’re still putting the finishing touches on it and hopes to have it out soon. For now, you can catch Common Wealth as direct support for 40 Below Summer this Friday night (1/29) at Webster Hall in NYC. Also performing will be Echolab and Pralaya. According to Christian, this won’t be the last time Common Wealth will be playing direct support for 40 Below Summer as the band is in talks to support 40 Below Summer this spring on a bunch of dates. For more on Common Wealth, visit Facebook.com/commonwealthnj.

And finally, the gang from Reality Suite released a new music video for their song “Die Dreaming” off of their CD, Skinn. The video looks amazing and the song rocks! You can catch Reality Suite live this Friday night (1/29) at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ as part Lane Six’s Anniversary Party featuring the mighty Trixter (see my interview with guitarist Steve Brown), former Mr. Big singer Eric Martin and my bros from Long Gone Day. For more info on Reality Suite and to check out their video for “Die Dreaming,” visit facebook.com/RealitySuite.

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:

1/27—Dead Rocking Horse/Acey Slade—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC

1/27—Lesli Sanders (from Pretty Boy Floyd)/Johnny (from The Cryptkeeper 5)/Jay Monday/Henry Raber—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

1/28—Ashes To Rain/The Schwam—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ

1/29—Echolab/Pralaya/Common Wealth/40 Below Summer—Webster Hall, NYC

1/29—Trixter/Eric Martin/Long Gone Day/Reality Suite—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

1/29—Don Jamieson/Super Thrash Bros/Souls Of Rebellion/Eye Of Eternity—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

1/30—Killcode/Ten Ton Mojo/Nakid Jedye—The Shop, Brooklyn, NY

1/30—The Cynz/The Brats/Barbecue Bob and the Spareribs/Stonebaby/Coach and Commando—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

2/3—Jersey Campfire Productions Presents: Vextion/Roulette/Vengents/Iron Front—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

2/4—Raftree/Don’t Tell Maggie—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

2/5—THE MENZINGERS/The Scandals/Thin Lips—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ

2/5—After the Burn/Suspect/Executors/Suicide Crisis—The Brighton Bar, Long Beach, NJ

2/6—The F-Bombers/Gravity Well/The Sacred/Pure Thirteen—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

2/6—THE MENZINGERS/The Scandals/Thin Lips—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ

2/6—Ogre/Beyond The Black/Retaliation/Rock This Town—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

2/7—Concrete God/Tailor Made/Words Never Spoken/Unknown Pleasures—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

2/12—Lowlight/Modern Chemistry/Semiotics/Twin Coves—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

2/20—The Starship Blues Project/Fever Vein/Natural Born Losers/The Dirty Staryouts—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

2/20—Fridays Child/Secret Sound/Big Shifter—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ

2/26—Zipperhead Productions Presents: The Rory Kelly Band—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

2/26—Joe Lynn Turner—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

2/27—TRAPT/Ronin/SYKA/Legacy/Common Wealth—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ

2/27—Michael Graves/Negative Traction/Sometimes the Devil/Immoral Support/EXM/Wolves Attack—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

3/3—Zipperhead Productions Presents: The Rory Kelly Band—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

3/12—“Shore Metal Madness IV”—Vision of Disorder/VSSLS/Cyperna/Scars of Envy/Stagger/We Our War/Ixion Lux/Paralysis/Eye of Anubis/Comb the Desert—Headliner Night Club, Neptune, NJ