I always marvel at the new artists that materialize in New Jersey. I have been on the scene since 1980 and I have seen a lot of talent come and go, but I never seem to catch a lot of it as it sneaks up on me. However, that is…

Holding Back Entirely

The Saint

December 28, 2011

ASBURY PARK, NJ—The time between Christmas and New Year’s can be a strange and depressing space. What with the culmination of Santa’s cruel jokes and guilt stacked up from the past year of bad habits running through your head, it is…

The true story of Tom and Margaret Potter’s Upstage scene

   In a time when social unrest and Vietnam were reaching a boiling point, music was the communal salve that healed all wounds. In the city of Asbury Park, culture and art clashed head on into some of the…

Kill The Alarm

JC Dobbs

December 9, 2011

PHILADELPHIA, PA—When New Jersey performer Garen Gueyikian (aka Kill The Alarm) sent an invite for a South Street Philly show, I thought, “What the hell?” A night out of the Shoreworld zone and into the City of Brotherly Love sounded like a…

From his tumultuous start to his present positioning as one of rock’s genuine troubadours, Willie Nile has kept one theme current in his life and his music. That theme is persistence. Weathering false starts and labeled expectations, Nile has powered his way into the hearts and souls of millions…

Mike Chick: Hello Mountain

   Grand Alto was a band that graced the Shoreworld pages more than once. Featuring dark, tongue-in-cheek compositions, the band used killer chops to make their climb to the top of the Jersey heap before mysteriously calling it a day.

   Rising from the…

Pete Myers: Jigsaw Monet

The old saying, “You can’t keep a good man down” was custom written for this Manasquan, New Jersey, artist. Peter Myers is a songwriter with so much background history that I’m always shocked that writers don’t talk about him on a regular basis.

Myers’…

   There seems to be fewer bands that utilize antics and theatrical mayhem. To be honest, when I go see a rock band and they all kind of mope around like emotionally troubled vampires staring at their Sketchers, it doesn’t do shit for me. The fastest way to disconnect…

Double Breasted – Head To Toe In Holiday Sparkle

Yeah, I know, when I first heard about this band I pictured some Jenna Jameson, twin-fronted cover band that specializes in songs like “Black Velvet” and “Get This Party Started,” but I’m happy to say that I was way…

Since its humble inception as the Golden T-Bird Awards back in 1993, the goal of The Asbury Music Awards has been to reward those who have put their blood, sweat and time into the local music scene. Going all the way back to those golden T-Bird days, this show…