It’s been about five years since I last visited my favorite tattoo shop in New Jersey. Yes, I’m talking about Pure Ink in Ledgewood, NJ, only the last time I was there, they were in a different location. Owners Danny Pain, Graig Berkowitz, and Rich Pizzutillo decided to pick…

LITTLE DEVIL—Warren, NJ
I was recently on ReverbNation, scouting out the talent in North Jersey, when I found a great little rock band out of Warren called Little Devil. Now, there’s an easy, commercial name that’s never been used before! Anyway, while I was on their page, reverbnation.com/littledevilband, I…

SHADOWPLAY—Mount Laurel, NJ
Kenny Colgate from Romulus X Records seems to be really beefing up his roster, as of late. He already has InDisguise, Voodoo Terror Tribe and Sundown Conspiracy, but now he can add Mount Laurel’s Shadowplay to his growing list of Jersey bands. I was recently contacted…

I recently had the unique opportunity to interview the lead singer of the band that my band, BlackOcean, will be opening for at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, on Jan. 14. Of course, I’m talking about New Jersey’s own, Monster Magnet, the stoner rock band that helped pave the…

AURIN—Northern NJ
With this week’s band, I did something a little different. I was on Twitter when I noticed a Sarah Anderson had started following me. I didn’t know who she was, so I took a look at her profile and it turned out she was the lead singer…

HOT ROD TATTOO—Atlantic City, NJ
On a recent trip to Atlantic City for a holiday dinner party, I noticed a huge sign that read “Tattoo” as we drove down Atlantic Avenue. Since we were way early for the dinner, the love of my life, allowed me to pull over…

STRANGERS PASS—Rahway, NJ

I finally had a chance to listen to a CD that was mailed to me this year. The CD is a self-titled EP from a band called Strangers Pass out of Rahway, NJ, and I actually thought it was pretty good. There was nothing mind-blowing about…

SANITARIUS—Staten Island, NY

I was recently contacted about a great metal band out of Staten Island, NY, called Sanitarius. After listening to a few of their songs, I love these guys! Sanitarius take it old school with their brand of metal. Their sound on songs like “Paradigm,” “Eyes To…

THE DEAD AGAINS—Belle Mead, NJ

I was recently contacted on The Aquarian’s website about this new band out of Central Jersey called The Dead Agains. When they contacted us, they labeled themselves as a punk and metal band, but when I logged onto their ReverbNation page, reverbnation.com/thedeadagains, they had…

DARKNESS DESCENDS—Rockaway, NJ

Darkness Descends singer Angry Jay North recently reached out to me to check his band out for North Jersey Notes. In the email, Jay explained to me that Darkness Descends won The Break Contest two years in a row earning them an opportunity to play the…