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 up and move shop right up the road on Route 10 to an even bigger and badder location. My bud, Danny Pain, invited me up to see the new and improved Pure Ink, and I was quick to jump at the opportunity. I have to be brutally honest, though. On…

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 had the pleasure of listening to songs like my favorite track “Hanging Out,” “Sleep Alone” and “My Only Vice,” which I thought were amazing songs! Any of them could be a hit!

Little Devil formed back in September 2010 in a small Central Jersey suburb, with a goal of playing…

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 by singer Andrew Corkery to check out the band, but little did he know, I was already keeping an eye on them.

Tracks worth mentioning off of the band’s ReverbNation page include my favorite song, “Ghost Train,” “Autumn Sky” and “Ides Of March.” Singer Andrew Corkery had a straightforward rock…

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 way for all stoner rock bands out there today.

Head honcho Dave Wyndorf, 55, is the only remaining member of the original lineup, which he started back in 1989 with guitarist John McBain and drummer Tim Cronin. Since then, Dave seems to have had a revolving door of musicians. The…

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 and run in to check the place out. The name of the shop was Hot Rod Tattoo and it was located between Florida and Texas Avenues, across the street from a Sunoco Station. Anyway, when I walked into the shop, which was decorated to look like Hawaii (there’s a reason…

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 these guys, and they aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel. They’re just a solid, clear-cut rock band. I really liked the way singer Robert Sadowski commanded the track “Take You Down” and “To Be Loved,” but on the ballad, “Move On,” he was simply masterful. This was a pretty strong…

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 Soul” and “Shell Shock” was reminiscent of old Metallica when it came to the doubled leads, but vocally reminded me of old Anthrax meets Testament. Personally, I love it and feel that this is heavy metal done right!

Sanitarius was formed in 2002. Their sound is often described as…

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 more of a dirty rock ‘n’ roll sound on the songs that I had a chance to hear, like “Tragedy,” “Final Days” and “Burn,” which might’ve been the punkiest song out of the three tracks. I have to say, though, singer Sean Ordner’s voice was pretty good, and it stood…

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 Bamboozle Festival in 2010 and 2011. With a résumé like that, these guys must be awesome! So, I logged onto reverbnation.com/darknessdescends to give them a listen, and well, they’re a really good metal band! Singer Angry Jay definitely fits his nickname with his aggressive style of singing. Musically, on songs…