BRIAN MACKEY—New York City

I got a package in the mail back in August promoting a NYC singer/songwriter named Brian Mackey. I finally got a chance to listen to Brian’s recent Honest Love EP. The six-song masterpiece features the title track, “Sun Shower” and “Color Blue,” which were definitely…

My boys from NYC hard rock band Panzie* will be celebrating the release of their upcoming debut, Love And Blood, with a Halloween CD release party at Mercury Lounge in NYC on Oct. 28. Also performing will be special guests Ten Ton Mojo, The Mighty Pragmatics, The MP Project,…

After the success of their original band, 40 Below Summer, front-man Max Illidge and guitarist Joey D’Amico are now ready to reinvent themselves with a new five-man metal troop called With Daggers Drawn; music sure to produce a raw and edgier sound. Along with their notoriety for adrenaline-filled live performances,…

DEAD FISH HANDSHAKE—Linden, NJ

My bud, Rob Ferreira, formerly of the band Downshallow, whom I’ve written about a number of times through the years, has found himself a new home with his new project Dead Fish Handshake. Rob told me about them a while back, but I never had a…

My bass brother, Elo Hernandez, who’s played with bands like But Not Forgotten and the Marc Rizzo Band, recently emailed me to check out his new band L.I.F.E. or Love Is For Eternity. Well, it’s not exactly Elo’s band, but he does play bass for them. Now, this project is…

I was recently told about this band out of Montvale, NJ, called Salvage. So, I had to give them a listen, and to be brutally honest, I have no idea what I feel about this band. They’re not bad, but I also would not be rushing out to buy their…

While I was surfing the Internet looking for a band to feature this week, I came across a very cool band out of Wayne, NJ, on the WRXP local band page, which by the way, is a very cool way for local bands to promote themselves with a NYC radio…

I finally got to some mail left for me at The Aquarian Weekly, and I have to tell you that I love getting CDs from young new bands. It’s refreshing when you hear creative riffs from kids who are still learning about this business and trying to create a scene…

My Hostel Inc. brother and drummer, Jeff Hardee recently joined a new band out of NYC called Swear On Your Life. Now, when Jeff told me that he was jamming with a new band, all that I could think was that whoever landed Jeff as their timekeeper was going to…

Since the demise of one of my favorite local bands, Dead Letter Box, singer David Alexander and drummer Tony Ortiz have been laying pretty low working on their craft and writing new material. It was only a matter of time that they were going to explode right back onto the…