North Jersey Notes: Updates

My bro, Stan Yedlock from the band Split Point, recently sent me a message letting me know that Split Point has made it to the semi-finals of the Jersey Shows Battle Of The Bands. Congrats! The semi-final round will be played at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, on Sunday, Nov. 29. Stan told me that he thinks that Split Point might be the only metal band in the competition. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at The Starland Ballroom. Log onto myspace.com/splitpointmusic to purchase tickets or even listen to a few “live” pre-production tracks that the band recently recorded, so that their fans can hear new music.

I recently heard from my old buddy and amazing guitar whiz Steve Bello who has been in and out of retirement from the local music scene lately. Well, according to Steve’s email, it sounds like he’s out of retirement once again. It turns out Steve has stayed in touch with the kids from the band Knollwood and recently Nikki, the band’s drummer, left. She reached out to Steve asking if any of his students were looking for a drummer. Unfortunately, Steve received no response from any of his students, so he decided to jam with Nikki on his own for S and G’s, and could not believe what he heard. The two were so excited about their chemistry, that they began working on material that Steve had already written before he went into retirement, as well as writing new material. Steve told me that he’s not sure how serious this is, he just wants to get his music off his chest and see where it goes. It looks like The Steve Bello Band has once again resurfaced! Don’t expect to see any live shows anytime soon, but you can expect a few new songs from “The Bello” by checking myspace.com/stevebello every now and then.

A couple of weeks ago Kindred Souls lent their support to the ING New York City Marathon for the sixth year in a row. They played a free concert along the route on Central Park South. This was great exposure for the band as thousands were able to listen to and enjoy their music. For more info on Kindred Souls and to check out their new CD, Social Ninja, log onto kindred-souls.com.

John Mosco, the man behind Sixty Miles Down, finally filled me in on what was going on with the band. I mentioned a few weeks ago that there was a brand new song, “Burned,” on the band’s MySpace page, myspace.com/sixtymilesdown, and that John seemed to be the only member left on the page. Well, John wanted to set the record straight. Turns out, there was a band member with medical problems, one that needed to finish college, and one that just didn’t see eye-to-eye with John musically. So, John has decided to continue on with new musicians as Sixty Miles Down. He currently has a new guitarist and a former member of Sixty Miles Down possibly returning. He’s searching for a drummer and bass player to fill out the rest of the new line-up. If you know of a bassist or drummer that might fit what John is doing contact him through 60MD.com.

And finally, since I’m mentioning some old friends, I got a text recently from Anthony “The Main Vein” Coviello of the reunited Long Gone Day. He wanted to let me know that the new longgoneday.com has finally gone live! You can go there and find out when Long Gone Day is playing next, see pics of the reunited band, and even stay up to date on what’s going on with the band now. Check it out, it’s longgoneday.com.

That’s all for now! And remember, if your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your demos and press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140 Little Falls, NJ 07424. No cover bands, please!

Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!

NJN Concert Calendar:

11/12—Swear On Your Life—Europa, Brooklyn, NY

11/13—Bled For Glory/Will Killmore—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

11/13—Black Water Rising—The Vibe Lounge, Rockville Centre, NY

11/13—Eden Star—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ

11/14—Diablo Royale—Crash Mansion, NYC

11/14—Beatrix Kiddo/Charetta—High Velocity, Beachwood, NJ

11/14—Borgo Pass/Dormitory Effect/Thunderbrew—Mr. Beery’s, Bethpage, NY

11/19—Long Gone Day—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ

11/21—Atom Strange—Ace of Clubs, NYC

11/21—Audacity—Finnigans, East Windsor, NJ

11/24—Will Killmore—Crocodile Rock, Allentown, PA

11/24—Hope Kills Fear—Trash Bar, Brooklyn, NY

11/25—Our Black Friday—Mount Holleran’s Towne Tavern, Parsippany, NJ

11/27—The Dirty Stayouts—The Loop Lounge, Passaic Park, NJ

11/27—Split Your Lip—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC

11/27—Black Water Rising—The Trash Bar, Brooklyn, NY

11/27—Milan—The Old Bay, New Brunswick, NJ

11/28—Will Killmore—The Cup Complex, Linden, NJ

11/28—Long Gone Day—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

11/28—Lieder—The National Underground, NYC