North Jersey Notes: Lower The Veil, Common Wealth, Trixter and More!

My boys from Lower The Veil will be celebrating the release of their brand new music video for their song “Soon,” off of their latest CD with the same title, with a video release party at The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ on May 2 at 9 p.m. The boys won’t be performing that night. It will basically be a celebration and a viewing of the new music video. On the bill to perform are local favorites Vextion and a surprise special guest. For more info on this event, visit lowertheveil.com. You can also catch Lower The Veil live at Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse in Dunellen, NJ the following week (5/9) as part of Damnation Fest 2015.

Speaking of new music videos, my new buds from the band Common Wealth have a new music video out for their brand new single “Cut This Deep.” The song does exactly that! It cuts pretty deep. I will tell you this too: The band reminds me of Scarlet Carson. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re from the same area and that’s just the sound that comes from the Central Jersey area. Regardless, for those missing Scarlet Carson, there’s a new band for you and they’re called Common Wealth! Check out their new video from “Cut This Deep” and check the band out by visiting facebook.com/commonwealthnj.

My old pals from Trixter will be releasing their fourth full-length CD, Human Era, by way of Frontier Records on June 9. The boys are hosting a CD preview party at the Stanhope House in Stanhope, NJ this Sunday, May 3, to preview Human Era. Also performing will be my buds Corevalay. My bud and Trixter guitarist Steve Brown will be sitting down soon to discuss the new CD and his “summer vacation” as Def Leppard’s guitar player. Keep an eye out for that! For more on Trixter and their preview party for Human Era, visit trixterrocks.com.

And finally, my bud Rex Brown from Pantera, Down and Kill Devil Hill fame, recently did something awesome! I know this column is for unsigned bands, but it is also for fans of music and the local music scene and Rex fits into that category. So, last week he auctioned off a ton of old memorabilia that he had stored in a storage locker for over 14 years. Rex figured instead of continuing to pay that storage rent, it might be a better idea to auction off these old items that were just collecting dust to music fans around the world. I thought this is awesome! Fans spent all last week bidding on things like basses, amps and road cases used on recordings and tours from classic records like Vulgar Display Of Power, Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill. There were also items that Rex wore on those tours like sneakers, boots, robes and t-shirts. This was a Pantera fan’s wettest dream come true. Rex told me that he didn’t do this because he needed the money, which I’m sure most people thought; he did this because simply he didn’t want to pay rent any longer in that storage facility, all of this stuff was just sitting there collecting dust and the proceeds were going to a charity of his choice. If you ask me, that is pretty awesome! You can own a piece of Pantera history! The auction is over, but there might still be some stuff left over as “buy it now” items. Check it out at backstageauctions.com.

That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!

 

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

 

Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.

 

NJN Concert Calendar:

4/30—John Rango and Mike Manuele—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

5/1—Don Jamieson/Concrete Burial/Brand Of Julez/Circle Of Insanity/Lyken21—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ

5/1—Pralaya/SHIFT/Civic/Corevalay—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

5/2—Metal Mike’s Metal Heroes Workshop—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

5/3—Bang Tango/Primadonnaz—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA

5/3—Trixter “CD Preview Party”/Corevalay—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ

5/4—Quiet Riot/Race Odyssey/Sacred Sword—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

5/6—Devon Goods/Cephalopods And Their Allies/Gypsy Star/Nikki Briar and the Sweet Briar Band/Zen Thomas—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

5/7—Robots and Monsters/Brick By Brick—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ

5/7—Steve Bello Band—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

5/8—Tarpit Boogie/Dead Blow Hammer/USELESS/WHITE VOID—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ

5/9—Scars of Envy/Apostrophes/Cheese Puff Death Krunch/Stagger/ Voodoo Terror Tribe/Dark Matter/Lower the Veil/Ashes of Your Enemy/Paralysis/COMMON WEALTH—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ

5/14—Eric Martin of Mr. Big/D.M.K./Jake and Dan—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ

5/15—Law and Order/Wrench/White Tiger (A.J. Pero Benefit)—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

5/16—Hyngd/Still Well Angel/Jaded Past/One Day Waiting—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

5/16—DIVISION 1.1/Ixion Lux/Me With Creeps/Nuse/Causticaudio/BOUND ALIVE/Framework—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ

5/16—Atom Strange—EJ’s (Seaside Music Festival), Seaside Heights, NJ

5/16—End of an Era—Aztec Bar, Seaside Heights, NJ

5/20—Prophets of Addiction/The Erotics/Long Gone Day/Blackout Stereo—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

5/29—The Independents/Black Cat Attack/Darrow Chemical Co.—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

5/30—D.R.I./Robots and Monsters—Blackthorn51, Elmhurst, NY

5/30—THE MURDER JUNKIES/Negative Traction/Full Scale Riot/Pat Veil and the Beach Needles/Choke Artist/Damien the Cat—The Brighton Bar, Long Beach, NJ

5/31—The Algorithm/Angel Vivaldi/In Dying Arms/Silent To Slaughter/ The Polaris Breach/Blameless and Upright/Under The Red Hood—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ