LULLWATER—Athens, GA
I know these guys aren’t from Jersey, but my public relations pal, Denise Kovalevich, turned me onto these guys since she’s handling their publicity. They’re from Athens, Georgia, and the name of the band is Lullwater. They are awesome! Denise sent me their link to give them a listen because she knew the style of music I was a fan of and she nailed it with these guys. The songs “Holy Water,” “Evenline,” “A Forgotten Name” and “Revival” off of the band’s 2015 release, Revival, immediately won me over. Singer John Strickland’s vocals are infectious and these songs are well-written “songs.”
According to their bio, Lullwater was formed back in 2007. Singer and guitarist John Strickland, guitarist Brett Strickland, bassist Roy “Ray” Beatty and drummer Joe Wilson met through mutual friends in the extremely fertile Athens, GA music scene. The quartet emerged with a shared conviction in their quest from sweaty jam sessions in a dark, grungy, damp basement on Lullwater Street, hence the name. It was from there that they began to build an audience one fan at a time. It took years of working through repertoire, and fine-tuning their vision. The missing link to their puzzle was capturing their “live” energy on to tape, which is the missing link for all bands. Lullwater combines the sounds of the godfathers of grunge from Seattle with their hypnotic, heavy melodies and lyrics that challenged societal norms and prejudices and inspiration of Southern rock swagger defining the unique sound of Lullwater. Since 2012, the band has toured with Flyleaf, Amaranthe, Butcher Babies, Theory Of A Deadman and Candlebox to promote their critically acclaimed CDs, Lullwater and Revival.
Lullwater plans to tour through this spring and summer before heading into the studio to record new music for a release later this fall. The band recently released a video for their cover of the Pearl Jam classic “Release Me,” which is one of my favorite PJ songs, so this was pretty awesome to hear and watch. If you look close enough, you’ll also catch original PJ drummer Dave Krusen and Candlebox singer Kevin Martin performing the song live with the band. If you get a chance, you have to check Lullwater out at LullwaterMusic.com. Let’s bring these guys to Jersey already! They’re awesome!
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My brothers from Common Wealth have released a brand new music video for their song “Pull Me Through.” The song is powerful, melodic and catchy as hell! Singer Christian Carson said about their latest release, “We really experimented with some different sounds. With all of our songs, we hope just each one of them will connect and can be a different journey for people and this is just another path, down another trail.” The video is extremely well-produced and the song kicks ass! Check the video for “Pull Me Through” out at youtu.be/TmqXiJPojvI, and for more on Common Wealth, visit Facebook.com/CommonwealthNJ.
NYC’s Wildstreet frontman Eric Jayk has a brand new project called Astra the 22s, a band they are labeling “vampire glam.” Anything that has to do with vampires captures my interest. Anyway, Jayk put Astra the 22s together with Kerry Kaleja when the two met back in 2011, while Kaleja was visiting NYC from Riga, Latvia. Last year, Kaleja and Jayk relocated the band to Brooklyn and they are currently preparing to release their second EP, Paris Love, which they hope to release this fall. Check out Astra the 22s at Facebook.com/Astrathe22s.
And finally, just a reminder, next Friday (5/5), my band Rahway will be heading to my old high school, Saddle Brook High School, to “Save the Music at SBHS,” an event to raise money to help the Saddle Brook High School band buy new instruments and repair old ones. The event is part of my bud, William Mulder, Jr.’s Boy Scouts’ project and should be a huge event, as instrument donations can also be used as the price of admission for this amazing event, which also features the bands Inside Riptide and Obsidion along with an all-star alumni jam session to conclude the evening. For more info this event, visit RahwayBand.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:
4/28—Corevalay/Among Us/New Day Dawn/Harvest Falls—Maxwell’s Tavern, Hoboken, NJ
4/28—Kore Rozzik/Kickin Valentina/Killer Dwarfs—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
4/28—MindMaze/Xenophile/Midnite Hellion/Fiakra—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/29—Militia Nation Presents: Sekond Skyn/Psychoprism/Broken Past/Incognito Theory/Dead City Crown/High Octane—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
4/30—Joker’s Republic “EP Release Party”/Tula Vera/The Carousers—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/3—Jersey Campfire Presents: Ascending From Ashes/PAULUS HooK/White Void/Answer Infinity/Triple Scoop—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/5—SAVE THE MUSIC AT SBHS: Rahway/Inside Riptide/Obsidion—Saddle Brook High School, Saddle Brook, NJ
5/5—Yngwie Malmsteen/Midnite Hellion/Ripped—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
5/5—Skrizzly Adams/Mikell’s Plot/Stars Apart—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
5/5—Rocket Queens “All Female GNR Tribute Band”/OwlKill/War For the Crown/Atomic Minds/Kold Blooded—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/6—Michale Graves/Incognito Theory—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
5/6—Cycle of Pain/Lower The Veil/Legion/Out Of Bounds/Ideosphere/Shattered Skin—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
5/6—Borgo Pass/BLACK DAWN/Logan’s Room/John Wilkes Booth—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
5/6—Deaf Rhino/Sir Cadian Rhythm—The Mercury Lounge, NYC
5/6—Lethal Affection/Cowbell Superstar/Atomic Minds/School of Rock Wayne—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/7—Palaye Royale—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/11—Tura Lura/The City of Townsville/Broken Angels—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/12—Rahway/Resurge/Panzie*/Brand of Julez/Corevalay—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/12—Faith Remains/From the Depths/Stronger Than Death—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/13—The Inversion Circus/Metal Life Crisis/Steve Bello/The Way Out—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
5/13—Seas of Wake “Farewell Show”/Comb the Desert/Sinking Monroe/EchoLab/Among Us/RedCoat/Sean Henry Tonight and The Tonighters—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
5/16—Capture/My Enemies and I/Kingdom of Giants/Dayseeker/My Last Breath—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/17—Noise Brigade/Casual Friday/Empty Parking Lot/Atlas On Top—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/18—Rory Kelly/Natural Born Losers—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/19—Zipper-Head Productions Presents: The Return Of Swamp Rocker Rory Kelly—Ryan’s Pub and Sports Bar, Monroe Township, NJ
5/19—Raven/No Kings Among Wolves/The Donner Party/Fiakra/Flatleaver—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/20—Sekond Skyn/Life of Agony—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
5/20—Primadonnaz–Jersey Shore Fest at EJ’s Tap House, Seaside Heights, NJ
