North Jersey Notes – The Infection

THE INFECTION—New York, NY

  My brother, Rickeroo Dunn (his name is actually Rick, but he loves when I call him Rickeroo), has a new band! Rick fronted the popular NYC band Atom Strange. Now, he’s singing for the band The Infection from NYC. Rick was really excited about this new project, so he messaged me the link to check them out because he felt that my band Rahway would work well with them. I had to give it a listen, and after listening to samples of the songs “Here We Go Again”, “Hate To Lose” and “The Brave,” I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard. I’ve always loved Rick’s voice, but on these tracks, they were pretty powerful. There was some great guitar work and the bass and drums were spot on! I can’t wait to see these guys live!

  According to their bio, The Infection formed last year in the gutters of New York City. No strangers to the local NY music scene, members of The Infection set out to write and play great music, while having fun doing what they love. They didn’t use any formulas to write. They didn’t try to emulate any of their favorite bands, but nothing was off limits. This is what created the sound of The Infection, a heavy rock band at heart with a ‘commercial’ appeal supported by a modern-day rock sound. Their songs vary from moody to excitement, while bringing the signature sound of The Infection to the stage. The Infection’s lineup consists of singer Rick Dunn, guitarist Tommy Guarnieri, bassist Santiago Helman and drummer Vinnie LaRocca.

  The Infection got to work with platinum album engineer Anthony Rocky Gallo, who worked with the likes of John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, The Cult, and Pitbull. The Infection is preparing to release their first single followed by a release of their debut full length CD, which they plan on dropping this Spring! Like I said earlier, I can’t wait to see these guys live! For more on Rickeroo’s new band The Infection, visit GetTheInfection.com or catch them live at Blackthorn 51 in Elmhurst, NY on June 30 with my bro Don Jamieson and the boys from Ryder.

 

NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:

  My boys from Resurge will be playing a pretty cool show this Sunday night (6/17) at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ. They’ll be opening for Dead Daisies bass player Marco Mendoza, who will be performing a solo show here in North Jersey. Many of you might recognize Marco from his work with Blue Murder, John Sykes, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, Whitesnake, and the Thin Lizzy spin-off band, Black Star Riders. I got to see Marco perform and hang with him for a bit out at NAMM in January, and this guy is a beast! His bass playing is well worth the price of admission. He makes me want to hang up my bass when I watch him play. Also performing is NYC’s Honor Among Thieves. For more on this show, visit Facebook.com/RESURGEmusic.

  My bros from New Theory will be returning to the stage after a long hiatus, and they will be doing it in style. They’ll be returning to the stage of the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on Saturday, August 18 to open for Fuel. I guess bassist Sean Murray was able to pull away from his busy schedule with Schism, the TOOL tribute, to play some original music? Or maybe drummer Tommy Fitzgibbon was waiting for his hair to grow? Nonetheless, the boys will be back on a stage this August with Fuel and Ropetree. For discounted tickets, hit up one of the guys from New Theory at Facebook.com/NewTheoryNJ.

  And finally, how about my brother, Steve Brown from Trixter? He had to “phil” in for the mighty Def Leppard again while they’re on tour with Journey. Last time around, Steve filled in for Vivian Campbell, who was battling cancer, and this time around, he was asked to “phil” in for Phil Collen, who had to leave on a family emergency. I have to say that to be asked to be a fill-in guitarist for Def Leppard, life does not suck! For more on Steve Brown and whatever it is he’s doing these days, visit SteveBrownRocks.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:

6/15—Revel 9/Dino Skatepark/Craving Strange/Danger Club/Know Your Enemy—The Rail, Smithtown, NY
6/15—Jersey Campfires Presents: Arc’d Angel/Sinertia/From The Concrete/Blud Red Roses—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
6/16—BoundAlive/Ripped/Till Death Do Us Part/Geoff Tate’s Operation Mindcrime—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
6/16—Lane Six Birthday Bash Tribute Night with Reality Suite/Tempt/New Day Dawn/Lunatic Fringe—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
6/17—Marco Mendoza/Honor Among Thieves/Resurge—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
6/21—Among Us/Shallow Side—House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ
6/22—Adolescents/Electric Frankenstein/Jon Caspi and the First Gun/Executors—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
6/22—The Foxfires—The Delancey, NYC
6/22—Tilted—EJ’s Tap House, Seaside Heights, NJ
6/22—Knuckle Up—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
6/23—The Pain Method “What Doesn’t Kill You…” Release Show/Blud Red Roses/Defcon -1/Lobster Chicken/Vision Serpent—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
6/23—Metal Life Crisis/High Octane/The Walk Arounds—Jackson Moose, Lodge 1459, Jackson, NJ
6/23—The NJ MetalFest 4 featuring Whiplash (Final area appearance ever)/Psychoprism/Deadtide/Robots and Monsters/Scars of Envy/The Broken Co/Xenophile/Lyken21/The Donner
Party/Dead Girls Don’t Say No/Non-Residents/Fever Vein
—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
6/23—Barren One—Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
6/29—Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
6/30—Ropetree (CD Release Party)/Vextion/Lower The Veil/December Morning—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
6/30—The Infection/Ryder/Don Jamieson—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
7/1—Lane Six Presents: Ross The Boss/Held Hostage—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
7/7—Revel 9—89 North, Patchogue, NY
7/13—Lane Six Presents: Richie Ranno All Starz “Performing the music of Starz”—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
7/20—Sponge/Johnny Zostant Music/Incognito Theory/Mikell’s Plot/The Jumping Juvies/Mike Daly and The Planets—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
7/27—The Dirty Stayouts—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ