The Obvious @ The Asbury Lanes
Ironically, being in a band actually makes it more difficult to listen to music. You are forever comparing your own act to other groups, head to toe. You become cynical about much of what’s going on in popular music. The meta-narrative of inhabiting rock aspirations, the story about music as opposed to just the straight noise itself becomes engrossing. You are forever lost in guitar tones, lyrical content, industry personalities, booking, playing, recording plus all the not-so-fun stuff.
At Holdfast Record And Clothing Store
Even Black Flag (who played an impromptu set during the 80’s at the building we now rehearse in) lived in one rehearsal space together and rehearsed 40 hours a week before they took their sound to the streets. The Minute Men and Nirvana all have tons of spiral notebooks with notes on gig times, booking agents, van maintenance schedules, and per diem allotments. (Imagine feeding a band on $30 dollars a day for a week. To quote Dave Grohl, “You save up $3 dollars and you’re so excited because tonight you can have a Hungry Man Dinner.”) It’s amazing that any of us even still get to the actual business of writing songs, honestly.
The Bouncing Souls @ The Asbury Lanes 12/10
Being a musician is a largely thankless job. As Plato once said, “Love is a grave disorder of the mind.” Love of music to the point where you kind of can’t really find room in your life for much else could be thought to fall into this category, and in Asbury Park we have made a fine art of it. We wander the streets at night, from bar to gig to rehearsal to someone’s floor, or couch. Sometimes we remember to eat and sleep. We usually remember to drink and do drugs.
Rick Barry @ The Saint
It’s some strange and romantic beat-poet generation notion that we are not sure of too much in the world, but what we do know is what we will hold on to—the feeling of standing inside of a song, the vague notion that if you are true to yourself, the rest will follow as it should. As Aristotle posited, You Are What You Do. And we plug in our guitars, we step up to our mics, we wear our clothes till there are holes in them because new strings or sticks or fixing your amp is, of course, way more important.
That being said, when you do see a band that has both talent and ambition, it is doubly impressive, and I am proud to say that there are quite a few of us that are working our little hearts out because we HAVE to. Creating your own reality in a world where reality is largely prescribed to you isn’t very easy. But to answer the seminal punk band, The Wipers question, “Is This Real?” Yes, it is. More to the point, it is difficult to ignore that the world seems to be on the fast track to oblivion via abstract constructs of economy and manufactured consumption and consent from grossly disproportionate power structures. In that context, independent, organic scenes in music and art and the human experiences that those foster are perhaps the most real thing we have.
Status Green @ The Stone Pony
So the next time you feel a bout of Post-Modern Oblivion Blight, (it’s ok, we all have it) the best thing I could advise is getting to a LIVE show with other people, and being in the moment of a good performance (and not watching it via your smartphone even though the stage is right in front of you.) Futhermore, don’t be afraid to throw your own hat into the ring. You have a voice, an identity, and unique perspective. Contrary to popular belief, that’s pretty much all you need to get started.
Sarah Potter Readies The Parlor Gallery For A New Exhibit
Now what kind of guru would I be if I didn’t point you in the right direction? After you’ve taken this nothing from my hand, grasshopper, visit some of these great institutions around town to get your education. (Please remember that this isn’t a complete listing, but just some of my major go-to’s.) We’ve a nifty little community here and if you haven’t gotten to know it yet, this summer it’s pretty much on. Don’t be hipster bandwagoning when All Tomorrow’s Parties comes through at the end of the year, either. You’ll just make a fool of yourself. Earn those stripes, tiger. Rock 101: School’s In Session In Asbury Park.
Clubs
The Asbury Lanes
The Saint
The Stone Pony
The Wonder Bar
Record Shops/ Music Paraphernalia
Holdfast Record & Clothing Store
Russo Music (Instruments/ Equipment/ Supplies/ Repair)
B Unique (Clothing/ Accessories/ Shows)
Bands On A Budget (Shows/Merch Production For Bands)
Live Music & DJ Friendly Bars/ Restaurants
Watermark
Johnny Mac
The Harrison
Bond St. Bar
Restaurant Plan B
The Annex
Brickwall Tavern
Art/ Artists Supplies
Rebearth Art Studio
The Parlor Gallery
Art 629
Other Good Resources:
www.ShoreAlternative.com
www.TheAPBoardwalk.com
