I was recently contacted by Deathrash bassist Pat Burns who told me in an email that the band, a thrash metal outfit from the mid-1980s, will be playing their first show in 20 years at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ, on Friday night, Jan. 16. The show will be recorded and filmed for a future release. Pat also told me that Deathrash has a promo CD that is in production for another release in the coming months. Deathrash’s most recent songs, “Unfinished Business” and “Thrash Beyond Death,” can be heard on the band’s MySpace page, myspace.com/deathrashmusic, or by logging onto deathrash.net.
Speaking of emails, one band that I haven’t heard from in awhile is my boys from LowBuz. Well, I know that after their February show at Dingbatz with Screaming Metal and Black Water Rising, I won’t be getting emails from the band anymore at all since they will be disbanding. I did, however, get an email from LowBuz reminding me of their show coming up on Feb. 7, but it also said that there will be a new LowBuz CD release, and that just because the band isn’t playing out live, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be any future LowBuz releases. The email also stated that this year will also boast a slew of new projects featuring the members of LowBuz. To stay up to date on these new projects, log onto lowbuz.com or myspace.com/lowbuz.
My bros from Diablo Royale are putting the finishing touches on their upcoming CD. According to their MySpace blog, the boys were down the mixing part of recording, which, most of us know, is the most fun part of the process! Yeah, right! Anyway, Diablo Royale threatens that they’ll have some new songs posted any day now, so keep your eyes on myspace.com/diabloroyalerock or log onto diabloroyale.net.
Joey Z. from Life Of Agony will be hosting “Z-Fest” this Friday night, Jan. 16, down at The Delancey in NYC. This will be the first ever showcase of all of Joey Z’s bands who will be recording at his Method Of Groove Recording Studio. Performing on Friday night will be my boys from Saints Of Pain, Misery, Odd Zero, and Cadillac Rock Box. For more info on this show, log onto myspace.com/saintsofpainband.
And finally, it recently came to my attention that one of the premiere rock clubs in Northern NJ might have to close its doors due to the struggling economy, which could be a travesty to this already unstable rock scene. Although, I don’t agree with Dexter’s ticket selling policy, I still think that this Riverdale, NJ, rock club is one of the best rock club’s in the Northern NJ region. Unsigned bands need places like Dexter’s, Dingbatz, and even Starland Ballroom to showcase their material and talents to large audiences, and places like these are the only places that give us a chance to do so because of the national acts that they pull in—whether they be retro or current acts.
The audiences are usually 200-plus and where in NYC or anywhere else in NJ will a local band be able to play in front of a crowd like that? I guess what I am trying to say is that I’ve seen great clubs like Dexter’s go down and I’ve heard people complain after the fact about how they miss these clubs. So, let’s try to prevent “the complaining after the fact” from happening, and let’s see what we can do to help Dexter’s stay open!
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:
1/16—The Saints Of Pain—The Delancey, NYC
1/16—Deathrash—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/17—Charetta—Munchaba Lounge, Levittown, NY
1/20—HelenaMaria—East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, PA
1/23—Brand New Sin/Black Water Rising—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/22—Ten Feet from Murder—Bar Anticipation, Belmar, NJ
1/23—Charetta—Connolly’s Klub 45, NYC
1/24—Borgo Pass—JD’s Place, Farmingdale, NY
1/24—Rahway—The Underscore, NYC
1/30—Bound Alive—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/31—Endall—The Break Contest @ Cedar Grove VFW, Cedar Grove, NJ
1/31—Rahway—Club 35 Player’s Lounge, Sayreville, NJ
2/6—Charetta—The Broadway, Amityville, NY
2/7—Screaming Metal/LowBuz/Black Water Rising—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/7—Borgo Pass—Mr. Beery’s, Bethpage, NY
