An artist from Manchester, New Hampshire, recently contacted me to check out her music on MySpace. Her name is Christa Renee and it turns out she is a New Jersey native who recently relocated to New Hampshire. She wrote in her email that she’d be returning to North Jersey next Saturday night, Sept. 26, for the first time in years to perform at IM Automata Chino in Jersey City, NJ. Since I don’t discriminate artists from other states playing in our neck of the woods, I gave her a listen. Christa Renee’s music wasn’t that bad for a solo artist. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Her songs “Iron Lion,” “Alien Nation,” and “The Children Of The Storm” were very artsy and would be perfect in a coffee shop setting. Christa is an excellent songwriter with a pretty good voice. She would do very well as a musician if she found a residency in the Village somewhere.
Christa Renee is a former founding member of the Jersey City band Licks And Kicks. She took two years off from the band and wound up moving to New Hampshire where she’s been writing and recording new music as well as revamping some old songs from her days with Licks And Kicks. Her newer songs have become a little bit more personal as opposed to being social and political. Christa plans to release “Iron Lion” as a single sometime this fall. She’s currently working with a slew of musicians including Jeff from Crash Girl on drums, Pete from the band Scalawag on bass, Les from Sugar House Fizz on percussion, and a guy named Patrick on keys/synthesizer when she plays in New England. When she plays in NJ she has Steve Dans (drums) and Ben Earl (bass) from the band Daylow sitting in with her.
Christa Renee does perform a lot of solo shows with just her guitar, but when she hits the stage at IM Automata Chino in Jersey City on Sept. 26, she’ll have Steve and Dan from Daylow playing with her. If you want to check out her music before you travel to Jersey City to see her live, you can visit her at myspace.com/christarenee.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
For the first time since 1986, the legendary New Jersey metal band, Hades, will be returning to the stage for two shows only in April with their Resisting Success line-up. Resisting Success was the band’s 1987 CD release and the line-up for the two shows in April will include singer Alan Tecchio, guitarist Dan Lorenzo, guitarist Scott LePage, bassist Jimmy Schulman, and drummer Tommy Coombs. For more info on the reunion shows, visit Hades online at myspace.com/hadesusa.
While, I’m on the topic of the Hades reunion, the band recently had a hot sauce named after them. It was created as a novelty to help promote the band’s reunion. To purchase a Hades hot sauce (Persephone’s Fire), log onto frommildtowild.com.
The Bangs have a new song out! Fresh out of the recording studio and right onto MySpace, “Why’d Ya Take Ya Luv?” has been getting quite a few hits. It’s a pretty good song with a retro ’50s feel. The Bangs are offering free downloads of the song if you contact them with your email address. Give it a listen or contact the band at myspace.com/getreadythebangs.
And finally, how cool is this? Saint Caine’s John Kosco was recently invited to L.A. to jam with Alice In Chains co-founder and former bassist, Mike Starr, at the famed Viper Room. Apparently, Mike Starr put together a band called Suppastarr, while he was on VH-1’s Celebrity Rehab, and now he’s decided to put the band onstage to play some of the Alice In Chains classics. He’s recruited Mike Suppa from NYC/NJ’s premiere Alice In Chains tribute band, Facelift, to play guitar, Saint Caine’s John Kosco on vocals, and Chris Jurebie on drums. Now, I’m not sure if Suppastarr will be hitting the East Coast, but I’m sure their West Coast performances can be viewed on YouTube somewhere. For more info on Suppastarr, log onto myspace.com/mikestarrsfacelift.
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:
9/17—The Compulsions—The Bowery Electric, NYC
9/18—Our Black Friday—Mount Holleran’s Towne Tavern, Parsippany, NJ
9/19—Apathy—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/19—Mean Venus/Stryper—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
9/19—Steve Brown and the Fallout—The Grasshopper Too, Wayne, NJ
9/19—Hybrid Dawn/Charetta—L’Amour, Staten Island, NY
9/21—Diablo Royale—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC
9/24—Steve Brown—The Forge, Ringwood, NJ
9/25—Mean Venus—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/25—Steve Brown—Porter House, Montvale, NJ
9/26—Christa Renee—IM Automata Chino, Jersey City, NJ
9/26—Steve Brown and the Fallout—The Beachcomber, Seaside Heights, NJ
9/27—Milan/Marcy Playground/Nine Days/Jimmie’s Chicken Shack—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
9/27—Our Black Friday “Jam For Janice Benefit”—Lurker Park, East Hanover, NJ
9/28—Diablo Royale—Arlene’s Grocery, NY
10/2—Milan—The Old Bay, New Brunswick, NJ
10/3—Christine Martucci and the Ladies of Rock ‘N’ Roll—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
10/3—Daylow—Festival in the Borough, Washington, NJ
10/3—Our Black Friday—The Cup, Linden, NJ
