Christine Martucci: Doing It Her Way And Winning
The Stone Pony, March 19
SunsetsWest Records is proud to announce the release of Christine Martucci’s new album, Sin And Redemption. This is an important record for Martucci as it marks a significant parting with general comparisons to Janis Joplin or Melissa Etheridge. While she loves those influential divas, she’s moved past that general club and into her own throaty and dynamic direction. And it’s always awesome to be around just at the moment when an artist finally comes into his or her own. Sin And Redemption is Martucci’s moment. Mixing blues, rock and roll and country crossover, Martucci and crew roll up their sleeves and get the job done old school style.
The first single, “Moving On,” is available this month exclusively on iTunes as a little taste of the big picture. And let me tell you, the big picture is on fire. “Moving On” is a riff-laden monster with infectious choruses and bigger than life visuals. Down home country rock mixed with leather clad rock and blues, soul and sexy badass boogie. The lyrical message is focused around our tough and tumble times of economics, war and in the end, getting along. It’s a rock and roll diamond and you can’t take your ears off of it.
Sin And Redemption is Martucci’s third studio album and it’s her first time in the studio with acclaimed guitarist, producer and songwriter Anthony Krizan. Krizan first rose to fame in the ‘90s as a member of the Spin Doctors and as a collaborator of Lenny Kravitz. As a songwriter, Krizan has worked with artists such as Kravitz and John Waite among others. Krizan and Martucci co-wrote most of the songs with “All My Life” being co-written by Tim Quick and Barbara Young.
Martucci, who was born and raised in New Jersey, expressed just what Sin And Redemption means in her press release. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have completed this album… there is a ton of emotion and soul-searching in this one. I feel that I was meant to go through difficult times in life, and then tell the world my life story through song, that’s how Sin And Redemption came to life. We go through life making mistakes, our hearts get broken, we experience loss, but somehow we keep on going and never give up. That’s the beauty of the human spirit. Faith has a lot to do with it. We also experience love, peace and bliss. My world is painted the way I see it, and that is with love and forgiveness.”
Christine is renowned for her soulful tenacity, kind-hearted interaction and emotional songwriting, pulling hearts and opening minds across the country. Her ability to deploy completely loyal fans everywhere she plays is an almost unheard of feat these days as well. Calling themselves the “Tucci Train,” Martucci’s bunch has literally made it possible for her to outdraw headlining nationals by showing up in droves to cheer her on and support her newest projects.
Her critically acclaimed second CD, I’m All In, featured the single “There You Are,” which received national airplay. The video for “There You Are” is also featured on VH1, MTV and Logo. The CD also earned the prestigious 2007 Asbury Park Music Award for Top Local Release, and the recipient of the Asbury Park Music Award for Top Female Vocalist. Not a bad feat for someone who stays on the periphery of the Asbury circuit and its self-appointed dignitaries.
In July of 2009, Christine turned 180 degrees, putting down the guitar and showcasing her acting talents with her original rock musical, Breakfast With Janis, an event that also came with a concert at The Paramount Theatre in town. Her song “There You Are” received an OUTMusic Award and was honored as the theme song for the 2009 OUTMusic Awards held at Webster Hall in NYC.
On top of all these accolades and successes, Christine has also launched her own line of tequila, which you can find more info about at 201lunanueva.com. This is a huge deal and endorsement talks with some big names are already in the works. As with all big deals, my attempt to elicit said names could not be accommodated as of now, but I think its safe to say it’s a big ole’ name in the music biz. Martucci is no quitter and while other musicians might cower at this career multi-tasking, her endemic production is paying off well in 2011.
The CD Release concert for Sin And Redemption will be this Saturday, March 19, 2011 at The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ. Tickets are available by visiting Christine’s website christinemartucci.com, or ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $15.00 in advance and $20.00 at the door.
TV Carnage: The Apocalypse Of Boob Tube
The Asbury Lanes, March 19
The Asbury Lanes has always been the area’s top purveyor of underground delights and gatherers of oddballs, trash and treasures. Their knack for finding cutting edge entertainment goes way beyond some doorman guarded dungeon and has included everything from burlesque to flea market mayhem.
Their Saturday night show is anything but the norm and that’s why it pleases me to discuss it here. Now I know you all understand how much I worship Ricky, Bubbles, Randy, Lucy and Julian of Trailer Park Boys fame. Most of you tell me to shut the fuck up every time I quote some moronic “Rickyism” but what you don’t know about my intelligent and underrated sense of humor is that I wisely embrace all Canucks that throw offbeat TV road kill our way. And that includes those wondrous snips of insanity from Canada’s own Derrick Beckles aka “Pinky” and his ongoing TV Carnage.
TV Carnage combines fast paced lunacy with talented, tongue-in-cheek timed clips of insanity and reactionary result from all walks of life, film and commercials. Director, screenwriter and producer Beckles has hit upon a formula that he has said comes from “years and years of collecting television footage, cramming it into his computer and mixing it all with more than a bit of whiskey.”
His Rosie O’Donnell footage from the Angelica Huston produced TV show Riding The Bus With My Sister is not only telling of that overblown star, but shows how scary, crazy and hilarious power and clueless behavior it can turn out. His uncomfortable white rapper ensembles in A Sore For Sighted Eyes also turns the viewer’s mind loose on yet another hilarious shade of society. Beckles shares my somewhat cynical view of white rap artists and their “style” and he pushes the envelope hard. TV Carnage is Beckles way of calling quick attention to the very fact that no one notices, or stops our so-called accepted methods and guidelines of broadcasting to the general garbage-guzzling public.
I like in his segment for Adult Swim, Totally For Teens, where he has the girls of the 1991 Mrs. Teenage North American Pageant do a sketch about drugicide, and how you can keep it from killing yourself… (read that again slowly)… in the sketch they end up buying bad drugs and put in a call to a dealer named Mookie for “good Drugs” and they say, “Hey, I’ll call him on this machine over here.” (A telephone.)
Whatever you do, try to make this show, as I promise you won’t be disappointed. Also on deck is the Asbury Lanes very own Bachelors and Bachelorettes, formerly the Asbury Lanes Dating Game. Show up and have some fun. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll find that one person left in Asbury that isn’t bat shit crazy. More info at asburylanes.com.
