An old high school chum of mine recently asked me give this musical artist a listen because his cousin is managing them. The name of the band is Alex Yacovelli, and he’s not bad at all! I logged onto his website to give him a listen, and he’s a great songwriter with an amazing voice! His song “Citymama” had this crazy Led Zeppelin-feel to it, but then the song “Lady Catherine” reminded me of Lenny Kravitz, while the song “Gaga” had a Stone Temple Pilots-feel to it. The bottom line here is that Alex has done his homework and has put together quite the rock band!
Alex Yacovelli began his musical training when he was kid in NYC, participating in a performance troupe from the age of 10 until he was 18, and he would spend his summers in “band camp” to study vocals, guitar, and trumpet. In high school, Alex fell in love with revival of garage rock, and began to study bands like The White Stripes, The Vines and Lenny Kravitz, which also encouraged him to go back to his roots and study the songwriting styles of Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles. In 2009, right before graduation from NYU, Alex would release his very first EP, Sweet Nimbus Nothings, which was an acoustic CD. Though Alex plays most of the instruments on his recordings, his live band still include guitarist Darrell Dumas, bassist Martin Delahaye, and drummer Rick Martinez.
Back in November, Alex Yacovelli released his self-produced CD, Electri-Fi, where once again, he played the majority of the instruments like his idols Dave Grohl and Jack White. Some of Electri-Fi was recorded in a commercial garage in New York and some of it was recorded in an Indiana farmhouse—in order to give it a more raw rock feel. And I think it worked! You can download Electri-Fi now on iTunes, and you can find out where the Alex Yacovelli band is playing next by logging onto alexyacovelli.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
Former members of Will Killmore and Simensis have formed a hot new project out of Clifton and they’re calling themselves Julius Seizure. You have to love that name! The band will be making their debut on May 19 at Dingbatz, also in Clifton, with Betrayus, Visions Of The Vanished, and Ashes Of Amber. This will also be Julius Seizure’s CD release party, so it’s really going to be a celebration that you won’t want to miss! For more info on this new band, log onto juliusseizureband.com.
Speaking of new bands, my boys John “Eville” Freeman and Vince Sia from Saint Caine have teamed up with my old Hostel Inc. and Sik Twisted Smile drummer, Jeff Hardee, to form Back Into The Sun. As I’m writing this, they are still looking for a singer and keyboard player, but the music I’ve heard so far—I have to say that this band already sounds amazing! It’s something different, and according to Eville, he wanted to create a badass stoner rock band in the vein of Kyuss. If you want a little taste of Back Into The Sun, check out their rehearsal video at youtu.be/KJ8Yjj7Lh-c. To learn more about them, check out facebook.com/backintothesunmusic.
And finally, I hung out with my bros Black Water Rising at their recent gig with JD DeServio’s Cycle Of Pain at Seven Days Bar and Grill in Union Beach. I haven’t seen those guys in almost a year since they’ve been locked up at singer Rob Traynor’s studio recording their upcoming CD. That night, they unleashed a few new tracks from the CD, including songs called “Show No Mercy,” “Last Man Standing,” “Broken Man” and “Fire It Up.” Speaking of former bandmates of mine, my old Hostel Inc. guitarist, Dennis Kimak, seems to be finding his new digs as lead guitarist of Black Water Rising a very comfortable fit, and singer and guitarist Rob Traynor will tell you that Dennis is a “God-sent!” Look out for the new Black Water Rising this spring and find out where they’re playing next on blackwaterrising.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:
5/2—Ten Foot Tall—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/4—End Of An Era—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
5/4—The Dead Agains/The 39—The Cup Complex, Linden, NJ
5/4—Trailer Park Mafia/Metalhonor/Brand New Sin—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/5—Panzie*–Kenny’s Castaways, NYC
5/5—ZO2/The Bad News—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
5/5—The Dirty Pearls (CD release party)—The Gramercy Theater, NYC
5/5—BoundAlive/InDisguise/Endall/Fever Vein—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/5—Steve Brown and the Fallout—Blackthorn, Parsippany, NJ
5/5—Cloak Dagger (CD Release Party)—Toro Lounge, NYC
5/6—Straight Line Stitch/Ashes Of Your Enemy—Championship Bar, Trenton, NJ
5/6—Afterthreat—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/9—Steve Brown—Willie McBride’s, Branchburgh, NJ
5/10—Ghosts For Heroes/Voodoo Terror Tribe/The Plot Thickens/Tomorrows Past—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/11—Condition Critical/D.R.I./The Zombie Mafia—The Backstage at Championship Bar, Trenton, NJ
5/11—The Hollow/Eve 6—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
5/12—BlackOcean—The Delancey, NYC
5/12—Voodoo Terror Tribe—Jugs-N-Strokers, Merrick, NY
5/12—King Kelly/Audio Insight/March Of The Mannequins/Hybrid None—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/14—Sanitarius/Loudness—B.B. Kings Blues Club and Grill, NYC
5/16—ZO2—Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY
5/18—Midnight Mosaic—Le Grand Fromage, Atlantic City, NJ
5/18—Joe Lynn Turner/Cookiehead—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/19—The Bad News—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
5/19—Lower The Veil—Aztec Ocean Resort (Seaside Music Festival) Seaside Heights, NJ
5/19—Julius Seizure/Betrayus/Visions Of The Vanished/Ashes Of Amber—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/22—Our Black Friday/Adelitas Way/Art Of Dying/Redlight King/Velora—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
