One band that I noticed playing around the North Jersey scene a lot lately is a group called Freak Of The Day. Because I’ve been seeing their name a lot on venue schedules, I felt the need to give them a listen to see what all the fuss was about. So I logged onto freakoftheday.com and what I heard definitely did not suck! I could hear where they were going with it and the recordings sounded great. Songs like “Frostbite,” “Sinister,” and “Drown” had that Rob Zombie horror-metal vibe. Don’t get me wrong, Freak Of The Day sounds nothing like Rob Zombie, but you can tell what direction they were heading in. Singer Thad Ward’s voice is great and I can see myself listening to these Freaks on a regular basis.
Back in 2000, according to their website, Ward made a life-changing move from Indiana and instead of making a move to the West Coast, Thad landed in the lovely state of New Jersey. He immediately set his sights on playing music and met bassist Mike Thomas while auditioning for a cover band, something that New Jersey will never run out of. Guitarist Frank Wurst came into their lives a little while later. Short a drummer, the trio decided to write as much as they could until they found the right guy to sit at the throne. In 2001, those writings would result in a five-song EP. By the end of summer 2003, drummer Jimmy Wilgus would join the band. The next year, Freak Of The Day headed back into the studio to turn their EP work into a full-length CD called Sinister, which they marketed with their first music video for “Frostbite.” The success of their music video helped garner the band many gigs in the Tri-State Area. In 2005, they were asked to pen a song for a Showtime tv show called The Brotherhood.
But Wilgus left the band in 2006 and most of the band members followed suit to move onto other projects. Freak Of The Day was put back together when, by chance, they came in second place in an online battle of the bands. In late 2007, Thad and Mike began writing a concept CD and a screenplay called Firewater, which they wouldn’t release until April 2011. The band, which now consists of Thad, Mike, guitarists Scott McNamara and Anthony Gemignani, and drummer Kamran Vaziri, have been playing non-stop in support of Firewater. I guess that explains why I see their name everywhere lately! Check out Freak Of The Day now or catch them live this Friday night (9/14) at Dingbatz in Clifton with Audio Machine, Ixion Lux, and Long Gone Day.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
So it sounds like the Steve Bello Band will be putting their live shoes back on. Steve will be putting his band on the stage at the Brighton Bar in Long Branch on Saturday, Sept. 29, for the first time since their Starland Ballroom show. Their lineup will feature Steve on guitar, Joe DeMott on bass, and Plasmatics legend T.C. Tolliver on drums. They’ll be headlining this event so it’s not to be missed! For more info on this show, log onto reverbnation.com/stevebello.
Do you remember James Arlowe And The Ruffian Circus? I featured them here back in April 2011, and the reason why I liked them was because they were just a pure rock ‘n’ roll band with no frills about them. They simply rocked! Well, on Oct. 2, the group will be releasing their debut CD, Insignificant Fire. This debut disc full of blues-driven rock ‘n’ roll will, without a doubt, put them on the map, musically speaking. For more info on the band, log onto jamesarlowe.com.
And finally, it’s with a heavy heart that I have to write this as I was already suffering the loss of a family member a couple of weeks ago. Then I read the shocking news of the tragic passing of one of my music bros, Harry Dullys, of the band Fate Strikes Twice. Apparently, Harry was vacationing with his lovely wife, Donna, in Maine, when he went for a swim in the lake with his dog. According to the news article, the dog came back and Harry didn’t. A search team went out and Harry’s body was found 19 feet below sea level. The music scene lost another soldier who had an amazing presence. I first met Harry when he sang for Voodoo Terror Tribe. For some reason, Harry always lost my cell phone number and every time that I saw him, he was asking for it. Harry and Voodoo would eventually part ways, and Harry would start becoming a face in the NYC music scene, as I would always see him at my shows. Harry would finally find a home with Fate Strikes Twice, a project that he was very psyched about. He would send me songs to get my opinion and I would gladly give it. The band was great and so was Harry! It saddened me to have read this news on Facebook and my heart goes out to his wife, Donna. Harry Dullys was an amazing singer, a positive spirit with lots of energy, and he will be missed! R.I.P. Harry Dullys.
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:
9/12—Steve Brown—Willie McBrides, Branchburg, NJ
9/13—Lethal Affection/Useless/Last Legion—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/14—Audio Machine/Ixion Lux/Long Gone Day/Flight of Time/Freak Of The Day—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/14—End Of An Era/Beyond Visible/Vextion—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
9/15—Steve Brown and the Fallout—Willie McBrides, Branchburg, NJ
9/15—The Plot Thickens/Sinners/Arch Demon/Apathy/Voodoo Terror Tribe/Scars Of Envy—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/15—Melissa and Paul/Don Ryan—The Loop Lounge, Passaic Park, NJ
9/15—Lieder—Local 269, NYC
9/16—Beta Plus Embryo/Mother/SomeonElse/Brand Of Julez/Sixth Renaissance—Highline Ballroom, NYC
9/19—Steve Brown and Dennis Zimmer—The Orange Lantern, Paramus, NJ
9/20—The Latanza Heist/Stagger/Sydbarret/Negative Sky—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/22—Exxplorer—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
9/22—Sundown Conspiracy/Seas of Wake—The Loop Lounge, Passaic Park, NJ
9/22—Borgo Pass—The Hub Billiard Club, Island Park, NY
9/27—Battlecross/The Doomsday Prophecy/Ashes Of Your Enemy/Watchworks—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/28—Life Without Warning/Dead Fish Handshake/Saving Abel—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
9/29—Syka/Darkness Descends—Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ
9/29—Knucklebone/Trixter—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
9/29—Monstrocity/Abacinate/Fit For an Autopsy/Dysentery/Hivesmasher/Cognitive/Augment/Carnavarice Breath—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/29—The Steve Bello Band—Brighton Bar, Long Banch, NJ
9/30—The John Rango Band—Elks Lodge, Pompton Lakes, NJ
10/5—Pool Of Thorns/InDisguise—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
10/6—Lords Of Mercy/Accept—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
10/6—Ripface Invasion—No Quarter, Brooklyn, NY
