Last summer, I emceed a couple of events at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. At one of the shows, the kids from School Of Rock performed, and they were awesome! I never wrote about them because they just played cover songs. The covers they did play, however, were dead-on. Well, I recently received an email from one of the kids, guitarist Ryan Chiarella, letting me know about his original band, which included a couple of the kids that I saw that day. The name of the band is Mildly Medicated. First of all, what do these kids know about being medicated? Anyway, I was a bit curious as to what these kids can do on an original level.
The members of Mildly Medicated kind of found each other accidentally in 2012. The band was originally formed in 2011 by drummer Rocky Basile and guitarist Steve Freed, but fell apart due to their original singer and guitarist going away for college. Chiarella had just ended a stint with another local band, heard Mildly Medicated was looking for another guitarist, and offered his services. Lead singer Amanda McTigue kind of came out of nowhere when she stopped in at the music facility where they rehearsed to ask about singing lessons. When the band heard her sing, they offered her the job on the spot. Their youngest member is Rocky’s little sister, Jenna, on bass, rounding out the new lineup of Mildly Medicated. I have to say as a bass player, I saw Jenna play this summer, and she has quite a future ahead of her as a bassist.
Mildly Medicated are currently writing and recording their own music for their debut CD, which is scheduled to be finished this June. I got to hear a song called “What I Deserve,” and if this is any indication how Mildly Medicated will sound, these kids, whose median age is 15, will be a force to be reckoned with on the scene for years to come. It also doesn’t hurt that the band is sponsored by The Monmouth County School Of Rock in Marlboro, where they also rehearse. Give them a listen now at mildlymedicated.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
InDisguise singer Dave Incognito and his solo-project Incognito Theory recently posted an extremely rough mix of a brand new ballad called “Desire,” which he is debating on recording for his upcoming sophomore EP. Dave decided to post the song using social media to gauge whether or not to actually use it on the EP. I have to admit, despite the horrible use of massive amounts of reverb on the vocals, the song’s not half bad. It’s a ballad, but it seriously wasn’t an awful song. I’m not even sure if Dave still has the song up, but stay updated on Incognito Theory by logging onto facebook.com/incognitotheory. Catch Dave and InDisguise this Friday night at The Blue Room in Secaucus.
Speaking of new music, the boys from Division 1.1 recently sent me their new EP, With A Vengeance. These six crunchy guitar-driven songs really punch you in the teeth and leave you there to pick up every tooth until the CD is done. It’s just punch after punch from the first track, “Freak Show,” to the last track, “Animal.” Singer Rob Middleton sounds pretty strong on these six tracks, and shows no signs of ever weakening. Pick up Division 1.1’s latest EP, With A Vengeance, now on CD Baby. Find out more about Division 1.1 by logging onto division1point1.com or catch them live at Roxy & Dukes Roadhouse in Dunellen on March 23.
And finally, do you remember my bros from Life Without Warning? Well, it looks like they’ve rebooted the band with a new drummer, and are now calling themselves Statik Silence. With the new name comes a self-titled EP to be released this spring, and it’s being produced by Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery. I got a taste of the EP with a song called “When It’s Over,” and the song is amazing! My bro David Marin might be one of my favorite singers in Jersey. Check out Statik Silence now at facebook.com/statiksilence.
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:
3/7—Mobile Deathcamp/Knollwood—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/8—Jaded Past/Vinyl Meltdown/Blue Movie/InDisguise/Dan Exactly/Reckless—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
3/8—Dead Fish Handshake/Queensrÿche—Bergen PAC, Englewood, NJ
3/9—InDisguise—Jimmy’s Place, Allentown, PA
3/9—Rockitfest 2: Sinners/Fevervein/Gas NYC/DMZ/The Dirty Stayouts/The Unknown/Fistacuffs/Peacefire/Ogre/Sardonica—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/9—When Winter Fell/Brand Of Julez/Dead Fish Handshake/Machine Elves—Dock Street Underground, Staten Island, NY
3/10—Poc/ Modern Superstar/Jaded Past/Spider—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/10—Atom Strange/D.A.D./Panzie*–Webster Hall, NYC
3/15—Ashes Within/As Days Fade/Metalfier/Unveiled—Webster Hall, NYC
3/16—Cyperna/Eyes Of The Dead/Eye Of Anubis/Gyre/Negative Sky/BluntGuts/Mass Punishment/Stagger/Darkness Descends/Scars Of Envy—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/16—Star Killer/Panzie*/Resolution 15/JennCity/Dead Rocking Horse—Bowery Ballroom, NYC
3/16—Nasty Trast/Kore Rozzik/Station—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/17—Stellar Corpses/Darrow Chemical Company/Bad Whoremoans/Zero—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/21—Thanatotic Desire/Leech/Canopy Veil—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/22—Kosmic Daydream—Hat City Kitchen, Orange, NJ
3/23—Wrath Of Killenstein/Ixion Lux/Division 1.1/Eve Disaster/Ashes Of Your Enemy—Roxy & Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
3/23—Dead Fish Handshake/Statik Silence/Gathering After Ashes/Crewman Number Six/Moises Christopher—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ
3/23—The Mike Bino Project/Tango Down/Crossing Rubicon—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/24—Venus Vegas/Casualty/Long Gone Day/XNY—Sullivan Hall, NYC
3/24—Close2Death/Pocketful/Pyramada/Perception/Vextion/Black Tooth Grin/DJ Var Lynn After Hours/Last Call—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/24—Faster Pussycat/The Art/Big Hair Daze/Bad Habbit/Operatika Element—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/28—Nuse—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/29—Murphy’s Law /Stigma/Brick By Brick/The Last Stand/Stagnant Life/Darrow Chemical Company/Skunk Daze—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
3/30—Dead Fish Handshake/New Theory/Beyond Visible/Gathering After Ashes/Reach—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
3/30—Aurin—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/5—Audio Machine/Cycle Of Pain—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
4/6—Sexy Heroes/Mindfire/Brand Of Juliez/trnzprnt/Earthbound—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/7—Downlow Nyhc/InDisguise/Devil Haus—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
