My bud Steve “Zipperhead” Murafsky, who is a popular member of the Old Bridge Metal Militia, recently reached out to me to let me know that he’s been managing a new band out of Old Bridge, NJ called The Devil In God. Zip, as we like to call him, has been a big supporter of my band BlackOcean, so I decided to give the band he’s working with a quick listen. The group was about to head into the studio to record their upcoming four-song EP, Rain In Fire, but Zip did send me a rough mix of a song called “Hold Our Ground,” and it wasn’t bad. In fact, they kind of reminded me of Judas Priest. The guitar work on the track was excellent and singer Brandon Roberts, who I hear is their youngest member, exhibited quite a vocal range.
Back in March 2012, drummer Tony Anderson, who was no stranger to the local music scene having opened for artists like Zakk Wylde, John Cafferty and Jackyl, decided it was time for him to form a new band of filled with talented musicians that he would handpick himself. He recruited guitarist Shawn Adamczyk first to be his writing partner on this new venture. After nine months of auditions, they found bassist Nick Scasserra, whom they claim has a similar playing style to Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, but we all know that there’s only one Steve Harris! Conducting an American Idol-like search for a singer, they finally found youngster Brandon Roberts, whose electrifying energy and vocal range was a perfect fit for the music they had been writing. The final piece of their puzzle was lead guitarist and Old Bridge native Kurt Witkowski. According to the members of The Devil In God, “Kurt’s thunderous rhythms and shredding solos are sure to part any sea!” I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a lead guitarist being compared to Moses, but I like it!
Like I mentioned earlier, The Devil In God are currently in the studio working on their upcoming debut EP, Rain In Fire. With Zip managing these guys, they could go pretty far with the connections he has. Everyone seems to know him! Besides, if you don’t know him, you might want to. He’s pretty intimidating! Just kidding! Zip is a brother and having him on their side will help catapult The Devil In God on this NJ music scene immensely. Keep an eye out this summer for The Devil In God at a rock club near you by logging onto facebook.com/pages/The-Devil-In-God/456311421123861.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
The crew from Killcode recently released their new music video for their song “Still Here” off of their recently released self-titled debut. The video, which was directed by David Swajeski, gives you some major insight as to what it feels like to be at a Killcode live show. Check out the video for “Still Here” now on reverbnation.com/killcode and buy their self-titled debut now on Amazon, iTunes and wherever CDs and MP3s are sold!
Speaking of NYC bands, my bros Black Water Rising just landed an amazing gig opening for Texas Hippie Coalition, one of my new favorites, and Eve To Adam, another NYC group currently enjoying some degree of success with all of their Sirius Octane airplay. Here’s what I don’t get, though. If you’ve ever heard Eve To Adam before, one would wonder how the hell they fit on the same bill as Texas Hippie Coalition. Eve To Adam are a great and talented band, but what a bad pairing! Black Water Rising are a perfect fit for this bill, but ETA? Not so much! And they are actually on tour with Texas Hippie Coalition! Smells like a favor was owed somewhere! Anyway, the show is on July 27 at The Gramercy Theatre in NYC. I would suggest not missing this show! For more info, log onto blackwaterrising.com.
And finally, it seems one of the best rehearsal spots in New Jersey, Aarius Studios in Old Bridge, hasn’t fully recovered from Superstorm Sandy, either. It turns out that the studio, which brought you the online reality show Project: American Studio, had to close its doors due to a power outage for almost a month because of Sandy. Because of this, bands could not rent their facility to rehearse, bills started to stack up and now the popular central Jersey rehearsal spot is in danger of closing its doors for good! My good friends and owners, Joe and Crystal Cattano, are asking friends and musicians who have frequented their rehearsal studio for their support. They’ve set up an online account where people can donate. If you feel inclined to donate, go to gofundme.com/SaveAariusStudios. Don’t let this amazing rehearsal facility close its doors!
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:
6/27—Wasted Theory/Jaw Horse/Altar Of Dagon/Useless—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
6/28—Kosmic Daydream—Hat City Kitchen, Orange, NJ
6/28—Rockmore 64/Spider Rockets/Long Gone Day/Hair Metal Time Machine/Zyris (Reunion!)—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
6/29—Killcode/Borgo Pass/Mother/Breakage Rising/American Sugar Bitch—Revolution Bar And Music Hall, Amityville, NY
6/29—Beyond Visible/Carve Your Niche/Dragon’s Bane—The Pool House, Bellmore, NY
6/29—40 Below Summer/Ashes Of Your Enemy/Aurin/Stare Syndicate/Judgment—The Backstage At The Championship Bar, Trenton, NJ
7/5—King Kelly—The Bitter End, NYC
7/5—Beyond Visible/I Ignite—Barringtons, Hauppauge
7/5—Seas Of Wake/This Or The Apocalypse— Revolution Bar And Music Hall, Amityville, NY
7/6—Fever Vein/Sinners/Ogre/Reverser—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/6—Meatplow—Le Grande Fromage, Atlantic City, NJ
7/7—Damsel/The Unknown/Sinners—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/10—Apathy/Sanctuary—The Gramercy Theatre, NYC
7/11—The Blessing Of This Curse/Shallow Waters/As A Matter Of Fact/Half-Witted Dogs —Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/13—Borgo Pass/Thunderbrew/.49 Grain/Exist Among—Evenflow, Bayshore, NY
7/13—Of Earth—Spike Hill, Brooklyn, NY
7/14—The Independence/The Unknown/The Royal Dumonts/The Zombie Mafia/Skunk Daze—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/14—Ten Ton Mojo—Just Jake’s, Montclair, NJ
7/18—Mike Tramp/McClinton/Bluesfield.Drive/Rene Avila—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/19—Enemy Of Everyone—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/20—Jersey Shore Music Festival—FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood, NJ
7/21—Panzie*/Primadonnaz—The Boneyard, Atlantic City, NJ
7/25—Long Night/The Donner Party/Deception Theory/Seas Of Wake—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/26—The Dirty Stayouts/Madame Mayhem/Queen V/Sinners—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/27—Black Water Rising/Eve To Adam/Texas Hippie Coalition—The Gramercy Theatre, NYC
7/28—Invidious/MDMG/The Holy Terror/Xero Gravity—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
