I came across another great New York City band last week and they go by the name Streetlight Circus. I’m starting to notice a trend coming out of the city that never sleeps. There’s more rock ‘n’ roll coming out of it more than ever and they’re starting to make their way over the GWB. Here in Jersey, there is a lot of metal, but New York City is starting to unleash a sound that is similar to the old ‘80s dirty and gritty NYC rock scene of old. Streetlight Circus have that sound! I got to hear songs like “Downside,” “This Ain’t Hollywood” and “Streetlight Circus,” and I really dug what I was listening to. It was just no-frills rock ‘n’ roll with no sugarcoating.
According to their bio, Streetlight Circus was created by singer, bassist and songwriter David Shaw back in 2006 when he hired these guys to support his acclaimed solo CD, Walkin’ On A Wire. Shaw’s backup band soon became a unified rock act, prompting them to change the name of the group to Streetlight Circus after Shaw wrote a song with the same name. The quartet that would become Streetlight Circus consists of guitarists George Giannoulis and Fabio Bargna, and drummer Erik Fehrenbach. Together, these four musicians decided that they wanted to take the music scene by storm and give their audiences the best possible show night after night. Streetlight Circus started to grow such a decent following that they were able to hit the road and were even good enough to reach the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, which would eventually garner them an invitation to perform at festivals such as Rocklahoma and New York’s JamFest.
In early 2012, Streetlight Circus would release their self-titled full-length, which features the previously mentioned songs. From what I hear, Streetlight Circus’ live show is something else, too. You can catch them live this Thursday night (10/3) at Dingbatz with Hookers ‘N’ Blow. If you can’t make that show, check Streetlight Circus out at streetlightcircus.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
I just got done listening to a new track from Howell, NJ’s own, Stagger, and I’m still picking my teeth up off the floor. Holy crap! Talk about a hit and run! The song is called “A Thousand Reasons” off of the band’s upcoming CD, Liquid Date, which they will be celebrating with a CD release party at The Brighton Bar this Saturday night (10/5). The CD was fully mastered by guitarist Nick Dowe. Get your ass down to the Brighton this Saturday night or give Stagger a listen on reverbnation.com/stagger.
My bros from Voodoo Terror Tribe finally have a release date for their upcoming EP, A Walk In Hell. That date is November 12, 2013. Yes, that’s 11-12-13. Very clever! The EP features five songs: “Screaming Dreams,” “Deviancy Amplification Spiral (D.A.S.),” the title-track, “Bloodsoaked” and a cover of the Billy Idol classic, “Rebel Yell.” Give these boys a listen at reverbnation.com/vttrocks.
And finally, speaking of new material and since I haven’t plugged myself in quite some time, my band BlackOcean is back in the studio to record our upcoming untitled EP, which will feature three brand new songs called “The Rage,” “From You” and “Farewell.” These songs have been heard during our live performances over the summer and have received some amazing feedback, so it was time to put this s**t on wax! Catch my band BlackOcean live at SaveFest in Philly at the Legendary Dobbs on October 19, where you can meet Iron Maiden drumming legend Nicko McBrain. Check out the music from my band, BlackOcean, at reverbnation.com/blackoceanmusic.
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:
10/2—Eye Empire/True Becoming/Ghosts Of Eden/Statik Silence/Beyond Visible—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
10/2—Hookers ‘N’ Blow/Queen V—Bowery Electric, NYC
10/3—Hookers ‘N’ Blow/Spider/Streetlight Circus/Grind Axis—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
10/3—Julius Seizure/The Browning/This Or The Apocalypse—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
10/5—Kosmic Daydream—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
10/5—Eye Empire/Brand Of Julez/True Becoming/More Than Fate—Santos Party House, NYC
10/6—Cashmier/UFO—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
10/11—Dead Fish Handshake/Like A Storm/OneHundredThousand—Architekt Music, Butler, NJ
10/12—Statik Silence—Architekt Music, Butler, NJ
10/12—Gunfire ‘N’ Sodomy (Don Jamieson)/Sekond Skyn—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
10/12—The Devil In God/Thrashole/Ashes Of Your Enemy/Ixion Lux—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
10/14—Ed Roland from Collective Soul—Trinity UMC, Ewing, NJ
10/15—Stagger/Negative Sky/Eye Of Anubis/Darkness Descends/A Ruthless Scene/Monkish/Blunt Guts—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
10/18—Audio Empire/Killcode/Long Gone Day/Raftree—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
10/19—Slander/Faith Or Fear/Evil Reign/BlackOcean/Decypher/ MeatPlow/Anvil Bitch/Citadel/Bone Devil—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
10/19—Borgo Pass—Who-Ville Bar, Bethpage, NY
10/26—Madysin Hatter/Rivera Bomma/Affinity—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
10/26—Lieder—Ella Lounge, NYC
10/29—The Infinite Staircase/The Winery Dogs—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
10/31—Riotgod/The Battery Electric/Sekond Skyn/Harvey Djent—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
