Former Diablo Royale singer Adrian Barrios recently reached out to me all the way from the West Coast because he wanted me to check out his new band Blackmore’s debut EP, Law Of Time. I mentioned Adrian’s new band Blackmore back when they first started. Yeah, they’re an L.A. band, but Adrian is a New York City boy, so I wanted to give him some “East Coast lovin’.” I will tell you this, Law Of Time is absolutely awesome and I actually cannot wait to get to Los Angeles to see this band live—unless they make their way to the East Coast first. The songs “Animalistic,” “Downfall” and “Battlefield” are fantastic musically, but naturally I focused on Adrian’s vocals and I’ve never heard them like this. With Diablo Royale, he had more of a Ray Gillen-Badlands-type of voice. On this Blackmore stuff, he attacks the songs so much differently and it really makes him shine as a singer. Law Of Time dropped this past Tuesday. You can check Adrian and his band Blackmore out now at blackmorela.com.
My bros from Borgo Pass out on the Island landed an awesome gig for this coming Monday night (7/28) at Revolution Bar And Music Hall in Amityville, NY. They’ll be opening for the new super-trio The Winery Dogs. For those of you living under a rock, that’s the band that features former Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen, former Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan and former Dream Theater and Adrenaline Mob drummer Mike Portnoy. This is a pretty good gig for my boys from Long Island, who recently made an impression on my North Jersey brethren when they opened for Killcode at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ late last month. For more info or for tickets to Monday night’s show, log onto borgopass.com.
Speaking of good gigs, my buds from Brand Of Julez will be opening for none other than former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke tonight (7/23) at Blackthorn 51 in Elmhurst, NY. For those of you who need a little history lesson in rock ‘n’ roll, Gilby Clarke is the guitar player who replaced original GNR rhythm guitarist and co-founder Izzy Stradlin after Izzy left the band in 1991. This is a huge gig for Julez and the boys especially because the music of Brand Of Julez is very similar to Gilby’s playing style. I wouldn’t want to miss this gig tonight! For more info about Brand Of Julez, log onto facebook.com/brandofjulez.
And finally, keeping with my NYC-themed update, how about my bros from Anaka? Talk about being on a roll! I mean, singer Jimmy Pallis told me big things were happening for his band, but I had no idea! Next Wednesday night (7/30), Anaka will be performing on the Concourse stage of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at Jones Beach in Wantagh, NY. This year’s Mayhem Festival features Korn, Trivium, Suicide Silence, Asking Alexandria and Avenged Sevenfold. That’s not all! A few nights later on Saturday night (8/2), Anaka will be headlining the Gramercy Theatre in NYC as part of the Gotham Rocks concert series. Also performing will be Srotakin IV, Tempest City, Midnight Foolishness and Excercitum. How do you keep up with this band? Their momentum seems to be as fast as their music. Catch up with Anaka at anaka.net.
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:
7/23—Brand Of Julez/Gilby Clarke—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
7/25—Deadfish Handshake/Scottish Widows/Knucklebone—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/25—Pedestrian Knock Down/Revel 9/Killcode/Craving Strange—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
7/26—Devil Kitty—PJ’s Restaurant, Baldwin, NY
7/26—The Detonators—The Dog House Saloon and Grill, Washington Township, NJ
7/28—Borgo Pass/The Winery Dogs—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
7/29—Counterparts/Young Graves/Years End/Illusionist/Provenance—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/30—Anaka—Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
7/31—Dying Eyes Of Sloth/Cannibal Corpse—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
8/2—Syrens Calling/Leeds/Driven Mad/Sinsanity/Beyond Visible/Four Nights Gone—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/2—Anaka/Srotakin IV/Tempest City/Midnight Foolishness/Excercitum—Gramercy Theater, NYC
8/2—John Corabi—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
8/3—Landon Tewers/I Am King/It Lives, It Breathes—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/8—TNA/King’s X—Stage 48, NYC
8/9—TM Stevens—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
8/9—Thanatotic Desire/Seas of Wake/This Is A Lifetime/Die A Hero/Framework—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/9—Ixion Lux/Stagger/Negative Sky/Scars Of Envy/Ashes Of Your Enemy/Ketosis/Xero Gravity—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
8/9—Knucklebone—Vasa Park, Budd Lake, NJ
8/9—The Bullet Boys/Flowers To Flames—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
8/10—Black Tongue/Villains/Lifeforms/Dealey Plaza/Beyond Treachery/Spawned/Depreciator—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/11—Forevermore/Restless Streets—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/14—Stickup Kid/Seaway/Candy Hearts/Driver Friendly/McCalister/Legends—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/14—Scars of Envy—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
8/18—Doyle—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
8/19—Basement/Superheaven/Pity Sex/Ovlov—Webster Hall, NYC
8/20—Everyone Dies In Utah/The Paramedic/Sirena/Illuminate Me—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/21—The Dirty Pearls/Killcode/Mother/Ten Ton Mojo/The Threads/the Liza Colby Sound/J And The 9s/DJ Ian El Dorado—The Bowery Ballroom, NYC
8/22—40 Below Summer/Dizneyfist—Slake, NYC
8/22—Fuel/End Of An Era/PLANESIDE/Donovan’s Devils/Paris Under Fire—The Headliner, Neptune, NJ
8/22—Any Everyday/McClinton/Sonic Reign—Rhythms NJ, Manville, NJ
8/26—Straight Line Stitch—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
