Where have these kids been hiding? I received an email from singer Christian Carson to check out his band and after listening to the three songs on the band’s most recent EP, No Rest For The Weary, I’m sitting here wondering how I’ve never heard or seen these guys before. They are awesome! The name of the band is Common Wealth and they are tight, heavy, musically sound and singer Christian Carson is golden! After listening to the songs “Pull Me Through,” “Back Against The Wall” and “Caught In-Between,” I only found myself wanting to hear more! And that’s a very good thing!
Common Wealth is a hard rock and heavy metal quintet out of the small Jersey Shore town of Toms River, who also spawned Scarlet Carson for the rest of us local music lovers. According to their bio, Common Wealth’s face-painted, warped sense for the theatrics and knack for writing catchy hooks will leave you humming some of their melodies for days. Their hard-hitting and adrenalizing guitar riffs from guitarists Vinny Black and Giovanni St. James mixed with the thunderous drumming of Joe Capasso and rounded by the grooves of bassist Charlie Wealth is the right chemistry for a crowd-pleasing hard rock band. Common Wealth is definitely one band that will not be ignored. They’ve only been on the scene for a little over a year, but they’ve already won over some big names, appearing repeatedly on Ozzy’s The Boneyard on SiriusXM Radio and 95.9 The WRAT. My bro Don Jamieson, co-host of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, has even praised the band for headlining one of his events at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ. These kids are quickly making a statement on this music scene and I can understand why.
Common Wealth, who is eager to spread “the wealth,” currently has an EP out called No Rest For The Weary, which features the songs that I mentioned earlier. They just wrapped up recording of their new single “Cut This Deep,” which they hope to release very soon. No Rest For The Weary is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and wherever CDs are sold or downloaded. For more on Common Wealth, visit facebook.com/CommonWealthNJ. These guys are awesome!
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My bros from Sekond Skyn are on a roll as of late. Aside from being sponsored by Coldcock Whiskey, next week (2/12), they will be performing at The Headliner in Neptune, NJ with my peeps New Day Dawn, Ronin, and McLinton as they open for Saliva and Saving Abel. Then on March 1, they will be opening for HellYeah featuring Pantera’s Vinnie Paul and Mudvayne’s Chad Gray at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ with Devour The Day and Like A Storm. Sekond Skyn also has a brand new website that they’ve launched where you can also buy tickets for these shows, coincidentally! Check out their new website at SekondSkyn.com.
My brothers from Judge The Fallen out of Union, NJ have some new music out that they’ve unleashed on Facebook. The songs “Into The Unknown” and “Saturn” are a great way to kick off 2015. These songs are tasty and really prove that the Judge The Fallen guys are to be taken seriously this year. Not that they should not have been taken seriously any year prior, but they are here to stake their claim on the music scene with this new music. Keep an eye out for these guys this year and check out their new music on Facebook.com/JudgeTheFallenNJ.
And finally, I got to spend some time with my bro and Saint Caine singer John Kosco at his tattoo shop Sacred Souls Ink Tattoo Studio (featured in this month’s Inked Out column) and of course the topic of Saint Caine came up. John says that new music is literally pouring out of the band as they are currently in the pre-production process for their next CD. He also said that new guitarist Brian Quinn has been a major asset to the songwriting process. Brian joined Saint Caine right before they went on tour with Godsmack in the summer of 2013. John says they have more than enough songs for a full-length, but we’ll have to see how he wants to release this new material. He is, however, really excited about it. Catch Saint Caine live in Philly at the Legendary Dobbs next Friday night (2/13) with my bros Brand Of Julez, Stealing Fame, Mach22 and Black Sun Rising. For more on Saint Caine, visit facebook.com/saintcaine.
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:
2/5—Porphyra/Anvil—The Shop Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
2/6—Steve Bello Band/Unhinged—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/6—Audio Empire/Judas Priestess—Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
2/6—Corevalay/Stereo Outlaws/Tempt, ELI – The Band/Waiting on the Fall/Low Roads Ghost—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
2/6—Ghosts of Eden—Mercury Lounge, NYC
2/7—BoundAlive—Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
2/7—Robots and Monsters/Anvil/Lord Dying/Sunlord/The Donner Party/Flathead Sky—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
2/12—Thank You Scientist/Periphery/Nothing More/Wovenwar—Irving Plaza, NYC
2/12—New Day Dawn/Sekond Skyn/Ronin/McLinton/Saliva/Saving Abel—The Headliner, Neptune, NJ
2/13—Steve Bello Band/Krown Point/Ripped Graffiti/Scottish Windows–Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
2/13—Brand of Julez/Stealing Fame/Mach22/Saint Caine/Black Sun Rising—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
2/13—Oraculum/Fever Vein/Nautica Erotica/Kill Van Kull/Atom Strange—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
2/13—Rory Kelly—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/14—Midnight Eternal/Beyond Visible/Ryan Flannery/Sucker/The Clocktown Giants/Mystic Haze—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
2/15—Brand of Julez—Santos Party House, NYC
2/20—The Bone Chimes/F-Units/J and the 9s/JENNCiTY/Long Gone Day/Thornes/The Threads—Mercury Lounge, NYC
2/21—The Battery Electric—Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ
2/21—Rory Kelly’s Triple Threat—Ryan’s Pub and Sports Bar, Monroe, NJ
2/24—Common Wealth—The Delancey, NYC
2/27—Corevalay/New Day Dawn/Jaded Past/Burial Park—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
2/28—BoundAive—Bound Brook Hotel, Bound Brook, NJ
3/1—Sekond Skyn/Devour the Day/Like A Storm/HellYeah—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
3/7—Common Wealth—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
