One of the bands that I’ve featured in the past has really evolved and has even become a huge part of the Jersey music scene again. My buddy Zipperhead, from Zipperhead Productions, has even brought my attention to the band again, and I have to admit, for a band doing it DIY, they should be the poster child for DIY bands! I’m talking about End Of An Era. You always hear about them, but you never know how. Doesn’t that mean the promotion you’re putting into your band is successful? It does to me! These guys have accomplished more by “doing it themselves” than any signed band that I know with label backing. It’s amazing and I felt they should be recognized for it…again! Besides, my piece on them is so old, you would really need to save your back issues to find it!
End Of An Era hails from the part of the Jersey Shore that many of us North Jersey folk call home for weeks at a time in the summer, Seaside Heights, NJ, which was even the home for a bunch of “Bennies” that filmed a reality show there. Well, Seaside is not only the home of the “fist pump.” It’s also the home of alternative rock band End Of An Era, whose music can be compared to that of Nine Inch Nails, Muse, and AFI, but why lump them into a category when their music at the end of the day is just original? End Of An Era has been annihilating the Jersey music scene since 2006, but Jersey wasn’t all End Of An Era had in mind. They wanted the Northeast region! According to their bio, singer Jeff Wallace, drummer Jeff Spags, guitarist Phil Beam and bassist Derek Jesse amassed a rabid fanbase quite quickly on the local level and decided to take the show on the road to see how the rest of the world liked their music. After countless tours of the East Coast here in the U.S. to performing for 30,000 people at Giants Stadium to festival dates in Brazil, it’s safe to say that End Of An Era has reached their goal of annihilation.
A couple of weeks ago, End Of An Era released their new CD, Fetish, and I have to admit that I am obsessed with this CD! My favorite track and the leadoff song, “Fire,” is a great fight song with a catchy as hell hook! I literally had the hook in my head all day. Then there are songs like “The Thrill,” “All I Hear Is You” and “Raise Your Glass” that are so well-crafted, you can tell that the guys in End Of An Era really took the time to focus on their songwriting on this record. These are songs. It’s not just a wall of sound with technical show-offy guitar riffs. Fetish might be one of the best CDs I’ve heard this year so far. If you haven’t heard of End Of An Era, quit wasting your time with crap bands and check them out at endofaneraband.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My bud Michael O’Connor, lead singer of the band Mikell’s Plot, is hosting a benefit show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ on Sunday, April 26, for this friend and film producer, Jose Escamilla. All proceeds from the event will help pay the hospital bills housing Jose’s heart treatments. Besides Mikell’s Plot, also performing will be Broken Angels, Bullet Train, Magical Voodoo Revue, Smoking Catfish, and The Dana Gaynor Band. For more info on this event, log onto facebook.com/mikellsplot.
My bro Marc Rizzo from Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy was recently asked to do something amazing! He was recently invited to play guitar on a handful of dates in Europe with fellow North Jersey chums, The Misfits! Oddly enough, Marc is on a hiatus from Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy, which is when he usually takes on some solo dates, but how can you pass on an opportunity like playing with The Misfits? Check out this video with Marc on guitar, youtu.be/bzyfORtU1oY. Marc is currently back out on the road with Cavalera Conspiracy, who actually hits our shores this weekend. They’re at Revolution Bar And Music Hall in Amityville, NY on Thursday (4/16) and at Webster Hall in NYC on Sunday (4/19). Visit marcrizzo.net for more on Marc and his dates with Cavalera Conspiracy.
And finally, I wanted to send congrats out to my bros Dylan Gadino and Billy Bergmann of Robots And Monsters, who were recently featured on That Metal Show as Jim Florentine’s “Pick of the Week.” I was actually at the taping when Florentine revealed his pick and was pleasantly surprised to hear it was Robots And Monsters. Glad to say I was one of the first to feature these guys before the rest of the media gets their hands on them. Florentine and I spoke about them after the taping and were proud to say we’re both fans! Catch Robots And Monsters live this Saturday night (4/18) at Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken, NJ. To find out more or where they’re playing next, visit robotsandmonsters.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:
4/14—Ten Ton Mojo/The Compulsions (CD Release Party)/The Nuclears—Mercury Lounge, NYC
4/15—Metalfier/Atom Strange/Michael Schenker—Gramercy Theatre, NYC
4/16—Cavalera Conspiracy—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
4/16—Murder League All-Stars/Corevalay/Gran Marquis/Me With Creeps/Year of the Dragon—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
4/17—Syka/Butcher Babies—The Loft at The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY
4/17—Strait Up/Pralaya/Union Oil Company/Ben Clark and the Long Shadows—Best Bar, NYC
4/18—Steve Bello Band—Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
4/18—Ryan Chiarella and The New Breed/Pat Travers Band—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
4/18—Fear Report/From Below/Cause of Affliction/Purple Pam/Sweet Magma—Gussy’s Bar, Astoria, NY
4/18—Asphalt Green/Gravity Calls/Robots and Monsters/Views Into Vastness—Maxwell’s Tavern, Hoboken, NJ
4/18—Killcode/Adrenaline Mob—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
4/18—Michael Schenker Group/Gundriver/Lords of Mercy—Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
4/18—Anaka/SYKA/Black Tooth Grin—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
4/19—Cavalera Conspiracy—Marlin Room at Webster Hall, NYC
4/19—Killcode/Adrenaline Mob—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
4/21—J.Rad/Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
4/22—The Venetia Fair/Icarus The Owl/Que Sera/Misdirect/Damien The Cat/Frogg Party—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/23—Rhino Bucket/Natural Born Losers—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/24—Steve Bello Band—Shortway’s Barn, Hawthorne, NJ
4/25—Fractured Fairytales/Knuckles And Guns/The Succubus Sorority/Abbey Death/Sarcophagic—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/25—Ashes of Your Enemy/Shadows of Dawn/Caustic Audio/Me With Creeps—Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ
4/25—Nights Of Malice/Horseman 5/Negative Traction/Spiral Scar/Division 1.1/Suburban Murder/COMMON WEALTH/They Call Us Death/Kept in the Dark/JNMF/1 Echo 1/Ketosis/Midnight Mob/Flowers To Flames/Kosmic Daydream/Roulette/SKIVER/Pool Of Thorns/angelface/headcase/Breakfast Kids—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
4/26—Beyond Dishonor/Along Came A Spider/Julius Seizure/From The Depths/That Of A Lion/Searching For Solace/Ashes Of My Regrets—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/7—Robots and Monsters/Brick By Brick—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
