I was recently contacted by Marc David Gambino (I’m sure no relation to the famed NYC crime family) of the band Lion-Hearted via my Aquarian email account. (Yes, people do still send emails! And yes, I do still answer them.) Anyway, he wanted to send me a copy of the band’s new CD, SP1: Those Who Roar Last…(The Prequel) with a couple of t-shirts. So, I responded because who doesn’t want new t-shirts? Upon receiving the CD, I popped it into my CD player in my truck (the only place I can play CDs these days) and was pleasantly surprised with what I heard. And no, the t-shirts did not lead to me featuring Lion-Hearted this week. Those Who Roar Last… was actually a great funk CD reminiscent of old Red Hot Chili Peppers. In fact, these guys are the second band that I wrote about in a month that had that old school Chili Peppers funk sound. Is this a sound that’s making a comeback? I guess we’ll have to see.
Lion-Hearted is a power trio out of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ and they seem to be making some noise on the Jersey music scene. According to their bio, the band was formed by the ideas, the realization and the passion of bassist and lead singer Marc David Gambino and drummer Joseph D’Aqui back in 2012. Originally, it was Marc’s idea to put a band together that focused on the strength and love of hard-driving funk and rock. The duo set out to build a foundation based on the grooves that flowed out of them. After adding guitarist Pete Pineyro to the band, all of the pieces of the puzzle were there and the band was complete. Together, Lion-Hearted is driven by timeless adrenaline, heartfelt passion and love for the groove with a voice that they hope will entertain and inspire their audience.
Lion-Hearted’s debut CD, SP1: Those Who Roar Last…(The Prequel), was released in 2013, but still resonates here in 2015. The songs “Enough Is Enough,” “Ugly” and the more rock-oriented “Captured” are highlights on the CD that really exhibit the band’s influences and background. To learn more about Lion-Hearted or to find out where they’re playing next, visit the band at lion-hearted.us.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My bro Ethan Murphy from Scars Of Envy has once again put together a power-packed lineup for this year’s Damnation Fest 2015 at Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse in Dunellen, NJ on May 9. The show is being sponsored by the only real radio station that supports local music and always has, Pirate Radio 89.5 WSOU. Besides Scars Of Envy, also performing will be Ethan’s other project Apostrophes, Cheese Puff Death Krunch, Stagger, Voodoo Terror Tribe, Dark Matter, Lower The Veil, Ashes Of Your Enemy, Paralysis and COMMON WEALTH. The majority of these bands are all NJN alumni. Don’t miss this show! For more info, just visit any of these band’s Facebook pages leading up to the event.
This is for the old Scarlet Carson fans still out there: Last month, former Scarlet singer Santino Noir and former guitarist and now Gears bassist Tommy Herres joined Carmen Ugaro of Johnny B. Morbid on stage at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ during the Johnny B. Morbid CD release party to perform the Scarlet Carson classic “West Coast Dreamer,” which Santino is living out now as a solo artist in L.A. It was actually pretty awesome to see this. Unfortunately, you’ll have to scour Santino’s page to see the video footage of this performance.
And finally, my brothers from Sekond Skyn recently shot a music video for their song “Flood” off of their latest EP, Quicksand. The song is the perfect choice for a music video, so I’m kind of curious to see what the boys come up with. For more on Sekond Skyn and to find out where they are playing next, visit facebook.com/SekondSkynMusic.
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:
4/22—The Venetia Fair/Icarus The Owl/Que Sera/Misdirect/Damien The Cat/Frogg Party—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/22—Killcode/Mother/Tempest City/Thornes/Horizon Edge—Mercury Lounge, NYC
4/23—Rhino Bucket/Natural Born Losers—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/23—Lieder/The Spit Squad—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, 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
4/26—Mikell’s Plot/Broken Angels/Mike Walsh and Departure/Chris Seabasty/Bullet Train/Magical Voodoo Revue/Smoking Catfish/The Dana Gaynor Band—Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
4/26—Faster Pussycat/Loveblast/Sins Of Heaven/Strive—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/1—Don Jamieson/Concrete Burial/Brand Of Julez/Circle Of Insanity/Lyken21—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
5/1—Pralaya/SHIFT/Civic/Corevalay—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/2—Metal Mike’s Metal Heroes Workshop—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/4—Quiet Riot/Race Odyssey/Sacred Sword—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/6—Devon Goods/Cephalopods And Their Allies/Gypsy Star/Nikki Briar and the Sweet Briar Band/Zen Thomas—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/7—Robots and Monsters/Brick By Brick—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
5/7—Steve Bello Band—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/8—Tarpit Boogie/Dead Blow Hammer/USELESS/WHITE VOID—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
5/9—Scars of Envy/Apostrophes/Cheese Puff Death Krunch/Stagger/ Voodoo Terror Tribe/Dark Matter/Lower the Veil/Ashes of Your Enemy/Paralysis/COMMON WEALTH—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
5/14—Eric Martin of Mr. Big/D.M.K./Jake and Dan—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/16—Hyngd/Still Well Angel/One Day Waiting—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/16—DIVISION 1.1/Ixion Lux/Me With Creeps/Nuse/Causticaudio/BOUND ALIVE/Framework—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
5/16—Atom Strange—EJ’s (Seaside Music Festival), Seaside Heights, NJ
