White Tiger – Rock And Roll Animals Back On The Prowl – The Pure Event Center – Sayreville, NJ May 8
When I recall rock during the late ’70s and early ’80s, clubs such as The Osprey, Emmett’s Inn, The Colonels Garter, and The Chatterbox are some of the first to come to mind. Hell, even crazy Art Stock’s Birch Hill stakes a claim in my weathered brain. These halls hosted the heady days of double-stacked Marshalls, huge glitzy productions, and flashy Nordic-themed costumes that would make The Babys OD from fashion sensory overload. The very air was pushed into your chest as you weathered the blitzkrieg of double, Les Paul Custom attacks. These were the days of huge stages and monstrous light pars that made the first three rows sweat like a pig. The time frame of behemoth-sized night clubs that shook with the sound from consoles as long and heavy as a slate pool table at Good Time Charlie’s in Lakehurst.
A night out was a true event, and no one went home disappointed or alone. That was real, old school East Coast rock and roll that happened up and down the shoreline on any given night of the week.
The bands that ruled this time were as big as some national rock stars, and many of them went on to their fame or as parts of other well-known groups throughout the ongoing decade of hard rock and heavy metal thunder. The international deeds of players such as Twisted Sister and Mark Tornillo of Accept (formerly of T.T. Quick) are widely known. But from club stage to stadium platform, the list of bands that came across for fans and friends was endless and grew to legendary proportions. And one of the best known in the time tunnel was none other than White Tiger.
White Tiger arrived on the East Coast in the spring of 1979, having been transplanted from their original home of New Orleans by Staten Island club kingpins that came for the 1978 Super Bowl and left with one of the most eager and hungry rock quartets on the planet.
The story of White Tiger is a whirlwind tale filled with nonstop club dates, packed houses, and prosperity. And like all bands, their goal was to throw their original mix into the metallic mayhem. With their growing success came opportunities for recording music of their own, a well-understood behavior that can go good or bad in an unpredictable state of fickle fans.
As the group dug into their various influential trenches, each member began to move into an area that called to them. And while main men Danny Muro and lead singer Neil Thomas (Lynx) stayed the hard rock course, original bassist Ronnie Tullier followed the rockabilly sounds of the day and soon disappeared into his Stray Cat Strut. Replaced by Joey Springer (Sweet Revenge) the band immersed themselves in his maverick influential styles of Free, Scorpions, and Motörhead.
The last piece in their musical (and rhythmic) puzzle was the addition of drummer Erik Ferro. Ferro auditioned via cassette. For all of you bearded wonders that are asking, “What is he going on about?” a cassette is a 1/8 analog tape spool within a small plastic housing that goes into a “tape recorder.” Anyhow, once Ferro got their ear, the band was locked down and turned loose, and the rest is rock and roll Shoreworld history.
But just like those fabled visions of platform boots and pyrotechnic blasts of smoke and fire, White Tiger completely disappeared from the scene. No reason was ever discovered as to what happened or why. Fans shook their heads as they dissipated, moving on with lives, careers and families as those past rock and roll glory days faded into tattered posters on rundown club walls. But then, just when most thought they would be resigned to a lifetime of emo and banjoed hipster drudgery…they came back.
On Saturday, December 13, 2014, the band took the stage at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park and blew the doors off the room. Sleeper fans awoke and summoned brethren to a room that overflowed with hardcore rockers from hidden vaults of Spandex. And the one thing that brought it all together was the celebrated remembrance of a sound from a time that just can’t be forgotten. This is the sound of organic innocence and pure musical drive that got you deep in the middle of the mix all night long.
And now they’re back again. The original lineup features Danny Muro, Neil Thomas, and Joey Springer. Drummer Erik Ferro is no longer with the group and has been replaced by none other than Jersey legend Charlie Mills, the original skin basher for Skid Row.
As stated in the band’s bio, “Were here for as long as the fans want to see us play.” And play they shall as the group takes the stage on May 8 at the Pure Event Center in Sayreville, New Jersey. Don’t miss this sure to be a memorable performance from one of Jersey’s early hard rock icons. Doors are at 8 p.m. 18 to enter, 21 to drink. For tickets and more information on White Tiger, head over to whitetigerreturns.com.
Daisycutter – The Prodigal “Band Of Noize” Returns To The Brighton Bar – May 9
Speaking of bands that have taken a long hiatus, after 20 years, Daisycutter is back with a vengeance and taking their tumultuous tunes to that gritty stage in the Brighton Bar. Long one of the premier groups from the early ’90s, Daisycutter had a whirlwind career that saw them share stages with legends such as Helmet, Jesus Lizard, Motörhead and Monster Magnet. Formed in 1991 after singer Tim Cronin stepped away from Monster Magnet, the band came to fruition after discussions between Tim and Reg (Santana) about a band that encompassed a tribal drum sound.
As their idea unfolded, they brought in Jim Hogan on bass as well as Ed Mundell on guitar. Seth Fineberg took over vocal duties and the band was on their way. Daisycutter eventually was signed to Rockville Records (a division of Dutch East India Dist.), and they released their first full-length effort that also included a good run of several single and EP releases. The band’s most visible release, Truckfist, also saw Shane Green (NudeSwirl) and Chris Koznick (Atomic Bitchwax) on board for frenetic guitar work.
As with many bands of the decade, Daisycutter burned with passion and vitality for the time they could do it. The band eventually disintegrated and nowadays you can find original members in mainstay bands such as The Ribeye Brothers, The Escape, Defiance Engine and Blackout Shoppers. The members of Daisycutter (a band that has had nine different members) remained close and had always said that if the time was right and it all made sense, they would play again.
Seth Fineberg had emailed me and told me about the reformation of the group. “In 2011 we (me, Tim, Mike, Reg, and Jim) were all at the wedding party of a good friend and many bands were playing that night at Asbury Lanes. We agreed beforehand that we would all get up and do a song together, which turned into four songs. It seemed to go over well, and we all agreed we could maybe do a full show one day soon. 3 1/2 yrs later we were able to get nearly all of us together to practice the old songs and do a show. Our good friend and amazing sound man Hinge (who now plays in Defiance Engine) agreed to come in on guitar for this show.”
It seems my theme for this week is about bringing the past back to the present, and Daisycutter at the Brighton Bar can only mean a tribal revival of the most outrageous kind. The band has invited special guests Put Under, Choke Artist and IDES to be on this one-off bill of bombastic brilliance.
The May 9 Brighton show is 18 and up, and doors are at 8 p.m. The price is a mere $8.00 for an entire night of alternative fun. For more information on Daisycutter and their one-time performance, head over to the Brighton Bar’s website at brightonbar.com.
