An old friend recently came across my desk by way of theaquarian.com. I’m talking about Honor Among Thieves. I wrote about these guys many years ago when they had Cherokee Fortune fronting the band. Cherokee, at the time, was a co-host on the FUSE-TV show Heavy Metal Makeover with Abby Gennet (Scallions?) from Slunt and Militia from Judas Priestess. Well, Cherokee has since left the band and a new singer named Maurice Johnson has stepped up to the plate to fill her shoes, and from the songs that I heard on ReverbNation—“Quiet” and “Hung Out To Dry”—it sounds like Maurice has filled those shoes pretty nicely. What prompted the Thieves to contact me again? The mentions about fellow New Yorkers The Dirty Pearls, Killcode and Panzie* in this column. So, they just wanted to re-introduce themselves.
According to their bio, Honor Among Thieves formed back in October 2003. They burst onto the New York City rock scene and quickly gained much attention with what was described as their “Unmistakable New York sound” (I wonder if that was my quote when I first wrote about them) and their high-energy live shows. After original Honor Among Thieves singer, Cherokee Fortune, left the band to focus on starting a family in L.A., founding members guitarist Eric Zee, bassist Sebastian Correa and drummer Dave Brooks thought it was best to continue writing together. They would eventually enlist longtime friend, Maurice Johnson, to fill the vacant vocal position. Now, with Maurice taking full control of the frontman position in Honor Among Thieves, the band plans on re-claiming their rightful spot at the top of the NYC music scene.
Honor Among Thieves has been on a bit of a roll as of late since opening for Sixx:A.M. at Best Buy Theater in NYC. They plan on hitting the Jersey music scene pretty hard too in the coming months to expand their growing following. The Thieves currently have a self-titled CD available on CD Baby and iTunes, which features the songs I mentioned earlier as well as “Another Song About The Same Thing,” “Candy Shop” and “Naked.” How can you not like a song named “Naked”? Anyway, check out Honor Among Thieves now at reverbnation.com/honoramongthievesNYC.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
The guys from Lords Of Mercy have parted ways with longtime drummer Pete Perrina. The split seemed to be a pretty amicable one according to each side’s Facebook posts. Pete will continue to play drums for Frankenstein 3000 featuring WRAT and Sirius/XM deejay, Keith Roth. That leaves a vacancy on the throne for Lords Of Mercy. The boys are looking for a solid, in-the-pocket double bass drummer to fill the void. If this is you, contact Lords Of Mercy via their Facebook page, facebook.com/LordsofMercy.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Saint Caine guitarist Brian Quinn was laying down tracks for the Le Projet project featuring singer Kevin Martin and bassist Adam Kury of Candlebox, Morgan Rose of Sevendust and Lenny Cerzosie of The Infinite Staircase. Well, Quinn has officially joined the all-star project. Quinn actually met singer Kevin Martin back when his band Fosterchild toured with Candlebox. The two remained friends throughout the years and when Le Projet was looking to add a new sound to the lineup, Martin immediately thought of Quinn. Don’t worry, though, Quinn is not leaving Saint Caine and is, in fact, putting the finishing touches on their new CD. Hold the press! This just in as well! Brian Quinn has also joined the new Candlebox lineup as well. For more on Le Projet, visit LeProjetBand.com and for more on Candlebox, visit candleboxrocks.com.
And finally, how about Jesyka Loren from SYKA singing the national anthem for the Fourth of July celebration at the Staten Island Yankees Stadium right before one of the Staten Island Yankees’ games? That’s a pretty incredible honor for any local musician. Speaking of SYKA, has anyone seen their rendition of the Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford classic “Close My Eyes Forever” featuring Constantine Maroulis from American Idol and Rock Of Ages fame? This is one song that I always wanted to cover with the right singers, so seeing this video was quite a treat. Constantine certainly still has it when it comes to singing. Check out SYKA’s version of “Close My Eyes Forever” at youtu.be/8ABMzbpI-xk. For more on SYKA, visit facebook.com/SykaMusic.
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—Ocean Of Illusions/I Plead Insanity/Borderlines/Carved In Oak—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/24—Faith or Fear/FLESH ENGINE/Acts of Violence/Deathwatch/
DESCENDENCY—JB McGuinnes, New Castle, DE
7/24—Borgo Pass/For the Kill/Brand of Julez/Wysteria/Phosfate—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
7/25—Dead Fish Handshake/Machine Elves/Gathering After Ashes/Answer Infinity/Palaceburn/VIV – Views Into Vastness—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
7/25—Mister Monster/Argyle Goolsby and the Roving Midnight/The BrickBats/The Cryptkeeper Five/Darrow Chemical Company/Shadow Windhawk & The Morticians/The American Warewolves—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/25—The Detonators—The Hilltop Tavern, Lodi, NJ
7/26—Rise Against/Killswitch Engage/LetLive/Johnny B. Morbid/Common Wealth—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
7/26—That Of A Lion/Dead Pool/I Am The Trireme/Ashes of Your Enemy/Open The Nile/Canopy Veil/Gyre/Map the Mind/Sleepless Empire /Gorgonite Scum—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/30—Furnace Head/Franchise/Monument of a Memory/Please Exist—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/31—Killed the Fixtion/That of a Lion/Eye of the Destroyer/Dead City Crown—The Cup Complex, Linden, NJ
7/31—Stealing Fame/Brand of Julez/Revel 9—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/1—IKILLYA/Driven Mad/Spectral Voices/Fate Breaks Dawn/Robots and Monsters—Saint Vitus Bar, Brooklyn, NY
8/1—Subcommittee/Bubba Grouch/Till Now/Suitable For Transfer/Eli—Morris Plains VFW 3401, Morris Plains, NJ
8/1—Paralysis/Don Jamieson/Flowers to Flames—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
8/1—End of an Era/Daughter Vision/Dissension Rising/Pool Of Thorns—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
8/1—Black Satellite—Irving Plaza, NYC
8/1—Honor Among Thieves—The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
8/3—The Last Ten Seconds of Life/Barrier/Left Behind/Towers/Castor’s Hollow/Depreciator/Born A New—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/5—Harvard on the Hill/Automatic 253/For Our Lifetime—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/6—Panzie*/Dead Rocking Horse—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC
8/7—Dying Eyes of Sloth/Immortal Suffering/Know Your Enemy/Untombed/ Gathering After Ashes—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/7—Honor Among Thieves/Long Gone Day/The Dirty Stayouts/Legacy/Empire Fallen—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
8/14—Killcode/Eve to Adam/Cracked Alice/Crush of Empires—The Bowery Ballroom, NYC
8/15—ANAKA/Meaxic/Pralaya/Sicada—Santos House Party, NYC
8/22—Stagger/VSSLS/MASS PUNISHMENT/Hawkasian/AMERICAN ANGER—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
8/29—Flowers to Flames—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
