One of the bands that really caught my attention when I had to judge The Crusade Finals a couple of weeks ago at Crossroads in Garwood, NJ, was a band from Howell, NJ called Out Of Ashes. They were pretty heavy, riff-tastic and extremely tight, but what made me notice them was the dual vocals by singers Rob Intili and new singer, May Paige. They had this Linkin Park dynamic to the band, but with the addition of Miss Paige, that dynamic turned into more of an Evanescence-feel. The hook for the song “Tombstone” has been stuck in my head for the past two weeks. Miss Paige has an excellent voice similar to Amy Lee’s, but it also perfectly complements Intili’s vocals, who reminded me of Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory. When they performed their cover of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life,” I was blown away by how perfect the song sounded. Sometimes the singers always ruin a good cover, but this was spot on and that’s why I had to give these guys props.
Out Of Ashes is still a relatively new band only forming in early 2014 as a project from pieces of other bands who no longer around. They are a crazy mix of hard-hitting rock songs with catchy choruses, some fun rap verses, abrasive screamed breakdowns, and shredding guitar solos. You can see the confidence in these kids during their live show. Singer May Paige must’ve just joined the band before this battle of the bands because there are no photos of her with the band at the time of this writing (kind of like the fact there are no photos of me in the band Rahway yet). Joining Miss Paige and Rob Intili in Out Of Ashes are guitarist Sawyer Graves, bassist Sam Stewart and drummer Alex Berwick.
Out Of Ashes released their debut EP, Trust Yourself, which is available wherever you can download CDs these days. You can also hear it on Spotify. Catch Out Of Ashes at the Food Truck and Rock Carnival on Saturday (9/19) on the Carnival Stage at 5:30 p.m. For more on Out Of Ashes, visit the band at Facebook.com/OutofAshesNJ.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My bros from Atom Strange were recently added to the Atomic Bitchwax show at The Bowery Electric in NYC this Friday night (9/18). Atomic Bitchwax features Monster Magnet drummer Bob Pantella and bassist Chris Kosnick. This should be a fun show! Also performing are Against The Grain and Mos Generator. For more info on Atom Strange, visit atomstrange.com, or check out Atomic Bitchwax at theatomicbitchwax.com. Dare I say, it should be an “atomic” night!
My brothers from Ronin have also landed themselves a nice cushy gig opening for Wilson, Trivium and Tremonti at the Starland Ballroom in Slayerville, NJ next Wednesday (9/23). They’ll also be performing at the Food Truck and Rock Carnival this weekend. Best of all, they’re putting the finishing touches on their debut EP, Rise Of An Empire, which they are looking to release this fall. They recently posted a tease for their new single “Rise” on Facebook, and if that tease is any indication, this EP is going to be pretty awesome. For more on Ronin, visit weareronin.net.
And finally, speaking of the Food Truck and Rock Carnival this weekend, a big congrats to the boys from Dead Fish Handshake, who won a spot on the main stage a couple of weekends ago as part of the Crusade Contest at Crossroads in Garwood, NJ. I was lucky enough to be one of the judges at the event, which allowed me to finally see and meet some of the bands that I’ve featured here in this column like Stillphase, Common Wealth, Flowers To Flames, Mother, Ashes Of Your Enemy, Rafftree and Ronin. All of the bands who performed at the battle of the bands will also be playing the carnival. My band Rahway will also be performing on the Birch Hill Stage at 3 p.m. on Saturday (9/19). So, if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, log onto therockcarnival.com.
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:
9/18—End of an Era/Pop Will Eat Itself—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
9/18—Atomic Bitchwax/Atom Strange/Against The Grain/Mos Generator—Bowery Electric, NYC
9/18—SYKA/All But Impossible/Stormgiant—Santos Party House, NYC
9/19—Full Scale Riot—Grease Monkey Block Party, Brooklyn, NY
9/19—The Festimony of The Damned/Ixion Lux/NUSE/Division 1.1/Framework/Thrashole/Killed at the Alter— Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
9/19—Anaka—Peggy O’Neill’s, Brooklyn, NY
9/19—Primadonnaz—The Boneyard Bar and Grill, Atlantic City
9/19—End of an Era/Pop Will Eat Itself/Die Warzau—Santos Party House, NYC
9/19—Devil Kitty—Rudy’s Food, Sports and Entertainment, Hartsdale, NY
9/19—Food Truck and Rock Carnival Day 1—Oak Ridge Park, Clark, NJ
9/20—Food Truck and Rock Carnival Day 2—Oak Ridge Park, Clark, NJ
9/23—Ronin/Wilson/Tremonti/Trivium—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
9/25—Mirror Eyes/The Clocktown Giants/Answer Infinnity—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
9/25—Rahway/Ace Frehley/Brand of Julez/Knucklebone—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
9/26—Hometown Anthem/Aspen It Is/BeAware—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
9/26—Borgo Pass—Whoville Bar, Bethpage, NY
9/27—SYKA—Hoboken Arts and Music Festival, Hoboken, NJ
10/1—Pralaya/The Binary Code/One Hundred Thousand—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
10/9—Scottish Windows/The Winery Dogs—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
10/11—Psychoprism/Fates Warning—The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY
10/11—GENITORTURERS / Voodoo Terror Tribe—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
