First and foremost, I’d like to take a minute to wish Jon Zazula, known to the metal world as Johnny Z, a speedy recovery. I’ve mentioned this before, but for you young metalheads who don’t know your history, Johnny Z was the man known for bringing us bands like Metallica, Anthrax, Overkill and Testament, just to name a few. Johnny was a small record storeowner (Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven in East Brunswick, NJ), who started his own record label that we know today as Megaforce Records. Today, he manages the Wizards Of Winter, Soilwork and Shattered Sun under his new management company, Breaking Bands. Johnny recently had open-heart surgery and is at home recovering, so I just wanted to take a moment to wish my friend a speedy recover. For more on Breaking Bands, visit breakingbandsllc.com.
Speaking of metal, my brothers from Anaka recently unleashed their new music video for their song “Deathborn” off of their latest CD, The Unwavering, during a recent performance at Santos Party House in NYC a couple of weeks ago. The video was directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Kevin J. Custer. You can check “Deathborn” out now at facebook.com/ANAKAmetal.
My old buddy and TNA singer Mike McManamon recently reached out to me about a new project he’s been working on. I haven’t heard from Mike in a few years, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear from him. Only the surprise didn’t stop with his initial message. The real surprise was his new project Cruel Season. Wow! The only song that I got to hear was a song called “Rise,” and rise it did! The song got a rise out of me. It was fantastic and so was Mike’s voice. I was blown away, but the surprise didn’t stop there! It was his bandmates too! I knew them all! Joining Mike in Cruel Season is guitarist Justin Jurman, my bass brother Doug Odell, and drummer Roger Cohen. I will be featuring this band in the next couple of weeks, but I just wanted to give you a taste for now! Catch them live this Thursday, November 5, at the Nyack Village Theatre in Nyack, NY for their CD release party, or check them out online at darkstarrecords.net/artists/cruel-season.
The boys from Saint Caine will be doing a short run of shows in the area to push their new CD, Burn With The Gods Of The Sun. They’ll be hitting Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on Friday, November 20, with yours truly and my new band Rahway opening and Carry Out Your Dead also performing. Then the next night (11/21), the boys head to Bull Shooters Saloon in Philadelphia, PA with NYC’s Midnight Mob, Soraia, Local Demise and Fastride. They plan on opening their sets with the title track to their new CD as well as perform some of your Saint Caine favorites. For more info on the shows and their new CD, visit facebook.com/SaintCaine.
And finally, how about my bros from Killcode and Scottish Windows landing opening slots on the Skid Row 25th Anniversary Tour stop in New York tonight (11/4) at Irving Plaza? For more about Skid Row’s landmark tour, read my interview with guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo in this issue. Anyway, Staten Island’s Scottish Windows and NYC’s Killcode could not have been a better combination for this Skid Row homecoming. This will be the first area show with new singer Tony Harnell since the Food Truck And Rock Carnival in Clark, NJ back in September. For more on this show, visit Skid Row at skidrow.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:
11/4—Scottish Windows/Skid Row/Killcode—Irving Plaza, NYC
11/5—Cruel Season (CD Release Party)—Nyack Village Theatre, Nyack, NY
11/6—Corevalay/Empire Fallen/Asphalt Grey/JINGERKROA/Kill Van Kull—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/6—Val Emmich/Nalani and Sarina/Brian Mackey/Ryan Brahms/Will Wood and The Tapeworms—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
11/7—Sworn Enemy/Robots And Monsters/Hellshot/Juan Bond—The Grand Victory, Brooklyn, NY
11/12—Four Skin/Cage/Magus Beast/Blue Movie—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/13—Seas of Wake/Malvador/The Things They Carried/That of A Lion/Comb The Desert/Enochian—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/14—CAROLINA BURN/Darkness Descends/Stagger/Ashes of Your Enemy/Waldwick School of Rock/The Blessing of This Curse/Half-Witted Dogs—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/15—SYKA/GWAR/Born of Osiris/Battlecross—Webster Hall, NYC
11/16—Act of Defiance/Allegaeon/We…Our War/Lethal Affection/Threatpoint/Iron Front—The Backstage at Championship Bar, Trenton, NJ
11/20—Saint Caine/Rahway/Carry Out Your Dead—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/21—SYKA/Dragonforce/Kamelot—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
11/21—Killcode/New Day Dawn/Ronin—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
11/21—All Out War/Apparition/Spectral Voices/Decimate The Living/The Fallen Prodigy/Robots and Monsters/Red 100/DRAW THE LINE—Blackthorn 51, Elmhurst, NY
11/21—Restitution/Rest Assured/My Flesh May Fail/Batter Up—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/21—Ascending From Ashes/Chevonne And The Fuzz/Seeking the Seeker/Strive/Roulette/Low roads Ghost/The Clocktown Giants/Triple Scoop/Black Out Paul/The Foxfires/Far Out Live/Brian Lowe/aReJay Ella/Upstate/Frogg Party/Lunatic Fringe/Parallel/The Subcultures—Ridgewood Elks Lodge, Ridgewood, NJ
11/22—Angel Vivaldi/Oraculum/Sleepless Empire/From The Depths/Ocean Of Illusions/Nautica Erotica—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/23—Dangerkids/Out Of Ashes/No Parallels/To The Skyline—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
11/24—Young Rising Sons/Night Riots/The Mosers—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
11/27—Jersey Campfires Production Presents: Syka/Know Your Enemy/Common Wealth—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
11/28—Jersey Campfires Productions Presents: Rahway/Pool of Thornes/Shattered Skin/Bone Devil/Meatplow—The Boneyard, Atlantic City, NJ
11/28—Know Your Enemy/Lethal Affection/Barren/Tango Machina—Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ
11/28—Generation Kill (featuring DMC from RUN DMC)/Ogre—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
