A new band from New York City came across my desk last week and I’m loving them! The name of the band is Signals Of Bedlam, and they are awesome! They actually came to me by way of theaquarian.com, so rest assured that if you are sending us your band’s stuff via the website, we are getting them. Sometimes, it takes a while to sift through all the music to find that diamond in the rough. I think I may have found that with Signals Of Bedlam. Especially, for you Tool fans out there. These guys are definitely not Tool, but their prog rock rhythms and singer Cero Cartera’s haunting vocals might remind you Maynard James Keenan and crew. The songs that really got me going were “The Thread,” “Mass Appeal,” “Kingslayer” and “The Fix” off of the band’s latest CD release, Escaping Velocity.
The gang from Signals Of Bedlam have been gigging around the NYC music scene and the Northeast for around four years now, which is only three years after releasing their debut album CD, No Gods, No Monsters. Signals Of Bedlam have recently released their second CD, Escaping Velocity, by way of Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, and Google Play Music. According to the band, this CD is a work that is “much more polished, ambitious, and definitive of the band beyond anything else they have ever produced.” Each member of Signals Of Bedlam—singer and guitarist Cero Cartera, lead guitarist Tom Hoy, bassist Chika Obiora and drummer Rich Abidor—has dedicated themselves to the creative collaboration of this band, creating a tight progressive rock band with influences ranging from Karnivool to The Mars Volta to The Dillinger Escape Plan to The Dear Hunter and Tool.
Signals Of Bedlam’s second CD, Escaping Velocity, was produced, recorded, and mixed by Frank Mitaritonna at Vudu Studios out in Port Jefferson Village, NY. Frank is known for his work with The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Dear Hunter, Glassjaw, and O’Brother. Signals Of Bedlam is definitely a band I’d like to see live. Who doesn’t love a thumping rhythm section with great vocals? If you’d like to know more about Signals Of Bedlam or would like to hear what I’m talking about, visit SignalsofBedlam.com. Trust me on this one!
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
Just when I thought it was over for them, Charetta is back with their second full-length CD, Fate Strikes Twice, dedicated to the memory of our fallen brother, Harry Dullys, whom we lost four years ago tragically. I met Harry when he was the singer for Voodoo Terror Tribe and we were always tight in the years to follow. The title of Charetta’s new CD references Harry’s last band, Fate Strikes Twice. The CD consists of two new songs, recently recorded in 2016, along with remastered versions of songs from their Apocalypse and their A Nation Distracted EPs. Fate Strikes Twice is set to drop worldwide, downloads and streaming, on New Year’s Day. There are, however, limited edition physical CDs with an eight-page lyric & art book available now online for $12 at gravelentertainment.com/store. Charetta will also be celebrating the CD’s release with their first show back with the original lineup at The Gramercy Theatre in NYC on January 13 with Bound By Substance, Jackson James, and Streepthroat. For more on Charetta, visit their new website, charetta.com.
And finally, my bro Steve Brown from Trixter has teamed up with fellow North Jersey rocker and Danger Danger frontman Ted Poley to create a new band called Tokyo Motor Fist. First of all, I love the name. Secondly, this could be an amazing collaboration. Ted and Steve have been friends for a long time, playing the same club circuit with their respective bands, Danger Danger and Trixter, back at the start of their careers. Through the years, they’ve maintained a great personal relationship and the idea of doing a record together has been in the cards for many years. Now, thanks to Frontiers Records, this concept has become a reality. Joining Ted and Steve-O in Tokyo Motor Fist are bassist Greg Smith from Ted Nugent, Rainbow and Alice Cooper fame, and drummer Chuck Burgi from Rainbow, Blue Oyster Cult and Joe Lynn Turner fame. The debut self-titled CD hit stores on February 24. As of now, there was no real website for the band just yet, but keep your eyes peeled on Facebook, as I’m sure there will be a page soon for Tokyo Motor Fist.
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:
12/14—Modern Baseball/Basement, Citizen/Turnover/mewithoutYou/SANDY Alex G/ Elvis Depressedly/Teen Suicide/Nicole Dollanganger/Crying—Webster Hall, NYC
12/15—Casual Friday/Livin Jaded/Hollywood Kills/Summit—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
12/16—Echolab/Pralaya/Reese Van Riper/Randy Haze Trio/Red Hymns—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
12/16—Don Jamieson hosts Out of Bounds/Super Trash Bros/Winters Wake/Kill To Create—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
12/17—Tilted/Mikell’s Plot/Dirty Works/Jason Fox—Al Cibelli’s, Perth Amboy, NJ
12/17—Dinosaur Eyelids—John and Peter’s Bar and Grill, New Hope, PA
12/17—Hookers and Blow (Members of Guns N’ Roses, Danzig, Type-O-Negative, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P.)/Don Jamieson/Baelfire/Brand of Julez—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
12/18—Trapt/Fall to Rise/Legacy/Lowdown/Lurk/Strange Eclipse—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
12/22—“That Metal Show” Annual Holiday Bash/Black Tooth Grin/Sickness/Eddie’s Secret Santa All-Star Cover Band/Reality Suite/School of Rock Wayne—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
12/28—Atomic Beauty/Bird Flu/Silent Tides/Grounded4Life—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
12/29—The Doomsday Prophecy/The Blessing of this Curse/The Machinist/Thanatotic Desire/Monument of a Memory/Enochian—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
12/30—Infinitus Mortus/Synergi/Fiakra/Agents of Aggression—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/6/17—Chevonne and The Fuzz/Strive/Lunatic Fringe—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
1/11/17—Voidless/Cold-Blooded Capitol/Definition Of Anxiety/Obsidian—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
1/13/17—Bound By Substance/ CHARETTA/Jackson James/Streepthroat—The Gramercy Theatre, NYC
1/14/17—40 Below Summer/Incognito Theory/Empire Fallen/Seas of Wake/Ghost For Heroes/Among Us/Corevalay—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
1/14/17—Attacker CD Release Party/Power Theory/Legion/The Steve Bello Band—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
