Morristown, New Jersey’s own John Ginty has covered tons of literal ground. Fresh off playing Hammond B-3 for the Dixie Chicks on their MMXVI World Tour, Ginty is hitting the road with his band. His U.S. tour will be in support of his upcoming release from the American Showplace Music Label. Rockers is scheduled for release on Feb. 17, 2017, and will feature New Jersey singer/songwriter Aster Pheonyx. The Rockers Tour will begin on Jan. 28, 2017, in Dunellen, NJ, and head south through Florida.
Ginty has spent years as a successful sideman, playing keys with legendary artists such as Citizen Cope, Santana, Jewel, Charlie Mar, Neal Casal and much more. John was also a founding member of Robert Randolph & The Family Band, where he received two Grammy nominations.
Ginty’s relationship with Neal Casal goes back to 1996 when he played on Casal’s record Fade Away Diamond Time, which led him to play on records by Whiskeytown, James Iha, and Hazeldine, before joining Jewel’s touring band for MTV Unplugged, Saturday Night Live, the first Lilith Fair tour in 1998, and the following Papillion tour in 1999. The following years saw him playing on records by Citizen Cope, Matthew Sweet, and Shannon McNally.
His time with Robert Randolph & The Family Band started back in 2000. Ginty got together with pedal steel player Robert Randolph and helped him form the “Family Band,” which consisted of Randolph, Ginty, and Robert’s cousins Danyel Morgan on bass, and Marcus Randolph on drums. After a year of touring, the Family Band released Live At The Wetlands in 2002. That record was produced by the talented ears of Jim Scott. The band recorded a studio follow-up in 2002 again with producer Jim Scott, called Unclassified, which garnered the band two Grammy nominations, one for Best Rock Instrumental Performance and one for Best Rock Gospel Album. In that same year, the band backed the legendary Blind Boys Of Alabama on the Grammy-winning release Higher Ground.
In the past few years, Ginty has continued to break new personal ground and create new musical journeys. His first solo offering on the American Showplace Music Label, Bad News Travels, featured A-list artists such as Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule), Albert Castiglia and Neal Casal. The sophomore album, No Filter, featured a groundbreaking performance by hip-hop legend, Redman. Both studio albums, along with the “Live” CD/DVD, continue to receive regular airplay on Sirius/XM’s “Bluesville” channel, as well as 300 FM radio stations.
For the upcoming new album, Rockers, Ginty has gone to the well of New Jersey’s amazing artist community and found Jersey Shore singer/songwriter, Aster Pheonyx. A regular in the local scene, the powerhouse rock singer has won the Top Female Vocalist three years in a row from the Elephant Talk Indie Music Awards. After opening a show for Ginty and taking the lead vocal on one of his songs, the two immediately hit it off. They co-wrote all of the songs for the forthcoming album, and on Oct. 13 released the single “Lucky 13” with an accompanying video.
The song is currently in rotation on WDHA, New Jersey’s biggest FM rock radio station. The combination of Pheonyx’s voice blended with Ginty’s ’69 Hammond B-3 organ is magic at its finest. I had the opportunity to check out the new video of the song and found it to be well constructed, catchy and filled with tons of talent. Pheonyx is the perfect complement to Ginty’s fiery playing, and their combined songwriting talents shine bright and strong.
You will be able to see John Ginty, along with Aster Pheonyx and band, on Jan. 28 at Roxy and Dukes in Dunellen, NJ. The tour then takes off from that point and takes them around the country. For more information on the tour, the upcoming record and more of Ginty and Pheonyx’s interesting career highlights, head over to johngintymusic.com.
Asbury Park Songwriters Stand Up To Sexual Violence At The Saint On Dec. 28
On Wednesday, Dec. 28, Glass Fox, a non-profit network headed by Asbury Park singer-songwriter, Pamela Flores, is hosting a benefit concert to raise awareness against sexual violence at The Saint, located at 601 Main Street in Asbury Park. Tickets are available at the door for $10. Proceeds from the show will benefit The Joyful Heart Foundation, a trusted organization whose mission is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors healing, and end this violence forever.
The Joyful Heart Foundation is a huge catalyst for opening up the conversation about sexual abuse. “They stand up with the victims and give them a voice,” says Flores on her decision to support this foundation. Special guest speakers will be in attendance to provide information, statistics, and offer additional ways to help this cause.
Some of the talent that will be supporting this event will be TV Tramps (Little Dickman Records), Little Vicious, Doug Zambon of The Vansaders, Fast Clare, Emily Bornemann of Dentist (Little Dickman Records), Chris Brown and others, who will be performing in support of this pressing cause. Known for their work in the Asbury Park area, the Tri-State Area and beyond, these artists were carefully selected for this important event. Flores comments, “I wanted musicians who represent this community and who will bring high energy to the night. This is a sensitive subject for many people, and I know these players can handle it while being incredibly supportive.”
For the show’s promoter, Pamela Flores, this is an issue that hits close to home. “Apart from this cause being a personal matter, I believe in the fight to stop making sexual abuse victims feel ashamed. We need to allow them to have a safe, supportive platform to talk about what has happened to them.”
This benefit concert aims to do just that. Flores has a background in non-profit work, and she is the co-founder of Lakehouse Voices, a group based out of Lakehouse Music Academy in Asbury Park (where she is an instructor) that organizes youth to bring music into local senior living centers to spend time with the residents, sing to them, listen to music with them, and share their stories.
Flores contributions to Lakehouse Voices caught the attention of the Alive Inside Foundation and had been featured on PBS. Flores recently participated in recording an original song written by Griffin House to be featured in Alive Inside’s follow-up film to their Sundance Award-winning documentary.
Pamela Flores and Glass Fox look forward to hosting this important benefit concert in Asbury Park, alongside some of the area’s most talented and passionate musicians. “This will be a night of complete support for each other while having a great time as a community,” Flores notes.
For more information on the show, head over to The Saint’s website at thesaintnj.com.
