latewaves – Asbury Park, NJ
I recently came across one of my favorite bands of 2018, and they come from Asbury Park, NJ! The name of the band is latewaves and they’re basically a really good rock band. A no-frills, raw rock band! I accidentally found these guys on Spotify when their debut EP, Partied Out, popped up. After listening to songs like “Face Down,” “Bailin’ Out,” “If It’s Over,” and “Jezebel” a few times, I decided to research and learn more about the band, and low and behold, they were from Jersey! Maybe not North Jersey, but these guys were from Jersey and I wanted you to know about them if you didn’t already.
As I already mentioned, latewaves is a band out of Asbury Park. Around 12 years ago, drummer Shawna Grabowski was invited to see her sister’s friend, singer and guitarist Mike Pellegrino, play a small club in Central Jersey. Yes, Central Jersey does exist, despite the naysayers. As weird as this may sound, it was actually Shawna’s first “show.” Years passed, Mike is now dating Shawna’s aforementioned sister, and both, Shawna and Mike, separately played in different groups as time went by. It wasn’t until the late summer of 2016 that Shawna and Mike found themselves anxious to start a new project. The two had spoken about starting a band for years and on a sweltering day in the middle of July, the duo stepped into a storage unit-turned-rehearsal space, and wrote a song called “If It’s Over.” Shawna and Mike wrote and played every chance they could, and before they knew it, they found themselves at Portrait Recording Studios in Pompton Plains to start tracking Partied Out, which they say is about getting kicked while you’re down, wondering if you should even get up, and possibly seeing a flicker of light at the end of a long, dark, and damp tunnel. Rounding out the power trio known as latewaves is bassist Howie Cohen.
Partied Out pulls together influences from the quirky minor and seventh chords of ‘90s alt-rock, while calling the angst and aggression of the early 2000s post hardcore and dawning of the Emo scene. latewaves seem to have found their sound in the echoes of the past, but they’ve added that modern twist. I loved the tracks on Partied Out and felt that the EP was just a really good rock EP. All of the other labels don’t really matter. It’s all just rock ‘n’ roll! For more info on latewaves or to find out when they’re playing next, visit Facebook.com/latewaves.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My buds from Brooklyn’s Crimshaw recently released a brand new music video for their song “Monsters,” which is also the name of their newly released CD. Crimshaw will be celebrating the release of Monsters this weekend (3/24) at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC with Black Dawn and my brothers from Brand of Julez, hosted by my brother and Trunk Nation host, Eddie Trunk. The video for “Monsters” is well…monstrous! It looks like a party! For more on the new Crimshaw video, CD and CD release party, visit Crimshaw.com.
Speaking of Brand of Julez, my little brothers of rock unveiled a new ballad live at a recent gig in NYC. The song is called “The Only One” and singer Julez Zamora said in a Facebook post about it, “This song has so much passion and emotion behind it. I approach every new song we write that way, whether it’s a heavy tune or a ballad but, I don’t know. There’s something about this one.” There was actually live footage posted of “The Only One” on the band’s Facebook page, and I might have to agree with Julez. There is something about this song! For more on Brand of Julez, visit facebook.com/brandofjulez.
And finally, some shows you won’t want to miss this weekend! This Friday night (3/23), Judas Priestess will be at Dingbatz in Clifton with Psychoprism, Orbynot, Uncrafted, Atomic Minds, Anatomy of the Sacred and Sampere. If you’re down by the Jersey Shore area that night, stop down at the Brighton Bar in Long Branch to see my brothers in Black Water Rising with Lower The Veil, Warhammer, BlackSky, and Flatleaver. Then on Saturday night (3/24), over at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, it’s Pop Evil with the return of my bros on RONIN. If you’re up north that night, stop in and see my brother Derrick Klybash in 40 Below Summer at the Debonair Music Hall in Teaneck. There’s some really good live music happening in Jersey this weekend, so get out there and support local music! If you don’t, then you don’t get to bitch that rock ‘n’ roll is dead!
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:
3/23—Judas Priestess (All Female Tribute to Judas Priest)/Psychoprism/Orbynot/Uncrafted/Atomic Minds/Anatomy of the Sacred/Sampere—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/23—Black Water Rising/Lower The Veil/Warhammer/BlackSky/Flatleaver—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/24—RONIN/Pop Evil—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
3/24—40 Below Summer—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
3/24—Crimshaw CD Release Party/BLACK DAWN/Brand of Julez—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC
3/31—Under Blood Red Skies/Empire Fallen/Gathering After Ashes/Shivers, The Lifeless Butler—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/31—The Pain Method—The Village Pub, Lindenhurst, NY
3/31—Lunatic Fringe/Our Fears/In This Lifetime—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
4/4—Krosis/Silent On Fifth Street/Terrform/Subverse/The Inversion Circus—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/6—Metal Life Crisis/Elm Street /DIRKSCHNEIDER—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
4/6—Jersey Campfires Presents Corevalay/Sunday Brave /Low Roads Ghost/Amigos, Amigos!/Prodigal Sons—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
4/13—Buckcherry/Another Day Dawns/War For The Crown—Sherman Theater, Stroudsburg, PA
4/14—The Dark Matters (Reunion Show)/In The Presence of Wolves/Reese Van Riper/Comb The Desert/Black Lagoon—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/18—Life Of Agony/Borgo Pass—Saint Vitus, NYC
4/19—Life of Agony/Pain Method—Saint Vitus, NYC
4/20—Queen V’s Spring Fling—The Cutting Room, NYC
4/21—Janet Gardner of VIXEN/SINERTIA/Loaded Gun/Sunday Brave/Knightlife/Alden—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/27—Psychoprism/Sunless Sky/Legion/Imperial Crypt—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/28—Missi Fieretag’s Birthday Bash featuring KILLCODE/Arc’d Angel/Baelfire/Resurge/COMMON WEALTH—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
