JOHNNY ZOSTANT—Matthews, NC
Yes, I know the location of this week’s featured artist says North Carolina and not New Jersey, but the fact that Johnny Zostant is performing at the Stanhope House in North Jersey’s Stanhope, allows Johnny to be this week’s featured artist. Johnny is performing in Stanhope this Friday night (7/20) opening for ‘90s favorites Sponge and fellow Jersey rockers Incognito Theory, Mikell’s Plot, The Jumping Juvies, and Mike Daly and The Planets. The unique thing about guitar virtuoso, Johnny Zostant is that he’s only 14 years old and already he’s rocking with the best of them.
According to his bio, Johnny Zostant is a 14-year-old guitarist, singer and songwriter based out of Charlotte, N.C., he plays a fusion of blues, hard rock and heavy metal, and just straight up rock ‘n’ roll! Johnny loves to perform live original music, but also does studio work for many artists in many different musical genres. He also gives guitar lessons in his spare time. Wait! Is this kid 40 or 14? He’s been playing and performing since he was about 8 years old and is dedicating the rest of his life to rock ‘n’ roll. Don’t we all say that? He’s performed in all types and sizes of venues from NYC to LA, including coffee shops, pizza places, pubs, dive bars, outdoor festivals and even some pretty cool and famous places like the Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, and he’s opened up for touring bands and artists like my bro, Don Jamieson from VH1’s That Metal Show, Saliva, TRAPT, Wayland, Prowess, Silvertung, and Dirty Machine. Johnny says, “I bring the same full-on energy and passion to every performance no matter the size or location! I love writing and performing original music, as well as adding in covers of songs that are always crowd favorites.”
I’m not going to lie, but Johnny Zostant reminds me of a very young Zakk Wylde.
I logged onto Johnny’s Soundcloud page to give him a listen and I got into songs like “Surge”, “Outta Your Head”, “Roller Coaster” and his latest single “Bullet.” I love the fact that Johnny is only 14. This proves that rock is indeed not dead. You just need to know where to find it. You also need to know where to go to support it! So, stop down at the Stanhope House this Friday night to see Sponge, but support young guys like Johnny Zostant also! For more info on Johnny Zostant, visit JohnnyZostant.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
My brothers from Out of Bounds have a couple of new shows coming up that they’re really excited about. They will be performing at Dingbatz in Clifton on August 3 for Ryder’s second anniversary show with Hyngd, Cold Blooded Capitol, Royal Revolution, Out Of Bounds, Makes My Blood Dance, and Sleeping Village. Then on August 24, Out of Bounds will be heading to the Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ to open for Living Colour singer Corey Glover. For more info on these shows, visit OutofBoundsRocks.com.
A few weeks ago, the guys from Ropetree finally released their new CD, The Saints of Asbury on their Stone Pony, which is now available for download on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora and Bandcamp.com. Well, it looks like dividends have paid off because Ropetree landed another gig at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ opening for Fuel again on August 18 with The Revel, New Theory, and Views Into Vastness. To purchase discounted tickets for this show, visit Ropetree.bigcartel.com.
And finally, my old pals, Joe Vidal and Ed Siana from Judge The Fallen, have a new project called Head Therapy, and they recently digitally released their debut self-titled 5-song EP featuring songs like “Afflictions Remain”, “Separation (Part 1 and 2)”, “Morning Shock” and “Silent Parade.” You have to here these songs! These guys sound like they’ve picked up right where they left off. For more info on Head Therapy and to check out their new five-song EP, visit Facebook.com/HeadTherapyBand.
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:
7/19—Kore Rozzik/Otep—The Gramercy Theatre, NYC
7/20—Sponge/Johnny Zostant Music/Incognito Theory/Mikell’s Plot/The Jumping Juvies/Mike Daly and The Planets—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
7/20—Kore Rozzik/Otep—Reverb, Reading, PA
7/20—Sean Tobin—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
7/21—Angel Vivaldi/Hyvmine/Divinix/Etherius/DJINN—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/22—Tantric/Corevalay/Armed for Flight/The Beautiful Distortion/PAULUS HooK—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
7/22—Cryptodira/Sawce/Deeply Woven/Gyre—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/25—Sean Tobin—Dublin Pub, Morristown, NJ
7/25—Royal Skull/Mule Kick Band—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC
7/27—The Dirty Stayouts—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
7/27—Halfway to Halloween Full Moon Party! – Fang Fang/The Walk Arounds/Canamara/Call of Sirens/Broken Angels—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/3—Ryder 2 Year Anniversary Show/Hyngd/Cold Blooded Capitol/Royal Revolution/Out Of Bounds/Makes My Blood Dance/Sleeping Village—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/3—Jaded Past—Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
8/17—Sean Tobin—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
8/18—Sean Tobin—Red Fox Beach Bar and Grill, Seaside Park, NJ
8/18—Fuel/Ropetree/The Revel/New Theory/Views Into Vastness—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
8/22—Sean Tobin—Dublin Pub, Morristown, NJ
8/24—Out of Bounds/Corey Glover—Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
8/24—Black Water Rising/Black Dawn—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
