I’ve been working with a great label called MOTO Records for the last year or so. One of their main guys is Joey Affatato. Affatato is also a member of the band The Carousers. Affatato is an excellent musician and a keen record label A&R lead man. His work for Jon Leidesdorff’s Lakehouse recording Studios and the label under that company has been fruitful indeed. MOTO Records is a collaborative, independent record label that provides our emerging original artists with state-of-the-art recording opportunities at Lakehouse Recording Studios, as well as access to professional resources and continued artistic guidance before, during, and after the recording process. The label is run by Artist Program Directors (Albie Monterrosa, Eric Novod, and Jon Leidersdorff), and young industry professionals (Joey Affatato, Jordan Witt, Caitlin Walsh, and additional Lakehouse team members).
It is the goal of everyone involved in MOTO Records that a strong, passionate, supportive community is built around Lakehouse’s young, talented artists. MOTO Records wants their artists to make professional recordings, play exciting acoustic and full-band local shows, creatively build a fanbase, navigate all aspects of the music business, and work hard for themselves to build the Lakehouse Artist community! We believe that MOTO Records is the destination for music fans, industry professionals, and emerging artists to visit to discover amazing talent starting their careers the right way…and having fun doing it!
But Affatato also has other irons in the fire and one of them comes in the form of working for a management company that handles The Moms. The Moms hail from the Garden State and did much of their early formation in New Brunswick. Affatato sent me some info on the band and their upcoming August 23 show at Crossroads in Garfield and I thought I’d tell you all about the band, the show, the special guests and some of the music that The Moms are releasing.
Their bio is short, sweet and fascinating to the reader. No, they have no children. They do not even possess the organs necessary to bear children. Despite their name, The Moms identify as a power trio, whose long history of making music together has nurtured a powerful, exciting sound. Officially formed in 2011, The Moms are a permutation of suburban New Jersey kids who have been making music since their elementary school years. What began as a reuniting of creative minds in a New Brunswick closet, quickly evolved into a national D.I.Y. touring act hell bent on their “ride or die” attitude. In five short years, The Moms have garnered a loyal fanbase, playing hundreds of shows all over the U.S., including tours to Canada and Japan. The band has captivated their small-venue audiences with an impressive delivery of their own rock-punk blend. With only a short catalog (released by Panic State Records and Paper & Plastick Records), The Moms have already established themselves as a band with staying power — delivering ear-worms in a manner seldom seen in the recent past. With their most recent signing to Bar/None Records, the band has released their Snowbird EP in 2016 (produced by Pete Steinkopf of Bouncing Souls) and a full-length record Doing Asbestos We Can this past year. The Moms are currently in the middle of a tour that started back in July.
I took a listen to their song “Soup Song” and was pleasantly surprised. With a cool mixture of Weezer and The Strokes, The Moms blend clean guitars with steady bass and drums before opening the song and diving into distortion-laced power chords and raw and raspy vocal panache. There are three band members and they possess the talent to make quite a glorious noise within the trio status. Members Joey Nester, Jon Stolpe and Matt Stolpe work their magic and bring individual interpretation to the band and forming the music that is The Moms.
“Soup Song” is both melodic and well structured. If you dig old style Nirvana or early Foo Fighters, you’re going to love their music. This is just one of the songs sure to be featured on their August 23 show at Crossroads along with America Part Two, Idle Wave, Ernston and Serious Matters. The show kicks off at precisely 7 p.m. and goes all night.
Crossroads has been delivering national and local acts for many years now and their venue offers a steady seven days a week variety of original music, over 100 craft beers and a Cajun-American menu along with most specialty drinks. For more information, head over to the venues website for more information. xxroads.com.
NJ Arts Fundraiser – Tierney’s Tavern – October 6
I also wanted to mention that Aquarian compadre and all around good guy Jay Lustig has an October fundraiser at Tierney’s Tavern in Montclair, NJ on the sixth. Support the NJArts.net fundraiser and enjoy a fabulous evening of music featuring Richard Barone and James Mastro (of the Bongos), the Glenn Mercer Band (of the Feelies), and Elk City.
NJArts.net is an alternative media outlet for the Garden State arts scene, covering all forms of art in New Jersey. The site’s founder, Jay Lustig has been called the “ultimate authority on all things entertainment in NJ and the greater metropolitan area” by concert promoter John Scher. Tickets available at
outpost.ticketleap.com/njarts-fundraiser-2018.
For additional information or sponsorship opportunities, contact
