I’ve never heard of these guys before, but it looks like they’ve been rocking New York City for quite some time. I’m talking about Dirty Black 7, and I only discovered them because they are opening for Enuff Z’Nuff at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on April 25. Out of curiosity, I decided to give Dirty Black 7 a listen and I thought they rocked. I listened to a few songs on Spotify like “Candygram Pornstar,” “Scars That Burn,” “Starshine,” and “Whiskey Is My Woman.” The music is simply raw rock ‘n’ roll that I felt was very similar to fellow NYC rockers, Panzie*.
Dirty Black 7 is labeling themselves as “NYC’s most original hard rock band. Real music performed by a real band.” That’s cool, but all of the bands I write about are original, and are real bands performing real music. I get what they’re trying to say, though, and like I said these guys are raw—which is a breath of fresh air compared to the overproduced bands out there today. Dirty Black 7 is a hard rocking unit that combines accessible hook-laden songs with a hard edge and puts them together with their high energy live show. Comprised of singer Glenn Kutoroff, guitarists Mike Butchar and Tommy Pogue, bassist Jason Stanton, and drummer Josh Ward, the band says their influences are a melting pot of musical styles: from funk to hard rock, to pop and metal, all blended together into one unique brand of music. In their time together, Dirty Black 7 has graced the stages of NYC hotspots like Webster Hall, Santos Party House, the Delancey, Tammany Hall, the Bowery, the Arena, Blackthorn 51 in Elmhurst, Local 269 and The Chance up in Poughkeepsie. They were also lucky enough to play out of the region in Rhode Island, Memphis, Houston, and Austin, opening for national acts like Fozzy, Saving Abel, Framing Hanley, Eve 6, Killer Dwarfs, Straight Line Stitch, Winger, Rhino Bucket, Britny Fox, and Mike Tramp, just to name a few.
This week, Dirty Black 7 will be adding Enuff Z’Nuff to that list when they share the stage with them at Dingbatz. The dirty ones currently have two EPs up on Spotify, 7 Scars from 2015 and Black Dirty Boogie from 2017. For more info on Dirty Black 7, if you can’t catch them live this week, visit Facebook.com/DirtyBlack7.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
The boys from Stagger recently released their new EP titled No One’s Safe, featuring the songs “Everything Comes With a Price,” “As We Enter,” “Follow the Litre” and “Goliath.” These songs are brutally heavy and violent, so listen at your own risk. I’m still trying to figure out how singer Mike Diamonte’s vocal chords are still intact. My throat hurts just listening to him. You definitely need to wear a helmet if you’re going to listen to No One’s Safe because you definitely are not safe listening to this EP. For more info on my boys from Stagger, visit Facebook.com/StaggerOfficial…. On April Fool’s Day, the guys from Thantotic Desire played a little April Fool’s prank on their fans, saying that the band has decided to finally call it a day and break up. Since we haven’t heard much from these guys in a while, with members playing in different projects, the prank was believable. It wasn’t until my bass brother and singer, Will Winton, posted a video a few hours later letting everyone know the post was a prank. Will went on to say that Thanatotic Desire also has new music coming out this summer including a Megadeth cover, which he teases in the video. For more on the new Thanatotic Desire music, visit ThanatoticDesire.com…. And finally, some amazing news! My brothers from Ape Fight are back! That’s right! Don Ape, Danny Beater, Chuck Steak, M1, MOD, and Mr. Gamble are playing live again. They will be performing live for the first time in many, many years. Ape Fight will be performing in Philly at the Ruba Club on May 31. If you’ve never seen Ape Fight before, you are bananas! (See what I did there?) This is one group of talented musicians, who like to drink, smoke, and just have fun with their music! This is one show I may have to trek out to Philly for. If you want to find out more about Ape Fight, visit ApeFight.com.
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:
4/24—Steve Bello/Uli Jon Roth—The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ
4/25—Enuff Z’Nuff/Dirty Black 7—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/26—Jersey Campfires Production Presents Newborn KINGS/Barren One/Lunatic Fringe—Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
4/27—Blaze Bayley/Mindmaze/Ogre/Lobster Chicken—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
4/28—Dead End(CD Release)/See Plus/Cold-Blooded Capitol/Spitphyre—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
5/1—Jess Peri/Jackie June/Briana Musco/Kory Hilpmann—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
5/2—A Pale Horse Named Death—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
5/3—Borgo Pass/Killcode/Inner Strength/Last In Line—Mulcahy’s, Wantagh, NY
5/3—Vessel of Light/Black Water Rising/Shiwan Khan/Reaper/Mindrazer—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/4—Rahway/Another Days Armor/Black Dawn/Skid Row—Starland Ballroom, Syareville, NJ
5/4—Jersey Campfires Productions Presents 12 Stones/Arc’d Angel/Answer Infinity/NASH/GAA—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
5/4—Brand of Julez—Katie’s Of Smithtown, Smithtown, NY
5/4—Eyes of the Living/TG Company Band/Lokane—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/5—Cinco De Mayo Fest: Every Mother’s Nightmare/Cold Blooded Capitol/The Infection/Mark Kasturas—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/10—Dinosaur Eyelids—Championship Bar and Music Club, Trenton, NJ
5/10—Michael Angelo Batio/Steve Bello—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/31—Ape Fight—Ruba Club, Philadelphia, PA
