CITY VISION – Freehold, NJ
I don’t believe I’ve ever given City Visiona proper feature here in North Jersey Notes. I’ve mentioned them a few times because Dar Franks, former drummer of the band Cascadence, sent me songs from the band. At first, I thought it was just a project for Dar while Cascadence got back on the road, but now it looks like City Vision is out playing live gigs. I’m sitting here listening to songs off of the band’s 2018 release The Darkness + The Blinding Light, and it’s really good. It’s a little bit more electronic than I’m used to listening to, but songs like “Saints on Broadway,” “Falling,” “Sons of the Underground,” and “A Dark Strange World” are really good. I mean really, really good!
From the ashes of several successful Jersey rock groups, the duo of Rob Nardone and Dar Franks, known as City Vision, have united their talents to create a new atmosphere of sounds blending the finest ingredients of alternative and electronic rock music. Armed with a vintage Korg synthesizer, the two came together and wrote “Falling,” the song that would become the anchor for their new musical endeavor. It’s easy to tell from the song’s opening seconds, from the blazing synthesizers, to the soaring vocals, to the gut-wrenching drop of the opening beat, that City Vision have captured something special. City Vision cites a wide-array of musical influences, ranging from rock contemporaries like U2 and Third Eye Blind, to groundbreaking electronic artists like M83 and Kavinsky. Rob and Dar met many years ago, while the two were performing in various different music projects, dating back all the way to their days in high school. Rob Nardone has also had his fair share of the road, touring nationally with several different bands, and landing on stage with U2 for a performance in NJ for over twenty thousand in attendance.
In November 2018, City Vision released their debut EP The Darkness + The Blinding Light across all major digital streaming platforms as well as selling physical copies of the EP on their website. After the release of The Darkness + The Blinding Light, City Vision also expanded to a four-piece live band, adding bassist Erik Raj and guitarist Vincent Auletta to the sonic depth of the band’s live concert arsenal. City Vision then celebrated the release of their debut EP with a live performance at New York City’s Mercury Lounge, sparking the next exciting chapter in the band’s history. I’m excited to see what happens for City Vision in 2020. For more info on City Vision, visit CityVisionMusic.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
One band that I hope to hear more from in 2020 is new project called 6Killer. I learned about these guys because sometimes they rehearse right after my band at Decibel Rehearsal Studios in Old Bridge, NJ. 6Killer features guitarist Jimmy Whip, who is well-known for his guitar wizardry on the Jersey music scene, former Dark Sky Choirand Lords of Mercybassist Joe Stabile, and former Spider Rockets drummer Dale Whitaker. This is a pretty talented lineup, so I can’t wait to hear more. For more info on 6Killer, visit Reverbnation.com/6killer…. The gang from Charetta released a teaser video to promote their next EP. The video was called 2020 The Future Is Here and features snippets of the songs “No Monsters,” “High Road,” and “Leather and Velvet Star.” The purpose of the video was to raise funds for the EPs production in order to get the release out by February. If you donate now, you get a download of “No Monsters.” For more info on donating to Charetta, visit Charetta.com. The band’s goal is $1,500…. And finally, this is a very exciting weekend for Jersey metal fans, as the live debut of Disciples of Verity happens this weekend—first at The Kingsland in Brooklyn, NY this Thursday night (1/9) with Patterns Of Decay, my brothers in Behind The Bullet, and Concrete Dream. Then Saturday night (1/11), Disciples of Verity continues their debut weekend with a stop at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ with my bros in Robots and Monsters and Our Fears. For those living under a rock, Disciples of Verity is Corey Glover from Living Colour on vocals, Corey Pierce from God Forbid on drums, George Pond and Danny Puma from Negative Sky, and Mark Monjoy from Sekond Skyn. Yes, it’s an all-star lineup! You won’t want to miss these shows! For more info, visit Facebook.com/DisciplesofVerity.
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.
