Last month, my new band Mean Venus opened for Joe Lynn Turner’s Over The Rainbow down at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. The act that went on right before us was a band called Jade. What raised my curiosity about them was their draw. It was pretty impressive for a band of young bucks, so I had to watch their performance. They were pretty good! Guitarist Nick Kashmanian, who reminded me of a young Slash, really proved that he could shred with the big boys. I logged onto Jade’s MySpace page, myspace.com/jadetheband, to give their song “Threads Of Fate” a listen. It had a lot of promise and the guitar work was excellent. The only thing that I wasn’t crazy about was singer Tyler Abelson’s voice, which I felt was the weakest thing about the song, although, Tyler’s voice didn’t sound all that bad live!
Jade was formed in early 2005 when 15-year-olds, Tyler Abelson (lead vocals/bass), Nick Kashmanian (guitar), Mike Kitlas (guitar), and Robbie Blank (drums) decided that they wanted to put a rock ‘n’ roll band together. In the summer of 2005, they began to write their first full-length CD, which they self-produced and completed in early 2006. Jade never released the CD due to their ever-maturing sound (they eventually outgrew the sound of their CD) so, instead of releasing the it, the band decided to concentrate more on their live performance and growing their fan base.
As Jade continued to play shows, their experience matured instrumentally, lyrically, and in their songwriting. Their live show seemed pretty energetic and the crowd seemed to love them. Especially when they performed crowd favorites like “Mental Suicide” and “Threads Of Fate,” which will be featured on the band’s upcoming debut CD, Threads Of Fate. Find out where Jade is playing next by logging onto jadetheband.com or myspace.com/jadetheband.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
The boys from Our Black Friday will be hosting a huge outdoor benefit concert for guitarist Scott Williams’s mother, who is battling cancer for the second time in two years. The event is going to be called “A Jam For Janice” and will be held at Lurker Park Field in East Hanover, NJ, on Sept. 27. Scott told me that he’s been working hard on the event. He’s currently working on getting WDHA involved, and besides the eight bands already involved, he’s also trying to coax comedian, Jim Breuer to MC the event. For more info on this benefit or any suggestions to make this it even bigger, log onto ourblackfriday.com.
Speaking of benefits, I recently received an email from Uncle Frank of Metal Noize TV letting me know that Metal Noize TV, Under My Skin Tattoo, WSOU, WRAT, and the Tiki Stadium in Keansburg, NJ, will play host to a benefit to “Remember Anthony” next Labor Day Monday, Sept. 7. These are some pretty big names involved with this benefit, so you know that it’s going to be good! Bands including my band Mean Venus will be playing, along with Dropjaw, Jersey Syndicate, Winterspell (featuring the original singer of Dream Theater), and Without End just to name a few of the bands donating their time for this event. For more info on this, log onto myspace.com/unclefrankmorlockrocks.
And finally, if you haven’t watched an episode of Music Incorporated yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Music Incorporated, for you Jersey musicians who live under a rock, is the reality show based around the everyday happenings over at Aarius Rehearsal Studios in Sayreville, NJ. The show follows the daily ins and outs of Aarius owners Joe and Crystal Cattano with all of the local bands rehearsing at the studio acting as the co-stars. Joe and Crystal recently hosted the premiere of their most recent episode down in Sayreville, NJ. Joe told me that a cable network might even be picking up the show very soon! Check out an episode of Music Incorporated by logging onto myspace.com/musicincorporated.
That’s all for now! And remember, if your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your demos and press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140 Little Falls, NJ 07424 or if you want me to check out your band or a band that you think could use some exposure email me at chigger273@aol.com and let me know where your performing next. No cover bands, please!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
NJN Concert Calendar:
9/4—With Daggers Drawn/Silence Will Fail—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/5—Diablo Royale/Charetta—Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ
9/5—Bled for Glory/Painful Urination—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/5—Echofission—Evolve 2012 Music and Arts Festival, Augusta, NJ
9/7—Mean Venus/Without End/Winterspell—Tiki Stadium, Keansburg, NJ
9/9—Rahway/Lillian Axe—Mexicali Blues Café, Teaneck, NJ
9/10—Rahway/Lillian Axe—Don Hill’s, NYC
9/11—Hyphen-One and Daylow—Utica Music Fest, Utica, NY
9/11—The Dirty Stayouts—The Loop Lounge, Passaic Park, NJ
9/11—Infernophonic/Seven Witches—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/12—Life Without Warning—Jimmy Rock Café, Moonachie, NJ
9/12—Charetta—Crash Mansion, NYC
9/12—Kosmic Daydream—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
9/12—Blinded By Anger/Akora—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/12—Hyphen-One and Daylow—Utica Music Fest, Utica, NY
9/14—Diablo Royale—Arlene’s Grocery, NYC
9/18—Our Black Friday—Mount Holleran’s Towne Tavern, Parsippany, NJ
9/19—Apathy—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/19—Mean Venus/Stryper—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
9/19—Hybrid Dawn/Charetta—L’Amour, Staten Island, NY
