My old Hostel Inc. and Sik Twisted Smile drummer and brother from another mother, Jeff Hardee, who is currently playing drums for the Alice In Chains tribute band Facelift, recently brought an amazing new band to my attention. I think it’s because he’s been jamming with them. Either way, the name of the band is Pheroze. They’re from Brooklyn, and they are awesome! Jeff told me that he’s played with guitarist/singer Pheroze Karai before in the band Swear On Your Life, and always thought that he was awesome. Well, Pheroze is now pushing his own band, and they’re pretty good. His vocals have a Chris Cornell tone to them and the songs are pretty well written. The tracks “Kingdoms,” “Caught In The Wheel” and “Conversations With A Knife” are good examples of this.
According to their bio, Karai’s journey began in London, but spent much of his childhood between Saudi Arabia and India. Growing up, Karai was influenced by the Bollywood culture and the music of Black Sabbath, Queen, and Prince, which was played regularly in his parents’ house. When he was 12 years old, he discovered the guitar. From that point on, he’s become driven to build his life around creating music. Karai arrived on the NYC music scene in 1997 and has been an active participant ever since. He’s written songs for and played in bands including Scar Culture (Century Media), Earthbound Smoke Ghost, Namanista and Soapbox Army. He was here and now it was time to let the world know it.
Pheroze Karai has released two solo CDs: Driftwood (2008) and Crows Into Swine (2011). Both discs demonstrated Pheroze’s versatility as a producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist playing everything but the drums and incorporating Indo-Persian instruments. Pheroze is currently performing on the scene again as a solo act with a recently reinvigorated powerhouse backing band, which I believe includes my bro, Jeff Hardee, on drums. Pheroze recently sent me an email saying that he was wrapping up a new EP and is hoping to head back into the studio this spring to record his third full-length. For more on Pheroze, log onto reverbnation.com/pheroze.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
I just met the gang from NYC’s Midnight Mob a couple of weeks ago in Atlantic City when my band, BlackOcean, was fortunate to share the stage with these up-and-coming superstars fronted by the extremely sultry Blackey DeathProof. They only performed an acoustic set, but it was more than enough for you to get the idea about this band. As luck would have it, they recently released a brand new music video for their song, “These Days.” You will absolutely love this song because it’s catchy and Blackey’s voice is infectious. Check the video out on YouTube and visit the band at midnightmob.com.
The gang Split Point, from Scotch Plains, NJ, are finally putting their music to disc in the form of TriFlection, which will be up on iTunes very soon. To celebrate, singer/guitarist Stan Yedlock and the boys will be hosting a CD release party at The Cup Complex, in Linden, NJ, on Feb. 23. For more info on the new Split Point release, log onto reverbnation.com/splitpoint.
And finally, in some really bad news, I just heard from my boy Santino Noir from Scarlet Carson, and he let me know that he is now the “former” lead singer of Scarlet Carson. Apparently, the band’s recent headlining show at The Stone Pony with Cashmier was the band’s last gig together. According to an open letter on Santino’s Tumblr page, there was a lot of business that wasn’t being handled right within the band, so he switched his focus on his solo career, which would later become a problem for the group. After the show at the Pony, he was booted from the band he created five years ago, and will continue on his venture as a solo artist. As for Scarlet Carson, I’m not really sure if they will continue on without their fearless leader, and if they do, will it be the same? It’s a sad day on the local Jersey scene because I really was a fan of these kids. Oh, and by the way, if you’re in the Philadelphia area on Thursday night (1/24), check out BlackOcean with Panzie* at The Rebel Rock Bar.
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:
1/24—BlackOcean/Panzie*–The Rebel Rock Bar, Philadelphia, PA
1/25—Robot Slaves/Spiritual Sickness/Spiral Out—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/25—Steve Brown and the Rip Kings—Rebar, Lodi, NJ
1/25—Panzie*–Championships Bar and Grill, Trenton, NJ
1/26—Knucklebone/Our Black Friday—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
1/26—VOD/Carbomb/Slam One Down/ Suffer Your Fate (formerly Spoonfed)/Givethemrope —Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
1/26—Atom Strange—Rock ‘N’ Ink Tattoo Festival, Stroudsburg, PA
1/26—Steve Brown and the Rip Kings—Indian Trail Club, Franklin Lakes, NJ
1/30—Dead Fish Handshake/Eye Empire/3 Years Hollow/One Hundred Thousand—Architekt Music, Butler, NJ
1/31—Steve Brown and Terry Farley—Thatcher McGhee’s, Denville, NJ
2/1—In Spite Of—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
2/1—A Clever Con—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
2/1—Give Them Rope—The Note, West Chester, PA
2/2—PUSH/American Angel/The Atomic Bitchwax/Jester/Spice Hound Music Company—Roxy and Dukes, Dunellen, NJ
2/2—Steve Brown and the Fallout—Grasshopper Too, Wayne, NJ
2/9—BlackOcean/Lower The Veil/Audio Machine/Sekond Skyn/BoundAlive—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
2/9—Secret Country—Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ
2/14—Generation Kill/Gunfire N Sodomy (Featuring That Metal Show’s Don Jamieson)—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/16—Facelift/Brand of Julez/Lyken21—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/23—Seas Of Wake/Sundown Conspiracy—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/23—Split Point—The Cup Complex, Linden, NJ
2/25—Thank You Scientist/Fishbone—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
