THE WALK AROUNDS – Jackson, NJ
One band that is making some waves on the music scene is a young band called The Walk Arounds. I came across the band when my bud, Paul Byrne’s son, Connor started playing guitar for them. Paul had come to me a couple of years ago and asked me if I knew any young musicians looking to put a band together because Connor was getting really good on guitar and was itching to play out. A year later, he told me that Connor had started playing with a band called The Walk Arounds. Oh, I forgot to mention that Paul manages Cycle of Pain, featuring J.D. from Black Label Society, and Bob Pantella from Monster Magnet, and every other band under the sun, who also had a hand in producing a few songs on The Walk Around self-titled EP.
According to their bio, in the spring of 2017, four 16-year-old kids from Jackson, NJ got together and started making some noise along the Jersey Shore. The quartet immediately realized that there was some chemistry with this lineup and started cranking out some really catchy songs together. Within a few months, the boys kicked off their summer vacation from school performing at legendary Jersey venues like The Saint and the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, and The Brighton Bar in Long Branch. This past fall, The Walk Arounds headed into the studio and recorded a three-song self-titled EP featuring the songs “Count On Me,” which was produced by Bob Pantella, and “Jailhouse Tattoo” and “Point Place Girls” produced by John “JD” Deservio.
The boys currently have a music video out now for their song “Point Place Girls.” The three-song EP can be heard on SoundCloud and YouTube for now. The Walk Arounds are also being considered for a new TV show that is in development about the music industry, and are currently in negotiations with four major networks at this time. Not bad for bunch of kids just starting out! I’m curious to see what else is in store for The Walk Arounds in 2018!
The Walk Arounds will be playing their first big boy show on Mar. 30 at the Starland Ballroom opening up for Monster Magnet along with some other great Jersey bands like my own band, Rahway, Sekond Skyn, Bound Alive, and Painted Doll. For more info on The Walk Arounds, visit facebook.com/TheWalkAroundsBand.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
Jersey hits Pawtucket, Rhode Island on Mar. 23 when Dead Fish Handshake, whose singer Matthew Paul is a resident, brings their Jersey friends to New England. My brothers from Lower The Veil and Mother will be joining DFH at a venue called The Met, a venue that Paul calls the best venue in Rhode Island, and stated that this will be the best rock show that Rhode Island has seen in a while. My bro and Lower The Veil frontman, Damien Baldwin is no stranger to the Rhode Island area either since he’s originally a New Englander. This should be an amazing show! For more info, visit DeadFishHandshake.com, and don’t miss Dead Fish Handshake at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on Mar. 9 with my band Rahway, Among Us, Paulus Hook, and Know Your Enemy.
Jesyka, formerly of the band SYKA, and her new project Villins has new single out called “Kiss Me Again.” The song was released on Valentine’s Day of all days, and isn’t what you normally expect to hear from Jesyka when she was in SYKA. Villins is way more poppy and way sexier. Check out the new single “Kiss Me Again” from Villins at Facebook.com/VillinsOfficial.
And finally, some amazing news on the War For The Crown front. My brother Roger Manzo has been named the band’s new guitarist. I’ve known Roger since his time in Sixty Miles Down. He’s been on a hiatus from the music scene for quite a while, but he’s back! And he’s back to shred your faces off! Catch Rog’s first show with War For The Crown tonight (2/21) at Dingbatz in Clifton when they open for the legend himself, Doyle! Also performing are Deadtide and After The Burn. For more on War For The Crown, visit Facebook.com/WarForTheCrown.
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:
2/21—Doyle/Deadtide/After The Burn/War For The Crown—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/23—The Schwam/Drive, Kid/Malibu/Joker’s Republic/America Part Two—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
2/23—Jersey Campfire Productions Presents Another Distraction/Answer Infinity/Sinertia—Sticks and Stones, Hawthorne, NJ
2/24—No Zodiac/Absolute Suffering/Strengthen What Remains—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
2/25—Our Fears/Coursduroi—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/2—American Grim/Steel Spades Syndicate/Out of Bounds/Monitor/Tiny Hueman/Illusions of Grandeur/Lucidity—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/2—Jaded Past—Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
3/3—Stereo Jo/Public Trade/Back From Nothing/Fat Chance/The Crowning/Slang Terms (EP Release Show)—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/9—Rahway/Paulus Hook/Dead Fish Handshake/Among Us/Know Your Enemy—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/10—Anthems For Autumn/Devil’s Bubblegum/Autoerotica/NewBorn Kings/NO FUTURE (Sex Pistols Tribute band)—The Cricket Club, Irvington, NJ
3/11—Crazy Town/Davey Suicide/Blue Lizard—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/17—Resurge/Incognito Theory/War for the Crown/Lynch Mob—Debonair Music Hall, Teaneck, NJ
3/23—Judas Priestess (All Female Tribute to Judas Priest)/Psychoprism/Orbynot/Uncrafted/Atomic Minds/Anatomy of the Sacred/Sampere—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
3/23—Black Water Rising/Lower The Veil/Warhammer/BlackSky/Flatleaver—The Brighton Bar, Long Branch, NJ
3/24—RONIN/Pop Evil—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
3/30—Rahway/Sekond Skyn/BoundAlive/The Walk Arounds/Painted Doll/Monster Magnet—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
3/31—Under Blood Red Skies/Empire Fallen/Gathering After Ashes/Shivers, The Lifeless Butler—Dingnbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/6—Metal Life Crisis/Elm Street /DIRKSCHNEIDER—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
