OT: The best NJ Band that never made it..
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Anyone remember the In Orbit Band? Played mostly in Bergen County and were a regular in a bar in Bergenfield.
really difficult to label any guitar player as "the greatest ever" (Maybe Malmsteen from a speed standpoint but that's more a specific category and genre within guitar playing).
There's a few guys who get mentioned more than others (Hendrix, Jeff Beck) but Joe Pass is right up there with any of them
In the late 80s, there was a band out of Westfield called the Fundamentals. The lead singer/guitarist went to Rutgers and they played frequently at 'The Green Parrot' in Neptune and 'Live Tonight' in Hoboken. Sidebar - I saw Kirk Gibson's famous World Series HR at the bar while waiting for the The Fundamentals to take the stage at The Green Parrott.
They had a heavily REM influenced sound and were really good. The DJs at WHTG gave them a fair amount of air time. I think what did them in was the emergence of Grunge. They were a holdover from the previous style and that sound lost traction as bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, etc took over with their heavier blend of alternative and rock.
They eventually broke up and the Rutgers guy teamed up with his brother and their friend to form The Gefkens. They played all the Hoboken bars that had live bands for a few years and they put out a few good albums. But couldn't get over the hump.
Conclusion - talent and good songs are not the entire equation. You need a lot of persistence, luck, and connections. Being able to keep a band together through years of hard knocks is tough.
They had a heavily REM influenced sound and were really good. The DJs at WHTG gave them a fair amount of air time. I think what did them in was the emergence of Grunge. They were a holdover from the previous style and that sound lost traction as bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, etc took over with their heavier blend of alternative and rock.
They eventually broke up and the Rutgers guy teamed up with his brother and their friend to form The Gefkens. They played all the Hoboken bars that had live bands for a few years and they put out a few good albums. But couldn't get over the hump.
Conclusion - talent and good songs are not the entire equation. You need a lot of persistence, luck, and connections. Being able to keep a band together through years of hard knocks is tough.
Late 79’s early 80’s: Grover, Margaret and Za Zu Zaz
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Springsteen.....because he has no talent! He talk"sings", he contorts his face like a pathetic emotional cry baby loser and he is really boring. Need I go on?
They could have done better but hit it big with Stacy's Mom. That song ain't going anywhere anytime soon. 200 million hits on YouTube and cult level status.
I always thought their brand might go national. I remember way back when, they did some original tunes but their covers were their best material. BTW, they will be in Morris County next week...I'll most likely be there with the missus and some friends.
Maybe they were mentioned, but Cats on a Smooth Surface, a bar band that did mostly covers, had a couple of singles. They tried with this single in the late 1980s, did not succeed.
And early Cats member, Bobby Bandiera's bid for solo fame:
And early Cats member, Bobby Bandiera's bid for solo fame:
Anyone playing in the basement of the Court Tavern in the ealy 80"s, after more than a few beers, they were all good.
As we say in the business a lot of the bands mentioned in this thread had a decent run…got to play in front of people all over the country, their songs played on hundreds of radio stations etc…Soul Engines was a Jersey band that never made it although they got their songs played on WDHA and WHTG, opened up for the Spin Doctors in Bloomfield park in front of 10,000 people, played Philly, Baltimore, Charleston, Boston and Toronto and was the House Band for several months at The Stone Pony… also put out 2 great records including one after reforming Closer Still in the early 2000s which is a Power Pop gem which still makes best of Power Pop lists around the World…
And if you disagree I'll hit you in the "mandibles". :)
Def catchy. I listened it it just now and my 5 year old just started walking around the house singing the chorus over and over again. Music industry is impossible. Labor of love in the end like most art forms.
It may have been briefly mentioned, but Kinderhook Creek (later shortened to Kinderhook) was a very popular country rock band in NJ in the 1970s. They actually formed at Rutgers in 1973. They never quite made it big but had a large following. I believe they were the only non signed band to play the Schaefer Music Festival in NYC. For them it was bad timing, as the music scene really started to change by the late 70s into the 80s. The style of roots based rock did not fit into the dance oriented pop sound which became popular. Ironically, I’ve read that they have reformed and released an album recently.
A rather bitter and uninformed opinion:
100 Greatest 'Live' Music Artists
List of the 100 Greatest 'Live' Music Artists as compiled and ranked by digitaldreamdoor.com
digitaldreamdoor.com
Love the fact Solomon Burke is listed in the top 10. I saw him open for Van Morrison in Boston 20 years ago. What a performer!A rather bitter and uninformed opinion:
100 Greatest 'Live' Music Artists
List of the 100 Greatest 'Live' Music Artists as compiled and ranked by digitaldreamdoor.com
Morrison, on the other hand, simply went through the motions... but, based on his reputation as a live act, I kinda expected that from him going in. Shocked that this list has Morrison ahead of David Bowie.
Bruce Springsteen Sucks
I've been meaning to get a post about how much I don't like Bruce Springsteen and how much he sucks up sooner ... since he was announced as ...
sayow.blogspot.com
Hello millions of peeps!Millions and millions of people say hello and disagree with you.
Yes, please...
Why Bruce Springsteen sucks: The Best. Argument. Ever.
Joe Votruba's a big Bruce Springsteen fan. He's got fair, nuanced, passionate reasons Springsteen rocks. Eric ... disagrees.
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