A Septic Spiel of Spooky Scares, Super Heroes, and Strange Stories from Miles Beneath the Crud of New Jersey!
The brand new Misfits album “The Devil’s Rain,” is in stores today. Since the horror punks from Lodi, NJ always offer ghoulish graphics on their t-shirts, let’s take a look at one of the tees offered at The Misfits online store. The first tee has Arthur Suydam’s artwork from the new album The Devil’s Rain and on the right is the “Mystic Fiend” shirt. The Misfits play their annual Halloween show at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on 10/28/11.
If there’s ever a point where I admit something, I go all the way. Have you ever had a hard time admitting you were wrong and delivered one of those very weak, lame apologies? Well, I’m not like that at all, I go big with it.
Even though I had not seen the a cappella group STRAIGHT NO CHASER until this post, I was convinced that I A) Wouldn’t have a good time at an a Capella concert 2) There was no way these guys were anywhere near as amazing as their glowing reviews that I was being bombarded by. After seeing them at Harrah’s in Atlantic City, I was so blown away that I told everyone who urged me to see them how wrong I was and how it was probably in the top 10 best musical performances I’ve ever seen live in a concert setting. That’s a serious statement since the number of live concerts, cover bands, and other groups I’ve seen is probably in the thousands by now…seriously.
One aspects of Straight No Chaser’s performance that I thought was cool is how they discuss places and times in history, and basically how they effected the music they are performing. As they moved into Beach Boys territory it brought to mind the shores of California, but they turned it on it’s head! Sure, hopping in your woody and running down to the beach with your long board was popular in the ’60s on the WEST COAST, but what shore is most popular right now? That’s right…THE JERSEY SHORE! Somehow, even though they are a bunch of guys from Indiana, their supreme creativity and harmonization skills managed to incorporate a New Jersey theme into The Beach Boys classic “Surfer Girl.” The clip is posted above so you can see for yourself. I took my own video but I was further away so YouTube user DaisyKary came through with the video.
Check out Straight No Chaser’s official site where you can get CD’s, Merch, Tour Dates at
Thanks to Christine on Twitter (@LovedeAcappela) for keeping on my ass about getting this follow up post published!
Many readers of The Sexy Armpit who don’t know me in real life think I’m always bashing Bon Jovi…and I am. The thing is, I’m a huge Bon Jovi fan at the same time. You see, Bon Jovi is not the same band as they were when I was growing up. The cool rock stars from a few miles down the road who lived and breathed rock and roll are long gone. I guess sitting on billions of dollars sucked all the coolness and rock and roll out of them too. The guys hungry for stardom who worked with famed songwriter Desmond Child in Richie Sambora’s basement once upon a time creating what would become one of the most iconic rock albums of all time have taken a wrong turn on the road to rock.
And now, easily one of Bon Jovi’s greatest tracks:
25 years ago this week, The Smithereens, a rock band proud to be from Jersey, claimed their first spot on the Billboard Maintstream Rock Chart at number 14 with “Blood and Roses,” off their first full length album, Especially For You. This is an important album for Jersey music and pop culture because it’s regarded by critics as one of The Smithereen’s best efforts and also cited by Kurt Cobain to be one of his favorite albums according to his journal. In addition to its video getting MTV airplay, the track “Blood and Roses” appeared in the films Dangerously Close, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (I better watch it, that’s 2 Romy and Michele references on this site in one week), and TV’s Miami Vice.
The Sexy Armpit has just set up a nice little Friday evening for you. Order some pizza, pour yourself about a half gallon of Jack Daniels, and then pick up your remote control. You’ll merely be a few finger strokes away from finally being able to see the movie I’ve been telling you about for a long time now! Available to you in the comfort of your own butt cheek indented couch is: The Perfect Age of Rock n Roll! You can also go old school and see it in an actual movie theater (Village East Cinema), but either way you’ll be supporting a fine film that’s a favorite of mine and also has connections to New Jersey. For more info and movie theater show times – LIKE it on Facebook! By the way, it’s rated R…for Rock n Roll! (couldn’t resist)
Sweet Fix is performing their infectious brand of pop infused rock tonight at Irving Plaza in NYC at 7:30 PM. They will be giving out FREE copies of their latest single “FM RADIO/Make a Move.” Originally formed in Bergen County, NJ, and now based out of NYC, Sweet Fix’s songs have a fun energy that will make you want to jump around and sing along with their memorable choruses. If their upcoming CD is anywhere near as good as their previously released EP “Sparks in the Dark,” then we’re in for a hell of a treat. Merely listening to their songs doesn’t do them justice, you have to experience their ultra sugarbuzzed live performance. But, if you can’t make tonight’s show, make it a point to check them out on iTunes, Amazon, or CDBaby!
www.SweetFixMusic.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/thesweetfix
Twitter.com/sweetfix
Have you ever been invigorated by a feeling of accomplishment when you get a lot done in a really short amount of time? It’s a feeling that New York City’s ultimate industrial rockers Star Killer are extremely familiar with. Progressing at a breakneck speed, it’s as if the band has taken a quantum leap, except Scott Bakula’s not at the forefront, it’s NJ born lead singer Jasin Cadic, who I spoke to recently upon hearing the news of their upcoming tour. “It’s a combination of luck, talent, and a lifetime of networking and connections all coming together at the right moment” said Cadic. Star Killer will now be moving full throttle into a tour with CombiChrist.
Any band that has formed within the last couple of years would kill to be in Star Killer’s boots right now. And although they are savoring these moments, Cadic mentioned that it isn’t without added stress and responsibilities. For many rock bands, it’s admirable to write a “To Do” list, but sometimes it’s futile. In fact, I can probably tell you that most of them read like this: 1) Rock really hard 2) Get Super famous 3) Get crazy drunk with Lemmy 4) Bang a bunch of groupies. Well, I guess if you’re going to have a to-do list that would be a better jumping off point than some bands start out with. I’ve seen bands come together, fantasize about stardom, practice a lot, but yet never even make it to the stage. In Star Killer’s case, merely their 7th live show will be on a tour in support of CombiChrist, one of the most eminent electro-industrial bands. CombiChrist, who will be promoting their latest work “Throat Full of Glass,” share a similar musical vibe with Star Killer which is credited to the bands roots.
This tour is reminiscent of Han Solo running into Lando on Cloud City as it reunites Cadic with old friend and former band mate Combi’s drummer, Joe Letz. Several years ago Cadic and Letz started their first serious band, Handful of Dust. Cadic told the Sexy Armpit that Letz is still one of his closest friends and that the tour “reunites us in a musical setting which is very full circle and exciting.” (Guitarist Rob Hayder of Star Killer was also in Handful of Dust for a number of years as well) Cadic expressed his appreciation for CombiChrist having Star Killer on the tour: “We are very fortunate and lucky that CombiChrist has given us this amazing opportunity. Combichrist is one of the best industrial bands out there today, bands would kill to be on this tour, and we don’t take that lightly. We plan on giving it all we got on this tour.” After their tour with CombiChrist ends, Star Killer has responded to the demands of their fans by setting up a few more big New York shows.
Their debut EP featuring the single “As The Sky Is Falling,” has been downloaded in the U.S, and around the world. Their first live show was not your average rock gig. Star Killer debuted at the House of Blues in New Orleans on Halloween 2010 at the world’s most badass Halloween party, The Endless Night Vampire Ball. After the overwhelming response from that show generated a positive buzz, packed shows in New York and New Jersey soon followed. From there, it’s like they’ve been accelerating to ludicrous speed with no sign of slowing down. I asked Jasin if they were ready for the rocket ride and he replied, “Myself and Star Killer are ready for whatever the future holds, no matter how big, I say bring it!” Check out the CombiChrist tour with STAR KILLER on Wednesday, May 4th at Irving Plaza in New York City.
Star Killer’s diabolical sounds of cosmic chaos are not only a favorite here at The Sexy Armpit, but they have also been embraced by Brian Basher at Hard Rock Nights Radio, The Metal Mish, as well as other college radio stations around the Tri-State area. Tune in and ask them for more Star Killer!
Can’t stand that you only have 6 songs by Star Killer? Well, you have two options. Head over to their Reverb Nation page right now and check out an exclusive track “Echoes and Amputations,” a track not on their EP. Or you can wait patiently until their follow up CD gets released. Jasin Cadic has confirmed that Star Killer will be returning to the studio this summer. More music from Star Killer is on the way!
I was tipped off to this video package by my FB friend Sil Atda BadaBing and it showcases musicians and singers who hail from New Jersey. The video has been making the rounds on the Internet recently and it was produced by Charles Ricciardi and Steven Gorelick for the NJ Hall of Fame ceremony. The Sexy Armpit goes on record as saying that Hall of Fames are dumb and meaningless. KISS not being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame proves that. Better yet, the fact that Madonna and RUN DMC made it in before KISS is preposterous considering that the first KISS album, which has only gotten better with age, was released in 1974! The NJ Hall of Fame is just another excuse to charge an insane amount of money for a ticket to an event where the elite like to kiss each others asses and the rich stick their noses in the air. F*ck that! Great video on music from the Garden State though. And for all of you New Jersey writers and bloggers, The NJ Hall of Fame treated The Armpit like a 2nd rate citizen a couple of years back, so there is one New Jersey organization that should be tossed out with the rest of our trash. They’ll see, The Sexy Armpit is gonna make like Goldie Wilson and clean up this town!