Tag Archives: music

Ladies First!

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 (Emily Grove with David Ford singing her favorite Dylan song, “Oh Sister” at The Saint)

Monmouth County, though still in “recovery mode” after Super Storm Sandy,  is lucky enough to have three emerging major talents (also of the female persuasion) to make it feel like “home” again.  And while  there may be more than that, I’ve narrowed it down to just three for the purposes of this article!  That’s no small task, believe you me, but in this case it wasn’t so difficult after all;  let’s take a look at Emily Grove, Tara Elliot, & Eryn Shewell.  Chances are you’ve heard these names before –but until you’ve heard their music you’re missing more than half of the picture!  And while they all perform in and around Asbury Park here in Monmouth,  their successes take them beyond our County, beyond New Jersey, and dare I say even further!  All three of these women are headed for international stardom and deservedly so…

 

Emily Grove

Emily Grove has just finished recording a new album and a European tour through Scotland, England & Ireland in support of it.  This is especially big news since she toured with David Ford, who’s getting a lot of attention across the pond.  Even bigger news is that internationally acclaimed producer, Jason Rubal, of Seventh Wave Studios who has become famous for making some of the “most edgy and unique records” has produced her lastest work!  While Ms. Grove may site artists such as Dolores Riordan (Cranberries) and Alanis Morrisette as influences, she’s been compared stylistically in respected music magazines like The Aquarian to legends like Carly Simon, Carole King and John Prine.  When I see pictures of her in her preferred authentic Victorian garb all I can think of is Rasputina!  She performs regularly with Glen Burtnik, an international artist who made his mark playing with Styx most notably, perhaps.  Ms. Grove has won a handful of local music awards including Asbury Music Awards as well as Jersey Acoustic Music Awards.

Tara Elliot

Fellow Top Female Vocalist Asbury Music Award winner, Tara Elliot has been called “The Bastard Child of Janis Joplin and the Stooges” by Thomaxe of New York Waste Newspaper.  If that’s a lot to live up to, Ms. Elliot certainly delivers through her live shows.  Show up and you might get to see Emily Grove painted completely in gold paint while Elliot rips into “Goldfinger” –a song immortalized by Shirley Bassey in a 1964 James Bond film.  Or maybe you’ll catch a rendition of “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” by the likes of Mr. Entertainment himself, Tony Clifton!  Tara Elliott and her band, The Red Velvets, is a bluesy-punk power trio driven by Tara’s red-hot vocals.  Their sound is said to reflect iconic influences by artists like: Muddy Waters, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, The Velvet Underground, & The White Stripes as well as Iggy Pop & the Stooges.  Tara has also been invited to join Glen Burtnick on stage for his Summer of Love concert at the Count Basie Theater which is where she first worked with Emily Grove.  Chris Rotolo, Editor in Chief of Speak into My Good Eye, wrote: “ I’ve said it before and will continue to stress that Tara Elliott and company is in the top tier of Rock N’ Roll acts to call the Jersey Shore Its home.”  Tara is in negotiations now with management that’s worked with some of the biggest names in rock ‘n roll.  You can catch Tara Elliot and The Red Velvets at The Crossroads in Garwood, NJ on May 2nd or May 9th when you’ll be able to win a G & L Tribute Series ASAT Guitar! To see more of what Tara’s up to, click here to get the latest. 

 

Eryn Shewell

Eryn Shewell has been nominated for Asbury Music Awards since she hit the scene in 2007 and was took home Top Female Vocalist in 2009.  She did it again in 2011 and her band won Top Blues Band that same year!  This year she signed with Blue Raven Entertainment and is working on her third album, the self-titled, “Eryn Shewell” with her new band The Whiskey Devils.  Known as the Jewel of New Jersey, it has been said that Eryn’s incredible vocals have the capability to give even the most hardened critic chills.  Eryn sang with the country band Sundance for 10 years, landing the gig at the tender age of 13.  She sang back up with Jody Joseph and the Average Joes and spent several months with national touring outfit, “Soul Project” and Walter “Wolfman” Washington down in New Orleans.  You can catch her debuting her new album and band at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park on Sunday, June 2.  The fun begins at 6pm and also features performances by Alice Leon, Jeffrey Gaines and Sandy Mack.  For ticket’s to Eryn’s upcoming band and record debut, click here for tickets:  erynshewell.com/tickets. 

Things are warming up here in Monmouth County and down on the shore where much love and support is needed.  They’re will be plenty of opportunities to rebuild, help out, do the right thing.  They’re will also be times when you’ll want to kick back and take advantage of some of the local beauty that we enjoy here…  Make sure to take some time to get to know some of these beauties as well:  Emily Grove, Tara Elliot, and Eryn Shewell.  They’re all very different artists with a few common elements:  they’re Monmouth gals, they’re incredibly gifted, and they’re going places!

 

Carl Chesna
carlchesna.com

photo credit: Thomas Hawk via photopin cc

Baby it’s cold outside!

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The Inkwell Coffee House

Coffee: it’s not just for breakfast anymore!  The coffee craze has been in and out of vogue throughout history.  It’s a cultural phenomenon with its own rituals and plenty of noteworthy references –from the coffee klatch to the coffee break and even some great songs like, “Black Coffee” made famous by singers like Sarah Vaughan & Ella Fitzgerald. 

I remember TV commercials for Sanka –which is all my aunt Sarah ever drank (bringing her own Sweet & Low packets she’s absconded from the local Howard Johnson’s) at all my mother’s Tupperware parties.  And I remember the old adage, “fill it to the rim, with Brim” after the dangers of caffeine hit the presses.  But we’ve come a long way since Chock Full O’ Nuts and Ricardo Montalban.  If it was the 80’s that set us up for the serve, then the 90’s were the grand slam of Arabica proportions! 

A beautifiul macciato at Cafe Volan, Asbury Park

Just before the turn of the century into the new millennium, Starbucks would set up shop on virtually every street corner in NYC (there were 3 of them in Cooper Square) and in every shopping mall from coast to coast.  Eventually even McDonalds would attempt to get their market share.  But there’s more to coffee than big business; there’s an underlying subculture surrounding this bean juice that endures even to this day.  You can feel the vibe at hipster coffee joints like Café Volan in Asbury Park, but the real deal can be found in Long Branch at the Inkwell Coffee House –one of the few coffee houses to remain intact and true to form.  The Inkwell does, as one might assume, serve a wide variety of specialty coffees and teas, including their signature (and decadent) Dutch Coffee, brewed with butter, cream and sugar then topped with whipped cream.  But just as important as their fair trade wares is the fact that they provide weekly live entertainment and open mic nights –which is what makes a coffee house a “coffeehouse” to begin with. 

The Inkwell as been around since the 70’s, when coffee houses were all the rage amongst teens and beatniks who would read their poetry & sing folk tunes to kindred spirits in the night.  That’s another important aspect of a true coffee house –they don’t cater to commuters and Wall Street crime lords.  It’s not the 5 am – 2 pm crowd they’re targeting.   Inkwell wakes from its slumber and opens its doors around 6 or 7 in the evening most days and stays open until around 2 or 3 am!  Here you’ll find university students, night owls, artists, poets, and musicians –savoring inexpensive snacks and enjoying delicious refreshments while enjoying local talent.  It’s as relevant to the Monmouth County music scene’s cultural heritage just as much as the Count Basie Theatre & Stone Pony would be considered.  If you haven’t checked it out –there are plenty of cold winter nights left to go grab a mug of Dutch Coffee heaven!  The Inkwell is located at 665 2nd Ave in Long Branch.  Winter hours are as follows: Mondays through Fridays from 7 pm until 3 am, Saturdays from 6:30 pm – 4 am, and Sundays from  6:30 pm – 2:30 am.

 

K.D. Lang perfoms Black Coffee.

Also – check out some of the links in the first paragraph especially – some great campy vintage stuff in there!

Carl Chesna
Monmouth Arts Music Blogger 

Soaring Vocals Lift the Spirit

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The Monmouth Civic Chorus

When thinking about writing a blog for the arts in Monmouth County and trying to spin the focus on the music scene –the directions which one could turn are seemingly endless. But with the Holidays approaching it seems only natural and right to go for a more “traditional” approach.

Choral music finds its origins in traditional music and has been around since the 2nd century BC! During the Renaissance, sacred choral music was the principle type of formally notated music in Western Europe and perhaps the most notable in all of history is Handel’s “Messiah.” The Monmouth Civic Chorus has its own rich history and has been bringing outstanding music to audiences around the globe since 1949. They’ve performed in venues from Carnegie Hall to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and many impressive spots between, and are considered “among the very best in the entire Northeast” (Asbury Park Press) and were the 2008 winner of the Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award which is given to only one chorus in North America per year.

This year the chorus appointed a new Artistic Director, Dr. Ryan Brandau who received his B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Musical Arts degrees from the Yale School of Music (not too shabby, eh?). This year the series features, you guessed it: Handel’s “Messiah” at the Count Basie in Red Bank, Sunday December 2nd at 4 pm. Tickets range from $5 to $45, and subscriptions are available as well as group rates.

Like to sing? Experienced singers are invited to audition for the award-winning Monmouth Civic Chorus by appointment, and are encouraged to attend a rehearsal at the Red Bank Charter School (where auditions are also held). And there’s more after the Holidays too! The Chorus will return to the Count Basie Theater in March honoring the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic speech and the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with, “I Have a Dream.” The music will range from African-American spirituals and Civil War songs to a choral arrangement of Irish rockers U2’s tribute: MLK. The season closes in May with Durufle’s “Requiem.”

For more information you can visit www.monmouthcivicchorus.org or call 732-933-9333. Be sure to get your tickets well in advance (I already have mine).

 

Carl Chesna
Monmouth Arts Music Blogger 

The City Where Music Lives

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Monmouth County’s phoenix-like Asbury Park has been branded as the City “where music lives” thanks to a vigilant marketing campaign championed by City Manager Terry Reidy. Any mention of this city by the sea conjures up arich musical history with venues like

The Stone Pony

 The Paramount Theater, Convention Hall and in more recent years The Stone Pony and The Saint. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to entertainment in what was once known the “Queen City.” There are new places to discover popping up all the time.

 

The Wonder Bar

Chico’s House of Jazz, The Wonder Bar, McCloone’s Supper Club, and The Press Room are a few of them that have hit the scene over the last decade; and then you have music in many of the amazing restaurants to be discovered in Asbury Park as well.
 

Marilyn Schlossbach’s culinary empire has its own music division, “Kitschens Entertainment,” which is run by hot-sauce guru Pete Mantas who books killer bands on the boardwalk at Langosta Lounge as well as downtown at Trinity & The Pope. Other places you can catch some great shows are Holdfast Records (click on their link to check out some shows) the on Cookman Avenue above Russo Music, Georgie’s Bar on Fifth Avenue, Johnny Mac’s on Main and Ivan & Andy’s downtown. And there are others –basically any given night of the week, all year round, there’s something going down! If Priscilla is more your speed, Cee ‘Mour Cox’s “Drag Wars” is happening on the down low every Monday night at La Sierra on Main Street. Yes, there’s truly something for everyone…

For more on that note, check out the trailer below for documentary, “Asbury Park Musical Memories” by local film producer Susan Pellegrini.

 

 

 

Carl Chesna
Monmouth Arts Music Blogger