Local Artist/Artist Spotlight

So it’s a double wammy with a local artist and an artist spotlight of whose an awesome local band and starting to make a name for themselves, or just some band I really fucking love.  When you talk about a band who almost didn’t make it, this band really almost didn’t make it and this effort was each members last effort as musicians to try and make it into the scene.  The band is called The Gaslight Anthem and they hail from New Brunswick, NJ, the so called music scene of New Jersey nowadays.  They had all been in different groups through out their young lives and had all connected with each other through mutual friends, previous bands and even brother in laws through marriage.  Most of the music they were playing was heavy punk or some version of hardcore but lead singer Brian Fallon had always had a heart for Blues and Rock n’ Roll music and wanted to emphasize that into this new and last ditch effort.

The band was signed by XOXO Records and quickly put together what would be their first release entitled Sink Or Swim.  The album had a strong punk vibe similar to the Bouncing Souls but with the strong bluesy singing from Fallon that often gets compared to Bruce Springsteen (one of his inspirations).  The album has some strong tracks in “Boomboxes And Dictionaries”, the fan favorite “We Came Dance”, “1930″ and the album closer “Red At Night”.  The album received some good reviews from various critics and the band kept on rolling through a lengthy tour schedule that really put a toll on the band.  Apparantly Fallon started having panic attacks on tour and wanted to end it but the record label convinced him to fight through it and told him he would be happy he did in the end.  Coming back exhausted and tired the band had to put together an EP for their new label Side One Dummy to keep themselves in the market as a band and to produce something quickly for them.  The EP was called The Senor And The Queen and has one of my favorite Gaslight songs in it called “Blue Jeans And White T-Shirts” which makes a great reference to Asbury Park’s street Cookman Ave.  But at this point the band wasn’t sure if they were gonna make it again, considering they didn’t have that big of a fan base still and the record label was breathing down their necks.  After the Senor And The Queen EP came out they toured briefly but immediately went to work on their follow up album which would ultimately lead the band to where they are today.

Probably one of my favorite albums of 2008 was their follow up to “Sink” called The ’59 Sound which takes the blood and sweat of punk and ties it together with Blues and 50′s Rock n’ Roll.  The album to me is absolutely flawless and every single track could be a single in my mind and even though they haven’t had “MTV success” yet (Thank God) the album was well received by all critics and produced 3 singles for the band.  The album opener “Great Expectations” is the third single produced from the album which makes references to the book is a great kick off to the now polished sound of the band.  The song leads right into the first single and title track “The ’59 Sound”  a fan favorite and radio friendly hit that is frequently played on alternative stations around the country.  And I have to mention the third track and my favorite Gaslight song by far called “Old White Lincoln” that has such a feel good rythem throughout the song that gets you signing  “You wear your high top sneakers and your sailor tattoo’s…” everytime.  I could go on all day naming every song and describing it through and through but I don’t want to make this redundant.  The album is amazing and if you like rock music at all this band is really for anybody because it’s a mix of genre’s from all different era’s and it’s hard to find 60 year olds who like the same music as their younger kids. 

The reference I’m making about 60 year old’s liking the same music as their kid’s I’m talking about Bruce Springsteen who apparantly came up to Brian Fallon after a festival and told him his son’s introduced their music to him and he was blown away by them and wanted them to come support him for some shows.  According to Alternative Press magazine’s interview with the band they were all shell shocked by the news and couldn’t believe they had finally made it.  Since then according to NME they have opened for Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Springsteen and even had Bruce come on and sing “The ’59 Sound” at the Glastonbury Festival in England, as long as Fallon would help sing “No Surrender” for Bruce and the E Street Band.  After these appearances as performance’s the band’s album sales had gone up 200% and has lead to a huge nod at the Jersey Shore scene.  Now the band is taking time off and probably writing music for a new album and hopefully a solo debut from Brian Fallon who has been making some random appearances around the Jersey Shore for his acoustic shows, who he has been seen performing multiple Springsteen and Tom Waits songs along with his own.  I highly suggest this band to anyone and really hope you enjoy them as much as I do and to take pride that we have a new band blowing up the stage in the Jersey Shore.