gary wein has to be the worst writer in the history of asbury
park...he trashes days awake, and he assumes what bruce's thought are
on why he didnt show on saturday night...where did this guy come from
anyway? he should be run out of town!!!
(ASBURY PARK, DECEMBER 9, 2006) -- They were the pioneers. The first
musicians to play rock and roll live in clubs, dance halls and
shopping malls around the Jersey Shore area. It was through their
blending of rock, blues, RB, doo-wop and soul that the sound, which
would become known as The Sounds Of Asbury Park (S.O.A.P.), was
created. On December 9th, many of the creators returned to Asbury
Park for a very special performance at the Stone Pony. It was a
fitting tribute to a lot of artists whose place in history was
somewhat overshadowed and overlooked due to the success of Bruce
Springsteen.
The tribute began at noon when a monument listing the names of 35
artists and people who played major roles in creating the Asbury Park
sound was dedicated. There is space on the plaque for a few more
names and people are already debating about who might be added. The
plaque is to be replaced anyway since it contains a misspelling of
Southside Johnny Lyon's name! Unfortunately the error was noticed
after the plaque had been created.
A crowd of people and media from around the country came to the
monument's dedication and got the chance to hear and meet several of
the artists at the monument unveiling. While the monument will
forever stand on the boardwalk next to Convention Hall, the show
promised to be a once in a lifetime event and it certainly delivered.
The evening began with a blues set by Billy Ryan to warm things up as
the crowd began to gather. From there it was full speed ahead with an
all-star lineup of musicians crammed on stage doing their takes on
classic hits from the 50, 60s and 70s. The lineup contained such
artists as Vini Mad Dog Lopez (the original drummer for the E
Street Band), Garry Tallent (bass player for the E Street Band),
Popeye (original Asbury Juke), Billy Ryan, Nicky Addeo, Doc Holiday,
Lisa Lowell, Norman Seldin, and Patsy Siciliano. Special guests
included artists like Craig Krampf (Drummer for Journey writer of
Steve Perry's hit Oh Sherri and Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes) and
Caron Patrice. Behind the artists where the Stone Pony logo resides
was a photograph of Johnny Shaw, the founder of the Jaywalkers who
passed away earlier this year. The night was largely dedicated to him
as most of the musicians were not only friends with Shaw, but former
bandmates as well.
With the cast on stage, the creators launched into Feeling Alright.
Seasoned professionals, the band was tight, singing was dead on, and
the musicians all appeared to be having fun on stage. This was like a
rock and roll high school reunion of folks who grew up together in
bands and on the same stages but hadn't been together for decades.
You could just tell it was going to be a magical night at the Stone
Pony.
One of the highlights of the night came when David Sancious (one of
the creators) made a special appearance on keyboards
during Expressway To Your Heart. As they got ready for the song,
Doc Holiday said, It's in the key of C David, that's all I have to
tell you and you're good to go! Doc was right. Sancious' keyboard
came alive during a solo in the song and it was very cool to see Eric
Safka (the keyboardist for Days Awake) watching the master from just
outside the stage with a huge grin on his face. Now that's what the
night was all about!
Other highlights from the all-star lineup included Nicky Addeo
showcasing his wonderful voice during Gloria, Lisa Lowell tackling
Aretha Franklin on Rescue Me, a blistering version of Chuck
Berry's Johnny B. Good led by Vini Mad Dog Lopez on lead vocals,
and Listen To The Music by the Doobie Brothers with Doc Holiday on
lead vocals.
A very special tribute to the artists that could not be at the show
from the west side of town (the soul side as they put it) took
place during a take on Georgie Fame's Sitting In The Park. As names
of several artists were read Nicky Addeo changed the lyrics and
softly sang Sitting in Asbury Park, waiting for you.
Later in the evening Steel Mill Retro led by Vini Mad Dog Lopez
played a set of songs Bruce Springsteen wrote in the late 1960s. This
was the period of time when Springsteen was writing music in the hard
rock / Led Zeppelin / guitar-based frame. The band also included Bill
Kacerek on keyboards, Bernie Brausewetter on guitar, and Ed Piersanti
on bass.
People always say Bruce doesn't do instrumentals, said Lopez. But
it's not true. The band then kicked off their set with Sherlock Go
Holme - an instrumental that featured solos by Brusewetter and
Kacerek to provide the tone of the set.
After the instrumental, Steel Mill played Cowboys Of The Sea which
was one of the treats of the evening for me as I had known about the
song but
