See Them Friday at Asbury LanesThis Friday, Asbury Lanes hosts a Little Dickman Records Showcase headlined by Brooklyn's Dirty Fences. Also on the bill are Hot Blood, Ba Babes, and The Battery Electric. The Battery Electric get credit for having curated the event, so I checked in with Alex Rosen (bass in The Battery Electric, guitar in Hot Blood) and Brent Övar Bergholm (guitar in The Battery Electric and Hsu-Nami) on how the show came about, what we can all expect on Friday, and the future plans for TBE.
You guys in The Battery Electric put together the show coming up this Friday at Asbury Lanes featuring yourselves, Hot Blood, Ba Babes, and of course, Dirty Fences. How did it all come together? Specifically how did you guys hook up with Brooklyn's Dirty Fences? Can you talk a little bit about what we can expect from them?
Alex: I saw Turbonegro last year when I was filling in on bass for Hsu-Nami. Doug from The Vansaders had told me to go early to check out Dirty Fences. I listened. They were great. I ended up seeing them later at CBGB's Fest (with Richard Bacchus and The Luckiest Girls), and I asked them if they would ever wanna play a show. They said yes and to hit 'em up. So Little Dickman made it happen. I am extremely excited, and I hope people do not miss out on seeing them!
What can we expect from them? They are pretty high-energy. Reminded me a lot of the Ramones when I saw them, but they are their own thing. There will be a lot of leather and denim.
Alex Rosen will be doing double duty on Friday night, playing guitar for Hot Blood and bass for TBE. Do you think he can pull it off?
Alex: I did it on our tour down to SXSW and a handful of times locally. I enjoy playing twice. I will probably end up smelling like hot soup by the end, though...
The Battery Electric and Hot Blood play tons of shows locally. But you also toured to and from SXSW together, and I've seen that you've been extending your reach to places like New York and Philly. Do you think it's important to branch out from your local scene? Is that part of your master plan? How has that been for you?
Brent: I think it's very important for bands to get out there and play to new audiences. Building a community in your hometown is definitely essential, but cutting your teeth in new places is a must. The only way you do that is by getting out there and touring.
Playing New York and Philadelphia is a no-brainer. Especially since they're both at least an hour away from Asbury Park. I think local bands are doing themselves a disservice by not playing these two places. They are cultural epicenters of the East Coast and the world. Plus, New York and Philly are full of some beautiful women. It's always good to go out window shopping every once in a while.
Also, do you think it's important to bring bands from other scenes here? Do a bit of cross-pollinating?
Brent: It's super important to cross-pollinate and swap with bands from other scenes. It makes touring that much easier. It also exposes you to new people and new ways of doing things. Music is a community. If you can extend things outside of your hometown, some great things can happen.
The Battery Electric have been working with Pete Steinkopf again on your follow-up to Weaving Spiders. How does it compare to your debut? When can we expect some new recorded material? Will we get to hear some of the songs live on Friday night?
Brent: This album is completely different and more diverse than Weaving Spiders. We experiment with garage rock, punk, soul, and have that signature Battery Electric sound as well. The one thing that we depart from is the "stomp" feel that was prevalent on our first album. The songs are more complex, better written, and have more attitude. We have grown a lot since we first formed, and it shows in this new album.
We are in the final stages of mixing and mastering the album. We don't even have artwork or a title yet. We will most likely be playing all of the new material when we release the album which will either be in August or September.
We will be playing three new songs off the album this Friday! So be there to check them out!
Finally, what else do you have planned for the near future? Any touring? Any other shows you'd like to bring to the area?
Brent: We plan to release our new album and play lots of shows to promote it. Hopefully put out a new music video as well. We are going to keep on reaching out to bands and get them to NJ. We have friends in Texas called The Phuss that we would like to play with in Asbury Park.
The future is bright as Alex would say.
Doors for Friday night's all-ages show at Asbury Lanes featuring Dirty Fences, The Battery Electric, Hot Blood, and Ba Babes open at 8pm. Get inside for $10.
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