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| Deaf Rhino at Deal Casino's Nika release show at Asbury Lanes. |
Third Annual Mega Party
For the third year in a row, Glen Rock alt rockers Deaf Rhino have curated a "Holiday Mega Party." This year's event takes place at Maxwell's Tavern in Hoboken on Saturday, December 19th. Joining Deaf Rhino on the bill will be Wyland, Bounders, and Boston's Annabel Lee.
A portion of the proceeds from Saturday's show will go to Stop 22, a campaign designed to draw awareness to the fact that an estimated 22 of our military veterans commit suicide each day. The campaign reminds our veteran service men and women that they are not forgotten. It's run by K9s for Warriors, an organization that provides service dogs at no charge to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma.
Deaf Rhino vocalist / guitarist, Adam Schlett, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about the show, the North Jersey music scene, and how the band decided on this year's charity.
Maxwell's Tavern has become kind of a home base for you guys. You've held a couple of sold-out shows there already this year and had a weekly residency. Do you feel like that corner in Hoboken is becoming an important part of the New Jersey music scene again?
I feel like the NoJo scene as a whole is looking for an identity, musically and geographically. What I know personally is that the new owners of Maxwell's along with the staff (Sup Dave!) are really keen on being great to the bands that play there. The word is still getting out there that Maxwell's is "back" and hosting live music. They have re-done the sound set up like 3x since the summer along with the layout and art in the back for the bands and fans that go there. They struggled in the shadows of Maxwell's past along with the sentiments from the folks who used to enjoy shows there when they originally re-opened.
I can't speak to much of that because I was just becoming an adult as the old club closed, what I can say is there is a real genuine investment of love and being good to Hoboken and the NJ music scene. They really have done everything to help Deaf Rhino and our peers make Maxwell's our home base.
Can you give us a little report on the state of the Hudson County / North Jersey music scene from your perspective?
I know Jersey City has a lot going on with new clubs and DIY spaces. When we saw Maxwell's was back, we made a point to get in front of the owners and bookers so that we can help do our part in creating real identity for North Jersey. We know bands we dig as pretty much all of our non-headline gigs in NJ are down in your wonderful neck of the woods.
You've played a fair amount down here in Asbury Park. Is there a difference compared to playing closer to home or is New Jersey just one big home for you?
NJ musicians are incredibly lucky to live where we do. A few hours either way from NYC, Boston, DC, Philly or Baltimore. We do a lot of weekend warrior runs, so the one hour trek to Asbury is a breeze. Folks like Christine Feola at Dark City and bands like Deal Casino, The Battery Electric and Bounders have been really cool in getting DR into Asbury a lot in 2015. At this point were starting to feel connected to AP much more than we did at the start of 2015.
This is your third Holiday Mega Party and you're bringing together bands from North Jersey, South/Central Jersey, and Boston. Is it one of your goals to expose those different scenes to one another?
We book our own shows, and we promote hard. The last thing I want to do is to tell my friends to come to a show and then have a band that isn't good playing. I love being inspired by my peers, and I love getting to expose talent to my small network. The show swaps are a great way to get new bands onto a stage with an audience and with no draw pressure. We guarantee gas and food money even if they don't sell tickets. We do ask that the bands return the favor, so we get the chance to play in front of new people and in new places. It works out for everyone: the fans, the bands, the venue and Deaf Rhino... It takes a village
You've also picked a pretty important charity to receive some of the proceeds from the show, Stop 22. Can you talk a little about what they do and how you ended up choosing them?
Absolutely. We have a fantastic group of friends that are all veterans of either the Army or the Marines. We met most of them while opening for He Is Legend at the Studio at Webster Hall. We hung out, had some smokes and drinks during the show, and became friends. They are all big music fans and have supported us ever since by coming to shows and telling people about our band.
We asked them where the money should go and without hesitation they pushed back Stop 22. We love our country. We love our service members, and we love dogs. Helping vets get retired service dogs as a means to tackle PTSD, TBI and MST is a fantastic cause on multiple levels. We don't have the means to make a big impact on our own, but the collective Deaf Rhino community does. These mega parties are a great catalyst for our communal philanthropy.
Do you have any other shows planned for the rest of 2015? What does 2016 look like for you?
We open for Thank You Scientist! At Mexicali Live on December 30th which should be interesting. We have new music, a crazy busy schedule through March and an entire East Coast tour mapped for April. You haven't seen the last of us, Cooldad... Not by a long shot.
Enjoy the holidays, and have a great show.
Deaf Rhino, Wyland, Bounders, and Annabel Lee play Maxwell's Tavern in Hoboken this Saturday, 12/19, at 8pm.
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