Beach Slang, an Old Schoolhouse, and Asbury Park Brewery

Beach Slang

Weekend Recap

This was a busy weekend for me. I'm feeling pretty spent after shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; but it was one of the most fulfilling runs of shows in a while.

On Friday night, I headed to House of Independents for Beach Slang's return to Asbury Park. It was the kickoff for their "Drunk or Lust" tour; and joining the Philly band on Friday were Chicago's Pet Symmetry, Virginia's Positive No, and Neptune City's Smalltalk.

Smalltalk

There's an earnestness and melodrama to James Alex and Beach Slang that push right up against that line of being over the top. As far as I'm concerned, they hold back just enough to be great. Friday's show was kind of strange and awkward in places -- long, quiet pauses as James tuned his guitar, a false start on "Noisy Heaven," multiple interludes of Santana's "Smooth" and a few seconds of "Give It Away" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. In other words, it was vintage Beach Slang; and it was all ok -- kind of great actually -- because the band were among friends in Asbury Park.

Positive No

Pet Symmetry

Speaking of friends, between the crew at House of Independents, Smalltalk, and the people who came out for the show, it felt like a little Asbury Lanes reunion. I also spent a good bit of time with our friend Scotch LaRock; and, as he pointed out at the end of the night, it's really great how we can pick things up without missing a beat even if we haven't seen each other in months. Not something you can say about everyone in your life

The rest of the bands on Friday's bill added to the evening's good vibes. Smalltalk are a favorite around here and absolutely did not disappoint. I've seen them as both a trio and a four-piece in recent months. Both setups work great, but it's always cool to see them at full strength with Pete Steinkopf on guitar. Positive No are a band that our bud Al Crisafulli has been telling me about for a while now. They brought a refreshing level of enthusiasm to their set of noisy pop. Singer Tracy Wilson gave me and several other people in the audience a seriously heartfelt hug as the band wound down their set. Pet Symmetry brought sludgy and doomy bass riffs, nice guy humor, and guitarist Erik Czaja's dad to the stage as main support for Beach Slang.

Beach Slang

In all, it was a beautifully messy show that had a real Asbury Park feel to it.

The Yankees played the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS (brought to you by Camping World) on Saturday night, but I'd been planning for weeks to head to Metuchen's Old Franklin Schoolhouse to catch Lowlight, Roadside Graves, and The RockNRoll HiFives. It was like a bill built especially for me, and I could follow the game on my phone.

The show was one of the best experiences I've had in a long time. Lowlight and Roadside Graves have deep Metuchen connections, and the town -- young, old, human, pet -- really turned out for them. And Metuchen got to take in a great set from The RockNRoll HiFives as part of the bargain.

Roadside Graves

The whole evening just had a friendly, communal feeling that you don't always get at a rock show. The promoters raised $900 for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Roadside Graves' lead singer, John Gleason, brought his daughter up to sing the chorus of Tom Waits's "Fannin Street." We celebrated the birthdays of Graves' guitarist Jeremy Benson, HiFives' bassist and mom Gloree Centeno, and everyone else born in October (including, in my mind, my brother Jason whose birthday is today) with cake and candles. Everyone got a piece of cake. All of the bands, who I've talked about extensively here, were in top top form. The Yankees lost, and I didn't even care. Much.

Sunday night meant a delicious CoolMom-prepared dinner with family followed by a trip down to Asbury Park brewery for a show put on by Little Dickman Records. Wetbrain, Yawn Mower, carb on carb (from New Zealand!), and BLAHA (the solo project of Mike Blaha of The Blind Shake).

I'm really starting to enjoy nights at the brewery. They've been getting some very interesting shows in there, and the feeling is always pretty laid-back and low-stress. Even though there was nothing particularly laid-back about any of last night's bands, the whole place has an easy feeling, whether you're sitting on a pallet in the tasting room / performance space or hanging out between sets among the tuns or on the deck.

And the music last night was solid. Wetbrain's Rudy Meier and Nick Kaelblein performed cool, stripped down versions of the band's songs. Yawn Mower blew minds in typical fashion. carb on carb had come a long way to play their pop punk songs in a small brewery tasting room a few blocks from the ocean, and they made it count. BLAHA shook the space with their psych / garage / surf.

I headed home, as I said, spent. But I was happy. I truly live for this stuff, you know.

House of Independents was really the only place where I took pictures. Shots of Beach Slang, Pet Symmetry, Positive No, and Smalltalk are in the Flickr galleries.

New Single from RocknRoll Hi-Fives

"El_Sueño"

Our favorite confetti blasting, hard rocking family band, The RocknRoll Hi-Fives, are set to release a new EP called The Beat The Sound The Dragon's Roar. Today, they gave us the first taste of the upcoming Mike Moebius-produced collection in the form of single "El_Sueño." It's a song with which everyone -- of any age -- can identify as it deals with the difficulties of fitting in and feeling in control.

The video is a collection of shots taken by friends and fans (including yours truly). Check it out below and let The RocknRoll Hi-Fives get your weekend off to a rocking start. You can check them out live this Saturday, July 16th, at the annual Lucky 7's Rock n Roll BBQ in Jersey City when they play with several of our friends like Overlake, Dentist, The Battery Electric, Hey Anna, and more.

Rock!

The Rock n Roll Hi Fives, Gold Glitter Shoes, 2015

EP Review

Music -- For me, it's rock and roll; for you, it may be something else. -- is one of those cool things that we humans have invented that joins us together. It's one of those things like art or, for some people, religion that makes you realize you're part of something bigger. You can listen to some bit of music that you love; and the little annoyances of the day -- that uncomfortable meeting at work, traffic, belligerent customers -- all shrink down to their actual size for a few minutes. You're able to see them as the truly meaningless little things they are, if only for a short time. And, in a weird way, by helping us understand the "bigness" of being human beings, music can also help us connect on a smaller level.

That's how I feel when I listen to the Rock n Roll Hi Fives. From the first spaced-out sounds of "Planets" that open Gold Glitter Shoes, the edges of my mouth start to curl upwards. By the time 13 year-old Eilee Centeno is throwing in that little vocal squeak at the end of "It's you-ooo..." or by the time she's shouting "Leaving me dizz-aaaay," I've broken into a full-on smile.

"What was I even worrying about again?" I think to myself as Eilee and Joe Centeno sing about narrowing the hundred-million mile distance between two people down to an actual planetary collision.

The title track opens with some crunchy chords and a catchy little guitar hook from Joe. It's a song about finding and being yourself, Eilee singing, "I'm cruising tonight, on the road to who I am." The song bounces on top of some simple but rocking rhythms provided by 10 year-old drummer Evren Centeno and bassist Gloree Centeno. "Gold glitter shoes, rockin' to your own tunes. Never seen this side of you. Oh, I love this side of you." Ear to ear.

"Livin' the Lost Boy Life" is the EP's hardest rocker, complete with some Joan Jett-style vocal flourishes and a big guitar solo. I can identify when Joe sings, "And I know I don't wanna grow up." I feel like it's coming from the same place as the advice from the band's first EP, "Don't waste your time getting old."

"I Want Something More" uses a high-speed call and response to beg for some real-life human connection instead of the kind that happens over tiny little electronic screens. "Stay Up All Night" captures the feeling of being young and curious to the point of not even being able to sleep. "Miracles" seems to suggest that we stop worrying so much about where we're going and start focusing more on the journey we're taking to get there.

The set closes with a cover of The Go-Gos' "We Got the Beat." Stylistically, with its upbeat pop punk sound, the song fits right in with everything that The Rock n Roll Hi Fives do. And thematically, it's a spot-on description of this family band. I'm sure they go through all the same ups and downs as any family of four, but they connect with each other and with us by sharing music.

You can stream / purchase Gold Glitter Shoes at The Rock n Roll Hi Fives Bandcamp page. Just try not to smile.

The Rock n Roll Hi Fives, Make It Happen, 2014

EP Review

Back in the cooldaughters' pre-school days, I would drive them to and from school and their various activities. Much like now, they controlled the radio in the car. They didn't listen to Top 40 schlock then, but they would never listen to "my music" either. Sirius had a kids station that would play all the top hits from Noggin and Nick Jr. by acts like Laurie Berkner, Dan Zanes, Justin Roberts, Trout Fishing In America, Imagination Movers, Randy Kaplan, Brady Rymer, Recess Monkey, and on and on. This wasn't all bad. I remember liking Randy Kaplan; and, of course, Dan Zanes is totally cool.

The thing that kind of got to me, though, was the subject matter of the songs. They all sounded OK. Some of them even rocked a bit. But as a grown-ass man, you can only take so many songs about dinosaurs, colors, peanut butter and jellly sandwiches, and pop flies. When I received my copy of Make It Happen by New Jersey's Rock n Roll Hi Fives, I was all ready to hear songs about colors and birds and rainbows.

The Rock n Roll Hi Fives, you see, are a family band "in the truest sense of the word." That is, Dad plays guitar; Mom plays bass; 11-year-old daughter sings; and 9-year-old son plays drums. Here's the wrinkle, though. Dad is guitarist Joe Centeno, formerly of Jersey City alt rockers Plug Spark Sanjay, (along with several other bands) a band who looked to be on the way up in the early 2000's -- even recording an album with Steve Albini -- before Joe settled down to family life. Joe bided his time, though. He and wife Gloree (bass) cultivated their own homegrown band. Now, with daughter Eilee on vocals and son Evren on drums, The Rock n Roll Hi Fives give us, not necessarily an EP of Family Music (though the songs are appropriate for all ages), but instead an EP of family music -- as in, an EP by a family that makes music together. And they make some good music.

Opener "Good with the Bad" is our first taste of Eilee's powerful indie punk vocals. She duets with Joe throughout the chorus: "Try to make the good times last. Don't try to fix what's in the past." Good advice, especially when it comes wrapped in a couple of blistering solos from Joe. The rhythm section of Gloree and Evren holds things down nicely.

Stones-esque garage rocker "Come Around" is a standout track. Joe Centeno does his best J Mascis impression for the big finish, as the words "come around..." float around yet another big solo.

Some cowbell ushers in "I'm Not Your Girlfriend." The song's weepy guitar and big chorus give things a 60s girl group feel. The lyrics, too: "I can't talk now. I'm late for biology."

Closer and title track "Make It Happen" makes for a great finale. Eilee sings, "I will not let up. I will make it, make it happen. I will be the one to dream" as the rest of the band let loose with a fireworks display of big chords and crashing drums.

Make It Happen is not just a record for kids. It is a really good indie pop record that draws on influences from the 1960s to classic indie/alt rock like Weezer, Pavement, and Guided By Voices. The songs all feature the positive message generally associated with Family Music, but they don't deal in kids-only subject matter. There are some messages, in fact, that everyone should take to heart. Like when Eilee sings on "Good with the Bad," "Don't waste your time getting old. Enjoy the show." The Rock n Roll Hi Fives lead by example.

I'm slipping this onto CoolDaughter #1's iPod and hoping for the best.

You can stream / buy Make It Happen over at The Rock n Roll Hi Fives Bandcamp page.