The RockNRoll Hi-Fives Japan Tour, Night 1 at Nega-Posi w/ N-16, Fight Club, and キーマカリーズとチチワシネマ

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

Live & Sake

On Saturday night in Kyoto, The RockNRoll Hi-Fives -- America's finest family rock and roll band -- began their string of shows in Japan. The band were kind enough to invite me along to help document their adventure; and, after two days of starting to get acclimated to a new time zone and a new culture, we were all ready to begin the musical part of the tour. Custard Core, a Japanese indie label and music promoter, organized the entire tour; and they put together a show on Saturday that was an explosive kick-off.

Custard Core's Maki Morita has been a wonderful host and guide during our stay, and we met her at the train station for our trip to Kyoto. The venue, Nega-Posi, is a beautiful space on a quiet street in Kyoto. Their slogan is "Live & Sake," and the bar is adorned with a wide selection of sakes and beers artfully arranged among paper lanterns and other items. The RockNRoll Hi-Fives did their sound check, and then we all headed out for a pre-show coffee.

Maki of Custard Core

Shows seem to start quite a bit earlier here than they do back home with the first band hitting at around seven and things being wrapped up just after 10. It's pretty nice, I gotta say. On Saturday, the first band was キーマカリーズとチチワシネマ, which translates to Keema Curries to Chichiwa Cinema (Maybe? That's what I was told.). The bass player came out in a kewpie doll mask, and the lead singer wore an umbrella hat. Then they proceeded to blow the room away with a short set of amped-up punk.

キーマカリーズとチチワシネマ

Fight Club followed them with some loud and fast hardcore-with-a-sense-of-humor. The lead singer and guitarist hoisted one of the cinder blocks from which the stage was built over his head, ripped his shirt off, and gave the sweat-soaked garment to Joe of The RockNRoll Hi-Fives. It was great.

Fight Club

Things took a more melodic turn during N-16's set. Their sound was somewhere between garage rock and poppier punk. The bass player's husband was filling in on guitar, so the couple had no sitter for the evening. That meant that the whole family was in attendance; and, a couple of times, young children made their way onto the stage. Made perfect sense for a night headlined by a family band.

N-16

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives closed things out with a set that was split between new songs and songs from the back catalog with a couple of covers thrown into the mix. Custard Core, in conjunction with Little Dickman Records, have released a Japan-only RockNRoll Hi-Fives compilation; and the label did a great job getting the word out. There were people in the crowd wildly singing along with songs like "(You Got Me) Tongue Tied" and "El Sueño."

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

There are no confetti cannons on this trip, but that didn't dampen the party. Eilee was in hair-tossing overdrive. Joe pogo-solo'd. Gloree egged the crowd on during "We Got the Beat" between bass parts. Evren went at the drums as hard as I've seen him go. I think the first-show adrenaline rush combined with the energy of the other bands on the bill motivated The RockNRoll Hi-Fives to go all out.

As for me, I did my best to get some shots that captured the energy and good vibes of the evening. I loved catching -- and really enjoying -- three bands to whom I was coming absolutely "cold," having never heard a single thing from any of them before last night.

We said our goodbyes and made our way back to Osaka (with Maki's help), grabbed some yakitori on the way back to our apartment, and tried to get some rest for doing it all again today. Then we did it all again today, but that's a story for another time.

Stay tuned.

New Video from The RockNRoll HiFives

"Glass Towns"

The RockNRoll HiFives are preparing to head out on their 2017 summer tourcation; and, just in time, they've given us the video for The Beat, The Sound, The Dragon's Roar single "Glass Towns."

The clip gives us a glimpse into the family band's life on the road, which includes rocking out and just, generally, having a great time. They'll be bringing their message of love and positivity throughout the Southeast in the coming weeks; and, if you're anywhere near one of their tour stops, you need to make it a point to go out and rock with them.

Check out the video and smile for the next 3+ minutes.



And don't forget to watch my recent interview with the band and give them a like on Facebook. They'll post a trivia question from the interview on their Facebook page while they're out on tour, and some eagle-eyed viewer will win free tickets to see The RockNRoll HiFives open for Austin's A Giant Dog on September 8th at Jersey City's Monty Hall.

The RockNRoll HiFives on tour:

August 19th -- Reggies, Wilmington, NC
August 20th -- Heyday Guitars, Winston-Salem, NC
August 25th -- Skippers Smokehouse, Tampa, FL
August 27th -- Whiskey Park, Naples, FL
August 31st -- Lunchbox Records - Charlotte, NC
Sept 2nd -- Asbury Park Yacht Club, Asbury Park, NJ
Sept 8th -- Monty Hall,  Jersey City, NJ

Thanks for a Great Weekend!

Natalie Newbold of dollys

Five More Years

Saturday night was truly amazing. The RocknRoll Hi-Fives, Smalltalk, Shellshag, and dollys constituted pretty much a dream line-up for me; and they all turned in great sets. As usual, it was fun to hang and talk to everyone. I think we even fostered a new best-band-friends relationship between The RocknRoll Hi-Fives and Shellshag.

The RocknRoll Hi-Fives

Smalltalk

People onstage and off said some really inspiring and validating things to me throughout the night. That had me tearing up a few times, and it also strengthened my resolve to keep going and to try and make CoolDad Music the best it can be -- whatever that is.

Shellshag

dollys

Thank you to everyone who helped put the show together: the bands, Angie, MJ, Jenn, The Asbury Lanes Family, and everyone else behind the scenes. Thank you to everyone who showed up to the show; and, even if you couldn't make it, thank you for five-years' worth of support. Thank you, of course, to CoolMom for putting up with CoolDadMusic and for putting up with my increasing stress levels as the day got closer. Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out about the show including YouDontKnowJersey.com, Makin Waves, BlowupRadio.com, Babez In Boyland, Speak Into My Good Eye, Mike, and any other outlet or individual who shared out the info. And thank you to anyone I forgot to mention.

I was pretty much dead for most of Sunday, but there was no resting. Little Dickman Records and I had our re-scheduled date with Kino Kimino at The Saint. It was TARRAlicious as Tarra Thiessen played with Kino Kimino, Ex-Girlfriends, and Sharkmuffin for what must have been her 298th, 299th, and 300th shows in the last two or three months. EVL MOMMZ made their Asbury debut. Lunch Ladies closed things out. Tarra got two cakes in honor of her 27th birthday, which is today.

EVL MOMMZ

Ex-Girlfriends

That one also had a nice turnout, especially considering it was Sunday night; and it was fun to introduce Kino Kimino and Asbury Park to each other while watching Sharkmuffin and Ex-Girlfriends let loose on the last night of their long tour.

Kino Kimino

Sharkmuffin

Lunch Ladies

I'm going to take it easy today. Edit some pictures. Maybe put up a guest post. I'll be back after it post-SXSW / post-Anniversary in the next day or two. Stay tuned. I'm in the process of putting pics up into the Flickr galleries, so check there for everything.

And, as always, thank you for giving me any of your precious time.

CoolDad Music's 5th Anniversary Party with Shellshag, dollys, Smalltalk, and The RockNRoll Hi-Fives, March 25th, 2017, at The Overlook

Poster by Natalie Newbold

Happy Anniversary To Us

This past weekend, we officially announced our 5th anniversary party. It takes place on March 25th, 2017, at The Overlook in Asbury Park's Convention Hall. Playing for us are Shellshag, dollys, Smalltalk, and The RockNRoll Hi-Fives; and the whole celebration is a joint production between CoolDad Music and The Asbury Lanes Family. I haven't been this excited about something in a long time, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

5th Anniversary Design by Alex Rosen

On March 4th, 2012, I headed over to The Stone Pony with three other cooldads. We saw Titus Andronicus, Screaming Females, and Diarrhea Planet on that Sunday night. The next morning, I got up and wrote my first-ever post for this site. The first four words ever written on CoolDadMusic.com were "I love Asbury Park."

At the time, I was writing as someone who had grown up in the area and pretty much knew Asbury Park for its beach and its boardwalk. I'd definitely seen my share of shows at The Stone Pony or The Fast Lane over the years; but, until 2012, I hadn't really immersed myself in the Asbury Park music scene. I had, after all, spent a good chunk of my "prime show-going years" living in places like New York City, Hoboken, and Seattle. Now -- after five years of some pretty heavy immersion -- I can say that those first words I wrote at CoolDad Music are as true today as they were back then.

That's why I'm so happy to be able to throw this party in Asbury Park with the people who made Asbury Lanes one of my personal sanctuaries. Jenn Hampton and the staff at that venue welcomed me with open arms for around four years; and they made me -- a newcomer -- feel like a member of the family. It's not an exaggeration to say that there is no CoolDad Music without Asbury Lanes, and I hope that we're able to transfer some of the vibe that existed inside those four walls to our show on March 25th. I'm confident we can do it as the feeling there was never as much about the building as it was about the people inside.

Each of the bands playing the show (like countless others in our fertile Tri-State Area) continue to inspire me here at the site. If you do a search here (or over at Speak Into My Good Eye where I wrote for a time), you'll see their names pop up often. dollys so expertly craft classic pop music that it's almost easy to miss the meticulous attention to detail that goes into every one of their songs. They're also as dedicated to a DIY ethic as they are to making great music. From Smalltalk's earliest efforts, I've been a fan of their romantic and jangly "Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore." Their sound takes me back to a time when I was just discovering that there was music beyond the Classic Rock I listened to into my teens. The RockNRoll Hi-Fives have become great friends of mine, and it's appropriate that it happened through music. Dad Joe, Mom Gloree, and Kids Eilee and Evren play exuberant rock that shows how music can connect people; and they inspire me to be a better dad. Finally, Shellshag should be an example to us all. For over twenty years, the duo of John "Shellhead" Driver and Jennifer Shagawat have done what they've wanted to do exactly how they've wanted to do it; and that's kind of what we're all about here.

So, I hope you'll come help us celebrate at The Overlook on March 25th. Everything starts at 7:30. The price is $10, and anyone 18 and over can join us.

You can get tickets in advance at this link right here.

Premiere: New Video from The RockNRoll HiFives

"(You Got Me) Tongue Tied"

Sometimes you just wanna get in some quality time with the family. For The RockNRoll HiFives, that often means heading down to the basement to rock out. In the video for "(You Got Me) Tongue Tied," a standout track from their The Beat The Sound The Dragon's Roar, that's exactly what the band try to do. They've even invited Cousin Flip over to play on the theremin.

But our modern lives are filled with so many interruptions. You know, like the door-to-door vacuum cleaner or encyclopedia salespeople. Stuff like that can make focusing on those close to you that much more difficult. It takes a strong family to be able to cut through all the noise and start making some noise of their own.

Watch the world premiere of "(You Got Me) Tongue Tied" to see if The RockNRoll HiFives ever get to play. Does Cousin Flip finally show? Does the confetti fly?

The RockNRoll HiFives will be playing this Saturday, 2/25, at Ringside Pub in Caldwell, NJ with The Milwaukees and Adam Streicher and The Hellship Mutiny.

The Beat The Sound The Dragon's Roar is out now on Little Dickman Records.

The RocknRoll Hi-Fives, the Beat the Sound the Dragon's Roar, 2016

EP Review

CoolMom and I went to see Louis C.K. last night. The guy is an evil genius. There's so much in his comedy that makes me uncomfortable. There's the discomfort I feel sometimes about his jokes on race and sexuality, where I question whether they're some subversive way to get his mostly white and straight audience to look at these issues or whether they're just in poor taste. I'm not sure if he knows or even cares. Then there's the discomfort I feel at his spot-on characterizations of some of the things that go on in my average, suburban, father-of-two-daughters brain. You can watch his comedy specials or live shows if you want to know the details of what I'm talking about, but let's just say I laughed and squirmed and woke up this morning a little unsure of myself after what I'd heard. Louis C.K. is a brilliantly dark artist, and his comedy can stab you in the gut like a knife.

But his isn't the only perspective on the world. There are things out there that show you the world isn't just made up of a bunch of people who, as Louis would say, chose not to kill themselves that day. The world and life are made up of the love of your family and friends, of the things you experience together and share, and of music. The world contains The RocknRoll Hi-Fives; and that should be enough to keep anyone going.

The RocknRoll Hi-Fives are a family band featuring Eilee Centeno (14) on vocals, Evren Centeno (12) on drums, Gloree Centeno (mom) on bass, and Joe Centeno (dad) on guitar. Joe is a NJ music scene vet, and has shared his love of rocking with the rest of the family. the Beat the Sound the Dragon's Roar is the third EP from the New Jersey band in as many years. Mike Moebius of Moonlight Mile Recording produced this one; and he was able to capture the energy, exuberance, and even some of the messiness of this rock and roll family.

On opener "TKO," you can hear the emotion in Eilee Centeno's voice. She sings, "Not gonna let you bring me down! Not gonna let you win this round!" as her dad lays on some chaotic guitar. Rock and roll is full of songs by kids writing about the trials and travails of growing up, but how many of them were co-written with dad and recorded with the rest of the family? There's something special about hearing Eilee work through her anger while dad Joe shreds, mom Gloree plugs away on bass, and brother Evren pounds fiercely on the drums. Everybody has her back.

On single "El Sueño," Eilee brings a snotty, Joan Jett-style vocal to a song about getting comfortable with who you are. Joe's simple but infectious opening riff is just one example of the band's skill with punk-inspired, pop rock. "(You Got Me) Tongue Tied" combines the sounds of 70s glam, punk, and indie rock with a rocking singalong chorus. "Blast Away With You" gets a little surfy and 50s-esque as Eilee sings, "I wanna blast away with you, jamming to our favorite tunes..."

"Glass Towns" is punky and spacey with "ooh oohs" from Joe and, maybe, Eilee's most all-in performance. The rhythm section of Gloree and Evren shine, applying an exclamation point to the song's distinctive riff.

EP closer, "Running Nowhere," is an anthemic rocker complete with dual vocals from Eilee and Joe. It hits on a theme that runs through a lot of what the RockNRoll Hi-Fives preach. Don't get hung up on the past. Keep moving forward.

It's easy, sometimes, to get frustrated or bored with life. Louis C.K. pushed some buttons for me last night, and I woke up feeling a little... I don't know... But The RocknRoll Hi-Fives showed me one possible solution for all of that: Do what you love with who you love. Look out for each other and keep on moving forward. Sometimes, stuff like that is easier said than done. Believe me. I know. But just throw on the Beat the Sound the Dragon's Roar if you need some inspiration.

the Beat the Sound the Dragon's Roar is out this Friday, October 21st, on Little Dickman Records. If you need even more inspiration, you can come see The RocknRoll Hi-Fives live when they play this Saturday night, October 22nd, at Asbury Park Yacht Club to celebrate the release. They'll be joined by Deal Casino, and the show (co-presented by Little Dickman and CoolDad Music) is free.