My Hometown: A Tribute to New Jersey, 2013

Music from the Garden State

The family and I are preparing to drive to Richmond, VA tomorrow so that CoolDaughter #1 can participate in the 2013 Eastern Zone Long Course Swimming Championships. It would be an understatement to say that I'm proud of the girl.

Last Wednesday night at the first zone team practice, the coach said, "From now until next Saturday, you are no longer CJAC or Berkeley Aquatic Club or Somerset Valley Y. You're New Jersey Swimming." As impressed as I am by the fact that my 10-year-old daughter worked her butt off -- getting up all summer at 6AM to go to practice -- to achieve her goal, I'm doubly proud that she gets to be one of the kids to represent the state of New Jersey at the meet.

These are two of the three team shirts that the kids will wear on different days of the meet:

Here we are, almost ten months after Sandy; and I guarantee that some of the 170 kids on this year's zone team are still feeling the effects of the storm.

I think it's appropriate, then, to call your attention to My Hometown: A Tribute to NJ, a compilation album of New Jersey artists covering songs by other New Jersey artists with all proceeds going to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. The album, released last month by New Jersey's FDR, is 19 tracks and covers New Jersey-born pop from The Shirelles to Bruce Springsteen to Pete Yorn to Yo La Tengo.

Janet LaBelle delivers a beautifully spare, ukulele accompanied version of "Baby It's You." Yo La Tengo's moving "Our Way to Fall" (one of two YLT songs here) gets an appropriately moving cover from Roomtone. Jon Caspi & The First Gun give us a relatively epic in its 1 minute and 14 second length take on The Bouncing Souls' "I Like Your Mom." The Bongos' "The Bulrushes" gets two interpretations: One by The Tim Lee 3 and the other, paired seamlessly with Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot," by Jim Testa & His Inappropriately Younger Band.

Three Bruce Springsteen tracks make the cut. Keith Monacchio goes for a non-obvious choice with his acoustic version of Born to Run's "Meeting Across the River." Paper Jets do an excellent, faithful rendition of the oft-covered "Atlantic City," one of my all-time favorites. "My Hometown" was never a favorite of mine, but The Successful Failures improve on the original by getting rid of that cheesy 1980s organ.

In all, My Hometown highlights some of the great pop music that's come out of New Jersey along with some of the great New Jersey acts working today; and it's all for a great cause.

You can get My Hometown: A Tribute to New Jersey over at the FDR Label Bandcamp site. All proceeds from the sale of the album benefit the New Jersey Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.

River Concert 2013

Shark River Hills, A New Beginning

Last evening, amidst the chaos of children running through the house, dripping wet from the pool, I did a post about a couple of things you could do with your Saturday. I guess I was a bit distracted, because I forgot to mention one of the most talent-laden and important events of the weekend.

River Concert 2013 takes place today, starting at noon in Neptune's Riverside Park. Performers include Nicole Atkins, Steve Forbert, and Mike Doughty; and proceeds from the concert will benefit Recovery Along the River, an organization dedicated to helping Shark River Hills residents affected by Superstorm Sandy.

So add that one to your list of things to do today.

Winter Storm

Ugh...

From NJ.com's continuously updated storm watch:

1:50 p.m. The most-affected regions of Hurricane Sandy along the New Jersey coast are about to take another hit. With defenses already weakened, coastal communities could see major impacts from coastal flooding, with the worst coming Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

"I'm really worried about the areas worst hit by Sandy," said NWS meteorologist Gary Szatkowski. "Time is starting to work against us...We could see substantial beach erosion. I know people have been working hard, but there's less to erode. We could easily see waves and water coming into areas you typically wouldn't."

Szatkowski said he is concerned about the Raritan Bay shore in particular, where a three foot storm surge is possible at high tide Saturday morning, with five to seven foot waves breaking over top of it.

Let's hope things don't get too bad.  If they do, though, be there for your friends and neighbors again. 

This all made me think of one of the songs that Steve Earle did with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as part of the On The Beach concert earlier this year.  Here they are doing "This City" at New York's City Winery:

If You Want Something Done...

On the Beach -- A Sandy Relief Concert at The Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ, January 2nd, 2013

While John Boehner was canceling, then postponing, a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the first 9 billion dollars in relief funds for Sandy-devastated areas, the Jersey Shore came out to do some fundraising of their own at The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park.  On the Beach -- A Sandy Relief Concert brought together bands and artists from the Jersey Shore and across the country to celebrate and to raise some much-needed money for several non-profits engaged in the hard work of rebuilding following Superstorm Sandy.  The theme echoed throughout the night was that, while no one ever wishes for a tragedy like Sandy, it's sometimes through events like the storm that communities come together and grow stronger.

Organized by three guys from Jersey -- activist Tim Donnelly, original Asbury Juke and concert promoter Tony Pallagrosi, and photographer, filmmaker, harmonica player Danny Clinch -- On the Beach was roughly 6 hours of music headlined by My Morning Jacket from Louisville, Kentucky.  Throughout the evening, host Matt Pinfield brought out representatives from the various non-profits benefitting from the event -- RebuildRecover, Coastal Habitat for Humanity, The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Waves for Water, and Food for Thought by the Sea -- to discuss the work they do.  Each painted a picture of some hard work ahead, but Waves for Water's Jon Rose summed everything up when he called the Jersey Shore a "shining example" of a community coming together in a time of need.

Originally slated to start at 7pm, the start time for the concert was pushed up to accomodate some late additions (Steve Earle, The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon) to the bill.  The Tangiers Blues Band, with Danny Clinch on harmonica, opened the show at around 6:20 as much of the audience was still arriving.  They played an energetic set that included some blues-style covers of well-known songs like "Fight for Your Right to Party."  The sound was great, as it would be all night.  The Tangiers Blues Band were followed by Toms River's River City Extension and Shark River Hills' Nicole Atkins.  Despite playing abbreviated versions of their sets to less than a packed house, River City Extension and Nicole Atkins were each just as good as they were when I saw them last year.  As locals affected directly by Sandy, each expressed their happiness at being included on the bill and their heartfelt appreciation for the outpouring of support.  "It means a lot to us that you're here tonight," said River City Extension's Joe Michelini.

The house was starting to fill when Akron, Ohio's Joseph Arthur took the stage, delivering an excellent set marked by some serious guitar heroics.  The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon did a short, acoustic set that included "National Anthem" off of the band's latest album, Handwritten.  It's a song that's developed an association with Sandy and its aftermath.  Fallon mentioned his excitement at being able to see Steve Earle who followed.  Earle made a quick reference to Speaker Boehner as he began his set, intentionally mispronouncing the congressman's name for effect.  And then it was time for The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

The theater was full as The Preservation Hall Jazz Band took the stage, and they got the crowd moving wildly to their Dixieland jazz.  They were joined by Jim James of My Morning Jacket for two rousing songs.  One of the most moving moments of the evening had to be The Preservation Hall Jazz Band's performance with Steve Earle of his song "This City" with its lyrics of "This city won't wash away / This city won't ever drown."  Ben Jaffe, the band's director and tuba player, stepped to the mic to say how important the band felt it was to pay back the support New Orleans received following Hurricane Katrina.  He spoke, again, of how the hard work following a tragedy strengthened the bonds of community.

Finally, at around 11pm, most of the fans in attendance got what they came for as My Morning Jacket took the stage.  I'll admit to being a My Morning Jacket neophyte, but their live show -- especially in a small space like The Paramount Theatre -- is something to behold.  Their psychedelic, 1970's inspired rock brought the entire crowd to its feet for the duration of their more than 90-minute set.  For the encore, the band was joined by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  There was a nod to Asbury Park in the form of a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart." Nicole Atkins and Danny Clinch joined both bands on stage for a song in another of the evening's memorable moments.

I suppose that congress will eventually do what needs to be done to get relief to those affected by Superstorm Sandy.  A few people, through a single rock concert, could never hope to raise funds on a scale similar to that of the U.S. government.  Though, if what I saw last night from the organizers, the non-profits, the staff, the bands, and the audience -- people from all over the country -- is any indication, it won't be for any lack of trying.

121212 Edition

MSG Sandy Benefit Wednesday

I heard yesterday that the Robin Hood Relief Fund will be making a donation to local charity, Sea Bright Rising, which is great news.  That town's meant a lot to me.

And Krist Novoselic may be joining Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney on stage tonight.

And Bruuuuuce...

Enjoy the show.

Rock on...

Gaslight Anthem Post Sandy Video

"National Anthem"

My street was full of huge trucks bringing telephone poles and the workers who would be installing them to my block.  Two trucks flanked my driveway and the man in the hard hat indicated that it was safe for me to back into the street.

I stopped and rolled down the window.

"Are you guys from the phone company or the power company?"

"We're working for the power company.  Contractors from Chicago."  Then he raised his fist and said, "Jersey Strong!  Am I right?"

"Yeah," I said.  "Right."

Hey Sandy, We're Still Here

52-track Compilation Album For Sandy Relief

Hey Sandy, We're Still Here. (A Hurricane Benefit) is available now for a minimum of $5 over at The Everymen's Bandcamp page.  All money will be donated directly to the American Red Cross.

In addition to The Everymen, the album features contributions, including some new or never before heard tracks and b-sides, from the likes of Real Estate, La Sera, Waking Lights, Cold Fur, Those Mocking Birds, and Nicole Atkins.

It cost me some valuable C-batteries; but Jersey Shore natives The Everymen, Nicole Atkins and others got me through some dark, cold nights right after the storm.  So help out their hometowns as well as the other areas affected by Sandy and get yourself some great music as part of the bargain.

Superstorm Sandy

Kind of Organizing My Thoughts

I’m not sure what to say.  Right now, I’ve just got tons of stuff rolling around in my head; so this may end up a bit of a ramble.  Above all, I’m thankful.  CoolMom, CoolDaughters 1& 2, and I are all fine.  CoolDad Music HQ came through relatively unscathed.  We are still waiting for the power to come back, but power is really all we’ve lost.  My parents and our always caring and always reliable friends Dina, Doyle, and Maisie have been putting up with us throughout the power outage.  And MomVee and her family made a generous offer of warmth and food.  We’re incredibly lucky.

Others, obviously, were not so lucky.  Just a block from our house, neighbors have piled furniture destroyed by the Shrewsbury River onto the side of the street.  In the town across the bridge from us, it’s the same only worse.  Seaside towns like Sea Bright are facing months, if not years, of work to recover; and they will never be the same.

I guess saying that I haven’t lost anything but power isn’t entirely true.  After my family moved to New Jersey from Brooklyn in 1975, the beach – and especially the town of Sea Bright – became a huge part of my life.  In the summers, my mother carted my brother and me, along with a cooler full of bologna sandwiches and Shasta, to Edgewater Beach Club in Sea Bright every day.  From about 9 in the morning until about 3 in the afternoon we baked in the sun and swam in the ocean.  Our day was made if we could coax my mother to give us a dollar so that we could buy french fries or a chocolate chip mint ice cream cone at the snack bar.  When I got too old to hang out with the younger kids, I fished off the jetty.

During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, my friend Danny – whom I’ve been thinking about a lot lately – and I would ride to Sea Bright.  I would freeload off of his family’s membership at Ship Ahoy.  A certain female classmate worked at the snack bar there, so my fifteen year-old self stuttered and stammered through more than a few burger orders.  Like lots of friends, Danny and I grew apart, then back together, then apart again; but I will always remember that summer, with its afternoon bike races back home, as a particularly good one.

It wasn’t only Sea Bright, though.  Throughout high school, I earned money cooking food at the snack bar of Sea Girt’s public beach.  Cheese fries and pork roll, egg, and cheese.  My friends and I would spend summer evenings with a cooler on West End beach in Long Branch.  I could never get the sand from that beach out of my silver Tercel.  Today, I still do my runs along the promenade in Long Branch whenever I can.  The first words I ever wrote on this blog were, "I love Asbury Park."

I’m not yet sure how all of those towns did in the storm, but I know that the Jersey Shore that I remember isn’t coming back.

Beach clubs.  Sea Girt, summer home of Bill Parcells.  Parts of the Jersey Shore are more than pretty well off, it’s true.  I’ve seen and heard comments from people indicating that this somehow means that the people affected by Sandy are less deserving of help.  Sandy covered a thousand miles and affected thirteen states.  Along with affluent communities like Sea Girt and Mantoloking, Sandy hit working-class areas like Long Branch, Asbury Park, and the Bayshore.  In New York, Rockaway and Staten Island have been devastated.  Some of the people who lost everything may have the resources to get back on their feet eventually.  Others, most certainly, do not.  Either way, they are your neighbors; and until they get things together, they will need help.

Again, we’re all fine here and I’m more than thankful.  I haven’t lost nearly as much as the people of Seaside Heights or Breezy Point or Hoboken or even Oceanport, so I’ll give what I can to relief efforts.  But anyone who grew up here or spent their summers here definitely lost a little piece of themselves.

Sandy Playlist

Something to Listen to Before the Power Goes Out

So here's what the Wall Street Journal provides as a summary for what my area should expect when Sandy comes calling:

Ocean and Monmouth Counties: Rain beginning Sunday evening, peaking Monday evening and continuing to Wednesday. Winds peaking at between 70 and 75 mph, with gusts to 90 mph or more between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Storm surge between 7 and 9 feet on the beaches, 8 and 11 feet near the Raritan River. Waves of 15-20 feet. Overview: Expect significant beach erosion, as Sandy’s full force will be directed here on landfall. Highest winds in the tri-state. The Raritan River could act as a funnel and experience some of the worst coastal flooding in the metro area. Rain totals up to 8-10 inches.

Here, we've got bottled water, and we're charging everyone's phones.  I'd give just about anything for some D batteries.

We got the call that CoolDaughter #2 has no school for the next two days, and we're expecting the same for CoolDaughter #1.

I quickly threw together this playlist to herald Sandy's arrival.  Some of it's obvious, some hopefully less so...

If you're in the Mid-atlantic region, good luck and be safe.