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.

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.

CoolDad Music Presents: Smalltalk and Exmaid at Asbury Park Yacht Club, Friday, February 24th

Smalltalk at APYC in 2015

We Missed You

After about a 10-month "sabbatical," Neptune City's Smalltalk are making their return this weekend with a show on Friday, February 24th, at Asbury Park Yacht Club. Joining them on the bill are Exmaid, the latest project of Miranda Taylor (Black Wine, Hunchback, Full Of Fancy, Noun) and her friends in Philadelphia's Psychic Teens. It's all presented by, well, me; and I couldn't be more excited to be bringing you this one.

Through four EPs culminating with the compilation, Plus!, Smalltalk -- Zak Kaplan, Pete Steinkopf, Jamie Goldfarb, and now Laddie Keelan -- capture all the romance and melodrama of the post-punk and jangly indie-pop I grew up with. The band push that sound into the 21st century; and, even though the influences are clearly British, there's something about Smalltalk's sound that I always associate with nights at the Jersey Shore.



Smalltalk have been through some changes in the last almost-year -- from personnel changes in the band to marriage and new parenthood for some of the members.

Frontman Zak Kaplan: "We've been on sabbatical for quite a while now, which was unplanned, but turned out to be the proper thing to do. We parted ways with Tara and John over the past year, and we really miss having them around; but we've brought our friend and neighbor, Laddie, into the mix. We're feeling fresh and revived. We've splashed water on our faces, in slow motion."



With Friday's show at APYC as a springboard, Smalltalk hope to ratchet things up again.

"We’re playing the Asbury Park Yacht Club with Exmaid on the 24th and Gold Sounds in Brooklyn with The Vansaders on the 25th, and that's about all we have at the moment," says Kaplan. "But, if we can actually get some things going, we're hoping to start playing out a lot more; and maybe we'll even try to release some new music at some point. Seems reasonable, but we'll see."



With Exmaid, Miranda Taylor is making her own return of sorts after being an integral part of a whole bunch of beloved and important bands in the annals of New Jersey music. Exmaid's self-titled EP came out at the end of 2016, and it was one of my favorites of the year. I'm excited to hear the songs performed live, and you should be, too.



So, Friday is your chance to welcome back Smalltalk, tell them how much you missed them, and beg them never to leave you like that again. It's also an opportunity to say "Hiya!" to Exmaid. Show both of them enough love, and I'm pretty sure you'll be hearing more from them.

Smalltalk and Exmaid play Asbury Park Yacht Club this Friday, February 24th. Doors for that one are at 9pm, and the show is absolutely free.

New Video from Smalltalk. Plus! out Next Week. Free Shows!

"The Last Ones"

Lots going on in the world of our friends in Smalltalk. The latest thing is the Matthew Gere-directed clip for single "The Last Ones." Originally appearing on the band's second EP, the song, with its noisy guitars and intertwining vocals from Zak Kaplan and Tara Jones, will be available on Smalltalk's forthcoming Plus! The LP is due next Friday on Chunksaah Records and comes in various flavors which you can check out here.

Have a look at the video for "The Last Ones" below, and then shake off your post-holiday cobwebs with a pair of free shows with Smalltalk celebrating the release of Plus! on Friday, November 27th.

Bring grandma and your weird uncle to Holdfast in Asbury Park to pick up an album and to enjoy a Black Friday Record Store Day in-store performance from the band. Then head over to Asbury Park Yacht Club that same evening to catch Smalltalk again with Michael Jackson & The Beetles.

New Video from Smalltalk

 

"June / July"

When Neptune City's Smalltalk started out, they had the idea that they might be a "video band," producing videos for each of their songs. That was a pretty ambitious plan, obviously, especially with responsibilities like other bands, motherhood, and impending fatherhood thrown into the mix. Smalltalk settled for releasing excellent EP after excellent EP and throwing in a few videos here and there.

Things have so far culminated in what may be Smalltalk's best EP, IV. Today we get the video for standout and single "June / July."

The song features all the retro-inspired melodrama we've come to love about Smalltalk around here. The video adds to that by placing the band in the middle of an electrical storm and downpour. In that sense, I guess, the timing of the video release couldn't be more perfect for us here in the Northeast as we await this weekend's soggy comeuppance for a relatively rain-free summer.

Who knew that Smalltalk's carefully crafted marketing and branding strategy even took the weather into account?

Pros.

Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy.

Interview: Zak and Jamie of Smalltalk. Too Late to Promote the Show, But There's a Video...

Smalltalk played Asbury Park Yacht Club this past Saturday. But you probably knew that already.

Why So Serious?

Smalltalk played a show at Asbury Park Yacht Club this past Saturday. They had a really good turnout following the Social Distortion show. That was no thanks to me as, through some email SNAFU, I didn't get their answers to my interview questions until after the show had already happened. Something about the generally spammy nature of emails I get from Zak Kaplan or something. I don't know.

Anyway, here are the -- as always -- very serious answers to all of my questions from guitarist / lead vocalist Zak Kaplan and drummer Jamie Goldfarb. I left in the stuff about the "upcoming" show at APYC just for the hell of it. Read on to find out about the band's love for geocaching, their un-embracing of the Internet, and father-to-be Zak Kaplan's future plans.

I also included a video from the APYC show, so you can see how it all went. It's a live performance of "June / July" which appears both on the band's latest release, Smalltalk IV, and the Little Dickman Records Summer Bummer compilation. Pics are here.

Head over to smalltalkplus.bandcamp.com where you can purchase the band's latest EP on black with white haze vinyl. The center label even features a nice photo from a local, amateur photographer.

You’re getting ready to release your fourth 3-song EP. How do you feel your songs or your sound have evolved from EP I to EP IV?

Zak: We’ve been this amazing the entire time.

Jamie: And when you’re designed this perfectly, you don’t evolve.

You’ve kept everything pretty much in-house up to this point – from recording with your guitarist, Pete Steinkopf, to screening your own record sleeves.  Did the process get any easier for you from the first EP to the fourth? Are you just able to crank these out like some kind of modern rock machine at this point?

Jamie: Second verse same as the first.

Zak: It’s been the same, release to release, the exact same. If nothing else, we are consistent.

Speaking of machines: It was pretty amazing to see Pete up there with you guys at 1 AM for a H4TH after-party in December right after he’d finished a full Bouncing Souls set. Is Pete a machine?

Zak: Was he even there? I hadn’t noticed.

Pete is, obviously, still very active with The Bouncing Souls whose sound differs quite a bit from yours. Have you found that those fans have come along for the ride? Are you playing to an entirely different set of people? Can you even tell?

Jamie: No, and honestly, I’m just glad people want to check us out.

Zak: It probably works against us. Everyone knows that “members of” bands are total rubbish. We use our associations to our advantage when we can, but for every punky kid who comes to see Smalltalk because it has a Bouncing Soul in it, there are two cooler-than-you hipsters who would never give us the time of day for the exact same reason. Jamie and I wouldn’t be caught dead at a Smalltalk show if we weren’t in the band.

There will soon be a dozen Smalltalk tracks out in the world, enough for a full-length release. Any plans to package them up into an album or some type of compilation?

Zak: What we do is secret.

Jamie: Cassette tapes of every EP will be hidden around New Jersey; like a scavenger hunt, when you find one you get a clue to where the next tape is.

Zak: We’re big in the geocaching scene.

You said something in one of our earlier interviews about originally tossing around the idea of being a video-only band. There are three videos out there now. Any plans for any more?

Zak: We’re going to try to make one later this week. The video side of things has been a bit more of a struggle for us. I don’t think any of us really like doing them. It’s awkward and weird. Turns out it’s just not really our thing. But we will keep making them nonetheless.

Any plans to take Smalltalk on the road or are you just going to rely on 21st century communication to spread the word for now?

Jamie: We’ll be around. There are five of us; one with three kids; one has a dog; one has a cat; and there is another baby on the way. But there will be shows in other cities and states. We just don’t know when.

You’re playing close to home at APYC this last Saturday. It’s a special spot for you, the place where you made your official debut as a band. People will be were able to pick up all the EPs there? Say hi? Pose for uncomfortably staged meet and greet photos with you?

Zak: Please don’t.

Jamie: We will have [had] the the fourth EP and a few of the third EP on vinyl, and some Vinyl Heart, which is a compilation we did with some local bands last Valentine’s Day. Everything is digital, so you can go to smalltalkplus.bandcamp.com for that stuff.

Zak: Actually, I removed all the digital content from there the other week. So pick up the vinyl or watch our music videos. We’re taking it back to the 80s for the time being.

Jamie: Saturday, come drink [everyone drank] wine and feel [felt] fine.



Anything on the calendar after that?

Jamie: Babies man.

Zak: I’m going to start a website called UnCoolDadMusic.com and go to shows even less than I do now. It’s going to feature dirty diaper photography along with interviews with me so I can brag to great lengths about how my child is better than yours.

Thanks for answering my questions.

Zak: Thanks for asking them.

Content Blast: Pics of The Battery Electric, Smalltalk, Dentist, YJY, NGHTCRWLRS, The Cold Seas, Accidental Seabirds, Radiator Hospital, GayGuy / StraightGuy, more

Asbury Lanes, Wonder Bar

For various reasons, I fell a bit behind on picture editing this weekend. I did make it to shows on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday nights, however. On Thursday, Accidental Seabirds kicked off their tour at Asbury Lanes; and I got all teary as Andy Bova played his last set with Dentist. On Friday, The Wonder Bar hosted a fantastic bill that, among several other moments, saw Alex and Brent of The Battery Electric covering "Territorial Pissings" with GayGuy / StraightGuy. Sunday night brought our friends YJY back to Asbury for a show with their labelmates, NGHTCRWLRS, Illinois band Campdogzz, and The Cold Seas.

My apologies to gods, who played last on Friday night at Wonder Bar. CoolMom and I had to leave so that we could wake up early on Saturday. Please do yourself a favor and check out gods' Endless Stunner, a really good collection of psychedelic garage rock; and keep your eyes peeled for the next time they play a show around here.

Asbury Lanes, 7/30/15 -- Drummer Andy Bova's Last Show with Dentist

Bone & Marrow

Dentist

Accidental Seabirds

Radiator Hospital

Saintseneca

Wonder Bar, 7/31/15

GayGuy / StraightGuy

Smalltalk

The Battery Electric

Asbury Lanes, 8/2/15

NGHTCRWLRS

Campdogzz

YJY

The Cold Seas

Photos from a Big Weekend of Record Releases and Surf Music: Deal Casino, Hey Anna, dollys, Smalltalk, Dentist, Black Flamingos, Night Birds, MORE

Husband and wife Vincent Minervino of The Brigantines and Magdalena O'Connell organized the Asbury Park Surf Music Festival.

Nika, Run Koko, and The Asbury Park Surf Music Festival

A couple of weekends ago, I stopped into Asbury Lanes during one of their Eat, Drink, Bowl, Hang Friday nights. "Where have you been? It's been weeks."

It had been a little while since I'd been at Asbury Lanes. CoolMom's been doing a lot of traveling. I spent some time in Brooklyn for Northside Festival. The cooldaughters have their evening swim meets. I just haven't been getting out there like I usually do. I made up for lost time this weekend, though.

Friday saw record releases from both Deal Casino and Hey Anna. Deal Casino held their party for Nika at Asbury Lanes with Smalltalk, dollys, and Deaf Rhino. They absolutely packed out the place and pulled out all the stops with extra lights, smoke, and their usual all-out show. Hey Anna went a little more low-key, but no less impressive, at the Run Koko release with a late set at The Saint.

On Saturday, Asbury Lanes hosted the second annual Asbury Park Surf Music Festival. I spent from 1pm until about 1am enjoying the music, taking pictures, hanging out with friends, and -- yeah -- trying a couple of the tiki drinks. I was blown away by traditional surf bands like Blue Wave Theory and The Sharkskins. As always, our friends in The Brigantines, Black Flamingos, and Dentist were fantastic. Things got harder and darker as the day closed with great sets from Night Birds and The Coffin Daggers. Special shout out to Disco Mike, who danced non-stop, all day long to just about every band that played.

Click through on the links below for pictures from both days.

NOTE: Thanks to some slow service at the North Eats food truck pavilion, I missed one band at the festival. Sadly, that band was one of our favorites, Plato Zorba. I came back inside the Lanes and Ryan Gregg was just dismantling his keyboard. Damn. I hear there was a mummy and everything. They are a fantastic avant-garde surf band, and I urge you to check out their album Pageant of the Transmundane. Also, here are some pics from their release show a while back.

Friday, 7/10/15

Asbury Lanes
Deaf Rhino

dollys

Smalltalk

Deal Casino

The Saint
Hey Anna

Saturday, 7/11/15

The Asbury Park Surf Music Festival at Asbury Lanes

The Primitive Finks

Dentist, Smalltalk, Seaside Caves, Trans Charger Metropolis Played Asbury Lanes for Vinyl Heart Release, 2/13/15

Dentist, Smalltalk, Seaside Caves, and Trans Charger Metropolis celebrated the Vinyl Heart release at Asbury Lanes.

Heart-Warming

Last night was the big night. When I started CoolDad Music back in 2012, I never imagined that any band -- much less a group of bands that I love -- would come to me and ask me to participate in their record release. That is a thing that, in fact, happened, though; and last night saw the release of the absolutely stunning heart-shaped Vinyl Heart compilation featuring Smalltalk, Dentist, Seaside Caves, and Trans Charger Metropolis. There's a little CoolDad Music logo right there on the center label, and I am extremely proud to have been associated with this project even in a small way.

Fans and supporters packed Asbury Lanes to catch sets from all four bands. While each of the bands on the compilation have their own sound, they're all connected by the way in which they reference some of the seminal sounds of indie rock. Trans Charger Metropolis produce short bursts of loud, catchy indie pop that owe a great deal to Bob Pollard and Guided By Voices. Seaside Caves hypnotize with the dark wave, synth-drenched sounds of my youth; while Smalltalk pull from the guitar-based proto shoegaze of the same era. Dentist mix surf with the "loud-quiet-loud" approach of the late 80s and early 90s to produce some of my favorite sounds on the local scene.

Last night's bill was one for which I'd rearrange my schedule any day of the week, and the bands did not disappoint. I took photos of each set in between chatting and sharing a few beverages with CoolMom and lots of friends.

Everywhere I turned, people were smiling as they clutched beautiful red hearts. Congratulations to all of the bands on making the event such a success.

Here are some photo highlights. The rest are up at Flickr.

Vinyl Heart Contest: Win Tickets and Records for You and Your Sweetheart

Just Leave a Comment

The Vinyl Heart compilation EP featuring Smalltalk, Dentist, Seaside Caves, and Trans Charger Metropolis will be released with a big show on Friday, February 13th, at Asbury Lanes. CoolDad Music is a proud sponsor of the event because we love all of those bands around here. Asbury Lanes is also kind of the happiest place on earth to us.

You still haven't bought your tickets or ordered your copy of the record, you say? Well, here's your chance to make up for that.

The rules are simple:

Just leave a comment on this post between now and 12 noon on Monday, February 9th. I'll pick a single winner at random from the commenters, and you and your sweetheart, mom, friend, uncle, frenemy, whoever will each win a ticket to the show and a copy of the record.

Now, claiming your prize requires that you can actually attend the show. I'm not going to be shipping out tickets or records. This should not really be that big of a deal as I know you really want to go to this one.

If you don't like your chances, you can still pre-order copies of the record from Arcade Radio and / or pick up presale tickets.

Also, don't forget to go take a listen to the interview I did with Smalltalk frontman and Vinyl Heart organizer, Zak Kaplan.

Get to commenting and good luck.

Interview: Zak Kaplan Talks Smalltalk and Vinyl Heart

Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore

We're a little less than two weeks away from the release of the Vinyl Heart compilation EP. The brainchild of Smalltalk frontman Zak Kaplan, Vinyl Heart brings together four Asbury Park bands -- Smalltalk, Dentist, Seaside Caves, and Trans Charger Metropolis -- on a four-song compilation to be released on heart-shaped vinyl the night before Valentine's Day at Asbury Lanes. For Dentist, Seaside Caves, and Trans Charger Metropolis, I believe this will be the first time that any of their music will be available on vinyl, which is exciting. Smalltalk, Zak's collaboration with Jamie Goldfarb, Tara Jones, John Chladniček, and Pete Steinkopf, are no strangers to interesting vinyl releases; but this will definitely be their first time on a heart-shaped record.

Everything culminates with a show featuring all four bands at Asbury Lanes on Friday, February 13th. CoolDad Music, along with Holdfast Asbury Park, Russo Music, Chunksaah Records, Pirates Press, and Asbury Lanes, is a sponsor of the event. I jumped at the opportunity to help bring this project, which features several of my well-documented favorites, to life.

If you'd like to pre-order copies of the record, you can do that over at Arcade Radio.

Copies will also be available at Asbury Lanes on February 13th. You can grab pre-sale tickets for the show here.

I sat down with Zak Kaplan to talk a bit about Smalltalk and the Vinyl Heart project. You can stream our conversation below. I've also made it downloadable in case you'd rather listen to it in your car or while you run on the treadmill.

And keep it tuned here for a few more fun things as the release show gets a bit closer.

"Vinyl Heart" Comp and Show on February 13th at Asbury Lanes

Indiegogo Still GoGoing

I'm really happy to announce that CoolDad Music is a proud sponsor of "Vinyl Heart," a heart-shaped vinyl compilation and a show featuring Smalltalk, Dentist, Seaside Caves, and Trans Charger Metropolis. This is an extremely cool project that will be putting some of our favorite local bands together on vinyl and giving them a Valentine's Day Eve showcase at one of my favorite venues in the world.

Did I mention that the record comes in the shape of a heart?

The show celebrating the release will feature sets from all of the bands involved, and it takes place on February 13th at Asbury Lanes.

There's an Indiegogo campaign for the project that's just about to enter it's final week. You can head over to the campaign page to pre-order the record and to buy advance tickets to the show.

I jumped at the opportunity to be associated with this project, and I'm sure that the show on February 13th will be an evening we'll remember for a while.

So make those plans with your sweetie (or your buddy, or your mom, whoever), and keep it tuned here for more information as we get closer to the show.

H4TH2014, Night 1

Emily Bornemann joined Smalltalk at the H4TH2014 After Party at Asbury Lanes.

Interesting Evening

CoolDaughter #1's bud has a Boxing Day birthday. That can't be the greatest day to have a birthday; but I give her parents credit for managing to make yesterday special. CD1 spent the day with her, and then the rest of us headed over to their house for early drinks and pizza.

"When's your next show?" someone asked me.

"In about 2 and a half hours," I said.

"You're nuts," someone else advised me.

I was a little tired, but it's a big weekend in Asbury Park, and my OCD won't let me miss anything. We said our goodbyes and headed home. I made my way down to the Wonder Bar for Asbury Unplugged, figuring that I'd spend the evening there until it was time for the Home for the Holidays after-party at Asbury Lanes. I'd slept on getting any Souls' tickets, you see; so I was thinking that I was pretty much SOL for any shows. Sad.

Colton Kayser

Doug Zambon

Chris Brown had just finished his set by the time I got to The Wonder Bar, and Doug Zambon had just started. Colton Kayser and Jay Monday followed that with a pair of great sets. Then, a Boxing Day miracle happened. Chris (Santa) Brown told me he had an extra +1 for the show at The Pony and that I could have it!

We got inside The Stone Pony just as BANE finished their set, and we ran into Scotch and Bouncing Souls SuperFan Timmy LaRock just inside the door. Tim was pumped for The Souls who came out and did a full pre-2000 set. It didn't necessarily cover all of his favorites, but he was on track for a good night.

The crowd was absolutely nuts, random circle pits forming like little whirlpools throughout the audience. It was pretty hairy.

I fought my way over to the other end of the venue and managed to get up to the side of the stage. Gentleman Jim Norton was there. We said our hellos. He asked about the LaRocks and disappeared into the crowd. A few songs later, he was back, this time with little Tim in tow. We hoisted him over the barricade into the VIP area and people cleared a path for him. He got to watch the rest of the main set with his hands on the stage.

"Jim! Jim! I've never been this close before!" He was beaming, and so was everyone who saw him.

Really cool.

He'd had enough by the time the encores were starting, so we reconvened with his dad.

When the show was over, the LaRocks and I walked to the parking lot. They went to their car, Timmy looking forward to some Gatorade and waking up to work on his new Lego sets; and I headed to The Lanes.

Dark Blue

Philly's Dark Blue went on at around 12, I guess. They played in, basically, absolute darkness. I couldn't see them, but I liked what I heard -- late 80s, dark, post-punky.

I stuck around to check out Smalltalk. Emily Bornemann of Dentist was filling in for Tara Jones, who's on a short maternity leave. They sounded great. Emily did a fantastic job on vocals and jimmy-jangling the tambourine. They finished up at around 2.

Smalltalk

It ended up being a fantastic night: Friends and family at home, friends at all the shows, the look on young Tim's face. I can't wait for tonight. I'm not sure what it will bring (still no Souls' tix), but CoolMom and I have a sitter. Whatever happens (late Cayetana set at The Lanes, definitely), we'll do it together and have a blast.