Premiere: First Singles from stillhungry to Benefit Garden State Equality

"Get Well" / "Paranoia"

stillhungry is a new band / songwriting project featuring Jenna Murphy (prim), Matteo DeBenedetti (Toy Cars), and Erik Kase Romero (dollys, The Front Bottoms, producer / engineer of just about everything there is). Today, the trio are releasing the first fruits of their collaboration in the form of two singles, "Get Well" and "Paranoia."

stillhungry by Natalie Newbold

The subdued "Get Well" features Murphy on lead vocals, while DeBenedetti takes over on the more up-tempo "Paranoia." Over just two tracks, stillhungry showcase a wide range that deftly blends the members' personalities. The band get help from Mark Masefield on B3, and Eric Novod handles drums on "Paranoia."

Romero recorded and produced both tracks. Tim Pannella mixed and mastered.

You can grab both singles over at stillhungry's Bandcamp page. All proceeds from sales there will go to Garden State Equality, New Jersey's largest LGBTQ advocacy and education organization.

stillhungry head out on a short run this upcoming weekend with Dogwood Tales. Check out both tracks and those dates below.



stillhungry on tour w/ Dogwood Tales

6/14 - Winchester VA | Hopscotch Records + Coffee
6/15 - Amherst VA | Everybody’s Birthday IX Music and Arts Fest
6/16 - Philadelphia PA | The Sin Bucket w/ Shannen Moser

Some Early-in-the-Year Stuff from The Double Negatives, Toy Cars, and Hot Blood

Kiley croons the bad news.

NJ Pals

It's been kinda slow going around here lately. January 19th seems to be the big 2018 kick-off for releases; and the bitter cold we've been experiencing locally (along with two snow days for the cooldaughters) has sent me into a kind of stasis, I think. That's all ok because we've got a big week ahead.

Here are some new things coming out of the frozen Garden State for you to check out as we start kicking things into high gear around here.

The Double Negatives, "My Sun Is Setting" / "Commas"

This Belmar-based five-piece kicked off 2018 with the release of "My Sun Is Setting" / "Commas." The singles showcase The Double Negatives' hard to pin down style. "My Sun Is Setting" is a pretty straightforward, indie / garage rocker in the vein of something like Arctic Monkeys; while "Commas" veers off into some jammier, spacier directions.

You can see The Double Negatives this Thursday, January 11th, at The Saint when they kick off the annual Light of Day festival. They'll be on a bill that includes a host of Asbury-area bands including our good friends, Dentist.



Toy Cars, "Iron Me Out"

Toy Cars will be bucking this year's trend. They'll be coming in a week ahead of everyone else when they release Paint Brain this Friday, January 12th. Last week, the band shared "Iron Me Out" off of that record.

I've always had a hard time classifying Toy Cars' sound. There are elements of NJ-bred emo or pop-punk, I guess. Mostly, though, the sound serves the subject matter at hand. "Iron Me Out" effectively builds tension throughout as it deals with the consequences of keeping thoughts and feelings bottled up inside.

Toy Cars celebrate the release of Paint Brain on Friday, January 19th, at Asbury Park's House of Independents. Joining them for that one will be Halogens, Well Wisher, DRMCTHR, and latewaves.



Hot Blood, "Nuclear Summer"

We've got a loose cannon in the White House engaging in a Twitter war with the head of a rogue state who happens to be in possession of nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?

Leave it to our friends in Hot Blood to tackle the issues of the day head-on. Today, the band released the first single off of their upcoming Fear of a Unified Public LP in the form of a video for "Nuclear Summer." The song is to-the-point as Kiley tells it like it is, gently breaking the news that, "We're all going to die," as is his way.

Premiere: Debut EP from Asbury Park's prim

Cover photo by Kelsey Ayres

Awake Again

To realize prim's debut EP, Awake Again, singer / songwriter Jenna Murphy has assembled a group of immensely talented people whose names should be recognizable to anyone who stops by here with any degree of regularity. prim are Murphy along with Jeff Lane and Erik Kase Romero of dollys and Mike Linardi and Chris Beninato of Toy Cars. Lisa Romero also lends some beautiful piano to Awake Again. In a brief conversation with Murphy a few weeks back, she was effusive in describing her bandmates' contributions to her songs. "They just took them somewhere else," she said.

Photo: Kelsey Ayres

You can hear the results of that collaboration today as we premiere Awake Again right here. The set opens with the title track. Erik Kase Romero's production is crisp and clean. Murphy's voice floats around the band's staccato approach as she sings, "Awake again... ...and you won't hold me down." That contrast between buttoned-up pop production and raw emotion is present throughout the EP.

"Holiest" starts quietly with acoustic guitar and some restrained vocals from Murphy. "Spare me a minute of your time." As the song builds, Murphy becomes more emphatic as she repeats the verse with some slight changes indicating her growing frustration and loss of control. "Give me just a minute of your damn time."

"It's Because I Cut My Hair" and "Of Course I Do" both deal with loss and guilt. I guess I could imagine both songs in some acoustic singer / songwriter version. Here, though, both are lush, rolling pop. The additional vocal tracks paired with the full-band arrangements take some extremely personal things and turn them outward, making them feel universal.

"Spilt Milk" premiered on January 11th, National Milk Day, with our friends at YouDontKnowJersey.com. The band hang back a bit as Murphy repeats to herself that old advice about not crying, but her head and her heart aren't on exactly the same page.

Give a listen to prim's Awake Again below. The EP is a true collaboration among a bunch of amazingly talented people, and I'm excited to be able to share it with you. It's available right now over at prim's Bandcamp page.

prim celebrate the EP's release with a show at Random House in New Brunswick this Saturday, February 4th. Also on that bill are Seamstress, Well Wisher, and Bone & Marrow.

Michelle Rose: Pat The Bunny Played The Empire w/ Mikey Erg, Brook Pridemore, Teenage Halloween, Those Corn People, Toy Cars, and Eric Funn, 3/14/15 (PHOTOS)

Guest Review

Michelle Rose has contributed photos to the site before. Here, she brings us not only photos from a great New Brunswick basement show, but also her first-ever CoolDad Music review. Take it away Michelle, and thanks.

Pat The Bunny at The Empire in New Brunswick
by Michelle Rose

I spent this past Saturday in a dark New Brunswick basement packed with close to three hundred kids to see everyone’s favorite folk-punk anarchist Pat "The Bunny" Schneeweis (AZ). Pat is currently on tour with anti-folk musician Brook Pridemore (NY). Supporting them at this show were Mikey Erg, Teenage Halloween, Those Corn People, Toy Cars, and Eric Funn (PA). Brook Pridemore and Luke Henderiks of Teenage Halloween booked this killer folk-punk fueled show.

The night started the way it would end: a performance from just a man and his guitar. There were about thirty people in the basement when  Eric Funn began his set. Eric’s music is a perfect balance of catchy acoustic tunes and witty lyrics. The crowd sang along to his songs and made ape noises when needed. Eric Funn has been one of my favorite acoustic acts for a while now. The stories he tells through simple lyrics just never get old.

Toy Cars were one of the two full-band acts to play that night. Matt DeBenedetti’s vocals and acoustic guitar pair great with the rest of the band. Their mix of folk and ambient instrumentals give Toy Cars a unique sound. The boys from Belmar always have a smile on their faces and put on a great show. This band is a must see in the local music scene.

Next up were everyone’s favorite corn people, Those Corn People. The acoustic tunes of Mike Brock and Eriks Grinvalds come together to create a fantastic folk duo. Although their lyrics may be goofy, Those Corn People’s use of words tells a story. The boys in Those Corn People are by far one of the best acoustic acts currently in New Jersey.

They may be young, but the guys of Teenage Halloween certainly know how to rock the crowd. Their songs about teenage angst, troubled love, and growing up are high energy and can get anyone to move. The band was joined by their good friend Brandon Hakim who played saxophone. I was surprised by how many kids in the crowd knew every word to every song and screamed them right back into the band members' faces. The band ended their set with an awesome cover of “Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes. The guys in Teenage Halloween have already achieved a lot over the past year, and it doesn’t seem like they will be slowing down anytime soon.

Brook Pridemore’s songs about death rays and the Cupcake Empire are extremely catchy and fun to sing along to. After five albums, the Brooklyn artist still keeps true to his roots and does it all for the love of the music. I had the privilege of speaking with Brook after the show. He is one of the most down to earth artists I have ever met. To end his set, Brook invited his good friend and New Jersey native Mikey Erg. The two covered “Can't Hardly Wait” by The Replacements with Mikey Erg on drums.

After his song with Brook Pridemore, Mikey Erg of The Ergs! played a solo set. Once again, Mikey Erg played another killer set. The basement was packed when Erg began. The crowd sang along to all of his songs. The combination of just his voice and an electric guitar is simple yet stunning. Mikey Erg is by far one of the most talented musicians to ever come out of New Jersey. He is a friendly guy who is very passionate about his music. Each song is filled with Erg’s heart and soul.

This was my second time seeing Pat The Bunny, and I was still blown away by his talent. Pat is a very humble and down to earth person who puts all of his emotions into his music. Many of the fans I talked to that night started listening to Pat back when he was in his first band Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains. Since then, Pat has been in Wingnut Dishwashers Union and Ramshackle Glory. His first solo album The Volatile Utopian Real Estate Market is a recreation of classic favorites from over the years. Back in December, Pat released his second solo album Probably Nothing, Possibly Everything which has a more mature vibe to it. Most of the album consists of Pat reflecting on his younger self. For many, Pat’s songs about addiction, human emotion, politics, and the justice system,have become a punk anthems for the truth.

By the time Pat started his set, there were around three hundred kids crammed into the small New Brunswick basement. Pat played the perfect mixture of both old and new music. He may be an acoustic act, but Pat’s punk style quickly got the crowd pumped up. Everyone jumped around while screaming the lyrics to all of the songs Pat played. Alex Farber was lucky enough to be chosen from the crowd to sing “Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist” on stage with Pat. The set ended perfectly with one of Pat’s newer songs “I’m Going Home." Pat is without a doubt one of the most appreciative musicians I have seen. He is truly grateful for all of his fans who have lead to his success.

All photos by Michelle Rose NJ.

Toy Cars, Red Hands, 2014

EP Review

In an email describing Belmar's Toy Cars to me, guitarist Lucas Dalakian wrote that, as the band works on songs for the next record, Toy Cars will be "playing basement shows in between (because they're the most fun and people scream and yell)." The 4 (or is it 3?) songs that make up Toy Cars' debut EP, Red Hands, sound like they would lend themselves well to sweaty shout-alongs in some low-ceilinged, underground rooms.

A side project for Dalakian (ROMP) and Matt DeBenedetti (Monterey, whose The King's Head EP is something I've been meaning to mention here for a while), Toy Cars produce a sound that blends the expansiveness of driving down a desert road in the American West with the closeness of pumping your fist at a New Jersey house show. The two-part opening track, "Red Hands Intro" / "Red Hands" is a great example of this. It opens with the reverb-soaked drone of a guitar and a simple, quiet vocal. As the intro moves into the song proper, things get bouncier on top of acoustic guitar and drums; and the vocals move into sing along pop punk territory with lines like, "We think until our heads explode!"

"Luck" opens with an expletive-filled phone message. The eerie spaghetti western guitar wraps verses that start off with a shouted group vocal and build to a chorus that ends with "If only we'd been born with just a little bit more luck." Set-closer "The Saddest Story Ever Told" ambles along on an almost country / folk vibe with lyrics about shouting in concrete basements.

Even if it's just a side project, designed to give its individual members room to work on things outside their regular bands, there's something immensely appealing about the result Toy Cars achieve by combining the dark, foreboding solitude of the music on these songs with the communal feel of the lyrics.

In that same email, Dalakian noted that Chris Beninato plays bass on Red Hands, while Toy Cars have added Mitch Gollub on drums to their live lineup. The band plan to collaborate with even more friends on the follow-up to Red Hands, and it should be interesting to see where things go.

Red Hands is available as a Name Your Price Download over at Toy Cars' Bandcamp page.