FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP SET TO RELEASE THEIR DEBUT ALBUM
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
3. STONE PONY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: Jones' Backwards New Year Bash (Friday), Under New Ownership CD Release Party (Saturday), All-Ages Matinee (Sunday), Hinderence (Sunday), Sean Kelly of the Samples (Wednesday)
New on The Stone Pony Calendar: Bad Medicine (The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute) (January 24), New Blood Revival (January 31), The Great Bamboozle 2003 (May 30 - June 1)
Starting Wednesday, January 8, Cabaret Wednesdays. Dinner and seating
reservations accepted. Dinner seating starts at 7 pm.
Jan. 8 Grand Opening Celebration with Sean Kelly
of The Samples
Jan. 15 Melissa Ferrick
Don't worry, folks, Domenic isn't selling the club. Those "Under New Ownership" signs you've been seeing around are simply party announcements to celebrate the release of the debut CD, Preface, from Freehold's own Under New Ownership on Saturday, January 4. U-NO, founded by lead singer and keyboardist Gregory Jordan, returns to the club to help kick-off the release of their twelve-track CD. In keeping with the Pony's history of supporting and nurturing the great talent around our area, as well as featuring legendary national acts, the Newsletter spoke to Jordan about the local scene, producing the new album, and goals for 2003.
The Stone Pony: Start off with an intro to the new CD you'll be releasing at the Pony on January 4th. What's the album's title, when and where was it recorded and how would you describe the sound to fans not familiar with your music?
Gregory Jordan: The title of our debut album is Preface. The album is actually a collection of songs from three different stories. It has a lot of diversity on there, showcasing many styles of our music. Some might be happier, some with an edge, some a little more jammed out and some even with a slower emotional feel to it. It’s pretty much a piano-driven rock band complete with wailing guitars, solid grooves, and lyrics which you will be able to identify with. The original Preface was scheduled to be released early 2002, but we decided to scrap it and head back into the studio this fall and re-arrange some songs and add some new ones. Most of the drums were recorded at Cedar Room Studios in Brick. The rest of the album was recorded by Mod Alien, whom we were referred to by the guys from Dragpipe, up in Union City. A decent amount of the material was recorded in 16-hour-long days in November.
The Stone Pony: Go into a little detail about the technical aspects of the recording. Who helped the band with the record's production and engineering duties? What was some of the equipment and instruments that the band couldn't live without during the sessions?
GJ: Preface was produced by the U-NO Crew and Mod Alien. Many ideas came about during recording, some we kept and some we may save [for] future ideas. All of could not live without a good tone and a positive attitude. As long as it sounded good and we were having fun is all that mattered. It’s cool working together to see what fits where and what approach we should take to each song. Mod has a very good ear and we all work very well together.
The Stone Pony: Back-up a bit and let us know who all of the members of the band are and how you met. How long has Under New Ownership been together as a unit, and what are some of the venues where you’ve gigged at so far?
GJ: Interesting question: actually, the first show billed as Under New Ownership was 4-17-02 which was the first time we ever played the Stone Pony. Prior to that date it was still labeled as the "GRJ" solo project. One night we were playing at the Stone Tavern in Bernardsville and their Under New Ownership sign made it into every picture that was taken, so we just decided to make that the name. After hearing all of the jokes about it, we just had to keep it! Well, the U-NO Crew as we like to call it has gone through a few line-up changes over the year. It’s just part of the transition of going from solo to full band. You have to find who works best! Jason Rak, acoustic guitar, has been around from the beginning, when he was pulled out to guest at the second GRJ show in 2001. He’s been around ever since! Next up, our insane drummer, Mike Fraclose. I met Mike by a chance meeting one night out at Chubby’s. We stopped in to see our friend Dan from Jersey Shows and I inquired about a serious drummer because our drummer at the time had a lot going on. Dan just pointed to Mike and said "he’s a drummer!" A few weeks later, Mike was called up and we just hit it off. It’s pretty cool because Mike brings out the rockin’ edge in our music! Moving ahead to October, the three of us found ourselves without a bass player and lead guitarist. Under a lot of pressure (we had a big show later that month), a friend introduced me to James Keenan. James was looking for a band with a piano, and worked really hard at getting the material ready. A week later, he played his first full show with us! A few days before we were heading into the studio, James stopped by my house with a tape of one of his friends that he wanted me to hear. Enough said, Ron Dawson ended up laying down a bunch of tracks on the album. The U-NO Crew was all in agreement that this is it! We’ve found what and who we have been searching for! You’ll see in a few weeks what we mean!
The Stone Pony: While many bands allow fan taping of shows, you’ve taken it a few steps further, actually encouraging fans to both tape and take video of the shows, and even offering to patch fan equipment into your own mics. What’s the thinking behind having such a liberal taping policy, and do you feel that it has helped the band to gain new fans, or to develop a closer relationship with existing ones?
GJ: Well, first off, every U-NO show is different. We like to have tapes out there to document what we do. If we’re in the middle of a jam and we find something we like, maybe we’ll try to re-create that again. It’s nice to hear crowd reactions so we can figure out what works at a show and what doesn’t work. Also, prior to the cd release, people out there had nothing to remember us by. It’s a great way to get the music out there! It’s also cool for us to try out new things. Maybe do an acoustic version of a song one night, throw a tease of a cover or two in the middle of a song. It’s great having live shows out there, because that is just us being ourselves! Having fun, that’s what it’s all about, right?
The Stone Pony: How does the taping policy relate the band’s attitude towards digital music in general? Do you feel that making music "freely" available, either through fan taping at live shows, or on the Internet, will increase sales of the new album, or hurt them?
GJ: Digital music is what’s going on now. MP3s and SHNs are around everywhere! We totally support live shows being spread around the net (no mp3s though please). We have even posted a few of our own studio tracks and clips up there for everyone to hear. If it sucks them in, then great! Hopefully they will want to hear more, eventually leading them to buy the album and head out to the shows. Actually, the original Preface from 2001 is somewhere out there in its entirety. Hunt around for it and maybe you can find it!
The Stone Pony: Some of the band members are still in college pursuing a musical education. How does having a formal musical education shape the music that the band makes, as opposed to those who might be entirely self-taught? Is there ever a conflict between the practical aspects of being a band recording and gigging, and what is taught and trained at a university?
GJ: The members of the U-NO crew all have knowledge in theory and the technical aspects of playing music, but what it really comes down to for us, is the chemistry involved. The five of us just clicked together! It’s a rare thing when you know what the others are thinking before they do. We all take what we have learned and apply it to what we’re doing at the time. Just being ourselves is what makes us a group. We enjoy what we do, if we set out to be someone we’re not, then it just wouldn’t work.
The Stone Pony: How many times have you played the Pony, and why pick the club for the record release party in January? How does the band feel about becoming part of the musical history of the club, and where do you feel the club fits these days into the area’s music scene?
GJ: Ummm, let’s see ... this will be the fourth time the U-NO Crew will make an appearance at the club. For all of us, it’s a real honor to play there. When you’re up on that stage and you look behind you and see the pony on the wall, it’s just an amazing feeling! I think a good majority of people from this area, especially those of us from Freehold, have the same feeling towards the club!
The Stone Pony: Speaking of the local scene, how do you judge it these days? Are there things you feel are great about the scene that people don’t know about, or anything about it that you would like to see changed?
GJ: It’s really nice to see the local music scene being rebuilt right now. This is a very tough time to be a local band in NJ, but the scene’s on the rise again! It’s great that the clubs in the area strive to keep the scene alive. We all owe a lot of thanks to all of the clubs and promoters and fans in the area who make sacrifices which allow us, the musicians, to continue with something which we love! The only thing which leaves us with a bad feeling is the whole cover band thing. Sometimes it gets frustrating when cover bands take over the entire scene. Not to put them down, some of them are really good and enjoyable, but what about all of the people who write their own stuff? It’s our form of expression and every musician wants to express themselves to as many people as possible.
The Stone Pony: After the release of the new record, describe how you would like to see things go for the band for the rest of 2003. What are your goals for the coming months, and how far do you feel you can take U-NO in the long-term?
GJ: Well, we’re going to start playing a lot more colleges, and push to get some radio play at them. We are starting up our rep program, so we can try to reach more fans, not just those in the tri-state area. It looks as if our rep program will be extended all over the US and even overseas! If anyone is interested, just ask us for more details! The U-NO Crew has had a very positive 2002. We hope that 2003 will be the same. We will continue to work our hardest, play our best, and make sure to put many more smiles on people’s faces! As long as we stay focused, and the fans keep coming out, we will keep playing for a long time!
The Stone Pony: End off with your best pitch for fans to come out to The Stone Pony on January 4 to see Under New Ownership perform, and be the first to pick up a copy of your new CD.
GJ: "Everybody in Jersey should dig a good rock show, c'mon down, party with us at a legendary club, hear some great music, meet some new friends, and have a good old time ... and make sure to tip your bartenders! U-NO you want to!"
Great, Greg, thanks! Fans can visit the band's official web site at www.undernewownership.com for a complete track listing for the new album, as well as other news and photos. Visit the club on Saturday, January 4 and help the Pony kick off 2003, and be the first to pick up a copy of the debut album from one the local scene's rising stars.
New at The Stone Pony Store
Now at The Stone Pony
Store, we're offering high-quality, signed and numbered prints of a
beautiful watercolor of the Pony by artist Ray Sternesky. We also have
winter caps, jackets, sweatshirts and more, so make sure to visit our
online store today!
Did you know that The Stone Pony often
posts set times for our shows a few days before certain events?
Be sure to visit the Stone Pony's online
Calendar
often for new event announcements, show times and the latest goings-on at
the legendary Ocean Avenue landmark.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Holiday excitement in Asbury
Park
Photos from the tree lighting and fireworks at the Holiday Kickoff Weekend,
Bradley Park & Boardwalk, December 7, 2002.
Coming Soon! The Stone Pony Interview with Glen Burtnik.
Thursday Nights:
Ladies Night with DJ Matrix
The best mix of house/trance/progressive/vocal. All Ladies free before
10, Ladies 21+ free all night, under 21 $5 after 10; Gentlemen 21+ $7, Under 21 $10; Reduced
Admission with College ID or Invite.
Click here for
more information, details and $2 off admission!
