FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. THE PONY INTERVIEW WITH XIT88
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: Splintered Sunlight (Friday), G106.3 Third Anniversary Show with Third Eye Blind and Josh Kelly (Saturday), Stryper (Sunday)
New on the Pony Calendar: Free Show with Kill Hannah (November 19), Jersey Shore WHY - World Hungerthon with Joe D'Urso and Stone Caravan (November 22), John Eddie (November 26), Soozie Tyrell (November 28), Hoobastank and Andrew W.K. (November 29), Bill Chinnock (December 6), Strength In Numbers (December 19).
The Official Stone Pony
Store now online!
We're proud to announce the debut of our brand new Official Stone Pony
Online Store! The store has a widely expanded assortment of items and is
ready to serve you right now with secure online ordering. Get a head start
on holiday gift giving with a visit to the all-new
Official Online Store.
One of the Pony's favorite long-time performers is returning to the club on Wednesday, November 26th, when John Eddie makes his traditional holiday appearance on Ocean Avenue. Supporting his recent album, Who the Hell Is John Eddie? (Lost Highway), Eddie will heat up the cold November evening and serve up the perfect celebration for the end of the short work week and the start of the Thanksgiving weekend.
Sharing the stage with Eddie that evening will be Xit88, led by twin brothers Chris and Joe Kostecki, born and bred in New Jersey. In the short time that Xit88 has been together as a band, they have become popular members of the Pony's musical family. They've also performed at other well-known venues in the area, and gotten airplay on local radio stations. The Newsletter caught up with the brothers to find out more about these up-and-comers on the local scene, and their plans for the future.
The Stone Pony: Twins are said to have a special connection and bond between each other. How does that play into your music? Do you feel that your collaboration as musicians and when performing live is special or somehow different since you have that connection, as opposed to other artists who work together?
Joe: Yes, there's definitely a special bond between us, like finishing each others sentences or ordering the same thing at dinner. In reference to our music, it kind of works like a Ying and Yang effect. One brings one aspect while the other focuses on a different. It definitely makes for strong harmonies; many people say there's nothing like "Sibling Harmonies". In the studio, Chris has more patience with the musicians, and I concentrate on the vocals and harmony selections. Yet, we both love working the board and producing. When we're on stage, we both know what each other wants and expects from each other: excitement and non-stop fun, plus good music.
If people left the show enjoying themselves, then we did our job.
The Stone Pony: You were both born in Brick, New Jersey in 1981. Give us some background on when you discovered a love for music, and eventually decided that you wanted to form a band and make a go of it as musicians. Who were some of your early musical influences, and did you take lessons or music classes in school or undertake any other forms of formal training?
Chris: Actually, we were born in Elizabeth, NJ, and moved to Brick to play ice hockey. We decided to change direction and jump headfirst into music after we saw our cousin performing. We come from a show business family. We had acted on TV shows and film, but never pursued music. Watching him perform gave us an up-close taste of the music business and it just drew us in.
We grew up listening to James Taylor, plus Rob Thomas and Steven Tyler. They're all very talented and we enjoy their music and live performances.
Joe takes keyboard, I take guitar lessons. In the beginning, we started taking classical vocal lessons, got a basis of form and got to know our own vocals, then we wanted to expand and studied with an R&B coach and a Rock vocal coach. We're always studying and working at perfecting our craft.
The Stone Pony: Can you recall the first time you performed in public? Are you comfortable, natural performers, or have you needed to overcome stage fright or jitters to be able to perform? What are your feelings nowadays before getting on stage for a show? Is there anything that you like to do to prepare yourselves before hitting the stage?
Chris: We both love being on stage. First show that we performed as a band was definitely difficult.
Joe: I forgot some lyrics, but recovered. I'm very quiet before a show, I tend to keep walking around and never stay in one spot.
Chris: That first show had a song that was a train wreck! But, we were always taught to keep going, so we recovered and can laugh about it now.
We both get a little nervous before shows, not sure if it's nerves or just excited. We love to be on stage. We know people come to see us because they like our music, they're there to support us, they're on our side. My brother and I always say a prayer before we perform.
The Stone Pony: For fans who don’t know, can you describe your sound and your songwriting style? You’re going to opening up for John Eddie at your next Pony gig. Is the Xit88 style something similar to what JE does, or will his fans at the Pony be hearing something different from you guys?
Chris: People describe our music as Matchbox 20 meets Tonic with a little John Mayer. My brother and I like to sing and write about positive things, nothing depressing. We've got some upbeat Pop Rock plus some Contemporary Alternative sounds which tend to be a little more Rock influenced, something for everyone. John Eddie is an amazing entertainer. Our sounds are similar. It's going to be quite a rush and an honor to share the stage with him. He's got some loyal fans, they follow him everywhere. A lot like our fans. Should be a great show!
The Stone Pony: In August and September, you put together a new band. Take a few moments to introduce us to the other band members, and give our readers a little background about how you found them and put this new group together. How has this group of guys been to play with, and how long did it take you for you get tight and start nailing the material?
Chris: Our management team hooked us up with new musicians. Everyone needs to be on the same page and have the same direction, dedication and desire.
Carmine Gutto plays bass. He's a great guy, works hard and has a background of session work with some heavy hitters in the business. He just started playing out with us, he's great on stage.
Mike Maino had been playing lead guitar, but unfortunately hasn't been able to play lately with XIT88, the reason being is he just got signed to a major deal overseas and is living in the studio and getting ready to tour. We're so excited for him, we miss him, he was hard to replace. But, we found another good guitarist, Anthony Manno; he's been learning the songs and is filling Mike's shoes quite impressively.
And, the man that keeps the beats, Kirk Ramsey. Talk about talented. He is one of Jersey's best drummers, we're so lucky to have him. Plus, he's a great guy!
The Stone Pony: As local boys, I assume that you were familiar with the local music scene growing up. Were you aware of the Stone Pony and the whole Asbury Park/Jersey Shore scene and did you grow up with any connection to the musical history of the area?
Joe: We were pursuing ice hockey, really focused on the sport. We weren't big into music, then as we started studying and playing and meeting people, we realized we were in the middle of the East Coast Music Capital. The Pony has started so many careers, it's a legendary venue!
The Stone Pony: The upcoming gig opening for John Eddie isn’t Xit88’s first time playing the Pony’s stage. How do you enjoy performing here, and what do you think about the local scene today? For fans who have never had the experience, can you describe what it’s like to be on that stage looking out into the crowd and the bright lights while performing?
Joe: Our first performance at the Pony was the Sunday Matinee gig and since then we have become not only a local favorite to fans in the area but also to the Pony itself. There's nothing like the feeling of having people enjoy the music you put your heart and soul into. The Pony has so much history; when you step out on that stage, you know you're following in some legendary people's footsteps. It's so cool, that's one of the most famous stages in the world. It has made many careers, and it's home to so many amazing performers. We love it there!
If those walls could talk ...
The Stone Pony: In late September, you had an opportunity to play your first live on-air performance for B985 radio. How was that experience for the band, and were there any surprises performing in that situation you didn’t expect? Can you remember the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio, and is that something that never gets old no matter how many times it happens?
Joe: My brother and I love playing live. The studio is great, but you can't hide when you play live! Chris Brown at B98.5 was great. We did two songs acoustically and answered calls from fans. The band loved it. There were only two mics, so we all crammed in the corner and started to play. It was a great experience especially because it was our hometown radio station.
Jimmy Steel and Carl Kraft at the RAT was the first station to play our music. It felt great that someone accepts our music, enjoys it and wants to share it with their listeners. That feeling of hearing your music on the radio will never get old; we can't get enough.
The Stone Pony: [Speaking of the RAT, ] have you found that media outlets such as WRAT have been supportive of the band, and has airplay been leading to other opportunities for you? Do you think there’s something about the way the band does things that makes program managers, bookers and others around the scene want to work with you and give Xit88 an opportunity?
Chris: A lot of the local music scene has been very supportive, plus it's opened up many doors and expanded our fan base. One big thing happening after the big show with JE is my brother and I have been asked to host a new TV pilot, plus our band will be the house band. It's a new TV show that showcases unsigned talent. There's dancers, models, designers, choreographers and bands. There's been a lot of interest from some major stations and cable networks.
I think people like working with us because of our professionalism and good work ethics, we grew up in the business, so we know how much hard work it takes and we don't take anything for granted. My brother calls it a "mutual respect." The reason we've been making such an impact in the music scene is from the team of people we surround ourselves with, KMAX2 Entertainment, Kyle @ MaxCruise, Terry Camp, Andres Karu, and tons of loyal fans that are always helping us promote our music.
The Stone Pony: Let’s jump ahead to what the band is doing now and your plans for the future. What are the next steps in the band’s career, and are there any plans in the works for recording a CD? As we approach the end of 2003, what do you hope will be some of the band’s accomplishments in 2004?
Joe: We'll be heading back into the studio. We plan on pressing a CD this year. We're hiring promoters to help break our first single [on] radio, "Over My Head," so you'll hear us on the radio more and more. There's talk about signing with an Indie label. Then we can hopefully sell units, build the fan base even more, and create a big enough buzz to catch the attention of the majors. My brother and I see ourselves touring extensively to promote the CD and the single. We'll just keep working hard and making good music.
Xit88's official website can be found at www.xit88.com. John Eddie's official site is located at www.johneddie.com.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Champions!
Two teams from Asbury Park have won Jersey Shore Pop Warner
football division championships. The junior pee wees routed Lacey 26-0 and
the pee wees beat the Toms River Angels 21-12. The teams now move on to
regional action.
Thursday Nights: Ladies Night
The best mix of house, trance,
progressive and vocal. 18 to enter, 21 to drink (ID mandatory). Drink
specials. Doors open at 9:30 pm. DJ Prime and B.G. are on the wheels of
steel ... Dress to impress - our promoters are tough on the door ... Come
see for yourself what all the hype is about. It's on every Thursday
only at The Stone Pony!
