FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. BILL CHINNOCK CONTINUES OUR 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: Winter Stokefest 2004 (Friday), Bill Chinnock and His Band with Special Guest Vini Lopez and Steel Mill Retro (Saturday), NJ Hardstyle (Sunday)
New on the Stone Pony Calendar: NJ Hardstyle (March 14), Cabas (March 20), Epiphany House Asbury Park Benefit (March 21), David Allan Coe (March 27), The Local Bamboozle (April 3), Saturday Night Special (April 9)
BILL CHINNOCK AND HIS BAND CONTINUE THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS AT THE STONE PONY
Did you miss Bill Chinnock's return to the Stone Pony in December because of the blizzard? Did you miss the sold-out show with Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers to celebrate the club's 30th Anniversary two weeks ago? Now you've got a chance to right both of those wrongs when Chinnock tries again this Saturday, March 13th, along with very special guests Vini Lopez and Steel Mill Retro.
February 27th and 28th was a special weekend for the Pony, featuring two shows that highlight why the Pony is one of the legendary rock venues in music history. Friday night, Soozie Tyrell, Glen Burtnik and Pat DiNizio packed the club and kicked off the festivities as the Pony started commemorating 30 years as a fixture on Ocean Avenue and on the national music scene.
Saturday night, Dawne Allyne opened the evening for a sold-out house, followed-up by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. Cafferty and his band put on a show that brought back memories of some of the club's greatest moments, and got the crowd moving and singing along while fans and friends crowded the stage and shared in the emotional performance.
Headlining the memorable evening was Pittsburgh's own Joe Grushecky, along with his band The Houserockers, who played one of their best sets ever on the Pony stage. Grushecky, who has been a part of many memorable and historic moments in front of the distinctive Pony logo, was celebrating the release of his new CD, "True Companion" (Schoolhouse Records). Despite the fact that the CD had only been released a few weeks earlier, and many fans were buying the album that night at the merchandise table, a good number of fans were already singing along to the newer tracks. If the heat and energy of this live performance was any indication, the album should be a great success for the band, and bring new fans into the fold.
"It is always great playing the Pony," Grushecky told the Newsletter a few days after the show. "The atmosphere of the club and the enthusiasm of the Jersey shore crowds are always inspiring. We like to think of Jersey as our "home away from home." Let's hope we can make it to the 40th anniversary. Get your tickets now and see you there!"
For more information about "True Companion," or to purchase your copy, visit www.grushecky.com.
But, before plans for the 40th anniversary can begin, the club will continue our 30th anniversary celebrations throughout 2004. On Saturday, March 13th, one of the originators of the Asbury sound, Bill Chinnock, will share the stage with another of its founding members, and an old friend, Vini Lopez.
Chinnock is currently promoting his new CD, and his first release since 1992, "Livin In The Promised Land" (East Coast Records). When asked to describe his feelings about the Stone Pony and the Asbury Park music scene in a December 2003 interview with the Pony Newsletter, Chinnock responded:
I believe that "Livin In The Promised Land" brings all the elements of my musical journey into focus. I wanted it to be an American Music record that draws from our roots yet is hopefully contemporary and looks forward. All of us who grew up in NJ, we have a big V8 engine in our musical car, we can't help it. We awoke listening to James Brown, Wilson Pickett, WNJR Blues Hour, The Temps, Marvin Gay, Albert King, etc. We all use it differently, but that angst is what moves us. Inside, I remain the same skinny kid with a Stratocaster and harmonica. Playing loud. I am proud to come home. It's natural.
The full interview with Bill Chinnock is available on the "Newsletter" page of the club's website.
Steel Mill Retro, featuring Ricky "D" DeSarno, John Luraschi and Benny Harrison, is led by the solid drumming of Vini "Maddog" Lopez. Lopez has been drumming since 1964, and has performed with a sequence of local Asbury Park legends. Anyone who knows the history of the area's musical legacy will recognize the names of some of Lopez's former bands: Sonny and the Starfires, The Downtown Tangiers Rockin' Rhythm and Blues Band, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and Cold, Blast and Steel. In 1977, he performed with the Bill Chinnock Band, and he also spent a few years practicing with some little-known band in David Sancious' basement. I wonder what ever happened to them?
All of this history culminates on the most historic stage of them all this Saturday evening. Fans shouldn't miss their chance to be a part of the memories. Get your tickets now, bring your friends, have a drink and be sure to find a spot close to the stage.
Bill Chinnock's website can be found at www.billchinnock.com. The Steel Mill Retro website is located at www.steelmillretro.com.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Jackson collection sold: A huge
collection of memorabilia formerly belonging to Michael Jackson and his
family was loaded into containers and is headed off to Europe after spending
a year and a half in an Asbury Park warehouse.
Thursdays at the Stone Pony: Ladies Night
The hottest Thursday night continues with Ladies Night
at The Stone Pony. Music by DJ Prime spinning the best in house, hip
hop, reggae and trance, 18 to enter, 21 to drink, ID a must! Doors
open at 9:30 pm, dress to impress! 25 cent Budweiser drafts 'till 11
pm, $1 drafts after 11, $2 shot specials all night. Comes see for
yourself why Thursday nights are the hottest with Ladies Night at the Pony!
