FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. THE PONY INTERVIEW WITH VINI "MADDOG" LOPEZ OF STEEL MILL RETRO
2. THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE STONE PONY: LADIES NIGHT
3. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: The Stone Pony Anniversary Party with Vini Lopez and Steel Mill Retro (Friday) and Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers and Soozie Tyrell (Saturday), The Break Ultimate Band Contest (Sunday)
New on the Stone Pony Calendar: Armor For Sleep (February 25), Pepper (February 26), Long Beach Short Bus (March 4), John Eddie Live DVD Shoot (March 5), Gary U.S. Bonds (March 11), Splintered Sunlight (March 12), Badfish (March 25), Collective Soul (April 15), The Bamboozle Festival (April 29 - May 1)
ONE OF THE GODFATHERS OF THE ASBURY PARK SOUND, VINI "MADDOG" LOPEZ, GOES RETRO AT THE STONE PONY'S 31ST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The names that define the seminal days of the Asbury Park music scene are familiar to fans around the world; from the early days in the mid- and late-1960s at The Upstage club to the founding of the Stone Pony in the mid-1970s and the music of bands such as Cold Blast and Steel and Maddog and the Shakes. Some names are more obscure, best known only to those who grew up around the Jersey Shore or who have studied its history more carefully; Buzzy Soul, Child and Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom. The decade of creative energy, musical talent and a unique artistic vision burst into the international cultural consciousness when a young man named Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band bade the world "Greetings From Asbury Park." All of these names have one thing in common, drummer Vini "Maddog" Lopez.
While attending high school in Neptune, New Jersey, Lopez learned to play drums to soul and r&b music with dj Buzzy Lubinsky, who was known for playing live along with the records he spun. Soon, Lopez was playing with Sonny Kenn in Sonny and the Starfires. When Lopez and his friend Danny Federici were looking for a guitarist who could sing, they hooked up with Bruce Springsteen, and formed a series of bands, including Steel Mill and, later, the E Street Band. Vini played the drums on Springsteen's first two albums, "Greetings From Asbury Park," and "The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle".
After leaving the E Street Band in 1974, Lopez continued to be an active player on the scene, notably in Cold Blast and Steel and Maddog and the Shakes. The later band took over the Pony's Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday night gig from Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes in 1977. He has continued to work with Springsteen over the years, lending his drumming talents to songs on "Tracks," "18 Tracks" and "The Essential Bruce Springsteen," as well as appearances at live shows.
In 2004, Lopez restored the music of Steel Mill, now as Steel Mill Retro, performing the music that group performed originally in 1969 and 1970. Joining with fellow members of the Upstage fraternity, Ricky DeSarno on guitar and John "Little Johnny" Luraschi on bass, plus Bill Karecek on keyboards, Lopez and Steel Mill Retro have been playing additional dates and reconnecting fans with some of the magic that drew so many people to their music. The band will help to kick off the club's 31st Anniversary Celebration on Friday, February 18, along with Blue Highways, Exit 117 and Denis Coughlan. The celebration continues on Saturday, with Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers headlining, with Soozie Tyrell, Boccigalupe and the Bad Boys and Dawne Allynne.
The Pony Newsletter spoke with Lopez about his history and how it has come full circle in Steel Mill Retro. We also discussed the upcoming Steel Mill Retro CD and his plans for a book about the music and the memories of Asbury Park's musical legacy.
The Stone Pony: Let's start off with some of your early musical history around Neptune, NJ in the mid-1960s. What was some of the music that you were listening to at the time, and why do you think that soul and r&b music became such an important part of the "Asbury sound"?
Vini Lopez: I listened to the Beach Boys, Elvis, Bobby Darin, Bill Hailey, etc. I was in a drum and bugle corps early on and I played along, on my bugle, to Elvis. Buzzy made r&b happenin' around here.
The Stone Pony: Who was Buzzy Soul and what influence did he have on you? How did his act of playing the drums along with the records he played affect your own attitude towards drumming and would you say that he was the biggest influence on your own style?
VL: Buzzy taught me to play the drums by example. He made me aware of all of the things happening on the records he would play. He played oldies and r&b. Buzzy could make the drums talk. I always try to do that. He was my biggest influence.
The Stone Pony: Your website mentions plans that you've had for years to write and publish a book, "The First Beat from E Street," about your memories of the scene and the many musicians who you befriended and performed with throughout the years. Where do plans currently stand with the book, and do you have any expectations of when it will be published and fans will be able to get their hands on it?
VL: I am working now with Richard Skelly on "The First Beat From E St". We will have a proposal soon and we should be looking at a deal soon.
The Stone Pony: Steel Mill Retro borrows its name from the original Steel Mill, which you played in with Bruce Springsteen from 1969-1970. With all of the bands that you performed with over the years, what is it about Steel Mill that made you want to revisit that name and the music so many years later? Were there any issues about your being able to use the name?
VL: You talk about the "Asbury Sound". Well, Steel Mill was the precursor to all of it. We played original music. Now my band is doing that music. Music that a band hasn't played in 30 years. I wanted people to get a good listen as to what that music was all about. Bruce told me that Steel Mill is mine.
The Stone Pony: What were some of the venues where you performed in the late 1960s and 1970s? Do you remember the opening of The Stone Pony and the first time you were at the club and performed?
VL: The Hullabaloo club in [Asbury Park], the Student Prince in AP, The Dew Drop Inn in Spring Lake, Mrs. Jays in AP. They gave Cold Blast and Steel a Sunday afternoon when the Pony first opened. After that, we played on a regular basis. We were the first rock band to play there in 1974.
The Stone Pony: You're an important part of Pony history, as Maddog and the Shakes succeeded Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes performing Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights here in 1977. How did you maintain such a rigorous performing schedule and are there any memories that stand out from that time period?
VL: We were young and we were into it. We didn't care how much we played as long as we could play. It is our lives that we give to music.
The Stone Pony: How many songs in your set today are originals from 1969-1970? Who were the songwriters in the original band, and how close are the versions that we'll hear performed at the Pony to the sound that fans would have heard in 1969?
VL: Bruce wrote all of the Steel Mill songs. We do them very close to the way they went in the early days.
The Stone Pony: Two of members of Steel Mill Retro, Ricky DeSarno and John "Little Johnny" Luraschi have been around the local music scene for as long as you have. Can you remember knowing Ricky and John from the days at the Upstage club, and would you have ever thought in those days that you'd be performing together as a band 35 years later?
VL: John and Ricky D and I have been playing with each other since high school. I knew them long before I met Bruce.
The Stone Pony: Your performance on Friday, February 18, will part of the Pony's 31st anniversary celebration. Can you share some thoughts on what it means to you to still have the club around after all of these years, and what do you feel is its place in music history?
VL: I'm glad they still let me in. Big Jack really threw me into the Pony once. I was outside and he dragged me in. You will never be able to replace the Pony in some other place. You will lose the history that lives in that building. Too bad that the latter will happen soon enough.
The Stone Pony: What are your long-term plans for Steel Mill Retro? Do you anticipate recording a CD of either the classic Steel Mill material or any new songs that you and the band are working on?
VL: We are just finishing up our CD, "The Dead Sea Chronicals". All [are written by] Steel Mill, except for "What Ever Happened to Asbury Park". That was written by Steve Clark and myself with the arrangement and vocals. I changed a few of the words to make it more now. And we are workin' on new songs now.
The official Steel Mill Retro website can be found at www.steelmillretro.com.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Painting raffle helps food bank: Bruce
Springsteen is among many who helped create a painting which will be raffled
off to benefit the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. The painting was
created under the guidance of artist Kelly Sullivan with the help of
hundreds of Springsteen fans.
THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE STONE PONY: LADIES NIGHT
The hottest Thursday night continues with LADIES NIGHT at The Stone Pony.
The best in house, hip hop, reggae and trance with DJ John Farruggio. 18 for girls, 21 for guys. ID a must! Doors open at 9 pm. Dress to impress. $1 Miller Lite & MGD drafts all night. Beat the Clock Heineken bottles starting at $1.
Come see for yourself why Thursday nights are the hottest with Ladies Night at the Pony!
