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| THE STONE PONY ONLINE NEWSLETTER |
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FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE 1. THE PONY INTERVIEW WITH JOE D'URSO |
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This Week at The Stone Pony: Marah (Friday), Patti Smith (Saturday), New On The Stone Pony Calendar: Butch Walker (April 2), Sean Lennon (April 9) Visit The Stone Pony on MySpace.com at: http://www.myspace.com/ponyrock |
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JOE D'URSO JOINS MARAH AND PATTI SMITH TO CELEBRATE OUR 33RD ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND The Stone Pony Anniversary Series continues this weekend with two huge shows to help celebrate the club's 33rd anniversary. On Saturday, Philadelphia's own Marah returns to the Pony stage. On Sunday, fans shouldn't miss the chance to see Patti Smith, a 2007 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall Fame, and her band perform in front of the legendary Pony logo. Joining Marah to help kick-off what will be a very memorable weekend will be Joe D'Urso, who has performed here several dozen times over the past 15 years. A adopted member of the Asbury Park musical community, the Rockland, NY native has established himself with a rigorous touring schedule and tireless support of numerous causes. He has released a string of successful independent albums and his increasing number of overseas tours have established himself as a sought-after live act in the United Kingdom and Italy. He is currently supporting the re-release of one of his earliest albums, 1993's "Rock-Land," which includes the early recordings of some of his most-popular tracks, including "Noisy Guitars," which is often a fan-favorite set highlight. The Pony Newsletter interviewed D'Urso, who we last spoke with in June 2006, to talk about the significance of celebrating the club's anniversary, the re-release of "Rock-Land" and promoting his music on both sides of the Big Pond. The Stone Pony: Your upcoming appearance at the club will be as part of the 2007 Anniversary Series, supporting Marah. Do you have any thoughts on what it means to have a club like the Pony still around and kicking after so many years? Joe D'Urso: Perseverance! After playing around the last 15 years, I've toured in 24 countries and I've seen many clubs come and go but the Pony (a few years notwithstanding) is still standing and rocking. Kudos to management and fans for that. It's important for young bands to have a place like this to perform in, a place where their friends can see them on a legendary stage and see them trying to take their place in the great big book of rock! The Stone Pony: Do you have any estimate of how many times you've performed on the Pony stage? Are there any performances that particularly stand out for you, good or bad? Do you still feel anything special when you're playing here or does it become the "same old thing" after a while? JD: The first time I performed there was New Year's Eve 1989 going into 1990 and we followed John Eddie who was headlining. We actually performed for the crew that was cleaning up! Hell, we didn't care as it was our third or fourth gig and we were playing The Stone Pony, that's all we knew. I guess I have played there around 40/50 times by now but, in all honesty, I'm not really sure. It never feels like the same old thing at all! I never get sick of walking around the club, seeing the photos (I'm actually in a few on them) and soaking in all the old ghosts. Not many places at all like the Pony. At this moment I can't think of one now that CBGBs is gone (that was my second gig!) The two memories that stick out are 1992 with Southside Johnny, Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen on stage singing together as Johnny had just released his "Better Days" CD. Myself and Stone Caravan were the opening act that night. The other memory I have is from one of The Light of Day shows when Bruce, Patti and I were sharing a mic on "Twist and Shout". Could have driven across the USA on the buzz I had that night! The Stone Pony: Your most recent CD release is actually a re-release of your 1993 album "Rock-Land." You mention in a blog entry that fans have been asking for it for years, so why was now the right time to make it available? How do you feel that the album holds up these years later and did it make you feel nostalgic when you were going through the process of mastering it for re-release? JD: This was the right time as I always had other projects on the burner and this time there was a break in the action and I thought I should take advantage of the downtime. I've released a lot of new material over the past seven years since 2000's "Rock and Roll Station" and I thought it would be good to soak in the times for a while as I just released "Cause..." in 2006. By re-releasing "Rock-Land" and performing songs from that disc, it has made me go back to 1992 many nights in my mind. That CD was released in 1993, but I wrote most of it in '92 when I was still living in NYC and just walking the Village and the [city] as a young, broke, dreamer. I find myself thinking about those days again as I talk about "Rock-Land," but it's good nostalgia. You gotta make peace with your past or it will hunt you down. The Stone Pony: Several of tracks of "Rock-Land," were rerecorded for later albums, most notably "Noisy Guitars" and "Never Missed You More." Looking back, do you feel those songs evolved or was it just a case of a band becoming tighter and better at what you did? Do you tend to see your songs as being "finished" at some point, never to be touched again, or do you like continuing to work on a song even after it's been recorded and introduced to your audience? JD: We re-recorded songs from our earlier releases in 1991, 1992 and 1993 as we felt the studios we were using at that time weren't that great and we were still trying to find out who we were as a band, and certainly myself, as a singer and a writer. I don't think there are any rules to this game and if someone feels they need to re-work something than they have every right. I haven't rerecorded a song in years as I feel we have the time and studio to get it "more" right than we did in the past, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again. I've released over 120 songs over the years and I think I've re-recorded 10 or 12 songs overall, so that's pretty good overall. I just felt I didn't get it right the first time, the song deserved better treatment [than] it originally received. The Stone Pony: You recently returned from another tour of Europe, which has become a regular occurrence for you recently. Why do you think Europeans fans have such an interest in American roots rock music and do you feel it's been easier promoting your music on that side of the Atlantic? JD: Definitely easier promoting my music overseas. Without a doubt. I've also have had more support slots on bigger tours which helped me pick up an audience over the years, be it with Southside Johnny, Nils Lofgren or going back to The Hooters in Scandinavia in 1993 and 1994. European fans tend to stay more loyal than US fans and pay less attention to trends. I think there is also an extra bonus for them in hearing Americana music being played by Americans than, say, a Dutch band. Now there are many great Dutch bands that play Americana really well, in fact great, but there is an advantage of being an American band when we are there and we realize that and appreciate it. I also think that being in a foreign country elevates your performance because the only reason you are in that city or country is to perform and play your songs and say whatever it is you are trying to get across to your audience. The Stone Pony: Are there any differences in how American and European audiences react to different songs? Are there certain songs that are big fan favorites in the U.S. that don't get much reaction over there, or tracks that you know you can close a set with in Italy or the U.K. and barely play over here? Do the lyrics or any other cultural differences affect how people react to any of your work, or it is true that music is really universal? JD: I've been pretty lucky as a songwriter that certain songs like "Noisy Guitars," "Rock and Roll Call," "Welcome Home" and "Tell Me Why" get the same reaction on both sides of the pond. My songs seem to work the same everywhere we play them but it just seems we sell more CDs and have bigger attendances in cities overseas, in the UK and Italy especially. Overseas, I am more willing to throw out some old-time rock and roll songs at the end of the night for the fun factor where sometimes here at home I don't feel as comfortable doing that, but I think I have almost gotten over that. I'm at the point, after almost 2,000 performances, that I just do what feels right and I hope the audience "gets it" and has a good time. The Stone Pony: You spent the Fall continuing your support of charitable causes by performing at the Hungerthon event to support The Food Bank and the Light of Day shows in support of Parkinson's Disease research. Were both of those events successful and do you find it's more rewarding for you being involved with actually booking the events and making them happen? JD: Yes, both LOD (Parkinson's) and the WHY Hungerthon were successful, but I actually felt for the first time that I may have taken on too much. We had 15 acts for the WHY Bruce-thon in Asbury and then 35 acts for three days of LOD in Sayreville before departing for Europe for LOD in London, Barcelona and Rome with Willie Nile, Jesse Malin, myself and artists from each country. I had booked and organized most of all of the events with great help from some great people. When it was all done and Christmas rolled around, I was beat! I knew we had done some good work but I was real glad it was over. But then, days and weeks [started] rolling by and my mind got going and Bob Benjamin and I started plotting and now ... we will be announcing 10 Light of Day shows this year as I have been working (with Bob) on three shows in New Jersey and one each in San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Stockholm. And some Hungerthon shows as well for WHY. Yes, crazy I know, but I just feel that time of the year (November and December) is for giving. You've got 10 other months for yourself. The Stone Pony: You have a couple of interesting events coming up at Riverspace Arts in Nyack, NY; co-hosting a new "Songwriters on the River" performance series and a big show with Southside Johnny. Can you share some more details about these happenings with our readers and let them know how they can be a part of them? JD: The best way to be part of them is to join our email list at www.jdcaravan.com. The Songwriters By The River Series is something I wanted to do for a while and with the opening of the new Riverspace Arts in Nyack it just fell in my lap. I'm real excited to see where we can bring this series as we have Rocklandworldradio.com in the building next door and I would love to see this series go global ala "world cafe" or "mountainstage". The Southside Johnny show is a natural progression as I helped bring Johnny into the Rockland area the last three years. Before that, Southside hadn't been there in over a decade at least. That area has always had a love affair with the Jukes, myself included, and it was my pleasure to restart that love affair. The Stone Pony: In a recent interview, you said that "I'm not a musician. I'm a songwriter." Can you elaborate on that comment a little bit? Does that distinction relate to how your perceive your abilities as a lyricist versus as a guitarist, or does it have to do more with your attitude towards songwriting or what you consider is more important to relate to your audience? JD: I think that comment came from the fact that many folks learn how to play an instrument for years, they learn chords, scales, notes, theories, etc. I never had that luxury. I was always writing words since I was a kid. Notebooks full. Drawers full. Boxes full. I started playing guitar at 23 years old as time was running short in my eyes and I needed a vehicle, a way, to get these words and thoughts out of my notebooks and out to someone, somewhere. To make some sort of a connection. Of course I am a musician because I play music and I write songs but to me, personally, musicians are people who can speak a certain language and communicate with each other in that language. I was never interested in communicating with musicians, I was only, and I'm still only, interested in communicating with people. Maybe that is why I gravitated towards folk, folk-rock, roots, rock and roll as that music was more about communication than the language of music. Don't get me wrong, I love and respect musicians to no end, it's that my mind works more in melody and song than it does in the language of music. The Stone Pony: What else is on the horizon for you? Are there any plans to return to Europe, other touring plans for the Summer or thoughts on returning to the studio for another new original album? Have you set any goals for yourself in 2007 or new areas of your career that you're hoping to explore? JD: I will be returning to Europe a few more times in 2007. The first time will be in the summer as I have been doing an annual tour of Italy in July for the last few years and we may add on a few countries as well. Then I will be back in November for the Light of Day week in five countries. The Summer will also see myself and Stone Caravan (Sam LaMonica, Greg Lykins and Mr. Lou DeMartino) return to Summerfest in Milwaukee as I have performed at that festival for the last 15 years now. Wouldn't feel like Summer without Summerfest. And, hopefully, an outdoor Stone Pony show. Sometime later this year I think we will finally record our first live record. After ten studio releases I think it's time for us to do that since we are a live band at our core. We'll probably release that in early 2008 and then hopefully an original CD in 2009. As far as new areas, I think I am just starting to really explore Benefits and Fundraisers on a international surface as well as trying to take on the promoter's hat for shows in the metro area. But mostly, I just like to strap on my guitar and rock. Or play acoustic and sing quietly. Depending on what mood I'm and where I'm booked. Thanks for your help and God Bless. The official Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan website can be found at www.jdcaravan.com. Joe's CDs can be purchased online or at fine music retailers like Jack's Music in Red Bank, NJ. |
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EVERY THURSDAY Giant Coors and Coors Light $1 The Pony has an opening for a ladies night promoter! |
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
For updated information, set times and directions, visit www.stoneponyonline.com or call the Pony box office. |
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TICKETMASTER Charge by Phone: 201-507-8900 |
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THE STONE PONY ONLINE NEWSLETTER is written by Matt Mrowicki and published by Impression Technologies, LLC (www.imprtech.com). ©2007, The Stone Pony. Comments may be sent to: newsletter@stoneponyonline.com. |