Deal Casino @ Bowery Electric NYC

Over the past two months, the buzz surrounding New Jersey’s Deal Casino has grown into a low roar. In December, they won several honors at the Asbury Park Music Awards including: Top Pop/Rock Band, Top Live Performance, and Top Male Vocalist. Then last week, NJ.com named them one of 35 New Jersey Bands You Need to Hear in 2015. After spending the past year playing the Jersey shore/Philly circuit, Deal Casino made their New York City debut on a cold, winter night downtown at the Bowery Electric.

Opening the set with “Tomorrow,” a cut off their second EP, The Runaways, it is easy to see why Deal Casino has been working non-stop; the band is fierce. Not only do they rock it out, they do it with attitude and fearlessness. This night, much of the set list focused on their last two EPs, especially the newly released Heck. Listening to their progression from their first EP Cocaine Love, through The Runaways and now Heck, the songs and the band itself are constantly evolving. While love found and lost remains a pulsating theme, the stories told have become more complex and interesting.

For the full review, jump over to Deal Casino @ Bowery Electric NYC at OnStage Magazine.

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CMJ Music Marathon Opens in NYC

As if the New York City music scene wasn’t already in overdrive, 1400 band performances are about to drive the city’s noise ordinances into the red zone as the CMJ Music Marathon opens its five day run beginning tomorrow. In over eighty venues spread out across Manhattan and Brooklyn, CMJ will host artists from every musical genre.

After picking up a press pass and checking out the press party at the CMJ Penthouse, it will be time to get to work. With an overwhelming amount of music from which to choose, figuring out a game plan is the hard part. The mobile CMJ Music Marathon app has been extremely helpful, searching by artist, venue, or date brings up all the info you could need. While not every band I’ve been listening to has been exciting enough to check out their show, I’ve found more than enough music to keep me busy watching and writing about for the entire five days of the marathon.

I’m looking forward to a couple of interviews set up through Big Picture Media, the official media company for CMJ. The first is with a bluesy band out of Dallas, Somebody’s Darling. With the release of their third album, the band is fast becoming a favorite in the neo-blues tide rolling up from the south. Another band I am excited to talk with and watch is The Suffers, a wild ten piece band out of Houston. Behind the huge vocals of Kam Franklin, are horns, percussion, guitars, and keys, all throwing down a rock-soul-r&b gumbo. So much fun to be had, and that is only part of one day.

OnStage will be covering the CMJ Music Marathon and reporting on what’s good and what’s not. It’s now 34 years running for CMJ, which is not only a music party of epic proportions, it’s a meeting place for people within the industry to get an intense primer into what is happening right now. Starting on Tuesday, each band in the CMJ Music Marathon lineup has a chance to be the one everyone talks about. OnStage will have ongoing reports on which bands are worth a listen.

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Jim Peterik, His Words and Music

In talking to songwriters over the past several years, it becomes clear that although the end result is the same, the methods for pulling a song together can be very different. Some start with a guitar riff, and some have words just waiting to be put to music. Some get on their knees and pray for inspiration, and others, like Jim Peterik, can pretty much find inspiration everywhere.

Jim Peterik writes a lot of music, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. You may have heard of one or two of his songs: “Eye Of The Tiger” for Survivor, “Vehicle” for The Ides of March, “Rockin’ Into The Night” and most every other charting song for .38 Special. But wait, there’s more… so much more.

Jim Peterik is also a published author. In addition to writing the very successful ‘Songwriting for Dummies,” he has just published his autobiography, aptly titled “Through the Eye of the Tiger.” The book covers all aspects of his life, from nerdy kid living in the suburbs of Chicago to Grammy Award winning and Academy Award nominated composer.

In support of his autobiography, Peterik was the center of attention at The Cutting Room in NYC for a book release party. Proving that not all rock stars are made equal, Peterik walked in on time, and greeted everyone in the room like an old friend, asking questions and remembering names. After an hour of working the room, it was time for Peterik to slip into his comfort zone. It was time for a little music.

For the story of the rest of the night, please jump over to "Jim Peterik, His Words and Music" over at onstagemagazine.com

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The Revivalists @ NolaFunk NYC 8/14/14

With a temperature of 76 degrees at 8 pm, the sun was setting on the west side of Manhattan Island while the nightlife was picking up at the South Street Seaport on the east side. The Watermark Bar is set on a pier over the East River with a view of all three bridges that connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. As harbor cruise ships, water taxis and speed boats navigated the river, NOLAFUNK was underway in NYC, and it was almost time for The Revivalists to take the stage.

The Revivalists are a seven piece band out of New Orleans, throwing down funk and rock rhythms, creating an almost spiritual fusion of harmonies, horns and raising-a-little-hell vocals. Not a band to concern themselves with conforming to their own mold, The Revivalists are a free-form life force, ever creating and ever changing.

Why bother to slowly set the mood when pumping the crowd from the first song is such a better option. As David Shaw’s distinctive vocals began the set with “Stand Up,” the rest of the band immediately kicked into high gear as they drew the crowd into the music. Full of energy, and frenetic at times, Shaw is a mesmerizing frontman, with arms in constant motion and hair that moves to its own tempo.

For the rest of the review and more photos, please click on The Revivalists @ NOLAFUNK NYC 8/14/14  at OnstageMagazine.com

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