As I write this it is Sunday evening, March 7th, 2003. Earlier today I
was down at the Broadway Central
Cafe in South Amboy. Wayne Turback, the eccentric artist/owner of the BCC, recently sold the
place and he was having a garage sale of sorts to get rid of a lot of the items that were part of
this ecclectic bar. That's right, the Broadway Central Cafe is the latest bar supporting local original music to go the way
of the dodo bird. Their last night I believe is March 27th. The new owner plans to close down
to remodel and reopen the place as a..."sports bar"...
Now the Broadway Central Cafe was
far from a great venue, the sound was mediocre at best, the "sunken" stage was a bit weird, and I
even had a problem with a BlowUpRadio.com show there last year. But the place had ambiance, be it the colorful
and strange artwork that Wayne created and adornded the walls with, or the colorful and strange
Wayne himself, and more importantly, the BCC always had local original music. Be it weeknight
open-mic nights or Friday/Saturday shows, there was always something going on there.
As I watch another venue for local original music close it's doors, I can only hope another venue
will come to replace it, but odds are slim. In recent years we lost almost every venue in New
Brunswick, as well as The Cove and Cheers (aka Hooligans) among countless others, and few new
venues offering local original music open to replace them. Other venues that once offered
original music now have switched to doing more cover bands and/or karaoke nights, because sadly,
it's more profitable. I remember a time when you could go to a place like the Court Tavern or
the Saint and regardless of who was playing the place would be mobbed with people, these days
it's not always the case. The people who onced mobbed those (and other places) are now older and
settled down and maybe don't go out so much, and it seems the new younger generation isn't as
interested in spending less than a night at the movies to hear some local original music.
Now I guess the question is, how can we change that? How can we get the college crowd into the
original music scene?
I know I'm somewhat rambling here, but I see local bands giving their all up there on the stage
putting on incredible shows, but often they are playing to a handful of people instead of a
packed venue, and this in turn causes venues to close or stop doing original music nights. If
this keeps up there will be fewer and fewer places for the plethora of talented bands in NJ to
play at, stifling the scene...
While at the Broadway Central Cafe
today I bought a framed picture. It's a shot of the BCC empty, just Wayne sitting at the bar.
it's such a sad and lonely picture of how empty places sometimes are when local bands are
playing. Years from now I will look back on this picture and it may be my only memory of the
long since gone place. I may forget the nights of the place being packed...but I guess I'll
always have the memory of the place being empty...It would be nice to have memories of these
venues packed...
Let's change things. Let's find a way to make the local original music scene thrive!
Go see a local original music show! And bring along several friends! Let's pack the venues!
Let's make the scene stronger!
Peace,
Lazlo
3. NEW SONGS ADDED THIS WEEK
| ARTIST |
SONG |
ALBUM |
| the Finals |
ones and zeroes |
the Finals |
| Ground Level Organization |
sweaty |
the ample sampler |
| Pillar To Post |
Thomas' song (sililoquoy of a reject) |
Pillar To Post |
| Snack |
holiday |
live at the Starland Ballroom |
To hear the BlowUp Radio Network- Where NJ Rock Lives, click HERE.
4. HEADLINES
This weeks Headlines include:
FREDDY GOMEZ JOINS GREEN MACHINE
PARTICLE ZOO LINE-UP CHANGE
THE END FOR CLEVERHANS
THE SAINT CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY - SEEKS PICS AND STORIES
To read these news stories and others, click HERE.
5. CONCERT CALENDAR
TUESDAY MARCH 9TH
| BANDS |
VENUE |
| DAYS AWAKE |
The Saint |
| JOE WHYTE |
Goldhawk |
| JON LEIDERSDORFF |
CB's 313 Gallery (NYC) |
WEDNESDAY MARCH 10TH
| BANDS |
VENUE |
| MAYBE PETE |
The Saint |
MATT WITTE, PETER KARP, MIMI CROSS,
JASON SHAIN, JOE
RAPOLLA, MARK NUZZI |
Harry's Roadhouse |
| JON LEIDERSDORFF |
Stockton State College |
| JASKI |
Whiskey Bar |
THURSDAY MARCH 11TH
| BANDS |
VENUE |
| MADJUL |
Whiskey Bar |
| STEREOSOUL |
The Saint |
| HOLY GOATS, HEY TIGER |
Double D's |
| CREWMAN NUMBER SIX, BUTTERSPY, HINDSIGHT |
Willie McBride's |
FRIDAY MARCH 12TH
| BANDS |
VENUE |
| 7 MINDS |
Stone Pony |
| DAWN BOTTI, L.A.T.C.H. |
Cool Beans Cafe |
| JODY JOSEPH & THE AVERAGE JOES |
Gabrielles |
| JESSIE POLAND |
Internet Cafe |
| MUDBOX, TRUDGE |
The Paradox |
| GRAVEYARD SCHOOL, FLATUS |
Brighton Bar |
| MY POCKET ZOO |
Desmond's Tavern (NYC) |
| BOOMSLANG |
Meow Mix (NYC) |
SATURDAY MARCH 13TH
| BANDS |
VENUE |
| THE HIXON |
Cricket Club |
| MIKE KOVACS |
Cabaret Theatre |
| JODY JOSEPH & THE AVERAGE JOES |
Java Jam |
| SPACED OUT WASTOIDS |
Uncle Joe's |
| COST OF LIVING |
A's Cafe |
| WORDS AWAY, FLATUS, ANGER |
Connections |
| SNACK |
Arlene Grocery (NYC) |
| REDTEAM |
Doc Watson's (Philly) |
| TAGGART |
The Fire (Philly) |
SUNDAY MARCH 14TH
| BANDS |
VENUE |
| JODY JOSEPH & THE AVERAGE JOES |
The Claddagh |
| SIX SIGMA |
Brighton Bar |
| PILLAR TO POST |
The Saint |
To see all the upcoming shows, click here.
6. END NOTES
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