THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – 12/30/05 – BY ED CONDRAN – CORRESPONDENT
Southside Johnny Lyon has been around the block
Ocean Grove is looking pretty good to Southside Johnny Lyon, who continues to rent a house in the hometown he left more than 30 years ago. “I’m back and I’m having a good time,” Lyon said. “I’m easy to spot. I’m the one gardening in my boxer shorts.”
What Lyon loves about living in Ocean Grove is that the seaside town and Methodist campground once known for its rigidity has been loosening up over recent years. “When I was a kid it was so stiff here,” Lyon said while calling from his home. “But now it’s gotten to be more and more bohemian. If it wasn’t I’m sure I would be hearing about gardening in my boxers.”
The Neptune High School alum is up to more than gardening. Lyon and the Asbury Jukes will ring in the new year by delivering a show Saturday night at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. “It’s going to be fun just like any of my other shows” Lyon said. “I’ll do what I usually do, which is make a set list and not follow it. We’ll see if the audience wants to go another way. If they do, we’ll go that way. We’ll play some old stuff and some new songs as well.”
Lyon’s most recent recording is “Into the Harbour,” released in November. “Most of the disc we did live,” Lyon said. “The only overdubs were the horns. I didn’t go into this album with a concept. I just wanted to have fun.”
If the cover art looks familiar, that’s because it’s a shot of the Belmar Basin. “I rode my bike over it one day and I thought, “This would be a good picture.’ It worked out pretty well.”
Lyon’s current living situation is meant to be temporary. His home in the Delaware Bay sustained damages due to a septic problem in 2004, but he’s hoping to return there sometime in the new year. “It’s beautiful down there,” Lyon said. “There are full preserved wetlands around my house. But in the meantime, I’m living day to day in Ocean Grove. When you’re a kid, all you want to do is get as far away from home as possible. It’s not bad to go back. I’m really enjoying it here. It’s nice to do a New Year’s show close by.”
Lyon has no problem spending New Year’s Eve onstage in Red Bank. After all, Ocean Grove may have loosened up in recent years, but it’s still a dry town. “I always consider that evening amateur night for drinkers,” Lyon said. “I’ll conduct traffic from the stage. The best thing about playing New Year’s Eve is that people who tend to be stiff all year long can relax a little bit. New Year’s Eve is a night to come out, have a good time and not worry about things that you usually worry about. You come out, sit back and enjoy the show.”
Copyright (c) by THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – 2005
