Alex Biese – on The Asbury Park Press’ Metromix – comes with a simple, but more than valid question today: “How would you define the “Jersey Shore sound”? It this extract of Alex’ article, I only focused on the two gentlemen I know the best…
THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – by ALEX BIESE -
The “Jersey Shore sound” — it’s a term that has been thrown around by musicians, fans, authors, politicians and critics for decades. Most people, however, have a hard time explaining what it means when pressed for a definition of the music made along the Garden State’s sandy coast and its adjacent regions.
Does it refer to the stadium-shaking rock ‘n’ roll of Bruce Springsteen? The blue-eyed bar-band soul of Southside Johnny Lyon and the Asbury Jukes? How about the New Brunswick-bred punk of the Bouncing Souls and The Gaslight Anthem? Is it all of these things, or none of them?
Southside Johnny Lyon: “I don’t know if there is one Jersey sound, but a defining characteristic is sincerity. The Jersey Shore was a tough place to make it way back then, and the only way you could get anywhere is by moving the audience with some heartfelt music.
By Alex Biese, June 26, 2009