The Big Three Backing Bobby Bandiera

Posted on March 20, 2003 by JUKES.NET

THE NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER – BY JAY LUSTIG – THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2003

The big three of Jersey Shore rock ‘n’ roll — Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Southside Johnny — will perform in a benefit concert at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre on April 29. The beneficiary of the show, titled “The Hope Concert,” will be a musician who has backed them all many times in the past: Bobby Bandiera. The guitarist needs the money to cover medical expenses for his son, Robert Bandiera Jr.

Bobby Bandiera and Gary U.S. Bonds will also perform at the event, and Big Joe Henry of the Trenton-based radio station New Jersey 101.5 FM and Tim McLoone of the Shore-based charity band Holiday Express will co-host. Tickets, priced at $100, $250 and $300, go on sale tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at the Count Basie box office, 99 Monmouth St., and through the box office’s phone line, (732) 842-9000. There will be a four-ticket limit per person.

Continue reading →

Springteen & Co pack 'em in again!

Posted on December 19, 2000 by JUKES.NET

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – BY KELLY-JANE COTTER – MUSIC WRITER – DECEMBER 19, 2000

For those of us lucky enough to be rooted at the Jersey Shore, it’s easy to take all these Springsteen shindigs for granted. But it bears noting that not everyone gets to see a favorite rock star in a setting the size of a high school gym. And, to flip it around, not every 50-something rocker has the credibility to command such a loyal crowd.

So it’s a nice symbiotic relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his hard-core fans here in Asbury Park, where last night some 2,300 fans sweated in Convention Hall while a few hundred more shivered on the boardwalk just to hear him sing his songs.

Last night’s concert was the second of two benefit concerts billed as “Bruce Springsteen’s Holiday Show with the Max Weinberg 7 with Friends.”

Continue reading →

The father, the son and the holy ghost of New Jersey...

Posted on December 17, 2000 by JUKES.NET

MAGGIEPOWELL.NET – BY MAGGIE POWELL – DECEMBER 17, 2000

Being at Sunday’s show at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park was a dream come true for me, to see Bruce perform there… you know, a bit like seeing the Beatles at the Cavern? As the show kicked off with the Max Weinberg 7′s horn section (that included Garry Tallent on tuba) playing “Jingle Bells”, it truly set a precedent for the rest of the night.

To witness Bruce performing a piano version of “For You” in the intimate surroundings of the Convention Hall was simply breathtaking. This was followed by “Blue Christmas” with Bruce on lead vocals and, Bobby Bandiera, Mark Pender, LaBamba and Jerry Vivino, all doing an a capella back-up while Soozie Tyrell added her special touch on the violin and Garry his, on double bass.

Continue reading →

Little Big Man

Posted on October 17, 1999 by JUKES.NET

THE NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER – BY JAY LUSTIG – OCTOBER 17, 1999

Steven Van Zandt sees mobster Silvio Dante, the character he plays on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” as a Renaissance man who happens to operate outside of the law. “He’s one of (Mob boss) Tony Soprano’s best friends and closest confidants,” say Van Zandt, a k a Little Steven. “He’s everything from an ambassador to the outside world to a hitman. He does all the jobs inside that family that are required of him.”

Take the evil out of the equation, and you’re left with something like Van Zandt’s role in the New Jersey rock scene over the last 30 years. Simply put, he’s done it all.

Continue reading →

Greetings from Asbury Park

Posted on May 16, 1999 by JUKES.NET

THE OBSERVER (UK) – BY ED VULLIAMY – MAY 16, 1999

Bruce Springsteen lived here, and played the local bars. Ed Vulliamy goes in search of the Boss’s spiritual home.

Even without Bruce Springsteen, Asbury Park has history. Long before Springsteen named his first album after the place and took its mythology as his own, it was a blue-collar holiday Mecca. Billie Holiday performed here. So did Sinatra, the Marx Brothers, The Who, the Rolling Stones. The beer joints were packed. On a summer Saturday, there was barely anywhere to sit on the beach.

Now, Asbury Park, on the New Jersey coast line, is Ghost-Town-sur-Mer. Take the casino: a fine 1920s iron-and-glass edifice where Bill Haley used to play. Only 10 years ago, Springsteen purists were worried about plans to turn this treasure into a Hard Rock Café ¡nd state-of-the-art recording studio. They needn’t have worried. It’s now bolted shut.

Continue reading →

Historic Rock Jam

Posted on February 2, 1998 by JUKES.NET

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – BY JEAN MIKLE – FEBRUARY, 02, 1998

RED BANK — It started with “This Time It’s For Real” and ended, a little more than three hours later, with “Thunder Road.” It featured a historic roster of Jersey Shore rock talent, from Jon Bon Jovi and Southside Johnny Lyon to Bruce Springsteen and “Little Steven” Van Zandt. And yesterday, fans who were lucky enough to attend Saturday’s “Jon Bon Jovi and Friends Come Together” concert used a string of superlatives to describe the 30-song benefit show, which raised more than $112,000 for the family of murdered Long Branch police Sgt. Patrick King.

King, the 45-year-old father of two young boys, was slain Nov. 20 by a fugitive who had vowed to kill a police officer before killing himself.

“It was a chance to forget about it a little bit,” said Long Branch police Sgt. Bruce Johantgen, one of about 50 city police officers who attended the show. “The outpouring of love from the performers to the audience was unbelievable.”

Continue reading →

Homegrown Stars Rock Charity

Posted on January 30, 1998 by JUKES.NET

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – BY KELLY-JANE COTTER – JANUARY, 30, 1998

Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen have made charity as much a part of rock ‘n’ roll as youth and rebellion. Tomorrow’s sold-out concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, which benefits the family of slain Long Branch police officer Sgt. Patrick King, is only the latest example of two local guys trying to do the right thing. They will — ahem — “keep the faith” and “prove it all night.”

Time and time again, New Jersey’s most famous rockers have put their money where their mouths are — penning songs about hope and then working hard to give hope to others. They’ve donated time and cash to help fight disease, poverty and misfortune. Much of their work has benefited local causes and, much of the time, their fans don’t find out about their financial donations to charity.

Continue reading →

It's been a long time (1991)

Posted on December 30, 1991 by YouTube

This has actually been my 26th birthday, as if anyone would care. September 26. 1991. If I just would have been in Asbury Park that day. But that should take another ten years… and another story-

This magnificent show has been published later as a LASERDISC (!) and VHS by IMPACT/EMI as “HAVING A PARTY AT THE STONE PONY” and this video got quite some heavy rotation on MTV as well.

Directed by: Nigel Dick
Producer: Lisa Hollingshead
Published by: IMPACT VIDEO 1992