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Music & Martinis – The Day Southside met Second City

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THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – BY ED KAZ! – CORRESPONDENT – DECEMBER 31. 2004

Southside Johnny Lyon, sketch comic? – You read right. It was way back in 1981, when Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes ventured to Canada to tape the legendary TV comedy show “SCTV Network 90.” Even though it aired on NBC, hardly anyone saw it, given its graveyard time slot of 12:30 a.m.

Thankfully, this problem has been remedied. The episode was included as part of a “SCTV” DVD boxed set released in June, allowing fans to enjoy the show in all its comedic glory without bleary-eye syndrome. Lyon and the Jukes show up (as a wedding band!) in a sketch entitled “Southside Fracas.” The group is at the top of its game, with Lyon trading witty repartee with the likes of Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and the late John Candy.

Who knows? Had his career as a soul-shouter gone south, Johnny Lyon might have joined the ranks of Bob and Doug McKenzie and become a TV funnyman. Just the same, music fans are happy he’s held on to his regular job. Lyon, who will be ringing in 2005 along with the Asbury Jukes at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, recounted his comedic adventure in the Great White North.

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4th of July, Asbury Park (Johnny)

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THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – BY ED KAZ! – CORRESPONDENT – JULY 02, 2004

Southside Johnny Lyon personifies sound of the Jersey Shore

Sandy split this scene years ago. Madam Marie is still on probation. Don’t even ask about the damn Tilt-a-Whirl. Nevertheless, on July Fourth, Asbury Park’s fabled boardwalk will once again come alive with the blare of horns, the screech of guitars and the rockin,’ testifyin’, soul shoutin’ of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. As part of the Stone Pony’s Red White and Blue Weekend, Johnny Lyon and band are scheduled to take the main stage at 8 p.m. and commence to some good old-fashioned roof raising, Jersey-style.

Lyon, of Ocean Grove, was in the middle of a series of concerts in the Washington area last week when Jersey Alive! rang him up in his hotel room. Although disappointed we weren’t room service, he talked to us anyway.

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Interview: It’s his party!

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THE ASBURY PARK PRESS – INTERVIEW BY ED KAZ – DECEMBER 29, 2000

“I get up onstage and go insane and sing. It’s my only redeeming feature, I think.” — Southside Johnny

It’s a simple equation: New Jersey + New Years = Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. And this year, the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank will be the scene of the crime, as a revved-up Johnny Lyon — along with a recharged Asbury Jukes — will ring in 2001 with a raucous live show mixing rock, blues and soul in a manner that is both unpredictable and unparalleled.

Lyon has reason to be revved. His month-old new release, “Messin With the Blues,” (Leroy Records BHCD1001) produced by high school pal and E Streeter Garry Tallent (who also plays bass and co-wrote many of the songs with Lyon), finds the singer in top-notch form, blowing through a lucky 13 tracks that traverse a broad spectrum of blues, from New Orleans to Chicago-style to Cajun. As hard as this is to believe, it’s the first time the Ocean Grove native has ever done a full-on blues album. Better late than never.

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