A Message From Southside Johnny

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Hey, gang.

Thought I’d say something here for all to see. It’s been a bad couple of weeks. Kevin, Steve Popovich and now unbelievably, Clarence. I’m still finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning. But think what all three would say.

Don’t let your mourning stop you from enjoying life.

Kevin was always positive and up, and Steve, whom most of you didn’t know, had such energy and love of music that he would wear you out. Clarence, well just look at the clips on youtube. Could anyone be more forceful and happy with his being a member of the E Street Band?

I guess the lesson is to wring every drop of joy out of our brief time on earth and celebrate the gifts that these and other giving people left us, and try to do the same for others.

These are the moments that make me glad I make music. It’s helps me and I know it can help you, too.

It’s like Steve Van Zandt wrote: Better Days Are Coming.

Love, Southside

posted on SouthsideJohnny.com on June 20th 2011

Outside The Box, Inside The Pony

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So, how did YOU spend your Wednesday night?

Me? Well, after bolting from the office at the stroke of 5:00, I jumped on the train down to Asbury Park to simply catch the opening show of Outside the Box’s summer residency. What I ended up with, however, was the privilege of experiencing one of those great nights at the legendary Stone Pony.

I have often felt bummed that I missed out on Asbury Park during its glory days (ahh, Bruce’s “Glory Days”…a shout-out to SS on that one. LOL) There is something about the mix of music, boardwalk and beach that just resonates with me. And, due to the storm that had blown through, there was hardly anyone on the beach. Perfect…just the way I like it.

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The Westside Sounds Of Asbury Park - Panel Discussion at the Atonement Lutheran Church in Asbury Park (8 Videos)

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Panel Discussion on the history of race and music in Asbury Park, NJ. Nicky Addeo, moderator Daniel Wolff, Bobby Thomas, Southside Johnny Lyon and Bruce Springsteen (Note: The video sounds are a little low) Video by: stzapper

Reported by Stan Goldstein of The Star-Ledger: Bruce Springsteen was a surprise special guest at a panel discussion on Saturday afternoon at the Atonement Lutheran Church in Asbury Park. The roundtable talk was on soul, rhythm & blues and the history of race and music in Asbury Park. It featured author Daniel Wolff (4th of July Asbury Park) who was the moderator with guests: Southside Johnny Lyon, Bobby Thomas, Nickey Addeo and Springsteen who was not advertised as part of the panel. Continue reading →

Southside Johnny says Asbury Jukes still same ol' party band, despite serious disc

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Posted by John J. Moser at 01:30:00 AM on September 30, 2010

In its 35-year history, seminal New Jersey rockers Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes has always channeled its audiences’ emotions in its songs — typically in boozy, bluesy tunes such as “I Don’t Want to Go Home” or Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party.” But that’s not the case with the band’s newest disc, “Pills and Ammo,” a collection of series songs set to swampy rock on which front man Johnny Lyon sings with a bluesy voice on tunes that wouldn’t sound out of place on Bob Dylan’s watermark late ‘80s disc “Oh Mercy.”

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes formed around the same time and place as Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band and cross-pollinated with the group so much that E Street members Max Weinberg, Patti Scialfa and Steven Van Zandt all were Jukes at one point. But while others found huge success, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes never had a chart-topping hit or platinum album. Its late 1970s releases marked its commercial high point, though 1991’s “Better Days,” also produced by Van Zandt and with contributions from Springsteen and fellow Jerseyite Jon Bon Jovi, was a critics’ favorite. (…)

In a recent telephone interview from New Jersey, where he still lives, Lyon talked about the new disc, his history with Springsteen and life as a Juke at 60.

Read the interview at the Lehigh Valley Music Blog

Southside Johnny returns with hard-rocking album, 'Pills and Ammo'

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Southside Johnny is getting in touch with his inner Mick Jagger.

“Pills and Ammo,” the new album he is releasing with his longtime band the Asbury Jukes, is a collection of lean, Rolling Stones-oriented rock ‘n’ roll — arguably the hardest-rocking set the band has released in its 35 years of recording. On a beautiful mid-May afternoon, I talked, by phone, with the 61-year-old Shore rock legend and Ocean Grove resident about the album, his career and his upcoming shows.

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