New Brunswick, NJ music scene
Encyclopedia
New Brunswick, New Jersey
's music scene has been the home to many notable rock bands. New Brunswick has been a center for punk rock
and underground music; a scene that thrives on quasi-legal live shows in residential basements. These shows are host to not only local bands, but underground bands from across the country and the world. Numerous relatively unknown, self-managed (DIY) bands from this scene have gone on to receive broader acclaim.
and mainstream stadium rockers Bon Jovi
.
More typically, New Brunswick bands have met with local success such as Rotator Cuff
in the '90s and Crossfire Choir in the '80s. Crossfire Choir, with its striped down synthesizer punk sound, crossed over to the New York scene at CBGB
where they opened for many branded punk bands – they lost their record deal with Geffen Records
by cutting an album produced by Steve Lillywhite
(who worked with Psychedelic Furs and U2) in London.
Many other alternative rock bands have gotten radio airplay thanks to Matt Pinfield
who was part of the New Brunswick music scene for over 20 years at Rutgers University radio station WRSU
. The local pubs frequented by Rutgers students, the rock bar Court Tavern (with its motto "Cruel but Fair"), and the dance club The Melody Bar hosted many local bands during the 1980s and 1990s, including The Rockin' Bricks, The Hub City All Stars, Frozen Concentrate, DP and the Greys, The Blasés, Glen Burtnik, The Slaves of New Brunswick, Spiral Jetty, Tiny Lights, The Wooden Soldiers, All God's Children, Hip Shy, No Matter, Bad Karma, Lord John, The Deal, The Mad Daddys, Rotator Cuff, Jigs & The Pigs, TWIG, The Atomic Missiles, The Stuntcocks, True Love, Loaded Poets
, Anderson Council, The Fletchers, Aviso Hara, Bionic Rhoda, Buzzkill, Boss Jim Gettys, Duochrome, Lesser Koodoo, Parallax1, Moot, Stretch, Probable Cause, The Null Set, Judy Dad Called, Flyte, and BBC.
The indie rock band Pavement
made their live debuts at the Court Tavern on Church St. The indie rock scene at the Court Tavern in the 1980s included touring bands such as Butthole Surfers
and others that went on to successful recording careers. There was a heavy punk rock and new wave influence at the time.
Other bands to hail from New Brunswick include The Gaslight Anthem
, Streetlight Manifesto
, Bouncing Souls, and Hub City Stompers
.
, Lifetime
, Screaming Females
, The Fun Ghouls
, Sticks & Stones, and Yo Reg. Thursday
and Midtown
also started in New Brunswick. These bands keep the garage rock sound alive, generally with a stridently sociopolitical or independent message, and bound together by the "do it yourself" punk ethic
. The Bouncing Souls' song "Party at 174" refers to the band's old house at 174 Commercial Avenue, and Lifetime's "Theme Song for a New Brunswick Basement Show" memorializes their humble beginnings. New Brunswick is also the home of independent labels Ferret Records and Don Giovanni Records
.
Quasi-legal shows continue to be held in basements of bands, residents, and students of Rutgers University
. Shows often include a lineup of both local and touring bands. House addresses and show information are distributed privately in order to deter interest from the New Brunswick Police Department. Shows are scheduled to end before 10:00pm in order to avoid breaching local noise ordinances. In addition, sound is reduced by resting mattresses on walls and muting bass drums with objects such as pillows.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's music scene has been the home to many notable rock bands. New Brunswick has been a center for punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and underground music; a scene that thrives on quasi-legal live shows in residential basements. These shows are host to not only local bands, but underground bands from across the country and the world. Numerous relatively unknown, self-managed (DIY) bands from this scene have gone on to receive broader acclaim.
1970s to '90s
Rock bands which started in the New Brunswick area clubs and went on to national prominence include alternative rockers The SmithereensThe Smithereens
The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
and mainstream stadium rockers Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
.
More typically, New Brunswick bands have met with local success such as Rotator Cuff
Rotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...
in the '90s and Crossfire Choir in the '80s. Crossfire Choir, with its striped down synthesizer punk sound, crossed over to the New York scene at CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
where they opened for many branded punk bands – they lost their record deal with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
by cutting an album produced by Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
(who worked with Psychedelic Furs and U2) in London.
Many other alternative rock bands have gotten radio airplay thanks to Matt Pinfield
Matt Pinfield
Matt Pinfield is a music personality and TV host, best known for being a video deejay on MTV and VH1. He currently lives in Harrison, New Jersey having previously resided in East Brunswick Township...
who was part of the New Brunswick music scene for over 20 years at Rutgers University radio station WRSU
WRSU
WRSU-FM is a noncommercial college radio station serving Rutgers University, broadcasting at 88.7 MHz FM from New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is a faculty-run public radio station that has a variety of shows hosted by students and community members. Its main offices are located on the College Avenue...
. The local pubs frequented by Rutgers students, the rock bar Court Tavern (with its motto "Cruel but Fair"), and the dance club The Melody Bar hosted many local bands during the 1980s and 1990s, including The Rockin' Bricks, The Hub City All Stars, Frozen Concentrate, DP and the Greys, The Blasés, Glen Burtnik, The Slaves of New Brunswick, Spiral Jetty, Tiny Lights, The Wooden Soldiers, All God's Children, Hip Shy, No Matter, Bad Karma, Lord John, The Deal, The Mad Daddys, Rotator Cuff, Jigs & The Pigs, TWIG, The Atomic Missiles, The Stuntcocks, True Love, Loaded Poets
Loaded Poets
Loaded Poets is an American rock band, formed in North Brunswick, New Jersey in January 1980, by Jim Wood , Dan Snyder , John Kayne , Mark Francione , and Eric Hoffer . The band has played together for over 30 years...
, Anderson Council, The Fletchers, Aviso Hara, Bionic Rhoda, Buzzkill, Boss Jim Gettys, Duochrome, Lesser Koodoo, Parallax1, Moot, Stretch, Probable Cause, The Null Set, Judy Dad Called, Flyte, and BBC.
Indie rock at local bars and clubs
Local rock music luminaries include Pat DiNizio and Andy Bernstein, formerly of the Smithereens, who has been fronting local rock bands since the late '70s. Their current band is the VooDudes.The indie rock band Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
made their live debuts at the Court Tavern on Church St. The indie rock scene at the Court Tavern in the 1980s included touring bands such as Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
and others that went on to successful recording careers. There was a heavy punk rock and new wave influence at the time.
Other bands to hail from New Brunswick include The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, consisting of Brian Fallon , Alex Rosamilia , Alex Levine and Benny Horowitz...
, Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto is an American punk band with many influences from different genres including ska, from New Brunswick, New Jersey fronted by Tomas Kalnoky....
, Bouncing Souls, and Hub City Stompers
Hub City Stompers
Hub City Stompers are a ska/reggae/Oi! band based out of New Brunswick, NJ, formed in summer of 2002. The band has included former members of bands such as Foil, Professor Plum, Inspecter 7, The Schematics, Bomb Town, and other New York City and New Jersey bands. They are influenced by various...
.
Punk, garage bands and basement shows
Some of the bands of the New Brunswick basement punk scene include The Bouncing SoulsThe Bouncing Souls
The Bouncing Souls are a punk rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1987. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-hearted songs, a model followed by various other local...
, Lifetime
Lifetime (band)
Lifetime is an American melodic hardcore/emo band from New Jersey. Lifetime was formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1997. In late 2005, they announced their reunion.-History:...
, Screaming Females
Screaming Females
Screaming Females is an independent rock band, often labeled as a punk rock band, from New Brunswick, New Jersey. They have released four full length albums, entitled Baby Teeth, What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.?, Power Move, and Castle Talk.The band features Marissa Paternoster on guitar...
, The Fun Ghouls
The Fun Ghouls
The Fun Ghouls are a punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey that formed in 2004, best known not for music but for quirky short films they made and starred in.Their influences include The Misfits, Black Flag, and Nirvana....
, Sticks & Stones, and Yo Reg. Thursday
Thursday (band)
Thursday were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, the group has released six full-length albums, their most recent being No Devolución, which was released in April 2011 on Epitaph Records...
and Midtown
Midtown (band)
Midtown was an American pop punk band from Springfield, New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three Rutgers University students, but soon became a quartet. The band took advantage of the fertile New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of pop punk and punk rock...
also started in New Brunswick. These bands keep the garage rock sound alive, generally with a stridently sociopolitical or independent message, and bound together by the "do it yourself" punk ethic
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
. The Bouncing Souls' song "Party at 174" refers to the band's old house at 174 Commercial Avenue, and Lifetime's "Theme Song for a New Brunswick Basement Show" memorializes their humble beginnings. New Brunswick is also the home of independent labels Ferret Records and Don Giovanni Records
Don Giovanni Records
Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label specializing in punk rock. Each year the label puts on the Don Giovanni Records Showcase.-History:...
.
Quasi-legal shows continue to be held in basements of bands, residents, and students of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. Shows often include a lineup of both local and touring bands. House addresses and show information are distributed privately in order to deter interest from the New Brunswick Police Department. Shows are scheduled to end before 10:00pm in order to avoid breaching local noise ordinances. In addition, sound is reduced by resting mattresses on walls and muting bass drums with objects such as pillows.