NJ Band Graduates, Gaslight Anthem at Webster Hall on-sale Friday+Brian Fallon solo dates

We are the last of the jukebox Romeos…

(The Gaslight Anthem @ Area 4 Festival 2008)

“And if they end it all,
By the end of tonight,
If the big bomb drops down,
Over this quiet Edison sky.
We'll blow one last kiss,
To all the beautiful nights like this,
Under these central Jersey sky.”

Brian Fallon (singer of the Gaslight Anthem) will perform an intimate solo show at New Brunswick’s Court Tavern on January 24, a venue the band used to play before they started blowing up. Then his band headlines a European and North American tour.

It’s amazing when the bands in your town become popular. It’s kind of a rush when you can say, I saw that band at a basement show and now they’re huge. Or I was friends with the guitarist or I ate dinner with the band. Or I was at the band’s first show. I remember when My Chemical Romance was playing the Loop Lounge in Passaic, NJ and a handful to 50 kids would show up. They’ve now played the venue of all venues, Madison Square Garden. The band is practically from my hometown, Newark, but more appropriate they are from Kearney and Belleville, New Jersey.

For one Jersey kid who enjoys going to shows and recently got into the New Brunswick scene, it’s incredible to see The Gaslight Anthem making their mark. Last year the band released “The 59 Sound,” which is on plenty of top album release for 2008 lists, opened for Rise Against, Thrice, and Alkaline Trio, performed on Conan O’Brien, and opened for the Bouncing Souls, just to name some highlights.

Tickets for the Gaslight Anthem’s show at Webster Hall on March 27 go on-sale this Friday at noon. Heartless Bastards will open. Tickets available here.

In February the band heads to Europe, then in March they headline a North American tour with Heartless Bastards. Tour dates and ticket info available at their MySpace.

Brian Fallon Solo Tour Dates:
1/24 @ Court Tavern, New Brunswick 9pm $10
1/25 @ The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 8pm $10

Happy Jet Black New Year!!

Dear Readers,

Today I launched a new MySpace page for my promotional endeavors. I also changed the about me section. Star Beat will focus on New Jersey music, but still update you on bands from across the globe. What sparked this direction was seeing basements show in New Brunswick and realizing how much independent, DIY acts are out there in NJ that are worthy of exposure. Also, being from New Jersey I feel that the state deserves more coverage. My friends tell me they don't know what's going on in Jersey. So many of them flock to NYC for everything music. I must admit I rarely go to shows in NJ because of lack of transportation, mostly. I always hear about what's going on in NYC and being in Newark, the city is a PATH train away. But I want to uncover the music scene is New Jersey, starting with the basement shows in New Brunswick to the clubs to the bigger venues and even church shows, like the hardcore ones that are going on in Edison at the Stelton Church. There will be more media i.e. photos and video content I hope to include in this blog. Also, must shout out BrooklynVegan for inspiring me to do a blog like this. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy your stay and bookmark this site because there is plenty in store this year.

All the best,
Star, Star Beat Music

Enjoy one of New Brunswick's best. Thursday started out playing basement shows and in March they headline The Taste of Chaos Tour 2009, where they will perform at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ.

"Jet Black New Year" at Hellfest.



"As we kiss hard on the lips and swear,
"this year will be better than the last"

Jet black, the ink that spells your name
Jet black, the blood that's in your veins
Jet black, we say, "how long can we take this chance not to celebrate?"

There's music playing
though we dance to the beat of our own black hearts
Draw diagrams of suicide on each other's wrists
then trace them with razorblades"

Maria Taylor @ Knitting Factory, NYC 6/18- review

Maria Taylor performed at the Knitting Factory to a modestly sized, passionate, and excited crowd, for an evening of lovely, lush, acoustic/ indie folk rock. Opening was friends Johnathan Rice and Nik Freitas. The sound was excellent, especially when Maria started. Her voice was clear and beautiful. Most of the musicians collaborated with one another, including Freitas playing guitar for both Rice and Taylor, and Taylor playing drums for Rice. Good indie rock, new songs, and near swooning was in store at this show.

Nik Freitas performed some very nice songs lyrically and acoustically, but the vocals didn't seem right. Though, his presence wasn’t that captivating the lyrics really touched me. After a few songs he really shined. Songs included, “All the Way Down,” and “Sun Down.” He recently opened for Rilo Kiley and will be playing with Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band this summer. Good for him.

Next was Johnathan Rice who played a sincere, heartfelt set. Maria played drums for him. His lyrics seemed to be about dealing with loss and love. He clearly is one who has gone through a lot of struggle and it's heard in his songs. Although not my typical taste, I enjoyed Rice and it was nice to listen to something a little different. He's dating Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. Good for him.

Maria Taylor was lovely and captivating, for her light rock/ acoustic performance. She started with a stripped down version of “A Good Start,” coming off her 7-song digital EP Savannah Drive. The EP is a collection of favorite songs from 11:11 and Lynn Teeter Flower and new songs, all performed acoustically. She played four new songs, including the self titled track to her new album "Lady Luck," a cover of Skeeter Davis’ “End of the World,” and “Song Beneath the Song,” “Clean Getaway,” and “The Ballad of Sean Folley." "Xanax," a near 6-minute power start of a song about fear "ended" the set. The band really jammed on this one.

She was comical at points, like when someone in the crowd shouted, "You look really pretty," and she replied, “Thanks, that’s weird considering I really haven’t slept or bathed in a very long time (laughs). Must be the red wine."

The encore was mostly by request and started with “Speak Easy.” Somewhere in this set Taylor invited her sister up to play percussion and sing. It was cute. Next was “Replay,” which someone shouted they wanted to hear. Maria was unsure about playing it. Though she reacquainted herself with the song, said it was her first time playing it on this tour, and that she might forget the lyrics so the crowd has to help her out. "Replay" is filled with great lines:

“So with dignity and grace/ Boy you'd have to erase/All the things in your mind/that replay and replay and replay and replay and replay/The things that made you cry/that you forgave, you let go by/or you will push the one that you love out of your life/out of your life.”

This verse speaks perfection for me and I love it when I am able to connect with an artists lyrics in this way. She had the crowd choose either "Two of those two," or "Leap Year." The crowd choose the tear jerker, about a long distance relationship. "I will wait for you/ But please come soon."