I wonder what would happen if there was another tribute to another moment in
Asbury
Musical history, when a salute is done to some of the 80's and beyond punk and
rock
bands that also performed in Asbury.
Many people either don't know, or forget that AP had clubs like The Hot Dog
House which
hosted a veritable who's who of punk bands that later went on to noteriaty.
And think back to the Fast Lane which hosted acts such as U2, Kiss, Psychedelic
Furs,
Smashing Pumpkins and hoards of others long before they were known widely.
Asbury also played host to a great number of local bands and musicians that
went on to
notable careers.
The bottom line is that part of what made Asbury great was it's musical
heritage.
Remember the WNEW concerts in the 70's/80's?
And the amazing shows at Convention Hall?
It blows my mind that the powers that be in Asbury don't have the foresight to
capitalize
on this heritage.
I've said this before, but take a look at Austin TX. Music tourism is huge
there, and without
it Austin would probably be just another Texas town, but these days they host
the biggest
musical event in America, SXSW. Many current musicians careers took off after
doing
shows there, and people like Tom Waits do shows at that festival that sell out
in seconds.
I truely believe that Asbury could also do something similar, but it seems like
the odds are
stacked against making music a viable draw to Asbury. It's too bad, because
it's the one
thread to the past that we still have.
Jack
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, Lightgrw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> On Dec 19, 2006, at 8:14 AM, Traderdube wrote:
>
> > Hinge my boy, I just knew you were going to rant over Danny boys
> > anti-Soap rant. I read the article and I am not ashamed to say that
> > for
> > all intents and purposes, I agree with Dan. A plaque on the boardwalk
> > is
> > almost as big a pile of krap as the save tillie thing.
>
> Yeah, I guess the idea of music tourism is pretty dumb for a place like
> Asbury Park where people have been coming from around the world to
> visit since the late 70s. I'm a bit surprised by your post, I know you
> were around for the history when it was being made. When you break it
> down the way you do you make it look like Asbury Park was ridiculous to
> put up a monument saluting a bunch of musicians and people who helped
> form the Asbury Park music scene and "sound" that millions of people
> love around the world.
>
> Why?
>
> Sure Bruce Springsteen tops the list. Guess what? Very few towns the
> size of Asbury Park will ever have one artist like Mr. Springsteen to
> feel proud of. Asbury Park not only has Bruce but has Jon Bon Jovi,
> Southside Johnny, David Sancious, Steven Van Zandt, and Bill Chinnock
> among its legacy. Southside Johnny's "Hearts of Stone" was voted by
> Rolling Stone as one of the all-time top 100 albums once; David
> Sancious has recorded and toured with many of the top artists in the
> world including Bruce, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel and Sting; Steven
> Van Zandt has not only re-emerged in recent years as an actor on the
> Sopranos but his radio show is heard nationwide; and Bill Chinnock has
> won Emmy Awards for his songwriting and was dubbed him "the real
> essence of American music" by John Hammond, Sr.
>
> What's wrong with saluting some of the people who were playing in the
> clubs before and during these guys ride towards fame? Should history
> only be written based on record sales? Some of these artists have been
> on top selling records and toured with acts everyone has heard of, some
> have produced Grammy nominated records, and some have written and
> performed songs in major Hollywood films. Amazingly, most of the
> artists have continued to perform to today.
>
> I saw plenty of people at that S.O.A.P. show who were very excited to
> see the artists they grew up with that they hadn't seen live in
> decades. There were also people there like me who wanted to see the
> people who started everything here. As many musicians pointed out,
> there were few places around the country where bars were using LIVE
> bands instead of jukeboxes. Yes, the bands largely played covers
> (until Bruce broke the mold in the late 60s) but SO DID EVERYONE ELSE!
> Check out the songs on the early albums by The Beatles, The Rolling
> Stones, Searchers, etc. - everybody was covering songs in the early
> 60s. Asbury Park was DIFFERENT because it became known for LIVE MUSIC.
>
> Some people disagree with me, but I am fairly confident that the
> S.O.A.P. show would have sold out WITHOUT any Bruce Springsteen rumors.
> The show was selling very well BEFORE the rumors started. After the
> rumors hit, the show sold out within a few days. This was about 1 1/2
> months before the show. People were still finding out about the show.
> I guarantee that fans and family members of the artists would have been
> interested in the show had they got a chance to hear about it.
> Articles about the show were among some of the most popular read and
> emailed on the Upstage Magazine website. In fact, several family
> members of one of the artists on the monument were quoted in the press
> as just learning about the monument dedication and show a few days
> prior. They found out about it from the Upstage site as did many
> people around the country. Given the chance to buy tickets, I'm sure
> they would have.
>
> Let's face it, Dan J. has always hated not only the Stone Pony but
> music in general. You do not. I'm surprised that anything that might
> bring a few more people to the Asbury Park boardwalk is such a bad
> thing. It takes up very little space. It was paid for by private
> money. Please explain to me why it's such a bad thing.
>
> -- Gary Wien
>
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
