On 12/19/2006 at 10:57:06 A.M., [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
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. Just an observation: Several years ago, on eBay, I bid on a vinyl LP album I had never heard of called "The Sounds of Asbury Park." I was first attracted by the great album cover art of the boardwalk, but my favorite now is the narrative on the back, especially the pre-Springsteen part. At that time, it was one of the most furiously bid on items I ever encountered at eBay. Happy Holidays! _ ========Original Message======== Subj: Re: [AsburyPark] untilllie the end Date: 12/19/2006 10:57:06 A.M. Eastern Standard Time From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com) Sent on: 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
