THIS FRIDAY : Rent Party Benefit to Help Fight Hunger In South Orange and Maplewood

Hello Again,

This coming Friday we will be performing at a Rent Party show at the South Orange Elks Lodge. 

If you're unfamiliar with Rent Party, it's a great group of individuals dedicated to fighting hunger in the South Orange and Maplewood NJ communities by hosting local music shows at the South Orange Elks.  The price of entry is an extremely reasonable $5 and that money goes directly towards stocking Rent Party's food pantry for the community.  We will be sharing the stage with Dollar Store Riot (no relation) and Zombies Of The Stratosphere.

We hope you will join us and help feed NJ families. 

FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH - 8 PM
South Orange Elks Lodge
220 Prospect Street
South Orange, NJ

Dollar Store Riot
Zombies Of The Stratosphere
THE BRIXTON RIOT

$5 Minimum Donation

Cheers,
Jerry / Matt / Mark / Steve

6th Anniversary Show @ The Court Tavern (2/9/2013)

Hello,

We're pleased to let you know that a week from this coming Saturday, we will be performing at the Court Tavern.  We're always happy to be at The Court, but this is a date of certain significance for us - it is the 6th anniversary of the first ever TBR show, all the way back on 2/9/2007. 

Even better, we're going to be joined by The Anderson Council for their "home town" CD release party for their great new full length, "Looking At The Stars".  Filling out the bill are Eastern Anchors - who are also supporting a recently released LP, the excellent "Drunken Arts & Pure Science" - and Hoboken's favorite sons, the magnificent Stuyvesant. 

It's only $7 and doors are at 8 PM.  We took the early slot so we'll be up first (we know you need to get home to pay the babysitter).  We also hear that the Court is looking really nice these days, with actual doors on the bathrooms now.  Looking forward to seeing that with our own eyes...

A 6th Anniversary seems like a strange thing to celebrate, but it's been a long and interesting ride to get here.  When the Court closed its doors last year, it seemed incredibly unlikely that we (or anyone) would play there again.  To say we are excited to be celebrating our 6th year together at the site of some of our earliest shows is an understatement.  We hope you will join us for the party.

Saturday, February 9th - 8 PM

COURT TAVERN

The Brixton Riot

The Anderson Council
Eastern Anchors

Stuyvesant

Cheers,

Jerry / Mark / Matt / Steve

 



THIS SATURDAY - A Night Like This : A Benefit for The American Cancer Society

Greetings,

Now that thanks has been given and Friday is back from black, we've got one more show before we stick a fork in 2012. 

This Saturday, we will be performing as part of a very special night at The Brighton Bar along with Dave Hill, Spanish Waves, The Anderson Council and Miss Ohio to help raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

This show is particularly personal to us as Mark's wife Erin lost her battle with breast cancer this past October.  When Erin was sick, a local Red Bank woman (Social-Butterfly Debbie) put together a benefit concert to help Mark and Erin cover some of the massive expenses.  Both Mark and Erin were extremely moved by the community's support, and even though Erin was not able to successfully recover, it was extremely important to Mark to "pay it forward".  In fact, it was at Erin's benefit that he first pitched the idea of doing a benefit for the American Cancer Society.

It is with that spirit and goal in mind that we put together "A Night Like This : A Benefit for The American Cancer Society"

(yes, it's a Cure reference)

 

Joining us on Saturday night will be Miss Ohio, The Anderson Council, Dave Hill, Spanish Waves and hopefully you as well.  As Mark so eloquently put it, "inspired by the kindness of Social-Butterfly Debbie, this show is just a bunch of guys like me paying it forward, just like Debbie wanted it. God bless her heart. It is also for all the people, like my late, great wife Erin, who didn't get to see the end of cancer. "

We hope you can join us in helping The American Cancer Society and giving our good friend Erin a very fond (and very loud) farewell.

Saturday, December 1st- 8 PM
A NIGHT LIKE THIS : A Benefit for The American Cancer Society
The Brighton Bar
121 Brighton Avenue
Long Branch, NJ 07740

Warm Regards,
Jerry / Mark / Matt / Steve


PS...a HUGE thanks to Chris Gash for the fantastic poster.

 

 

2012 IPO New York Postponed

Hello,

We wanted to give you all a heads up that this year's 2012 International Pop Overthrow New York festival has been postponed until the Spring as a result of Hurricane Sandy.  David Bash felt that postponing the festival was the best decision and we're all in agreement. 

We'll be posting another update about Hurricane Sandy in the next few days, once we have a chance to get our thoughts together.

We hope you are all safe and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Regards,
Jerry - Matt - Mark - Steve
The Brixton Riot

Live Radio Session / Internatio​nal Pop Overthrow Festival

Hello all,

We're getting ready to wrap up another year over here, but we're going to make a few more stops before the holidays hit.

First up will be a visit to WRSU in New Brunswick for a live radio session on Overnight Sensations. Tune in to 88.7 next Friday (November 2nd) at 10 PM in the Central NJ area or listen online at the WRSU website. We'll be performing 6 songs live and sitting down with Geoff Pape and Lia Wilderman to discuss the pressing issues of the day, like the RU grease trucks and phat cats.

The following Sunday, we will *FINALLY* be back in New York City to perform at this year's International Pop Overthrow (our last NYC show was IPO 2009). Hope you can join us, people of Manhattan and surrounding tribes.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH - 7 PM
INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW NYC 2012
w/ Papercut
The Sweet Mack
THE BRIXTON RIOT
Stephie Coplan & The Pedestrians
Changing Modes

THE NATIONAL UNDERGROUND
159 East Houston Street
New York, NY

Cheers,
Jerry / Mark / Matt / Steve

In Memory of Erin West Formica

Friends,

It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that we the share the news that Erin West Formica has passed.

Our heart goes out to her family and friends, and especially to our brother Mark, her daughter Isabel and Mark's son Elliott.  News of Erin's passing has been received with disbelief by those who knew her - not just because she was loved by many, but because she was so full of life.  A warm smile and a contagious laugh; Erin had a big personality - the kind that could not be ignored. 

Matt had known Erin years before he joined the band, but the rest of us had our introduction at Maxwell's.   It was an August night back in 2009 and the Yankees were playing a late season series with the rival Red Sox. Between two songs, we inquired on mic about the current score.  We were greeted with only one response from the back of the room - a very loud and crystal clear "Yankees SUUUUCK!" And with that, we had officially met Erin - and Mark had met his future wife.

Her response was half good natured smack talk and half unwavering loyalty for her beloved Boston Red Sox.  I remember thinking that this bold stranger would be outnumbered by Yankee fans at a venue so close to New York. It didn't matter, because Erin couldn't be "outnumbered" - in the literal sense perhaps, but never in the figurative sense.   

It's incredibly unfair that someone like Erin could be with us for only 36 years.  Yet she was able to touch the lives of so many people - more than some of us will in twice as much time.   She taught us all how to be brave and smile in the face of incredible odds and never surrender.  The sadness we feel today is not for Erin, but for ourselves.  Because it truly is our loss.      

Erin, we will always remember you fondly and celebrate your life.  We will miss you terribly, but the mark you have made on our lives will always be with us.  

Rest in peace.

Jerry / Mark / Matt / Steve

Camelfest 2012 / Benefit for Erin West Formica

Hello,

We've been a bit lax with keeping this blog up to date, so here's an update on what's happening with us. Unfortunately, it doesn't come under the best of circumstances.

 

If you attended our show at Clash Bar on Saturday, you probably noticed Mark's absence. We've already received a bunch of questions about it, so we wanted to fill everyone in on what is happening.

 

For those of you who don't know, Mark's wife Erin has been bravely battling cancer for over a year now. Erin has remained extremely upbeat and positive through this entire process which must be both physically and emotionally exhausting for her. Despite these efforts, Mark and Erin didn't receive good news on Friday. Although Erin insisted that Mark perform with us at Clash Bar on Saturday, we were all in agreement that the only place Mark should be was with Erin and their family. We missed him terribly on Saturday - it was the first time we've ever performed as a trio and it simply isn't the same without him there - but playing shows just doesn't seem that important right now.

 

In order to assist Mark and Erin in their fight, Erin's friends have assembled the Music of Life Fundraiser for Erin West Formica at Taste in Red Bank on Sunday, August 26th.  If you are interested in attending the benefit or making a donation, you can find the details and latest information on Facebook and at the end of this post.

 

Erin's benefit is the day after our next show - which also happens to be a benefit. On Saturday, August 25th, we will be performing at Camelfest 2012 at Maxwell's which is a benefit for the NJ based Roots and Wings foundation. Roots and Wings provides support and services to young adults as they age out of New Jersey's foster care system. Their vision is to "ensure those in the program have safe housing and receive personal support and guidance related to achieving educational goals, attaining life skills, securing job opportunities, having access to health services and the encouragement and guidance required to gain the skills that lead to successful assimilation into society."

We're very happy to be supporting the important work they do in New Jersey and we're equally excited to be performing with Stuyvesant, The 65's, Cinema Cinema, Gold Sounds and Bern & The Brights. Camelfest will be held once again at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ.  All of the latest Camelfest info can be found here.

 

Our appearance at Camelfest is our last show of the summer and is currently our only scheduled show until November.  Beyond that there really is no plan, other than standing by Mark and Erin and helping out any way that we can.  They are our family and we love them very much.

 

As always, thank you for your support.

 

Regards,

Jerry / Mark / Matt / Steve

 

 

__

Saturday, August 25th - 7 PM
Dromedary Record's Camelfest 2012
Benefit for Roots and Wings Foundation of NJ
Maxwell's
1039 Washington Street
Hoboken, NJ

Featuring:

• Stuyvesant
• The 65's
• Gold Streets
• Cinema Cinema
• The Brixton Riot
• Bern & The Brights

Sunday, August 26th - 4 PM
Music of Life Fundraiser for Erin West Formica
Taste
10 Bridge Avenue
Red Bank, NJ
$30 Door Donation (Cash Bar/Hors d'oeuvres served)

Featuring:

• Moroccan Sheepherders
• Scott Elk & Abe
• Gil Velazquez
• Laura Catalina Johnson
• Deedee Montanaro
• Alan Manzo
• Owen Bowes
• Courtney McManus

Donations can be made out to Erin West Formica for anyone that would like to donate and can't attend the fundraiser. All Checks can be sent to:

345 Broad Street
Apt # 18
Red Bank, NJ
07701