Maybe Bruce will make an One of the reasons I got into rock-and-roll was because I wanted to avoid the tediousness of life. There are other things I'm interested in. Thats the nature of this kind of long-lived horn band. 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The project evolved as Van Zandt began writing tunes for what Lyon describes as a homecoming album, a look into their musical past. Scialfa said of her trajectory as an artist, "A lot of it is my own ambivalence, because if you really want to get something done, you get it done. Q. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Go to any Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes show these days (the band still plays regularly up and down the East Coast) and you'll find a new, coveted item amongst fans. When asked about Scialfa's new prominence on stage, Springsteen credited the songs' subject matter, noting, "The album is about men and women, you know." It could get a boost if the video catches on, but Southside Johnny records have never been huge sellers, even in the glory days. After years of singing backup for her husband, Springsteen contributed backing vocals to several "Rumble Doll" songs. Q. I would hear songs like Louis Armstrong Struttin With Some Barbecue and it felt like there was life somewhere. My mother worked, and would say it was OK to stay home as long as I cleaned the house. Southside Johnny soon landed a new record deal with Mercury Records, but had to deal with an even bigger change, as Steve Van Zandt dropped out as the guitarist, songwriter, and producer for the Asbury Jukes; his role in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band had become too time consuming. But the truth is, I basically ignored the entire thing as much as I could. I didn't want to have anything to do with any record companies, so my friend Garry Tallent, who was Bruce Springsteen's bass player for all those decades, he and I went to high school together and he said, "Come on down to Nashville and meet some people. Will there be a new one in 1994? By the summer of 1988, their relationship was out in the open and they were seen together constantly in New York and New Jersey. A powerful vocalist whose style is steeped in vintage blues, R&B, and soul, Johnny was the leader and frontman for the group the Asbury Jukes, whose tough bar band sound married the impact of hard rock with the swing and horn-fueled punch of blues and deep soul. If you are lazy going through the songs, you wont have an audience. So I had very little time to devote to studying. I always had kind of a soft spot for Southern Cal, Lyon confessed in an interview at the Hollywood offices of Impact Records, his new label. Q. You can be attracted to a woman, but once you start talking, they become a human being and you become a human being to them, and if there's a human connection, that's one thing, but I've never really been attracted on a surface level. He had a gold top Les Paul, and he wrote songs and sang and put together bands and was a great guy to know.". "It really was a great crucible, and sort of our college, because we were teenagers back then, and we learned so many styles of music - country and western, blues, guitar rock - because nobody said 'no' to anything. View all concerts Chase City, VA, US Change location 2,658 fans get concert alerts for this artist. King play his guitar through the cracked window. While a video of the title tune earned some scattered MTV airplay, the album wasn't a hit, and they returned to something closer to their signature sound on 1984's In the Heat. A. I take performing and recording very seriously. SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: I do connect with them. Indeed there isand it's a great one. The three of you influenced each other, so how did Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi influence you? Chance of rain 70%.. I actually started singing in front of people when I was 16 years old. Some Jukes fans have wondered why you've never made a blues album, given your love of the music. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism One of the first drives my wife and I took in San Clemente (was) when I was trying to think, Well, do I really want to live in one of these little California beach towns? Lyon recalled. All "He had long hair, a great grin and chicks just loved the s*** out of him. Published May 9, 2019 Dan DeLuca I cover pop music, from what's happening in the local scene to national trends and touring acts. Find out as you read our phone conversation. For the Poor Fools, where they were doing Americana, folk and blues, he mostly played a 1960's German-made Hoyer. Q. The article noted that the album had ended up bringing Scialfa into the spotlight, and while it had kickstarted her career, it hadn't led to a large body of solo work, as she had originally hoped it would. "And I have a horn section and he doesn't.". The move came at a lull in Lyon's musical career, and life in San Clemente (which he shares with his wife, Jill, and their two canaries) has been mostly quiet: walks in nearby Ronald W. Caspers . The great blues mecca of Ocean Grove, New Jersey? Q. Im not a nostalgist. You could make a career out of it. I detested school. Lyon's parents were music fans with a taste for jazz (his father played bass in a jazz combo before landing a steady job with the post office), and he grew up with the sounds of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington filling the house. That was Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom. Another studio effort with the Jukes, 2010's Pills and Ammo, confirmed that Southside and his colleagues were still working in top form, and he dug into his '70s soul and R&B influences for 2015's Soultime. Baton twirlers. They don't want us to be the same set list every night. Lewis has hits and plays in arenas, while the Jukes still ply the barrooms and roadhouses. Featured Pages, Gig Pages Its not a case of feuding between old friends, he explained, but of being caught up in careers and personal lives that dont often intersect. That was our college. Has it been difficult to maintain the same sound with so many changes in personnel? . Help Us | Upload. It got a lot of great reviews. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Do you view rock-and-roll and performing today with the same enthusiasm and intensity you did 20 years ago? SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: I think just the dedication to it, kicking ass every night even if there's only 20 people in the audienceYou go out and do your two hours and you play as hard as you can, and it really doesn't matter. One of the seminal figures on the New Jersey rock scene and a gifted, charismatic singer steeped in soul, blues, and R&B. I wasnt a big cocaine person, though. Then once that idea got into you, you never wanted to let it go, because what are the alternatives? "And I've always wanted to be as free and odd and eccentric as I wanted, because I'm just naturally that way - and I can. Besides you, there aren't any original members of the band left. Use the 'Report' link on The newly-formed 1982 lineup of The Asbury Jukes (with former E Street Band member Ernest "Boom" Carter on drums) provided the musical entertainment at the reception, along with "special guest" Bruce Springsteen. In October, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes were joined by fellow Jerseyans Van Zandt, Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi for a full concert at the Stone Pony. Information: (714) 496-8930. His multiple awards include recognition for stories on both Bruce Springsteen and Jersey Shore. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com. I don't know if it's courage. It went on like that for years--first in a succession of bands that included such fellow aspiring Jersey rockers as Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt, then by more than a decade of touring and recording as the leader of Southside Johnny & the Jukes. . There's not just one thing, and I think that's reflected in all of our music. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. So that was my job, but I made it a point that we would do a blues song because that was my first love, blues music. Has Southside Johnny become Surfside Johnny? I was out here on tour (in late 1988) and I played the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, and I said, This looks nice, lets move here. And we did.. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. When reporters asked Scialfa about her extra time in the spotlight, she agreed, explaining "I didn't know when we started rehearsing that he was going to give me a lot to do Bruce coaxed me and urged me to reach. Why did you decide to move to Nashville at one point in your life? All the activity has been spurred by the release of Better Days, the first Southside Johnny album in three years. "I was living with Miami Steve (Van Zandt, Southside's guitarist, songwriting partner and producer before departing for Springsteen's E Street band) and Albany Al in a three-bedroom apartment," recalls the 63-year-old rock vet. I had to if there was any chance of me keeping my sanity. This was not the kind of music that other people listened to, but I didnt know that. As the Sundance Blues Band and its offshoots became frequent attractions at the Upstage, Southside was playing several sets a night, four or five nights a week, and he began seriously considering a career as a professional musician. S. King and others too numerous to mention. . I dont like making videos, Lyon confessed. You'd go into a literature class in high school and you've already read all the books, so you go, "God, this is going to be a long season here.". It's one of my favorite places to play. We were young and we wanted adventure and there was this music that promised that. That was really a Drifters thing. We were all scuffling. ", By the spring of 1988, rumors were flying that Scialfa and Springsteen were having an affair. Get our L.A. And every musician had to have a nickname. His go-to basses with the Asbury Jukes are a Fender Precision bass, and a short scale Jerry Jones Longhorn. "Sometimes there's got to be a good reason to go down a different path.". Was it always your goal to be a singer and performer? Ive had 20 years in this music business, and Ill have 20 more. I don't really sell many records. Born Vivienne Patricia Scialfa on July 29, 1953, Scialfa grew up in the affluent suburb of Deal, New Jersey, per the Washington Post. As Lyon honed his chops on the blues harp and learned lyrics to some of his favorite songs, he would occasionally perform a few songs with friends who had formed bands. I always took that as a tremendous compliment because some of the best music Ive heard has been in bars. I moved down there because of the people that I have met. I agree. No fallback, no college, no learn another craft - forget it.". And if you're looking for that, you're going to be disappointed." Pal to Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt, longtime veteran of late-night jams at such legendary Joizy clubs as the Upstage and the Stone Pony, possessor of a classic R&B; growl, Lyon even named his band the Asbury Jukes after Asbury Park, the decaying resort town and center of the states productive 70s musical scene. I remember going over to the Orchid Lounge and listening to B.B. But because success is associated with planning, as they always tell you that although you don't have to follow the plan, you have to plan; can you explain your success to me? The albums appealed to the Jukes' fan base and "I'm So Anxious" from The Jukes became a minor hit, but they didn't expand their audience, and after cutting an excellent live album, 1981's Reach Up and Touch the Sky, Mercury and Southside Johnny parted ways. It was so overwhelming that other things just didn't matter as much. A. That musical meeting led to a renewed partnership on the new album. Getting some traction is the hardest thing for me. Early on when we were teenagers, I think we understood that we were given a great gift of making music. IF Bruce Springsteen is the heart of New Jersey's rock sound, then Southside Johnny is its soul. Maybe I'm not old enough. What kind of strategy do you use when it comes time to record? This husband-and-wife-owned shop is full of punk, soul, jazz, reggae, and R&B. Check out how this page has evolved in the past. My parents loved music. Be Nice. Bruce Springsteen was the man who took the sound of the Jersey Shore music scene to the world, but it was Southside Johnny (aka John Lyon) who was the early focal point of the scene that produced many of the major figures of the Garden State's rock & roll community.A powerful vocalist whose style is steeped in vintage blues, R&B, and soul, Johnny was the leader and frontman for the group the . His answer was to take 6 months away from the band to record his first album on his own, Slow Dance. Instead of the punchy, beer-and-sawdust party music associated with the Jukes, it is a low-key album, given mostly to ballads. To order Southside Johnny Tickets, Tour Dates & Concerts 2024 & 2023 - Songkick Southside Johnny On tour: yes Southside Johnny is not playing near you. We had a Monopoly game on stage. How do you think you influenced Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, who acknowledged you as his reason for singing? I thought this is what people do. Wed eat fried chicken and listen to the band. When asked if she was working on a new album, Scialfa replied that she was, noting she was halfway through the process but was sharing a studio with her prolific husband during the pandemic: "He's always like, 'I have to go do this thing and that thing.' When Soozie Tyrell played violin for the Jukes back in the 70's, early 80's, I thought that was a great sound for the band. It was a great education for all of us. Gallery | Links You're a little bit timid the first couple of times you get onstage, but then you see those guys really just having a great time and confident that the people that love it are going to go, "That's where I'm going to be." 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