: The Late 1970s
It was neither the best of times, nor the worst of times. It was sort of run of a the mill kind of times – but – it was the golden age of the legendary New Jersey rock club scene….
It was early 1978 and I had just quit a band that was going nowhere. I was out of a gig and was struggling to make ends meet. Then seemingly out of the sky, I spotted an ad in the musician’s newspaper that Smyle was looking for a keyboard player. Holy crap! Smyle was big time – at least in New Jersey.. I hastily threw together a resume, put it in the mail, and (long story short) in 2 weeks I was making my debut gig at The Towpath in West Paterson.
Now just to set the stage here, the 1970s were like no other time before or since in the New Jersey club scene. New Jersey had lowered the drinking age to 18, and it was near the peak of the baby boomers hitting late teens and early 20s. Clubs like The Towpath, Hotel California, and The Soap Factory would routinely attract crowds of 500 to 1000 folks. Hordes of drunken kids were careening all over the state from one club to another.
The first few months were heady stuff. The band had a large adoring fan base and I was playing regularly 5-6 times a week. However, as the months went on the glow gradually faded. There were personality clashes and the bass player was replaced in September. The music was good and the band had great vocals, but they were not packing the houses on the week days. I gamely carried on, but I had aspirations for bigger things, while the other guys seemed content with making a living. After about a year we parted ways. My leaving prompted yet another personnel change and they replaced the bass player again. (It was rough being a Smyle bass player) Eventually things petered out and the band broke up.
In 1980, New Jersey bumped up the drinking age to 19 and in 1983 they bumped it back up to 21. By then the cohort of baby boomers were getting married and didn’t have time/energy to go out and party until 2 AM. Today the Jersey club scene today is a shadow of its former self.
While my breakup with Smyle was about as amicable as these things can be, as you can well imagine there was much tension. Nonetheless I have always had fond memories of those times.
So anyway, several years ago Smyle re-formulated with much of the original lineup and have been playing around. I went to see them and it was a great reconnecting with these guys. Vinnie looks almost the same as he did 30 years ago and Bart still has an amazing voice. I’ve attached a Smyle calendar from July 1978 and yes, that long haired guy second from the right is me.
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Oct 12, Saturday, 7:00-10:00ish PM – Deborah Holland and Cidny Bullens, House Party in Montclair (973) 509-1134
No this is *not* me playing, instead this is my amazingly talented sister Deborah Holland along with Cidny Bullens – this is 2/3 of the folk supergroup The Refugees. Both of these guys have released numerous albums and have credits a mile wide. If you want to hear some great material and beautiful harmonies, come on out. So where are they? I’m can’t give out the exact address, but it’s in Montclair. If you want to come, give me a holler, I’ve got some extra reservations and can give you details. Or you can e-mail the host of the event chris@notesfromhomenj.com Suggested donation $15.
http://www.deborahholland.net/https://www.facebook.com/deborah.holland.395?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
Oct 14, Monday, 8:30-11:30 PM – Deborah Holland and Cidny Bullens, Hill Country BBQ, 30 W 26th St, New York, NY 10010 (212) 255-42544 Those of you who can’t make it to Montclair can catch Deborah and Cidny in New York this Monday.
http://www.hillcountryny.com/home.php
Oct 19, Saturday, 8:30-12:30ish AM – Smyle Alumni Reunion Show at The Ringside Pub, 379 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, New Jersey (973) 226-6781
The whole reminiscing about Smyle was not totally random – yes I am doing a reunion gig with Smyle. We will be doing a bunch of Billy Joel tunes including that old show stopper Angry Young Man plus various hits from the 60s and 70s.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/RINGSIDE-PUB/261937786738
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SMyle-Band/116397515084170
https://www.facebook.com/events/723729934307430/
Oct 26, Saturday, 9:00PM-1:00AM – Better Off Dead at The Great Notch Inn, Route 46, Little Falls (973) 256-7742
I would not want anyone to get the impression amidst all this brouhaha about Smyle that I’m neglecting my BOD buds. As this is around Halloween time, there are likely to be costumes.
http://www.betteroffdead.com/home.htm
http://www.agreatertown.com/little_falls_nj/great_notch_inn_new_jerseys_rockin_roadhouse_00089580