Interview with Sean Tobin

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Sunday, May 22, 2022

Sean Tobin has been writing invigorating Irish folk rock for the past few years and is back with a new full-length June 10th titled Ghost of The Arcade. Following up 2020’s East Coast Artifacts, Tobin’s latest singles showcase his shore town storytelling with his solid backing band. Sean’s music fits in Asbury Park bars just as well as pubs in Galway. Combining traditional Irish instruments with punk ferocity, his music remains exciting and at times nostalgic. I reached out to Sean to talk about his band and their upcoming album just a few weeks away. Thanks again, Sean!

When did you first start releasing your own music?

I released my first single in the winter of 2018, “Winter (In an Ocean Town).” That was one of the first songs I thought might be worthy of putting out into the universe. The other was “This Midnight”, which was the title track to my first album that came out later that same year. Safe to say, production quality and base-knowledge of songwriting has grown since then, but I still put many of those songs into my setlists.

Who is in your current lineup? How do these players influence your sound compared to when you first started?

Drums - David Patiño

Bass - Jack Breslin/Backing Vox

Lead Guitar/Mandolin/Accordion - Jake Garbe

Fiddle (When We Can Lock him Down!) - Sean-David Cunningham

These guys were a hodge-podge of connections that I'd made over the years.

Dave grounds us in the punk-rock beat that I always gravitate toward, but has no problem holding back when the song calls for it. He's also the gear guy. Thank god for that.

Jack is arguably the most "professional" musician we have in the group. He's classically trained and incredibly talented as a jazz bassist. He has his own jazz trio and plays in a bunch of other ensembles around NJ and beyond. He and I do a few duo/trio sets here and there, so we have great chemistry when it comes to banter on the mic and performing live.

Jake is the most recent addition to the group. I tapped him when we were putting out “St. Patrick's Day Forever”, as I'd heard he could play a ton of different instruments. I heard correctly. His diversity instrumentally helps flesh out each song in whatever way it needs, from mandolin to accordion to ripping leads on electric. Jake even learned each guitar solo from before he was in the band note for note overnight. Kid's an animal. He also helps add that Celtic, Americana twang to tracks in a way that I've been searching for for a while.

Sean-David Cunningham is one of the most (if not the most) sought after violinist in New Jersey. Classically trained like Jack, he started playing in rock and folk bands a while back and hasn't stopped since. He's one of those guys that only needs to hear the key of the song to play along.

Basically, I surrounded myself with musicians far more talented than me. I think it's working.

Your latest two singles “Memorial Drive” and “On the Corner of Sunset” are real rockers. How did these songs come together? What is your songwriting process like?

These two were serendipitous. I wrote “Memorial Drive” sitting on my VOX in my old Asbury apartment, trying not to wake the neighbors after a night out. Lucky for them, I wrote the song in under an hour. The best ones always happen that way. I'd already written “Sunset” months prior, but I never really put the two together till much later.

When I was tracking out the album, I wanted to make it flow in a way that all my favorite records do. I love the way one song blends into the next in records like American Idiot, Abbey Road, Kick by Spanish Love Songs... When I was going through the track listing, I paired tracks up by the chord they ended on, and when “Memorial Drive” and “Sunset” matched up, it made too much sense.

I love the Irish influence in your music. Who are some of your favorite Irish artists? What is unique about Irish music to you?

First off, thank you! I grew up on The Wolfe Tones. My mom's family is from Northern Ireland, so rebel music was always on repeat at parties. I joke that my dad had three CDs in his car growing up: Let the People Sing, Born to Run, and Beach House on the Moon. 

RIght now, though, I've gotten into a bunch of up-and-coming Irish rock acts. The Scratch is my favorite at the moment. Palpable high-energy acoustic punk, check them out when you can. I also steer toward Dubliners, Pogues, Clancy Brothers and the rest depending on my mood. But right now, The Scratch, Junior Brother, New Pagans, the list goes on...

The lyricism of Irish music has always resonated with me, as even the most serious of songs often have a few quips inside. I love the Irish sense of humor. Dry as hell. I try to add that to my songs whenever I can.

Your full-length Ghost of The Arcade comes out 6/10. Who did you work with for this album? What can fans and first-time listeners expect?

We worked with Rob Freeman up at Audio Pilot Studio for this one. Rob is a veteran producer, as well as a well-known pop-punk musician of Hidden in Plain View. His studio is decked out with tons of state-of-the-art equipment, instruments, and even analog gear. Most importantly for me, though, it has an apartment upstairs, a fire pit outside the listening room, and tons of acreage to explore. We stayed up there for a week and fully engulfed ourselves in the process. It was a dream.

Do you have a favorite track off the new record? What makes this one special?

The album is so diverse, it's too hard to pick just one. I'd also be lying if I said I had a favorite, but there are a few that have yet to be released that I'm very excited about. "I'll Be Alright," for one, is an absolute foot tapper, and the piano on the track drives the album home. "Unfinished Business" is a love song, one that I sang to my wife on our wedding day, so it'll always have a special spot in my heart. "Eugene" is a song for my grandfather.. that importance goes without saying. So do I have a favorite song? No, but I can absolutely say that this is the best, most enjoyable record I've worked on to date. 

We've got shows coming up to support this album at the end of June.

6/24 in New Hope, PA at John & Peter's

6/25 in Asbury Park, NJ at The Saint

6/26 in Jersey City, NJ at JC American Festival

and a late-summer tour to be announced!

~

You can keep up with all things Sean here and make sure you see him and the band this summer!

Interview with Bobby Mahoney (New EP, "We Go On")

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Friday, April 15, 2022

Bobby Mahoney and the Seventh Son are no strangers here on Jersey Indie, and we are always anticipating their next release. Their work ethic is unmatched and their appetite for songs with big choruses and hooks just seems to grow more and more with each new single. Bobby and his band had been hard at work for their newest release, “We Go On” (which premiered on 4/8), and we can now hear what they have been working on these past few years. To help celebrate this momentous release, they hosted a two-day Release Weekend at The Saint in Asbury Park with a handful of talent from up and down the East Coast. I caught up with Bobby to take a closer look at their latest singles “Moth to the Flame” and “Lay It On Me”, as well as what’s next for the band. Thanks, Bobby!

When did you start writing for your newest release, “We Go On”?

We started writing these songs in fragments in the later half of 2019. They have definitely been a slow-burn. There are other ideas that have been around longer, but I felt strongly about these as they came together, so they got to cut the line a bit. 

How did writing for this record differ from past Seventh Son records? How have you grown as a songwriter? 

This record was collaborative with all four of us, James McIntosh, Andrew Saul, Jon Chang-Soon, and I writing together. I would come up with skeletons/outlines/hooks in acoustic demo form, then I brought them to the others for us to flesh out as a group. The actual pre-production was done remotely, or in-person but masked and socially distanced due to the pandemic. James and I jammed through songs on his electric drum kit, Andrew and I made home pre-production Logic demos, and Jon and I discussed overall “vibe”, soundscape, structure, and arrangement at length ahead of recording as well. We didn’t know if it was going to be an EP, or the first half of a full length, but we felt the five songs we chose really stood on their own, and were a dense, impactful twenty minutes of music. 

“Moth to the Flame” is a rocker, the song also seems autobiographical. What remains to be your favorite thing about playing live shows?

”Moth to the Flame” is extremely autobiographical! It is about our need to create, despite all the factors that try to deter us from doing so. My favorite thing about playing live is when all the hours of practice and prep come together so I don’t have to think, I can feel. Which sounds silly, but I think there is a Keith Richards quote about something like that. When the four of us lock in, we can ride the energy, follow gut/instinct, and do what we know we can do. There are so many hours of things that are NOT playing the guitar that go into being a musician, so when we get to actually do what we signed up for for 20-60 minutes, and connect with people who care about what we do, it makes it all worth it. 

You’ve been playing shows for quite some time. How do you feel shows have changed if at all since the pandemic? 

I think it would have been a nice change to come back to shows with people being a bit more respectful of other audience members and the performers, but I don’t necessarily think that has happened. I think if anything, we are all now less likely to take it all for granted, at least I would really hope so. Before the pandemic, I caught myself taking live music for granted, and after losing it for over a year, I am extremely thankful for any chance I have to go see a performance or to perform myself. In a lot of ways, nothing has changed, yet everything has changed. We are still in weird times, but things are healing.

Who did you record “We Go On” with? Did you and the group do anything differently from previous recordings that you’re excited about?

We recorded “We Go On” with our good pal Joe Pomarico in his parents' basement in Holmdel, NJ. Aside from home demos and some pre-production phone meetings, we actually only rehearsed these songs a handful of times as a unit before we began tracking in Fall 2020. I wanted the songs to feel fresh, live, real, and given the circumstances, I wanted to capture the basic sound of people playing music in a room together. We tracked drums, bass, and rhythm guitars live over one weekend, and then spent a year overdubbing when we were able to get together, and doing Zoom editing/mixing/production meetings remotely! It was a weird way to make a record, but for this record — these songs, at this moment in time — it worked and I am very proud of what we were able to create.

The songs are “classic Seventh Son” — catchy with loud guitars and drums — but they have a new spin with this current line-up working together that led to some of the most exciting and unique songs we have ever recorded. We definitely wanted to push ourselves in every aspect to put out an EP that we felt represented what we do, and where we would like to go. 

What were you influenced by for your latest single “Lay It On Me”? How did that song come together?

I started taking notes for what became “Lay It On Me” while visiting Paris in August 2019. In the lobby of a hotel, they had old American Western movie posters on the wall, and I wrote some titles and taglines down. Many of our favorite songs were inspired from cinema, and many of the best songs are movies in themselves. Incident at Phantom Hill was too good not to note, and Fistful of Dollars is a classic. The irony of going all the way to France to be inspired by the American “West that never was” isn’t lost on me.

“Flower power and violence” is directly about the protests we saw in 2020 for the murder of George Floyd, the fights many Americans have had to wage on our own soil in order to secure their own rights/freedom in our history — painfully recent history — and present. Who the fuck is anyone to deny another human being the same rights they themselves desire and demand? “Will we find redemption?/Tune in next week.”

The song ultimately is about recognizing our own boundaries, and how much each of us can take on at once without being burnt out, burned, or burnt alive.

Musically, I wanted to focus on dynamics- starting very quiet and then gradually getting louder and louder, until it becomes one of the heavier moments on the EP. 

Thanks to everyone who has supported myself and this project over the years. We are excited to share with you all, and excited to see what the future holds! 

~

You can keep up with Bobby Mahoney and the Seventh Son here. 

Interview with Jonathan Francis. New EP "Borrowed Songs, Vol. 1"

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Jonathan Francis is a singer songwriter based out of Asbury Park, New Jersey. Having cut his teeth in the New Brunswick punk scene with his band, The Moms, their 2019 split led Jon to start working on music under his own name. Jonathan released his “Borrowed Songs, Vol. 1” EP on March 10th, a mix of covers as well as an original, stripped down version of his own track, “Borrowed Song.” This first release is just a fraction of what is to come from Jonathan Francis, having recorded a full band release as well last year with his trusty producer Pete Steinkopf. Jon was kind enough to let me in on the process of making the “Borrowed Songs” EP and the importance of working harder despite the current circumstances. 

When did you first start releasing music under your name?

JF: The first official release was on November 2nd, 2020.  It was my version of Woody Guthrie’s “Tear the Fascists Down” which is part of my new EP, “Borrowed Songs.” I kind of pushed this track ahead of other stuff I’ve been working on because of what was going on in the world.

What was the songwriting process like for your new release "Borrowed Songs"?

The title track, “Borrowed Song” is one that I’ve had forever. I put together this EP which includes 3 covers that resonate loudly these days.

Woody Guthrie, a big influence on the “Borrowed Songs” EP. Listen to “Tear the Fascists Down” on Spotify.

Who did you work with on this release? How did they influence your process?

This one was just myself and Pete Steinkopf (The Bouncing Souls). It was Pete’s idea to turn the whole thing up and ditch the acoustic for the 335, and I’m glad we did.

How has the pandemic affected your songwriting process, if at all?

I’ve been keeping with it and trying to constantly expand my approach, but at the same time feel like I’m just drifting without progress. I know that’s not true, but it’s definitely easy to feel like time is stalled. We don’t do anything the same these days, so the milestones I used to make in my mind with a track are not the same as they once were. Additionally, the lyrical content has been focused in a different direction, naturally, as nothing is the same as it was pre-pandemic.

You released a cover of Woody Guthrie's "Tear the Fascists Down" late last year. Did you plan on digging up older songs for this project, or was that a spontaneous decision due to the state of our country at that point?

It just kind of happened. The songs are all from different decades. I guess they were just resonating with me particularly heavily due to the state of things. The idea to make an EP out of the songs came later. Each of the covers was its own endeavor when I started putting them together.

How have you been maintaining your sanity as a musician over the past year?

Well, I’ve been TRYING to maintain my sanity, but it doesn’t always feel like it’s working. It’s been hard but the three W’s help.... Weed, Water, & Willie. No, but for real, getting outside (even though the Jersey winter is no fun) and playing music with the same intention that I’d have if tomorrow was a show. It was easy to get lost for a while, time seemed even more fleeting, but staying focused on what I love doing makes it feel like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Now, if I could just remind myself that every morning haha.

Any bands/venues you are looking forward to playing with when shows come back?

Too many bands to name, but where we will play is the bigger question. Punks are resilient, like cockroaches. There will be places to play, but it is a bit anxiety-inducing to wonder where, knowing that so many places have already and will close. It’s pretty scary to say the least. But we’ll be okay.

Photo by Abby Clare.

Interview with Wax On

By Sonia Schnee | Posted August 27, 2019

For the last five years, Jersey Indie has been dedicated to showcasing and promoting New Jersey’s many talented residents. As of late, we are expanding our coverage to also occasionally shine a spotlight on artists from surrounding states. One such group is Wax On, an alternative punk band hailing from Lowell, MA. On August 24th, they released their newest single, “congratulations! (So How Is That Band At the Glitterbox?).” Check out their song here, and then enjoy our interview with Wax On, below!

Who is Wax On comprised of?

Dan Cady - Vocals/Guitar
Nick Capezzuto - Bass
Jordan Collard - Trumpet
Mike Colucci - Drums
Luke Pelletier - Vocals/Guitar

But we’d be very lame without our art team, with Anna Stevens behind concept art and Wiley Bumtail behind the camera.

Tell us about your style. Who are some of your musical influences? Is there anyone you’d like to collaborate with one day?

We’ve been dubbed a variety of things, but the ones we feel best capture what we’re chasing sonically is experimental and theatrical punk. We’d like to think this comes from a blend of all of our individual influences.

Jordan, our trumpet player, reveres veterans like Clifford Brown and Dizzy Gillespie along Dan’s upstrokes and ripping guitar licks (think of Dimebag as a rudeboy).

Meanwhile, Colucci ushers in a mix of percussive inspiration from dudes like big-band baddie Irv Cottler and like Travis Barker.

As far as collaborating goes, it might be cool to cut a record and get feedback with Salaam Remi or Sunny Levine. Or Sylvia Massy. They all produce really amazing records, each with their own particular flavor.

How did Wax On come to be? How did you all find each other? What’s your journey been like so far?

Wax On was Dan’s ska brainchild from high school. Nick joined shortly after. Dan and Nick are both from North Reading so they found each other with a map. The two linked up with Colucci and Luke around the University of Rhode Island. Luke and Colucci had been playing for years before college, so when they both ended up attending URI they just picked up where they left off — now with a dedicated bass player and additional guitarist. Jordan was picked up on the road actually. The band had been playing around Narragansett and Providence. We played a few gigs with this one band, The Broken Few, now defunct. Jordan played drums but filled in on a few of our sets with a trumpet, seemingly from left field. In an attempt to justify our self-branded ska identity, we asked the heavenly horn player to join as an official member.

The journey has been educational, eye-opening, hilarious, difficult at times, but most importantly fulfilling. We’re noticing bits and pieces of what we’d like to call success. Our performances have tightened up dramatically, pun intended. Our newer compositions indicate how much we’ve evolved toward serving the music. We’re making friends that open us up regularly to new perspectives, new ideas. Especially regarding our first 10-day tour, which just recently ended, we’re growing as musicians and as friends.

Your newest single. What’s the inspiration behind the title? What’s the song about? How do you hope people will react to it?

OH...the title….. One thing I (Luke) will always love about music is the novelty elements in music production and distribution. The title is a combination of what we were told upon leaving a super costly social institution versus what we felt like (decipher the acronym in parentheses). On the whole, it's mostly about feeling angry and lost as a millennial. Whether there's a narrative in the lyrics or not, that's up to you. I’d like to think people would agree with the sentiments, but I hope people find the humor in it, too. The song itself is supposed to be as critical as it is funny. Between the obnoxious voice of a sorority girl caricature and the straightforward pop/rock song structure and feeling that accompanies feelings of desolation derived ironically from successfully completing a very challenging chapter in my life, there’s a powerful mix of comedy and frustration. I also really hope folks pay attention to the lyrics close enough to want to listen to other lyrics we’ve written. We’ve toiled in all our music to make sure every word conveys exactly what we mean and delivers in making a moving impact or inspiration on a listener. Lyrics are the most intimate communication between a songwriter and an audience because they marry the worlds of art and language, so it’s super important to us that we’re understood, y’know?

What’s next on the horizon for you? Do you have any shows coming up? Have you played in NJ before/have any plans to tour in NJ in the future?

We have a handful of gigs happening between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, although we'd love to come back to NJ sooner rather than later, maybe before the snow starts falling. We played in Hamilton Township at The Foster House with this sweet band, Parish. I would be willing to make the drive even without playing music to check out our friend Joe's family bakery again. But for now, we’re gonna keep doing what we’re doing, which to mature our image and sound everyday, market it harder, stronger, and encourage the minds and hearts of as many people as possible.

What words of advice would you give to someone who’s got a similar dream or has maybe faced obstacles similar to yours?

Practice.

Meditate before breakfast.

Don’t let discouragement paralyze you, let it push you to do better.

Listen and expand your knowledge of subjects that interest you. Don’t say you don’t like anything unless you’ve invested substantial time in trying it and you’re SURE you don’t like it.

Go to your friends’ shows. They need your support.

Be open to conflict, and seek to resolve it peacefully and intelligently.

Address problems head on but don’t be mean!

Have patience and things will start turning around for you.

Try to tell at least one person that you love them more often.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Magic is real. The subconscious is a physical universe with its own laws and morals that we must learn to access. Jeffrey Epstein was murdered because he had way too much dirt on other powerful humans.

Finally, how can people find you on online (website, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, etc.)?

Our Instagram account is the most active on the social media spectrum @wax_onnnnnn, however we do keep up to date with our Facebook page. We’ll post updates on gigs, new music and goofy pictures of ourselves. You can find our first full length album, Homework, on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, and all other major streaming platforms.

'Morning Coffee' is a track off our second album "Homework." HUGE thanks to our dear friend, Vernon West, for making this possible. This was some of the most fun we've had as a band, so we hope all of you enjoy it too :)

this is pretttyyyy accurate as far as what to expect with gigs!

Interview with Derek Garabedian (True State Management)

By Sonia Schnee | Posted Thursday, December 20, 2018

What are you doing tonight? At 8pm, you could be enjoying the first-ever kick-off show of the “True State Presents:” concert series, at The Wooden Spoon in Bloomfield, NJ. Performing acts include pop-punk band Boy Blue, alternative rockers Wave Break, alternative/emo/shoegaze band Rémis, and Dover/Rockaway rock band Champ. Admission is free. Check out our interview below with concert series organizer Derek Garabedian of the artist development company True State Management.

What's your name, where are you from, where are you based now?

My name is Derek Garabedian. I am originally from Massachusetts, and I am now based in Mountainside, New Jersey.

You run a management company, True State Management. When did that first start? What bands are on the roster, and where are they from?  

True State management started only about 6 or 7 months ago (early summer 2018). The bands we have on roster right now are Hang Tight (@hangtightband), Black Caddy (@blackcaddynyc), The Summoned (@thesummoned), and Cat in the wall (@catinthewallband). All the bands are different genres — pop punk, hip hop, prog metal, and indie rock, in that order. The reason we are working with all genres is to expand our reach as much as possible. We are learning a lot within in each genre and it allows us to be in tune with everything going on. We believe in working with talented people, and talent exists in all genres of music.

Tell us about this new Bloomfield concert series. What is it about Bloomfield that attracts you?

I think North/Central Jersey in general is lacking in live music venues especially for local bands. Bloomfield is a city that has so much going on and is a very diverse place. The opportunity to have different genres and  bring a lot of different people together is very appealing to me.

What inspired you to want to do this? What are your goals?

The reason I am starting the “True State Presents:” concert series is to help create a thriving music scene and community, while at the same time expanding my network to make everything True State is doing reach a larger scale. The goal of the concert series is to create scene that is willing to help each other and bring excitement about local music!

How often are the shows?

 We are scheduled to one show a month right now but will be expanding in the near future. 

What kinds of bands do you hope to participate?

Right now we are starting out with Pop-Punk and Indie style bands. With that being said, we are looking to book for all genres in the future. If anyone out there is interested in booking with us please reach out, we would love to talk!

What kind of audience do you hope to reach?

I would love to bring in all types of passionate and contributing music fans.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get started with music? What's been your personal journey?   

The way I got started in music is a pretty typical story, I think. Me and a bunch of friends used to skateboard and listen to music. We all decided to get different instruments and start a band. The rest was history; I never stopped playing.

My journey is that after years of playing in different bands, I was lucky enough to end up with a record deal and got to tour the country. After that fizzled out and I got a little older, I started a family and took some time off of music. Eventually, I missed music too much and since I can’t tour myself I wanted to use what I learned to help other musicians on their own journey, by using the things I experienced in the past. Now we are here doing what I hoped to accomplish: helping bands! 

What words of advice or encouragement would you give to someone who wants to follow a passion similar to yours, or is maybe facing obstacles similar to what you've faced?  

Our biggest hurdle was to just pull the trigger and get started. I have been working on ideas for a long time, years even, on how to execute and what kinds of paths to take. The key is to just do it and roll with what comes your way. Utilize your passion to help others and make yourself happy.

Finally, how can people find out more about you/the Bloomfield concert series/True State Management online? (Website? Bandcamp? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc.?)

You can find everything about our bands, us, and our shows on our website www.truestatemanagement.com and our socials (@truestatemgmt) on all platforms.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

The thing I always stress to our bands and music fans is to always support in any way you can and to work as hard as possible to make it happen. I always tell bands, you should be trying to work harder than us (it won’t happen), but that should be the mindset. Help other bands get shows, go out to shows, even if you aren't playing (I know it's a crazy concept). The more friends you make and the bigger the network you have, the better you will do!