Those are the words of Smithereens guitarist and songwriter Pat DiNizio as he discussed his upcoming "Confessions of a Rock Star" series at Asbury Park's Langosta Lounge beginning October 9.
Fresh off of a year long engagement in Las Vegas, DiNizio is bringing this popular production home to New Jersey and will feature local performers alongside him during the show's seven week run. "This is a chance for several things," he started. "This is a showcase for not only myself and my solo material but to also showcase the local musicians and some of the Smithereens. We are working on a new album and I'll use this as a vehicle to rehearse some of that new material."
"Confessions of a Rock Star" took DiNizio away from his Jersey home but not from his Jersey roots. Taking up residence in Las Vegas's Riviera Hotel, Pat brought his music and that of the Smithereens to life via stories, song and requests from the audience; never losing sight of the journey itself. "I was at the old Riviera where Dean Martin and people like Englebert Humperdinck once performed. The first month or so was great but then I became the Howard Hughes of rock 'n' roll; I never really left my suite at the hotel. That was really what was best for me to stay normal. The casino, after a while starts to sound like a pinball machine with all of the bells and dings. So to stay normal I preferred to stay in my room and watch movies or read; I read a lot. The show itself was like telling the story of my life six days a week for a year. It was like my story or anyone's story when they get their lucky break . I thought I was destined to be a life long garbage man and then, well, it happened. I remember seeing Elvis as a kid in "King Creole" while in Wildwood in a theater on the boardwalk. I sat through that film four times and must've eaten a hundred lollipops, once out I demanded that my dad buy me a guitar; that film changed my life."
Perhaps a more accurate statement has never been uttered as DiNizio parlayed that demand for a guitar into a career in one of the most successful acts to come out of New Jersey. The Smithereens formed in and around the Carteret, NJ area in the late 1970's. Performing their first gig at a venue in Hillside, NJ, the band tinkered with their original line up a bit, adding and eventually subtracting a piece; finally settling on the cohesive four piece unit that their fans have come to adore.
With twenty three official releases in the EP, full length, live, greatest hits and various other varieties; the group has amassed a catalog of material which is still fresh in the minds of their fan base. "There's more than thirty five years of Smithereens here," says DiNizio. "Sometimes when we get together and practice we are just very taken with the fact that we are able to still do this. A Smithereens show could easily be three hours long; and why not? Our fans deserve to hear everything so we are going to do our best to give it to them."
DiNizio came up with the idea for his Asbury Park continuation of the Vegas show, "Through a simple conversation" with Jersey shore area promoter Sammy Boyd of Sammy Boyd Productions. "I had returned from Las Vegas and went to see The Fixx at Jenk's (Jenkinson's Pavilion in Point Pleasant, NJ), I ran into Sammy, we started talking and I told him that I wanted to stay sharp; keep playing. We talked about it and Sammy Hooked me up with Langosta Lounge and the local talent and it evolved from there."
Not one to shy away from bucking trends, or setting them for that matter; DiNizio has broken new ground before. "House concerts," he explained, "I was ridiculed by my contemporaries, when during some down time, I started doing house concerts; now they are a standard thing. I mean, Bob Dylan even does them, of course he gets $250,000 a concert but you get the point. I started a thing called P.A.T which stands for Patrons Artists Together where I went to fans with unique content and/or limited editions; today they call it, "Kickstarter." I've got another project in the works using Skype. There are people using Skype to teach guitar, drums and what not but nobody out there teaching them songwriting. I'm working on that, stay tuned for that after the first of the year."
"Confessions of a Rock Star," the Asbury Park version kicks off with local artist Arlan Feiles in tow and beginning with the October 16 show, will be broadcast live via internet radio from Langosta Lounge via 40 Foot Hole Studios (www.40footholestudio.com). This in itself, invokes a bit of excitement from DiNizio who hosted his own syndicated radio program from 1992-1999. "Hey if we can bring music to the people and reach them all around the world; who wouldn't want that? Knowing that this will be heard all over the globe is a good thing; right? That's the goal, let's get it out there."
When asked what he hopes to accomplish with this series, DiNizio is rather vague; preferring to stay low key rather than going overboard. "I don't know really. I hope to develop an audience and continue to expose new Smithereens music, local artists and my solo material to the people and I think the potential is there to do so." I look forward to this; it should be a lot of fun."
To discover more about "Confessions of a Rock Star" or Pat DiNizio, please go to www.patdinizio.net .
To read up on The Smithereens, please visit www.officialsmithereens.com.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
THIS WEEKS CALENDAR LISTINGS
Alchemist & Barrister
28 Witherspoon Street Princeton
(609) 924-5555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Chris Nickey
Sun. 9 p.m. Ed Wilson
Wed. 10 p.m. Open mic. night
All shows 21+
Amarones Windsor Inn
29 Church St. Windsor
(609) 448-7144
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Scott Gager & Debbie
Fri. 8 p.m. Gyrl Band
Sat. 8 p.m. Blue Moon
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Texas Hold'em
Wed. 7 p.m. FREE Salsa Lessons
Big Shots Bar and Grill/Hebe Music Lounge
835 E Rte. 130 South, Burlington
(609) 267-1200
Fri. 7 p.m. The Killtones, BlackRue
Sat. 6 p.m. "The Witches Ball" feat. Solus Rex, Midnight Mosaic, BlackRue, Clashing Plaid, Steve Oakley Band, Foley McKenna Band, Road Dogs, Absinthe Drinkers
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic.
Blend Bar & Bistro
911 Highway 33, Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Fri. 6 p.m. Rich Schneider w/ Tom Schneider and Jim Paraino
Tues. 8 p.m. Triviajam
Candlelight Lounge
24 Passaic St. Trenton
(609) 695-9612
Sat. 3 p.m. Joe Ford Sax Quartet. (No cover-$10 minimum)
Chambers Walk Cafe
2667 Main St. Lawrenceville
(609) 896-5995
Fri./Sat. 6 p.m. Dick Gratton
The Backstage at Championship Bar
931 Chambers St. Trenton
Fri. 7 p.m. Ashes of Our Sins, O.N.E, My Silent Winter, Unholy Dispute, Vajra. All ages, $10
Sat. 5 p.m. The Artwork Of, Dead Wings, The Eastern Condition, My Private War, (TBA). All ages, $10
Sun. 5 p.m. Origin, Cognitive, We...Our War, Burn The Empire, Mortalysis, Mindless Flesh. All ages, $12/$14
Wed. 4 p.m. All ages, $10/$12
Chickie's & Pete's
183 US Highway 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-9182
Tues. 8 p.m. Acoustic Music Night feat. The Dawgs
Dubh Linn Square
167 Rte. 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-7100
Sun. 4 p.m.Billy O'neal
Tues. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night hosted by Shaun Ruymen
Wed. 9 p.m. Trivia Night
Fran's Pub
116 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215)862-5539
Fri. 8 p.m. (TBA)
Sat. 8 p.m. (TBA)
Sun. 3 p.m. James Supra Band
Mon. 8 p.m. Open Mic Blues Jam hosted by Jimmy Pritchard
All shows 21+
Havana New Hope
105 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-9897
Thurs. Beat the Clock College Night DJ Dance Party
Fri. 8 p.m. Citizens Band Radio / John Byrne Band. Doors at 6 p.m., $15
Sat. 8:30 p.m. The Loop
Sun. 6 p.m. Lauren Marsh CD Release Party
Mon. 10 p.m. Karaoke in the Bar w/ DJ Ron Sherr and Bridget
Wed. 8 p.m. Pat Foran and Friends
All shows 21+
Ivy Tavern
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Fri. 10 p.m. Blind Lemmon Pie
Sat. 10 p.m. The Dawgs
All shows 21+
John & Peter's
96 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-5981
Thurs. 9 p.m. Mike DiAlto Comedy Night feat. Rob Shapiro
Fri. 9 p.m. Tony DiSimone
Sat. (3 p.m.) Frank Porter (9 p.m.) The Fermenters w/ Fellaheen and Our Bodies Themselves.
Sun. (3 p.m.) Jamie Salvatore (7 p.m.) Hot Dose
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night w/ Chris
Wed. The Invitational (Featuring John & Peter's House Band)
All shows 21+
JoJo's Tavern
2677 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-2678
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke
Palermo's Of Hamilton
310 Klockner Rd. Hamilton
(609) 838-7979
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
All shows 21+
Pete's Steak House
523 Whitehorse Ave. Hamilton
(609) 585-8008
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Radio Fiction
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Musicology
RHO Waterfront
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. 9 p.m. College Night "Welcome Back Rider and TCNJ w/ DJ Paul Desisto
Fri. (4:30 p.m.) Happy Hour w/ DJ Davey Gold (9 p.m.) The Sensational Soul Cruisers
All Shows 21+
Sunsets at Cream Ridge
181 Rte. 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 208-2500
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Stand & Dave
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Something Shiny
Tavern On The Lake
101 Main St. Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke Night
The Ivy Inn
248 Nassau St. Princeton
(609) 921-8555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ Ron Sherr
Fri. 10 p.m. DJ Darius
Sat. 10 p.m. Sharks on Bicycles
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ Ron Sherr
The HOB Tavern
146 Second Street
(609) 291-7020
Wed. 9 p.m. Jay Keller
The Record Collector
358 Farnsworth Ave. Bordentown
(609) 324-0880
Fri. 8 p.m. Mystic Bowie / Annie Minogue Band. All ages, doors at 7:30 p.m., $15 (advance)
Sat 8 p.m. Joe Zook & Blues Deluxe w/ Blues Harp Master Steve Guyger. All ages, doors at 7:30 p.m., $12 (advance)
The Sticky Wicket
2465 South Broad St. Hamilton
(609) 439-0007
Fri. 9 p.m. Never Enough
Sat. 9 p.m. (TBA)
All shows 21+
The Sun National Bank Center
81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 656-3200
Check web site for upcoming events
Tir Na Nog
1324 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 392-2554
Fri. (5 p.m.) Tommy Glover (9 p.m.) Mike Barniskas
Sat. 9 p.m. Paul Plumeri & Jerry Monk
Tues. 9 p.m. Taylor Reed
Wed. 9 p.m. Ed Wilson
All shows 21+
Trenton Social
449 South Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-7777
Thurs. 8 p.m. Cinema Thursdays Presents: "7th Day"
Fri. 10 p.m. Friday night w/ Jay Kountree & Jaxx
Mon. 10 p.m. Service Industry Night w/ DJ-Jay Kountree
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Fri. 10 p.m. (TBA)
Sat. 10 p.m. Ellis Ashbrook. $5 (cover charge)
Tues. 9 p.m. Acoustic Grateful Dead feat. members of Splintered Sunlight
All shows 21+
Wildflowers Inn
2572 Pennington Rd. Pennington
Sat. 9 p.m. Live Acoustic Rock
Mon. 9 p.m. Karaoke
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