"Bump," the groups latest release began as a concept approximately five years ago of one of the original founders and front men; keyboardist/vocalist Larry Tamblyn. "In 2009 I approached John Fleck and Mark Adrian," explained Tamblyn to me recently. "We sat down and I told them I wanted to make a new record and that I had a goal; this is what I want to do. I told them that I don't want to relive our past, I wanted something new. We were all in agreement and began the writing process and started recording in 2011."
An unfortunate health issue arose for Tamblyn and the project was delayed as he received treatment for cancer. "I came down with prostate cancer; it delayed everything while I underwent a prostatectomy and we finally completed it in 2013. We accomplished what I wanted; we have the Standells sound of yesterday and today. In order to do that we built our own studio in the garage, which is another reason why it took some time but it allowed for a lot of creativity in an unfettered environment. There was a guitar in the corner and objects here or there; it was a very relaxed atmosphere and not a pristine environment like in a recording studio so to speak. This really enhanced the creativity and the experience; I'm the producer so I've got my personal indulgence there but it's great when you hear (XM Radio DJ) Cousin Brucie and the like say that it bridges the gap between the old and the new. I feel that a lot of groups have made that mistake by trying to create a totally different sound."
Over the years, the band has gone through multiple personnel changes with various members joining and rejoining seemingly at will; however, this current line up has Tamblyn very excited. "John Fleck, although not an original member, he came on board and has been a major creative force since 1967 after "Dirty Water" but has written great classics like "...Sunset Strip" and Mark; Mark Adrian is probably one of the best guitarists I've ever played with. We put him through the wringer with the audition process and he really stepped up and learned everything; he's a great guy and a great guitarist. Greg Burnham is our drummer, he's very solid and a big contributor in every way; he's not just a side man."
Looking back, Tamblyn has mixed feelings on music, writing and the events of today as opposed to when the band first formed. When asked if 1962 seemed that long ago, he laughed and said, "No; well, it does and it doesn't. As a person, I'm different now more so than I was back then. I've aged and with that comes knowledge and wisdom. Writing? It's, I think as long as it works, it has to come from an organic place, if it does, it works; if you force it, it doesn't work. Early on there wasn't much to go on for incentive, well until the later '60's but there's lots to go on today. "Mr. One Percent" is a comedic approach, "All About The Money" is a bit more serious; both about why the wealthiest pay the least. I wanted to address this; I guess we're all inspired by something. Music today though, well, there's positive and negative in today's music. I'm not into electronica even though I do orchestra scores on synthesizer; it's just not my style. I do think that music is turning back to yesterday; performers are performing again. There's not so much just standing on stage and lip syncing or faking it. I love Bruno Mars, I think he's great and the man performs; he's also a fantastic drummer. Yeah, so I think its on it's way back."
Springsteen, Aerosmith, U2 and countless others have all covered Standells material; something which makes Tamblyn and the rest of the band rather proud. "I'm actually honored," he stated as he seemed very genuine in his response. "Any time somebody covers our material, be it a known or an unknown, it's an honor. Youtube is full of unknowns doing our songs and bands like the Ramones and the Stooges; never in my wildest mind would I expected us to inspire these bands."
"Dirty Water," the band's most notable recording has been named one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock 'N' Roll" by the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame. The popular tune has recently been adopted by the city of Boston, MA and its major sports teams; The Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics all play it post game after a victory. The Red Sox adopted it as their "unofficial anthem" in the 1990's, even having the band appear at game 2 of the 2004 World Series and sing the national anthem at game 1 of the 2007 American League Division Series in Fenway Park. Tamblyn is humbled by all of the attention and accolades that the song has brought. "Well again, it's an honor, it really is. When you think about all of the songs that have been written over time; 500 songs is a pretty narrow category. We never had any idea that "Dirty Water" would be such a hit; I mean we recorded it in a garage for goodness sake. Having it adopted by Boston and the Red Sox; it's really something. "Recently we were flown in to do a show to raise funds for the Boston Marathon victims; again, it was a real honor to do so. For some reason people love it and to be able to bring calm to people after the bombing; that was worth more than everything. The funny thing about that song is, none of us had ever even been to Boston when we wrote it. The song was written about the seedier side of Boston and the Charles River, which was one of the most polluted water ways in the country. Later on it was part of a campaign to clean up the Charles River and it helped. The effort really thrived and now the Charles is one of the nicest."
The Standells will be performing two shows in NJ on May 2 and 3. The first at The Open Arts Stage on Rte 130 South in Bordentown, NJ and the second at The Brighton Bar on Brighton Ave in Long Branch. "We're looking forward to both," said Tamblyn. "The Bordentown show is a neat event and Randy (Former City Gardens booking agent and current promoter of the show) Now is a really neat guy. That store of his, The Man Cave, very nice thing he's got going on over there."
Don't miss a chance to see the Standells, a band which has withstood the test of time, been on countless TV and movie screens, recorded many notable tunes and influenced generations of music and musicians. After the Long Branch show, they head up to the Boston area, then Connecticut and New Hampshire before turning toward upstate New York and the Mid-West.
To find out more about the Standells, please go to www.standells-official.com. Please be sure to also check out www.mancavenj.com and www,facebook.com/openartsstage .
This space welcomes any suggestions and/or comments. Please send them to: Rockonradio1460@hotmail.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. Paul Plumeri Trio
Sun. 9 p.m. Kenny Cunningham
Wed. 10 p.m. Open mic. night Hosted by Eric Puliti
All shows 21+
Amarones Windsor Inn
29 Church St. Windsor
(609) 448-714
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Pizza Night w/Scott Gager & Debbie
Fri. 8 p.m. Tymes 2
Sat. 8 p.m.Shore Soundz
Tues. 7 p.m. Texas Hold'em
Blend
911 Rte. 33 Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Thurs. 9 p.m. Jim Gaven
Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia jam
Wed. 5 p.m. Art Party Feat. Kasey Tararuj
Mon. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Candlelight Lounge
24 Passaic St. Trenton
(609) 695-9612
Sat. 3 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Madame Pat Tandy Quartet. (No cover-$10 minimum)
Centro Bar And Grille
2360 Rte. 33 Robbinsville
(609) 208-9300
Thurs. 9:30 p.m. Dave Vroman Jr.
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
(609) 394-7437
Fri. 7 p.m. SmoKe, The Secondside, Ingdorf, 40 Weeks, Conversa. All ages, $8/$10.
Sat. 5 p.m. Provenance "EP Release Party," Deadletter, Armory Infirmary, The Hollow, Proletariat, Born A New, Guttersnipe. All ages, $8/$10
Sun. 10 p.m. GSPS, Jay Toxic, Randy Lee. Ages 21+, $5
Mon. 6 p.m. All ages, $10/$12
Dubh Linn Square
167 Rte. 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-7100
Fri. 9 p.m. Amber Lamps
Sun. 4 p.m.Billy O'neal
Tues. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night hosted by Shaun Ruymen
Fran's Pub
116 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215)862-5539
Fri. 9 p.m. DJ Night
Sat. 9 p.m. Mike Bochetti Comedy Show feat 3 comics
Sun. 3 p.m. The Billy Walton Band
Mon. 8 p.m. Open Mic Blues Jam
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. The Rent A Cops (Police Tribute Band)/Pale Descendents (Smiths Tribute Band) Doors at 6n p.m., $15
Sat. 8:30 p.m. The Naturals. $7 (cover charge)
Mon. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron Sherr and Bridge
Wed. 8 p.m. Pat Foran/DJoy/Chloe Manchester
All shows 21+
Ivy Tavern
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Fri. 10 p.m. Gunsmoke
Sat. 10 p.m. Kindred Spirit
All shows 21+
John & Peter's
96 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-5981
Thurs. 9 p.m. Mike DiAlto's Stand Up Comedy
Fri. 9 p.m. Ammunition
Sat. (3 p.m.) Mr. Chris and The Alley Band (9:30 p.m.) Rainbow Fresh
Sun. (3 p.m.) Randy Morning w/ Mother Nature's Child (9:30 p.m.) Skip's Museum
Mon. Open Mic.
Tues. 9 p.m. DJ Aggreschen
Wed. The Invitational (Featuring John & Peter's House Band)
All shows 21+
JoJo's Tavern
2677 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-2678
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Mike Matis & karly Coleman w/ Rob Beckelman
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke
Millhill Basement
300 South Broad St. Trenton
(609) 989-1600
Fri. 9 p.m. Walk The Plank/Night Birds
Wed. 7 p.m. Gameday Regulars
Palermo's Of Hamilton
310 Klockner Rd. Hamilton
(609) 838-7979
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Out of The Red
All shows 21+
Patriot's Crossing
1339 River Rd. Titusville
(609) 737-2780
Fri. 7:30 p.m. Richie Cole
Sat. 7:30 p.m. Dan Zimmerman and Torquebillies
Pete's Steak House
523 Whitehorse Ave. Hamilton
(609) 585-8008
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Blind Lemmon Pie
Sat. 9:30 p.m. John & Carm
RHO Waterfront
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. 9 p.m. College Night w/ DJ Jeff Scott Gould
Fri. (4:30 p.m.) Eddie Testa (8:30) The Verdict (10 p.m.) DJ Jimmie Palumbo
Sat. 9 p.m. Ladies Night
Sun. 7 p.m. Richie Cole and His Alto Madness Orchestra. Doors at 6 p.m., $10
All Shows 21+
Spigola Ristorante
3817 Crosswicks Hamilton Square Rd. Hamilton
Fri. 8:30 p.m. Sal Anthony
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Soul Gypsies
Sunsets at Cream Ridge
181 Rte. 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 208-2500
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Joe Kaplow
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Rob Silvers Duo
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Tangled
Mon. 7 p.m. Open Mic. and Karaoke w/ Rich Barry
Tavern On The Lake
101 Main St. Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Fri. 9 p.m. El Ka Bong
Sat. 9 p.m. Far Cry
Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke Night
The Cool Cricket
216 4th St. Fieldsboro
(609) 291-9110
Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 9 p.m. Never Enough
The Ivy Inn
248 Nassau St. Princeton
(609) 921-8555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ Ron Sherr
Fri. 10 p.m. River Dogs
Sat. 10 p.m. Seth Tieger Band
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ Ron Sherr
The Record Collector
358 Farnsworth Ave. Bordentown
(609) 324-0880
Fri. 8 p.m. Billy Hector Blues Band. All ages, doors at 7:30 p.m., $15 (advance)
Sat. 8 p.m. Spanking Charlene/Eryn Shewell. 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. Out of The Red
Sat. 9:30 p.m. DJ TDOGG
All shows 21+
The Sun National Bank Center
81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 656-3200
Check web page for upcoming events
Tir Na Nog
1324 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 392-2554
Fri. 9 p.m. Tommy Glover
Sat. 9 p.m. Joe Vadala
All shows 21+
Trenton Social
449 South Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-7777
Thurs. 8 p.m. Cinema Thursdays Presents: "Fake It So Real"
Fri. 10 p.m. Friday night w/ Jay Kountree & Jaxx
Mon. 10 p.m. Service Industry Night w/ DJ-Jay Kountree
Tues. 9 p.m. LiveMusic/Open Mic.
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Thurs. 10 p.m. Miss Massive Snowflake
Fri. 10 p.m. Turbine. $5 (coverage)
Sat. (1 p.m.) Giant Flying Turtles (10 p.m.) Big Leg Emma. $5 (cover charge)
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Jam Night hosted by Paper Submarines
All shows 21+
Villa Romanza
429 Rte. 156 Hamilton
(609) 585-1717
Fri. 6 p.m. Arturo Romay
Sat. 5 p.m. Rat Pack / Alex Panteleon
Wildflowers Inn
2572 Pennington Rd. Pennington
Sat. 9 p.m. Live Acoustic Rock
Mon. 9 p.m. Karaoke
All shows 21+
