by Jason Walsh
The New Jersey natives are celebrating what
they call "20 years of vibrant, silly,heartfelt
punk rock," and will be sharing this
two decade odyssey with their fellow Garden
State locals for three-nights of insanity.
The "Home for the Holidays" celebration
will feature the guys from New Brunswick with
The Casualties, L.E.S. Stitches, and Static
Radio NJ on Friday, December 26, Token Entry,
Vision, and
Higher Giant on Saturday, December 27, and
will cap it off with The Gaslight Anthem,
Gimme Drugs, and Let Me Run on Sunday, December
28. Because of ongoing renovations at the
Stone Pony, the shows will be held in the
Arcade Theater in the Asbury Park Convention
Center on the boardwalk.
I had a chance to talk with frontman Greg
Attonito briefly about the shows and the joys
of playing in his home state.
Q: First, how have you guys been doing? how's
this year been?
ATTONITO: We have been good. Since the summer
we have been writing and recording 12 songs
that will be released digitally one song at
a time on the first of each month to celebrate
our 20-year anniversary in 0-9. The first
six are done and we are about to listen to
the mixes of the first three in about an hour.
I'm pretty excited about them. The songs are
great and the recording experience with the
guys, Ted Hutt, the producer and engineer,
Ali Hasan, has been a great experience in
many ways. We are all looking forward to getting
the songs out there.
Q: Why did you guys decide to play the three-day
stretch at the stone pony?
ATTONITO: Last year we decided to start an
annual Pony Party and call it "Home For
the Holidays." This year we it seemed
like 3 nights made the most sense. We will
see if it gets more popular this year. Maybe
we will do 4 nights next year.
Q: What can your fellow New Jersey people
expect from that show?
ATTONITO: It will be a classic Bouncing Souls
party with plenty of familiar family faces.
We also will be playing some new songs. Good
times are most likely to happen too.
Q: When one thinks of the Stone Pony, they
harken back to the early days of Bruce Springsteen
and the E Street band. It's a long ways from
those days now. What kind of venue is it now?
ATTONITO: It was exactly the same pretty
much until just recently when they realized
the ceiling was about to collapse. The place
is getting a facelift and they are trying
to have it all done by our shows. Apparently
it's a pretty big job. In general, the Pony
has been having shows consistently for years
and they do all kinds of music.
Q: Does it feel good playing "home games"
back in Jersey?
ATTONITO: It does. We are so loved in New
Jersey. How can we not love it?
Q: What will you guys be up to in the new
year? Any plans for recording or touring in
2009?
ATTONITO: We will be touring throughout next
year but not too much. We are trying to keep
it down to two-week trips for the whole year.
We will be going to Europe, the US with some
Warped tour dates and club dates, Canada,
and maybe Australia
Q: What would you say to encourage folks
to come out to one or all the shows to celebrate
the end of the year?
ATTONITO: It's a big family party. You might
run into some people you haven't seen in a
while. If you know us and if you have never
seen us, you should definitely come. You don't
witness the mutual love between an audience
and a band like at a Bouncing Souls show too
often.
Q: Any last words for your friends, family,
and beyond out there?
ATTONITO: Have a great day today, and live
it like its your last one!!!
Of importance concerning the venue is that
the Stone Pony will not be finished with their
renovations in time for the shows, so they
have been moved a few blocks down to The Arcade
at Convention Hall in Asbury Park. The Sunday
night show is sold out, but tickets are still
available for the Friday and Saturday shows
and can be bought through Ticketmaster.
