Singing Those Lower East Side Blues (Again)

Cropduster celebrate the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album "Drunk Uncle"

Back in the late Nineties and into the early '00's, Cropduster's cow-punk drawl and nonchalant rockness made them one of the most popular bands in New Jersey. For a few years, the band also hosted some of the best shows/parties in the state at their HQ at 66 Johnson Avenue in Hacksack. The band decided to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of their album "Drunk Uncle" with a show at Maxwell's on February 5, which I was honored to open. Although there were a few new faces - frontman Marc Mauritzi noted that Cropduster went through bassists the way Spinal Tap did drummers - those old songs never sounded better. One New York City-based music exec commented, "I've been to 30 shows in the last 30 days and this was the best one I've seen!" Marc, guitarist Tom Gerke, drummer Scott Koptiskie, keyboardist Jake Harmon, and bassist Steve Savona brought it all back home. (Also kudos to newest member Spencer on tambourine, who I seriously thought might be one of the original members' son until we were introduced!) Let's do it again in 10 more years, guys! - Jim Testa

Photographer James Damion was nice enough to capture the night in photos.