thePULSEBands, clubs, artists, and businesses that you may not have heard of yet…but that we think are going to make a name for themselves really soon ~ and you get to hear about them here, right before they make it big!
CLUB – JJ’s Sports Bar and Grille: Who Says You Can’t Have it All?
By Rachel Shuster
“We all want what we can’t have, life isn’t always fair,” etc. Sure, these reality checks hit us all daily, but JJ’s Sports Bar and Grille in Northborough might just be challenging those ideas. Located at the intersection of Route 20 and Route 9 East, JJ’s offers more variety than ever imaginable.
Originally known as J O’Rourke’s, the restaurant/bar was a “…typical, neighborhood Irish pub,” says Chris Hallett, JJ’s house DJ and Entertainment Director. “The place has been around for years, but JJ O’Rourke’s never made it to a ‘fancy place’ until Vin Maiori came along.” After being involved for three and a half years, Maiori redesigned the place. Now, Maiori and Hallett work together to provide a mix of sports, music and fun with features like a stage on the restaurant side, a huge bar area, a pool room, video games, a function room that can hold up to 120 people, and a brand new enclosed patio.
One way Hallett describes JJ’s is as “a sports fan’s dream.” The beautiful main bar serves as the perfect setting for watching the NFL Sunday Ticket on 42 plasma TVs, including one monster 137 inch. Try not to let the delicious, high end pub style food like fresh lobster, prime rib, sandwiches, and more distract you from the game, though!
Able to accomodate about 450 people, JJ’s features something exciting each day. “Mondays are extremely unique,” Hallett says about “Kidioke.” From 5:30pm-7:30pm, kids of any age can sing along to their favorite songs and eat for free. “It’s like a free babysitter,” Hallett says. The place usually expects 20-60 kids, and Hallett comments that “When you see an eight year old get up and sing ‘Proud to Be an American,’ you get filled up. Even I did once. It’s great.” Every Tuesday night is “Stump Trivia.”A host asks questions and teams answer to win prizes. “The more people come, the more and bigger the prizes,” Hallett says. Moving onto Wednesdays, get your poker face on with “Free Texas Hold ‘Em” from 7:30pm – 11:30pm. Show up, sit down at a table and have fun. Whether you’re playing for gift certificates, a trophy towards the end of the season, or just for fun, Wednesdays are always exciting. Sing your heart out every Thursday at Karaoke Night from 9:30pm – 2am. While Hallett (DJ Wile) DJs, compete to win a $200 prize every week.
Open 11am ‘til12am Sun – Wed and ‘til 2am Thurs – Sat, JJ’s doesn’t miss a beat, literally. If DJ Wile isn’t spinning, then live bands are rocking the place Fridays and Saturdays. “We have about five to eight bands per week,” Hallett explains. Local, national, new and established bands have taken the stage at JJ’s: The Fools, No Alibi, Probably Cause, AC/DC cover band Dirty Deeds, Queen cover band Killer Queen, and Van Halen cover band Diver Down (yes, JJ’s heard the loud call for the return of real rock-n-roll is helping bring it back to its eager fans!)
So even though the old saying goes that we can’t have it all, seems like at JJ’s, maybe we can!
Want more? Check out www.jbag.biz
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SOLO – Kquaz
By Allie Bombz
Kqauz, a.k.a. Uncle Dad, is getting ready to knock Kanye out. With his new record “Son of Moose (It Is What It Is),” Kquaz will definitely be droppin’ some jaws… and, yeah, the ladies might be dropping some drawers, too!
Back in the 80s, Kqauz was known as Rubber Man ~ in promotion of safe sex. Dancers onstage would throw condoms into the crowd. These days, it’s “Lollipop Boy.” When Kquaz performed “Lollipop” live at The Atrium, he threw a bunch of lollipops into the crowd. “Girls were grabbin’ ‘em, one girl came up on stage with a lollipop…both of us were sucking it…it was wild. We blew the roof off at the Atrium. Basically I’m tellin’ the women I am what you want. You don’t need anything else, no toys, no nothing…I’m the one.”
As far as Worcester hip hop history goes, Kqauz wears the O.G. crown. He’s been makin’ original, fresh hip hop since the 80s. His DJ Shame-produced tracks like “Ms. FishHips” and “Pimple Trend” caught mad love within the hip hop industry way back in 1989.
“Bobbito Garcia (of NYC’s famed Stretch & Bobbito hip hop radio show) was an A&R for Tommy Boy Records. Me & Shame brought our tracks down to NYC. Bobbito played them on the air, and heads loved it. Bobbito was really feelin’ my track ‘Back In The Day.’ He remixed it a few times…” For those of y’all who were rockin’ the diaper back in the 80s, you can catch those classic Kquaz tracks on the forthcoming “Wartronix” compilation.
Kqauz has been keepin’ it bumpin’ locally since the 80s. Two Uncle Dad bangers ~ “Broken” and “Step Back” ~ were featured in Artigo/Ajemian Films’ locally produced feature film Freedom Park. “Step Back” drops right when the action starts…Kqauz style.
Expect that same energy on the new Kqauz LP “Son of Moose (It Is What It Is)” ~ featuring beats from Magic Mike, AllieBombz, and Jimmy Tripp. “You gunna hear everything ~ all walks of life. One song I’ll be talking sex, another about world issues…another is spiritual. That’s what ‘It is what it is’ is about. I’m only human. There’s lots of controversy in my lyrics ~ which should be something people can relate to. I write what I go through. Real life.
Check for new Kqauz tracks + fresh music videos at www.myspace.com/Uncledad06
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SOLO – El Bebe
By Allie Bombz
If you were dancing y bailando to Conjucto Classico at the Worcester Latin Festival, you know el Bebé. If you tune your AM dial to Power 1310, tu conoses el Bebé. If you dance salsa in Buffalo, Rochester, Atlanta… ya tu sabe! El Bebé de la Salsa is Worcester’s own 19 year old salsa sensation Matthew Sanchez.
“The rhythm of salsa is indescribable, you have to listen, the rhythm will tell your body how to move.” And when el Bebe sings to the rhythm, se acaboooo! It’s over!
El Bebe grew up in Fitchburg with a lot of R&B and a whole lot of salsa music from his native Puerto Rico. “My mother used to crank up the salsa to the loudest when she would clean the house, and she would sing at the top of her lungs…I was young, listening to these guys… We listened to people like Tito Allen, Tony Vega, & Victor Manuelle. I opened for Tito Allen in Buffalo. This singer who I grew up admiring is now a good friend of mine. That is just crazy to me.”
“I went down to Santiago’s Market, and somebody came up to me and said, ‘Hey you’re el Bebe de la Salsa! I saw you sing! I loved it!’ That gives me so much energy to keep going ~ people are liking it, enjoying it ~ I’m bringing a happiness. For at least those 5 minutes when I’m singing that song, people are forgetting about their worries ~ that’s so cool to me. When I sang with Conjuncto Classico at the Latin Festival, the crowd responded immensely! I didn’t believe it.”
“Salsa is a universal music. Last time I sang at Gilreins, I saw all types of people dancing crazy styles of salsa…I love that about salsa. It’s the way the beat takes you away. Salsa is for anybody who likes to really feel the passion of the rhythm.”
El Bebe has a few songs in rotation on local radio Power 1310…which has over 100,000 listeners hourly. His debut record “The Return of Salsa’” comes out next year on Gladiator Records. El Bebe is bringin’ his sabor ~ a rhythmic blend of salsa and salsa/reggaeton. “I’m bringing salsa back to the classic style ~ romantic, rhythmic, passionate ~ It’s The Return of Salsa!”
Myspace.com/matthewsanchezmusic
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CD – Public Uproar
By Alex Kantarelis
The Worcester punk scene finally has a band to look up to. Public Uproar has been tearing it up for the past 3 years, the whole time calling Worcester their home.
The band that started just to play music like their favorite bands ~ Rancid, Operation Ivy, and Pennywise ~ is now paying homage to them by releasing its first CD. The self-titled 13 song CD, which came out in October, has been getting the band more attention and rave reviews.
The do-it-yourself (DIY) punk rock mentality has inspired the guys ever since the band’s inception in 2004. They’ve opted to stay away from the politics and business that come from labels, instead releasing everything themselves. Saving up their own money to make it happen, they paid for everythingfrom the recording to the manufacturing of the CDs. They even did the artwork themselves. It’s refreshing to see a band work this way, especially nowadays that musicians have become businessmen.
Although they have a rabid and growing fan base here in Worcester (not to mention over a thousand friends on MySpace), the band is not just playing locally. “We started playing all around Worcester, at places like the QVCC, but lately we’ve been playing all around Connecticut and New York, too,” said bassist Chris Brunelle. And they’re not stopping there. Now that they released the CD, the band’s goal is to hit the road. “We’re trying to set up a tour for a few weeks all over the East Coast,” Brunelle said. “And hopefully make it out to California,” he added.
Three of the four members of the band are 19 (the 4th is 23), making it difficult to play lots of shows in the area. At that age, life can get in the way, but the guys do not let that stop them. Instead of playing 21+ bars, they play all-ages shows everywhere they can, from houses to colleges to American Legion halls. All the members are totally dedicated to the band and the DIY approach. “We started playing in 2004 and have had the same lineup ever since,” Brunelle said.
But if all that isn’t enough for you, I should also note that the boys took home the award for Best Punk Act at the 2007 Worcester Music Awards, a huge accomplishment for such a young band. And they have no intention of slowing down.
If you’re interested in hearing more, or getting a CD, you’ll have to go check out the band live. The only place to get their CD is online through their myspace page (myspace.com/publicuproar) or from them in person at a show. Rest assured, no businessmen will be getting any money for their music. You’ll be supporting a band that fully deserves it.
Photo by Casey Staskawicz
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BAND – Silent Mind
By Alex Kantarelis
Worcester has a new hard-rock force on the scene. Silent Mind, who have been busy playing out in the area as much as possible, is comprised of an all-star cast of local talent and has a modern sound that mixes a heavy, almost hip-hop vocal style with thick metal guitars to form a totally unique style that is sure to impress. Fans of bands like Tool, Alice in Chains, Godsmack, and Black Label Society, take notice.
Silent Mind recently self-released a three song demo that they recorded themselves and have been giving it away for free at shows all over the Worcester area and in Boston. Though it may have become a cliché, to them, it’s more about the music than about the money. And most important are the fans. In the past, the band has brought literally a busload of fans to see their out-of-town shows. “We’d rent school buses and bring people with us so we could have our own fan base. We’d sell the buses out every time we’d do it,” said drummer Rich Bates. “We have a lot of local fans that we can always get together,” he added.
Front man Caz puts on an explosive live performance, inspiring the audience with every word he shouts. Add in brothers Shawn and Paul Stephens on guitar, and the band is pure chemistry in a musical form. “We’re very loud, but it fits our style,” Bates said. “I wouldn’t call it anything too metal, or really anything but rock,” he added. A typical live set includes several covers in addition to the slew of original material they have ~ expect to hear Alice In Chains, Sponge, and a four-song Ozzy medley.
The members of Silent Mind bring significant experience to the table since they have played in many other bands over the past years; former bands like Officer Down, HeyDay, Communion, Hogwallop, and the Black Sabbath tribute band Rat Salad have inspired the songwriting and maturity of Silent Mind’s sound. Says Bates about his current gig, though, “It’s the best band I’ve ever been in because they care so much about details in their songwriting.”
Most recently, the band played the main stage at the Palladium with horror-punk legends the Misfits. “It’s a great feeling to play a big stage at a nice club like that,” Bates said.
Silent Mind currently have their entire three-song demo available at their myspace page (myspace.com/silentmind12) and are planning on recording their first full-length in the future since they already have a full album’s worth of material written. “Our plan is to get back in the studio soon, and get on some bigger and better shows,” Bates said. Be sure to check them out sooner rather than later. You’ll be impressed.
