Two years later, the group signed a recording contract with Epic Records and released the album "I Don't Want To Go Home." They really inspire you with their command of the stage. What's the secret? 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 View and manage file attachments for this page. Lewis has hits and plays in arenas, while the Jukes still ply the barrooms and roadhouses. I feel that my marriage has really broadened me and certainly given me a sense of some completion but that you can't really look for that. I wasnt going back to working at the post office. To dream a dream of making music. "I was living with Miami Steve (Van Zandt, Southside's guitarist, songwriting partner and producer before departing for Springsteen's E Street band) and Albany Al in a three-bedroom apartment," recalls the 63-year-old rock vet. The newly-formed 1982 lineup of The Asbury Jukes (with former E Street Band member Ernest "Boom" Carter on drums) provided the musical entertainment at the reception, along with "special guest" Bruce Springsteen. Going to school, becoming a teacher, working at the Pepsi Cola bottling? As the Sundance Blues Band and its offshoots became frequent attractions at the Upstage, Southside was playing several sets a night, four or five nights a week, and he began seriously considering a career as a professional musician. Q. There's a fascination with the other gender in that you just see the world differently than men do, and I'm always fascinated by that. "Sometimes there's got to be a good reason to go down a different path.". 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 That's the kind of freedom that you don't really think about until somebody asks you about it. Southside Johnny Tickets, Tour Dates & Concerts 2024 & 2023 - Songkick Southside Johnny On tour: yes Southside Johnny is not playing near you. It was crazy. He's a great artist. One of the seminal figures on the New Jersey rock scene and a gifted, charismatic singer steeped in soul, blues, and R&B. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. We'd love to hear eyewitness Springsteen, working on his own album, took time to contribute a song, All the Way Home, on which he plays guitar. "Garry Tallent (Springsteen's bassist and Southside's best friend) and I were talking a couple of years ago and realized everybody pretty much got what they wanted. The new album, "Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes: Live In Cleveland '77," recorded at the band's May 2, 1977, show at the Agora Theater in Cleveland, is a testament to the group's outsider . Frank Sinatra: Live At Melbourne Festival Hall. Recorded over six weeks in June and July, Better Days was released late last month. 1949-64 "Bruce always wanted to make his music count for people. You're always with men, and we've had women in the band and all, but I just like when I'm not with the guys, I like sometimes to hear somebody else talk. rights reserved. I like that--really just let it go and see where the night takes you, and I don't knowI've always been that way where I trust in the people around me and I trust in myself to not go so far that I'll lose my career or my audience, but they understand that I'm not going to do the same thing over and over. Southside Johnny has long been considered the Grandfather of "the New Jersey Sound ." Jon Bon Jovi has acknowledged Southside Johnny as his "reason for singing." "I like where I am,'' confides the genial vocalist, content to follow his own muse and, on occasion, tour to places like Kitchener, where he'll play an "acoustic-esque" show of hits and covers with a pared-down version of the Jukes, dubbed The Poor Fools. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. But Epic Records were disappointed with their sales, and in 1979 they dropped the band. Recording Sessions If they came up with a prototype for the hard-working Jersey Shore bar-band rocker, it would probably come pretty close to the real-life Southside Johnny Lyon. In 2020, as reported by Rolling Stone, Bobby Roth, a director, friend, and neighbor of Springsteen and Scialfa, asked Scialfa to write some songs for his teen drama "Pearl." Does it bother you that you are forever being compared with Bruce Springsteen? "He just had that presence where you couldn't take your eyes off him. Indeed there isand it's a great one. Will there be a new one in 1994? I wasnt a big cocaine person, though. View wiki source for this page without editing. My mother worked, and would say it was OK to stay home as long as I cleaned the house. For more information, visit https://www.birchmere.com. I agree. They weret really written for me. Hes carried on as a hardworking road warrior for decades since, recording with an ever-evolving Jukes lineup, most recently on the 2015 return to form, Soultime! Since then, Johnny and the Jukes have released more than a dozen albums. The move came at a lull in Lyons musical career, and life in San Clemente (which he shares with his wife, Jill, and their two canaries) has been mostly quiet: walks in nearby Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, drinks on the pier at sunset, movie outings. "He's got more straight ahead rock 'n' roll roots and I have more rhythm and blues roots," points out Southside. The Jukes have had a number of personnel changes over the years. Even though his friends Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi achieved more fame, Southside Johnny's unmatched dedication will be remembered forever. Born Vivienne Patricia Scialfa on July 29, 1953, Scialfa grew up in the affluent suburb of Deal, New Jersey, per the Washington Post. Your last album, "Better Days," was perhaps the most critically acclaimed album you've done since "Hearts of Stone." The group has always featured Mr. Lyon's soulful vocals and a horn section, often called the Miami Horns in honor of a Jukes co-founder, (Miami) Steve Van Zandt (a k a Little Steven). T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner. Do you know what I mean? Be Nice. Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes play the SugarHouse Casino on Saturday May 11. So I had very little time to devote to studying. Wedding reception for Southside Johnny and his bride, Jill Glasner. From Brucebase: Bruce (and several E-Streeters) with Southside Johnny in the early hours of August 31 (1978) following their gig at the Richfield Coliseum. "It really was a great crucible, and sort of our college, because we were teenagers back then, and we learned so many styles of music - country and western, blues, guitar rock - because nobody said 'no' to anything. Why not? I always knew that I could never do the same job over and over again and punch a clock. Before Fame 8 p.m. Saturday, SugarHouse Casino, 1001 Delaware Ave.. $29. When he came back to N.J., he was broke and needed to put together a band. Steve was Miami Steve, and I became Southside Johnny because of my love of Chicago blues. Socially conscious songwriting was one new direction that Lyon didnt foresee as he began work on Slow Dance. But as he commuted in from New Jersey to work in a Manhattan studio with co-producer Steve Skinner, the scene that confronted him each day at the New York Port Authority bus terminal demanded commentary. We have very eclectic taste. A powerful vocalist whose style is steeped in vintage blues, R&B, and soul, Johnny was the leader and frontman for the group the Asbury Jukes, whose tough bar band sound married the impact of hard rock with the swing and horn-fueled punch of blues and deep soul. He's not rationalizing - he really is content. He was very patient, very willing to teach. "And I've always wanted to be as free and odd and eccentric as I wanted, because I'm just naturally that way - and I can. That year, Springsteen married model Julianne Phillips; Scialfa had reportedly told people that she had feelings for her boss, but she didn't sit around pining for him, even briefly dating actor Tom Cruise as well as various New York musicians. Patti Scialfa has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's The E Street Band since 1984 and Springsteen's partner since 1988. While the club generally booked cover bands, word about the Jukes and their powerhouse live show began to spread, and soon they were playing weekends and drawing as many as two thousand fans a night. New Jersey music iconSouthside Johnny Lyon is doing fine during the coronavirus outbreak and he has plenty of toilet paper, too. They have recorded or performed several Springsteen songs, including "The Fever" and "Fade Away". Southside Johnny's story is one of resilience, perseverance and making music for the love of music. It's just to me that it's a unique vision of the world, a unique take on the world, and of course, I hang around in my career with guys, guys, guys, guys. He is an American singer-songwriter who fronts the band Southside Johnny & . Whats the big deal about changing your pronouns? . I Dont Want to Go Home might have been. "He's stealing my saxophone players to replace Clarence (Clemons, who passed away last year), so we steal from each other's bands occasionally.". Meanwhile, Lyon has landed appearances on The Tonight Show and Late Night With David Letterman. And theres a video of Its Been a Long Time, the shooting of which picked up national media attention. There was no alcohol, so teenagers could get in. Join Songkick to track Southside Johnny and get concert alerts when they play near you. That was really a Drifters thing. In 2008, the British label Secret Records released a live album recorded during dates with the Asbury Jukes in the U.K., From Southside to Tyneside, while that same year, Southside released an ambitious solo album, Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits, in which he interpreted 12 songs from the gravel-voiced singer and songwriter while backed by a big band led by Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, a longtime fixture in the Jukes' horn section. Southside Johnny Lyon was born on 4 December 1948 in Neptune, New Jersey, USA. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. The club often featured open jams, and Lyon, like many other aspiring musicians, would stop by regularly to hear music, meet other players, and hopefully take the stage for a few tunes. They come home from work, have a couple of beers, and put on [Wynonie Harris] Dont Roll Those Bloodshot Eyes at Me.. Going to Jukesville followed in 2002, and the tough, eclectic Into the Harbour was issued in 2006. It was a great education for all of us. Watch headings for an "edit" link when available. The album is on Cypress Records, the independent label whose roster leans toward such mellow folk-pop artists as Jennifer Warnes, Leonard Cohen and Jesse Colin Young. You probably never asked yourself, What if?. I don't really sell many records. A. Who gave him the nickname Southside? person will not be tolerated. Then once that idea got into you, you never wanted to let it go, because what are the alternatives? Playlists | Radio | Podcast Can I ask you about your mother and your connection to her? We've gotten older, but wiser, too. Wow. You are all about raw and honest music, and I think this takes a lot of heart, and also takes a lot of courage; you put all of yourself into music. I realized once again that music is fun and fulfilling. Since leaving Springsteens E Street Band in 1984, Van Zandt had turned much of his musical and personal attention to political causes, including the founding of Artists United Against Apartheid. Be Truthful. SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: I do connect with them. The connection continues on Slow Dance with Walking Through Midnight, a fine ballad of inner turmoil and frustrated yearning that Lyon and Springsteen wrote 10 years ago. Much of the new material explores how it feels to be us now, looking back, Lyon said. ", A 2004 interview with the Washington Post noted that "21st Street Lullaby" came out almost exactly 20 years after Springsteen's iconic 1984 album "Born In The USA." His multiple awards include recognition for stories on both Bruce Springsteen and Jersey Shore. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com. When New Jerseys Asbury Park music scene rose up in the 1970s, there were three bright lights on its rock-and-soul triangle. Coronavirus in NJ: Bon Jovi says son Jake is '100 percent' recovered from COVID-19 scare. What kind of strategy do you use when it comes time to record? Was it always your goal to be a singer and performer? 877-477-3715. sugarhousecasino.com. All credits to the original photographer. Southside Johnny and The Poor Fools Thursday (Feb. 2), 8 p.m. It was a crisis of faith in his career prospects and his chances for creative growth. S. You can link it to other sites. He had a gold top Les Paul, and he wrote songs and sang and put together bands and was a great guy to know.". I have a vague idea about what I want to do and I'd like a set list, but if at any moment I want to do a different song, I'll just call out the title of the song or the opening riff and we'll do it. Things changed when Springsteen asked her to rejoin him on the road in 1987 for the "Tunnel of Love" tour, which delayed Scialfa recording her own record. People like Big Joe Turner, Ray Charles, B. No. How do you think you influenced Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, who acknowledged you as his reason for singing? For 1983's Trash It Up!, the group shortened their name to Southside Johnny & the Jukes, moved to the Atlantic-distributed Mirage label, and teamed with producer Nile Rodgers to create a sleeker, more dance-oriented sound. I really am not good at lip-syncing. My life has been an adventure; I want to keep it that way. There was a place called Piners Lounge and Steven and I would go there and Bruce would come and wed watch Garry play. Tickets: $19.50. All "Change for the sake of change is not always a good thing," said Mr. Lyon, who is 45. They can download it, and you're so in charge of everything. Southside Johnny: To me, the spontaneity of making music is the beauty of it, instead of this idea that you're going to program everything and everything's going to work out right --really just let it go and see where the night takes you.. I learned a lot from them and that there was a certain sophistication that wasn't really prevalent in the area I grew up in, so they were very unique people, and I'm very grateful to have had them for parents because they taught me how to read good literature and how to laugh and how to listen to music. There are times when I feel, What am I--chopped liver? Lyon acknowledged. Bruce (Springsteen) has that good intuitive sense about whats right and wrong.. Only because I like a wide range of music and I think everybody would, if they got a chance to hear it., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Travis Barkers finger injury delays Blink-182 tour: One of those freak accidents, The timeless creativity of De La Soul, now (finally) available for the streaming generation, Court orders Kodak Black into drug rehab after rapper allegedly tests positive for fentanyl, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. Time to find out. Understandably frustrated with the business, Southside briefly dropped out of music and relocated to Tennessee, but in 1996, he staged a low-key tour of Europe, where he discovered he still had an audience, and a four-night stand at the Chesterfield Cafe in Paris became the basis of a live album, Spittin' Fire. Their son, Evan James Springsteen, was born on July 25, 1990. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. She's in love. A. Career: Band leader and lead singer of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. The three of you influenced each other, so how did Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi influence you? The Beatles and the Stones and the Animals those kind of successful garage bands it gave us the impetus to try it. Thats where I met Bruce and Steve. Storyteller | Eyewitness When reporters asked Scialfa about her extra time in the spotlight, she agreed, explaining "I didn't know when we started rehearsing that he was going to give me a lot to do Bruce coaxed me and urged me to reach. Q. California residents do not sell my data request. Who were your role models or sources of inspiration when you began your music career? Springsteen's new success persuaded record companies that New Jersey might be a hub for fresh talent, and soon Epic signed Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes to a record deal. Education: Neptune High School, 1967; Monmouth College, 1966-1968. Still, he admitted, Its not an easy sell--this kind of music--to a lot of stations. Radio, he believes, is even more restricted than it was in the 70s. http://wfuv.org Follow @wfuv: http://ow.ly/flLAg Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes perform "I Don't Want To Go Home" live at The Cutting Room. I thought this is what people do. SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY: That's correct. He is an actor, known for Home Alone (1990), Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and The Karate Kid Part II (1986). Lyon started using the stage name Southside Johnny, a nickname given him for his love of Chicago blues and the extensive collection of rare blues and R&B sides he owned in tandem with Tallent. In a 1988 People magazine article about Scialfa, Asbury Jukes singer Bobby Bandiera called her "a beer-drinking buddy. People come and go; that's part of the business. Their second child, Jessica Rae Springsteen, was born on December 30, 1991 and their third child, Sam Ryan Springsteen, was born on January 5, 1990. 1976's I Don't Want to Go Home was their debut album, and documented the band's tight, muscular attack; it also included guest appearances from Ronnie Spector and Lee Dorsey, and Springsteen contributed two songs for the sessions, "The Fever" and "You Mean So Much to Me." He had a lot of confidence in me. A. All the facilities are there, but the internet makes it so that you can disseminate your music. Low 49F. We were young and we wanted adventure and there was this music that promised that. Then, a little more than a year ago, Lyon decided, contrary to the title of one of his signature songs, that he wanted to go home after all--or at least that he couldnt go on belting it out in the clubs 150 to 200 nights a year. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. I think it is courage because you put all of yourself, all of your heart in one direction. That was an all-black band that had Clarence Clemons, and theres this little skinny white kid Garry Tallent playing bass. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. I went through months of that. One of my sax players went with David Bowie. Southside Johnny paid homage to one of his earliest influences on his 2017 solo effort, Detour Ahead: The Music of Billie Holiday, in which he went into the studio with a jazz ensemble and cut nuanced but passionate takes on 11 of Lady Day's most memorable songs. Despite wide swings in popular music and the unpredictable tastes of the record-buying public, the Jukes have managed to survive as a band while many other 70's bands have not.