New Jersey Stage 2017: Issue 4 | Page 119

We all went to Wall High School. Jason and I graduated in 2007 and Matt and Justin graduated 2006. Johnuel is a bit younger and didn’t go to the same high school. He’s from southern New Jersey. friends later on, shared a practice space, and their guitar player, Paul Ritchie, was a big part in helping us record our first two EPs, ‘Turn- ing of the Tides’ and ‘Vibration/ Colour/Frequency.’ We’ve also been fortunate enough to win Did you guys hang out in the As- a handful of Asbury Park Music bury Park music scene while you Awards, including Top Heavy Band were in high school and college? and Top Drummer, multiple times. If so, what venues did you like to Some great venues are The Saint, frequent and bands did you like to The Asbury Lanes, and, of course, go see the most and why? The Stone Pony. Asbury Park was one of the places to play with an actual mu- What made you gravitate as a sic scene and original bands base to Asbury Park, which never that I knew of besides New York has been known for its metal? City and Philadelphia. Growing How did you build a large follow- up, I wasn’t going to the city on ing in a town so fond of Spring- a school night; well, at least not steen and indie rock? Did your until I was a little older. The band crowd come in from out of town? gravitated toward the town be- When we started, it was just cause it was welcoming to artists the town that was close, where and bands of all shapes and sizes. we could play shows. We didn’t As a group, we quickly looked necessarily choose it for its his- up to an older local band turned tory, because at the time, none of national called The Parlor Mob. that really mattered to us. We just Crazy enough, we all became wanted to play. We would end up NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 4 INDEX 119