Fighting terrorism with the healing power of music
THE AQUARIAN WEEKLY,WDHA 105.5-FM AND CHORUSANDVERSE.COM PRESENT
JERSEY JAMS, JERSEY CARES
ROCKIN’ WINTER HOLIDAY WEEKEND
TO BENEFIT JERSEY JAMS FUND’S
MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
FOR NEW JERSEY CHILDREN
"One of the New Jersey pop-music scene's most ambitious
efforts to respond to the terrorist attack." - Star-Ledger
The longtime bible of the New Jersey music scene, The Aquarian Weekly, will present the Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares Rockin’ Winter Holiday Weekend to benefit East Brunswick-based Jersey Jams Fund, the scene’s reaction to terrorism. The all-volunteer statewide Jersey Jams Fund is a fiduciary fund of Bergen County’s United Way that fights terrorism with the healing power of music and provides music scholarship and mentorship to New Jersey children. The Rockin’ Winter Holiday Weekend will include:
* Spiraling
www.spiraling.net
Planet Janet
www.planetjanetrocks.com
Dibs
www.dibsmusic.com
Mr. Neutron, Subway Surfers and a Beatles-Who Holiday Jam with special guests, 8:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 20, The Court Tavern, 124 Church St., New Brunswick. Hosted by The Aquarian’s Al Muzer. $5, all proceeds go to Jersey Jams Fund. 21 and up. 732-545-7265,
www.courttavern.net
.
* The Alice Project’s Annual Winter Holiday Party, 10 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 21, The Ivy Inn, 248 Nassau St., Princeton. $5. Jersey Jams Fund will receive $2 from the sale of The Alice Project’s excellent new CD, "Overnight Success." 21 and up. Visit
www.thealiceproject.com
* Water
www.waterismusic.com
and Persun
www.persun.net
10:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, Marita’s Cantina, Albany Street and Easton Avenue, New Brunswick. $3, $1 from each ticket sold will go to Jersey Jams Fund. 21 and up. 732-247-3840
* Dogs of War Christmas Benefit with Joe Canzano, Keith Beck, Stone Soup, The Marbles, The Dead Pony Cats, Bongo Jones, The Holy Goats, Jack Stock, The KGBeats, Golden Seal, The Dust Mites, Trio of Madness, Como Drive and many more, 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, Broadway Central Cafe, 114 S. Broadway, South Amboy. Hosted by The Aquarian’s Al Muzer. $10, will benefit New Jersey cancer victim and Jersey Jams Fund. 21 and up. 732-721-2059
* The Grip Weeds
www.gripweeds.com
The Alice Project, Headquarters
www.hqmusic.net
and Logs in the Mainstream
www.logsinthemainstream.com
3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, My Dining Room, a house venue in Highland Park that holds only 60 people. $8, all proceeds will go to Jersey Jams Fund. This is a really fun and intimate venue. Guests are encouraged to bring their children rather than get a babysitter. Please RSVP to
info@mydiningroom.com
or
jerseyjams01@aol.com
by Wednesday, Dec. 18. Space is limited so please respond early. Directions will be emailed. Snacks and beverages will be provided. All ages, very kid-friendly show. Visit
www.mydiningroom.com
.
About the latest Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares concerts, Kurt and Kristin Reil of The Grip Weeds say, "Aside from the obvious need to help the families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares also addresses the victim of budget cuts in public schools: Music Education. We both participated in the high school music program, which was a rewarding after-school activity that made us better students and pointed us in a direction that eventually turned into a career. We have been lucky to have the opportunity to travel and perform our music in front of live audiences all over the world. Our first exposure to the joy music can bring to others began in the school bands we played in. Playing the Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares Rockin' Winter Holiday Weekend to raise money and enlighten people is a very cool thing for us to do."
"Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares is a great idea. It's an honor to be a part of something this positive, to contribute through music," adds Tom Brislin of Spiraling, who recently served as the band in a production of The Who's "Tommy" and toured with Violent Femmes in support of its acclaimed new CD, "Transmitter."
"I like what Jersey Jams Fund is doing, and I’m glad to be a part of it," adds Mike Grau of The Marbles and Broadway Central Café, whose annual Christmas Dogs of War Benefit has raised $15,000 for cancer-related charities over 15 years.
Since March 10, Jersey Jams Fund has raised nearly $15,000 in music scholarship for the New Jersey Children of 9/11, whose families are now applying through their county United Way’s Family Advocate Program. New Jersey Families of 9/11 are encouraged to tap into Jersey Jams Fund through the Family Advocate Program.
The scholarship money was raised through CD sales of the charity compilation "Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares," ticket sales of a statewide benefit concert series, a $5,000 donation from co-sponsor Comcast in Eatontown, N.J., and a $1,000 donation from co-sponsors Black Potatoe Records and Atomic Productions in Clinton, N.J.
Jersey Jams Fund also produced the Jersey Cares Summer Arts Carnival on July 21 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The event was free to all New Jersey children and many New Jersey Families of 9/11. Highlights included 10 performances by New Jersey music acts, a community art project for children, art and music workshops and boardwalk-like carnival fun.
A "Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares" concert video featuring series footage of Jersey favorite Glen Burtnik, buzzing singer-songwriter Matt Witte, the anti-folk duo Duende, future hip-hop stars Ta-Ta and Lenny Lawson and Black Potatoe recording artists Matt Angus Thing and Kathy Phillips will air on cable television stations throughout New Jersey as part of a promotional holiday sales campaign for the CD, now on sale for $10. Co-sponsor DigitalMV.com in Point Pleasant Beach volunteered the eight-month project. For airdates and a listing of previous Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares concerts, check
www.jerseyjamsfund.org
"I was happy to create the Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares concert video for Jersey Jams Fund because it’s a worthwhile cause," says John Ficarrotta, owner of DigitalMV.com, a Web site that airs videos of independent acts made by Ficarrotta, who also owns co-sponsor Rockaway Beach CDs in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. "I think children can benefit greatly from the power of music, and I’m glad to see Jersey Jams Fund aims to do that."
The Jersey Jams Fund music scholarship was established for the New Jersey Children of 9/11 to pursue the study of music, which can increase their math skills, SAT scores and college opportunities and bring them joy. Jersey Jams Fund will help pay for music lessons, school band equipment, sheet music, music camp, graduate school and expenses for auditions, competitions and festivals. The fund will be expanded to help other Jersey children benefit from the positive impact of music.
Jersey Jams Fund will produce more concerts and summer arts carnivals that children and the New Jersey Families of 9/11 can attend for free. The Fund also hopes to raise enough money to open arts education centers to serve as after-school, weekend and summer arts enrichment for youngsters throughout the Garden State. The Fund is pursuing grants and more sponsors to fulfill its mission of fighting terrorism with the healing power of music and enriching children with the positive impact of the arts in honor of victims of terrorism.
Other Jersey Jams Fund sponsors include:
* S.R.A. Studios and Q-Vo Records in Scotch Plains, N.J.
* The
Darn Barn Website Design
and
Webhosting
in Stanhope, N.J.
* WDHA 105.5-FM in Cedar Knolls, N.J.
* Create A Vibe concert promotion in Budd Lake, N.J.
* Conduit in Trenton, N.J.
* Trenton Makes, Trenton, N.J.
* ChorusAndVerse.com online magazine in Freehold, N.J.
* The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J.
* Asbury Music Company in Asbury Park, N.J.
* The Saint, Asbury Park, N.J.
* Randex Communications, Marlton, N.J.
* United Jersey Blues Network in Clifton, N.J.
* PalaceForSale.com
* HeartStrings Promotions in South Amboy, N.J.
* Backstreets magazine in Washington, D.C.
* Made Ya Look Signs in Middletown, N.J.
* Galileo Productions in Randolph, N.J.
* Michele Clark Promotion in Calabasas, Calif.
* Rich Reitman Group in Somerville, N.J.
* McGinnis Printing in Red Bank, N.J.
* K Cider
* Makin Family Chiropractic in Red Bank, N.J.
* Madison Marketing in New York
* Homegrown Music Network in Mebane, N.C.
Jersey Jams Fund also seeks Jersey Jammer volunteers to run its merchandise/promotional booth at venues throughout the Northeast. Two tickets will be provided to as many concerts as possible. Contact
Music acts and venues that would like to have Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares concerts can email
jerseyjams01@aol.com
. Shows will be promoted at events, through Jersey Jams Fund’s 800-member mailing list and on its Web site at www.jerseyjamsfund.org.
Jersey Jams Fund has several awareness-raising events coming up. Copies of the "Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares" CD will be for sale and Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares shows will be promoted at all of them. They include:
* Mondays with Brown at The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park.
www.thesaintnj.com
* Tuesday Jam Nights, Conduit, Broad St., Trenton.
www.conduitmusic.com
* Glen Burtnik's Xmas Xtravaganza, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 7, B.B. King's, 42nd Street, New York. To benefit area food banks.
www.xmasxtravaganza.org
* Marshall Tucker Band, Dec. 13; B.B. King, Jan. 21; Michael Arnone’s Mardi Gras with The Radiators and Papa Grows Funk, February, Baker Ballroom, 41 Blackwell St., Dover.
www.creatavibe.com
More than 40 New Jersey music acts have participated in Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares concerts. Fifteen donated to material to the "Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares" charity compilation: Bernie Worrell & the WOO Warriors, Matt Angus Thing with Levon Helm of The Band, Glen Burtnik, Seth Alexander, Ta-Ta & Friends, The Alice Project, Swampadelica, Scrap Daddy, John Eddie, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Railroad Earth, Lo Faber Band, Barbuda, Kathy Phillips and The VooDUDES. The CD is receiving airplay on WBJB 90.5 The Night in Lincroft, N.J. (
www.90.5thenight.com
), WNTI 91.9-FM in Hackettstown, N.J. (
www.wnti.org
), WDVR 89.7 and 91.9-FM in Sergeantsville, N.J. (
www.wdvrfm.org
), WRSU 88.7-FM in New Brunswick, N.J. (
www.wrsu.org
), WTSR 91.3-FM in Ewing, N.J. (
www.tcnj.edu/~
wtsr
),
WPRB 103.3-FM in Princeton, N.J. (
www.wprb.com
), WDHA 105.5-FM in Cedar Knolls, N.J. (
www.wdhafm.com
), WFUV 90.7-FM in Bronx, N.Y. (
www.wfuv.org
), WBRS 100.1-FM in Waltham, Mass. (
www.wbrs.org
), WCLZ in Portland, Maine (
www.wclz.com
), WFPK 91.9-FM in Lexington, Kent. (
www.wfpk.org
), WYYB 93.7-FM in Nashville, Tenn.
(
www.
wyyb
.com
),
WAPS 91.3 The Summit in Akron, Ohio (
www.913thesummit.com
), KLRQ 96.1-FM in Clinton, Mo. (
www.
klrq
.com
),
and KPFK in Los Angeles (
www.kpfk.com
). The CD is available at all CD World and Scotti’s locations in New Jersey, Vintage Vinyl, Woodbridge; Jack’s Music, Red Bank; Rockaway Beach CDs, Point Pleasant Beach and other record stores. The disc also is available online at
www.cdbaby.com
,
www.backstreets.com
and
www.homegrownmusic.net
or by sending a $10 check or money order made out to Bergen County United Way with Jersey Jams Fund in the memo to Jersey Jams Fund, 6 Myrtle Road, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. Allow four to six weeks for delivery.
If you’d like to make a donation to Jersey Jams Fund, please make out a check to Bergen County United Way with Jersey Jams Fund in the memo and send it to Cheryl Moses, Bergen County United Way, 690 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell, NJ 07649.
