Fan Of The Month for March 2001 is EVERYONE who attended Jukestock - they came (from near and far), they saw (some incredibly talented musicians), and they conquered (the Tinton Falls Holiday Inn)!

From Friday March 2nd thru Sunday March 4th, 2001, 300 of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes' most loyal supporters gathered together for the first EVER Jukestock.  The event was organized by long-time fans Debbie May, Jane McCreery, and Maggie Powell - a miracle of the Internet given the fact that none of them lives anywhere near New Jersey!

It truly was a weekend of non-stop Jukes-related music and activities featuring outstanding performances from Jeff Kazee's band Professor Crewcut, Bobby Bandiera's band, Mark Pender's band, LaBamba's BIG Band and of course, an unforgettable show from Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

Not only was the Jukes' performance full of surprise song inclusions but it has gone on record as being the  l o n g e s t  show in the band's history!  It also featured some never-seen-before line-up additions that included Neil Preston from England who kicked off singing The Fever.  Plus, during the "We're Having A Party" shenanigans, Bobby Bandiera's son Robert took over lead guitar duties while Bobby switched to piano, the horns then went
on a walk-about through the audience, and as if all of this chaos wasn't enough for Southside Johnny to cope with, the Jukettes* made their impromptu début as back-up singers!

In addition to the incredible music, other highlights from the weekend included the chance to meet and greet Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at a three-hour long autograph session which absolutely delighted their fans, many of whom had brought along all sorts of things to be signed, including strategic body parts!  There was also some totally amazing
Jukes memorabilia on display that Hood, Southside Johnny's road manager, kindly shared - taking up six 6' tables in the process!  Billy Smith also displayed some of his memorabilia collection, including the hand-written lyrics of I Don't Want To Go Home.  Even the red neon "Jukes" sign (that appeared on an album cover) was loaned to Jukestock for the occasion. 

Attendees had access to some exclusive merchandise for sale.  Rock Dream Records brought along the stock range that is normally only available online from Southside Johnny's Website store.  In addition, Kate Mellina and Dave Christopher - who own the gallery "Cleopatra Steps Out" - brought along some of their unique Asbury Park-related gifts and souvenirs.  Other items on sale included the brand new compilation CD Shove It (Down Your Throat) from Bobby Bandiera, Family Tree from Joey Stann, No River from Jeff Kazee,
and New York Horns from Chris Anderson.  Mike Saunders from England even brought along astonishing posters depicting his carefully documented history of the Jukes Family Tree.

Bob Crane from Save Tillie delivered a short presentation on behalf of the campaign that included the premier showing of a brand new video produced by Mike Sodano and starring some of "Tillie's" supporters, whose contributions endorse the need for historic preservation in Asbury Park. Our event raffle that raised over $1,400 that was evenly divided between
"Save Tillie" and "WHY" - Artists Against Hunger and Poverty.  Raffle prizes included a set of Southside Johnny's harmonicas, a drum skin signed by all of the Jukes, copies of the original Ruff Stuff CD, a Stone Pony sweat shirt, a signed copy of Bobby Bandiera's 45-single C'mon Caroline, mint-condition posters from the Stone Pony's 10th Anniversary concert, drum sticks from Louie Appel, and a ton of other items including a personalized denim jacket from the Hard Rock Café that was donated by Southside Johnny.  The
*S*T*A*R* prize was the "Right To Introduce The Band" and that honor was won by Billy Smith, who told us this was something he'd been wanting to do for the last 25 years.

Jukestock guests traveled from Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Holland, Italy, and Switzerland, as well as from: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 
They were given special welcome packs that included a souvenir program and a commemorative Jukestock T-shirt.  Judging by the tremendous amount of extremely positive feedback, Jukestock surpassed itself in terms of success and the BIG question being asked by everyone - including the Tinton Falls Holiday Inn - is, "When is the next one?"

It's hard to say exactly when that will be, but as long as it consists of the same key elements i.e. hand-picked venue, hand-picked musicians, hand-picked road crew and hand-picked guests, it can't come soon enough!

Debbie May, Jane McCreery, and Maggie Powell
Jukestock 2001 Planning Team* - a.k.a. "The Jukettes"