I
am so proud to say that Southside Johnny is the first artist I
ever saw in concert, back when I was a young adolescent, and
back when the PNC Bank Arts Center was called the Garden State
Arts Center. Having grown up in the Bronx, NY, most of my young
teenage friends had not discovered the wondrous sound of the
music of the Jersey Shore. But I came upon it quite young,
mostly from listening to the rock station (WNEW at that time)
and going to the record store to seek out the Jersey Shore
artists that the DJs would talk about. Southside blew me away. I
tried to turn all my inner city friends on to his music. I
particularly remember a boy named Sal in my 7th grade class who
made me a copy of his mom's Southside Johnny tape because he
knew how much I adored the music, and was trying his best to win
my affection. Sal is long gone, but my affection for Southside's
music never will be.
One summer, I was on vacation with my family in Seaside Heights,
NJ. (Yes, I know, how uncool to be there with your parents. But
it's not easy to get from the Bronx to the shore when you're
still under driving age.) A blimp flew over the beach
advertising that there would be a Southside concert that
evening. Thankfully, my cool mom has great taste in music, and
my dad would do anything to make his little girl happy. So, off
we went to see the show. It was my first real concert. Jon Bon
Jovi and Steve Van Zandt even showed up! Here I am in this
photo, almost 20 years later, holding the Arts Center program
and a newspaper article about Johnny. I never had the pleasure
of meeting Johnny, but I did get to talk briefly to Bobby
Bandiera one night, when I was about 20 years old. He was
playing in a small club on the shore, and I introduced myself
between sets. I was quickly interrupted, however, by a friend of
Bobby's who came over to talk to him about a football game.
Still, I was grateful for the few moments of kind attention he
gave to me. And I will always be thankful for the great music
that Southside Johnny and his talented band mates have
contributed to my life.
I
am so proud to say that Southside Johnny is the first artist I
ever saw in concert, back when I was a young adolescent, and
back when the PNC Bank Arts Center was called the Garden State
Arts Center. Having grown up in the Bronx, NY, most of my young
teenage friends had not discovered the wondrous sound of the
music of the Jersey Shore. But I came upon it quite young,
mostly from listening to the rock station (WNEW at that time)
and going to the record store to seek out the Jersey Shore
artists that the DJs would talk about. Southside blew me away. I
tried to turn all my inner city friends on to his music. I
particularly remember a boy named Sal in my 7th grade class who
made me a copy of his mom's Southside Johnny tape because he
knew how much I adored the music, and was trying his best to win
my affection. Sal is long gone, but my affection for Southside's
music never will be.