Buffalo Place

Thursday, July 21st

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
www.southsidejohnny.com 

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, following the influence of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, was the second band to make it pumping the unique sounds of the Jersey Shore.  They are known for their rock and soul sounds.  The band was formed in 1974 by John Lyon and “Miami” Steve Van Zandt.  Van Zandt left the E Street Band in 1975 to continue playing the role of director, writer, manager and producer of The Jukes.  Founding Juke members included, Billy Rush, Kevin Kavanaugh, Al Berger, Kenny Pentifallo, Carlo Novi, Eddie Manion, Tony Palligrosi, Ricky Gazda and Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg.  The group signed with Epic Records in 1976 and put out their first record, I Don’t Want to go Home.  The album featured writing from Springsteen, Ronnie Spector and Lee Dorsey.  Their second album, This Time Its for Real released in 1977.  Hearts of Stone released in 1978 and this marked the group’s last collaboration with Epic.  In 1979, Southside released, The Jukes with Mercury Record Company which featured writing by John Lyon and Billy Rush.  The band released an atypical album, Trash It Up in 1983 with Mirage Records, an ancillary of Atlantic Records.  At Least We Got Shoes, released in 1986, marked the first album Lyon wrote without Billy Rush.  Lyon also known as “Southside Johnny,” wrote his first solo album, Slow Dance in 1988. 

You may know the Southside single, “Please Come Home For Christmas,” featured on the soundtracks of the 1990’s Macaulay Culkin comedy movie Home Alone.  The group also recorded the theme song for the 1990’s television sitcom, Dave’s World.  In 1991, Southside Johnny & The Jukes reunited with Springsteen to put out the album, Better Days.  After a nine year break from the studio, Lyon started his own recording company Leroy Records, which released Messin’ With the Blues in 2000.  The recording company went onto release, Going to Jukesville in 2004, Into the Harbor in 2005 and Pills & Ammo in June of 2010.  The group tours the United Kingdom and Europe annually and has been compared to Springsteen and the likes of Eddie Money, Detroit and Bon Jovi.  According to a review from a festival the group played last year, “The Jukes' upbeat rhythm and blues flavored rock was a great way to kick off the festival's shows on the big stage.”