eugene's wake? @ Maxwell's, Hoboken
by Stephen Bailey
January 21, 2006

Sure it's a legendary Hoboken music venue, but it's also a great place to eat. The large front room of Maxwell's—with it's exposed brick walls adorned with the works of local artists—almost has the look and feel of a large family restaurant. Save for the drunken punks and rockers sprinkled about the room under clouds of cigarette smoke. Fine grub, fair priced drinks, a friendly wait staff and the juke box are what make this part of the place such a popular eatery.

My good friend Lisa and I were going to start the night with some beer and pizza but instead decided to eat here. We'd be coming to see the bands later anyway, so why complicate things with another venue. My old legs were looking to work as little as possible tonight, preparing for the long bouts of standing around. As we walked in I heard my name being called from the bar. It was Lava from High Speed Chase who greeted me with his usual flipped bird salute and an added offer of curly fries. I hadn't seen him since New Year's Eve and he had a bombshell to drop on me.

Recently he decided to leave his post as High Speed Chase's bass player saying he just needed a change. Later I would speak to Gibby the singer of HSC and, though bummed, he was cool with Lava's choice because of how it went down. He had been aware that this was coming for a while now. However, more surprising was the fact that guitarist Rad also decided to leave. I didn't have a chance to get those details, so I can't be sure of the reasons. I just knew it was a sudden thing. I did know that Rad would be playing guitar with End Of October tonight.

Kristen [ click for pix ]

As Lisa and I waited for our table, we saw Kristen. As the newest member, she brings a most welcome essence of beauty to the band End of October's line up of mugs. I also had not seen her since New Year's Eve. Actually a lot of the folks I would see here tonight were there with me at CBGB to ring in 2006.

We got our table in the thin side seating area which is squeezed between a wall of brick and a wall of glass which overlooks the 11th Street clock. We ordered our drinks and were perusing the menu when Lava came by. We moved to a larger table so all three of us could sit together. From this new vantage point I noticed something that always makes me laugh. The Price King liquor store has a sign that boasts, "The coldest beer in town." Trying to figure this out, Lava stated what should have been obvious to me. He said, "If all of the beer in town is the same temperature, then it is the coldest in town."

I wanted to get the Smothered Pork Chops with Whipped Jalapeno Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach because it sounded so different. Lisa ordered the Cheese Burger with Curly Fries. A few moments later the waitress came back to the table carrying a menu. This is always a bad sign and sure enough she told me they were out of the pork. So I ordered the Wasabi Burger. When she asked how I wanted it cooked I joked, "like pork chops." The burger was was pretty standard, but the added heat and flavor of the Wasabi paste was nice. The well built pints of cold Guinness made my taste buds even happier.

End of October [ click for pix ]

Soon it was off to the famous tiny black plywood backroom to see the bands. This has always been the main attraction of the place for me. Cover charges are never too high and the bills are put together by people who know how to put a bill together. Seems like an obvious feature for a club, but anyone who has played in or gone to a NYC area club knows that it is actually a rarity to see a cohesive string of acts.

The sound here has always been exceptional too thanks to the ears of sound guy Adam. Recently they added a brand new soundboard as well. So now they're gonna be extra paranoid trying to enforce the 'No Drinks' signs around the booth. Lava and I figured that spilling a drink on the board would be the one and only way to evoke anger from the ever easy-going Adam.

The first band up was End of October who had the same basic line-up as New Year's Eve @ CBGB with the added bonus of a drummer this time. The band plays in a number of configurations, all of which do a fine job of showcasing singer/songwriter Marc Gianatti's tunes. Speaking to a few folks in the crowd, it was agreed that the adding of a full drum kit for tonight's set was just what was needed to complete the sound. Of course I would tease Marc later asking how big this bad was gonna get.

"The next thing ya know," I said, "you're gonna have 25 people on that stage with you. Where's the string section?"
"No, this is it," he said with a smile, "Seven is enough."
"Don't you mean eight is enough man?"
"Well, I do want to get that cello player ... then that's it I swear."

I couldn't tell if he was serious about the cello, but if any project could make that work, it's this one.

Zef Noise [ click for pix ]

Next up was Zef Noise. A one man show of techno, industrial dance beats from a computer, violin running thru some searing guitar effect boxes and Perry Farrell-esque vocals. He calls himself a 'Sonic Alchemist'. It was very entertaining at first but his three very long songs rambled into something that was way more noise than innovation. Don't get me wrong, I like noise, but this seemed to lack direction. Back by the merch table, someone who I assumed was this guy's girlfriend, took off her top and covered her tits with two CDs. This was apparently meant to entice us to buy.

In between sets I was off to use the bathroom and ran into my friend Emeri in the hall. We chatted for a few moments and I jokingly complained about having to walk so far to the men's room. She offered to kick me in the shin to make me limp so I could use the closer handicap room. She's a local champion soccer player and felt that such a shot would be an honor for me. I confessed to her that being kicked by a girl this hot would be more action than I'd gotten in a long while. She laughed but, the sad part was ... I was serious.

Dave of Butterspy [ click for pix ]

The funk injected rock trio Butterspy is continuing it's flirtation with a harder edged sound. I was told by drummer Greg that, if I wrote enough niceties, he'd 'allow' me to join an upcoming caravan to Texas. I sometimes find it hard to write about a band that I already know in great detail. Especially if I'm already a fan. I feel as though my opinion is biased.

Oh sure I could talk about the solid groove, catchy tunes and vigorous dance moves. Instead I'll rely on a new perspective. This was the first time seeing them for Lisa. She really enjoyed them which solidified my high opinion of them. As they bumped and bobbed around the stage, so did the crowd on the floor. Although the crowd kept their shoes on.

When Forbidden Fruit started to play, Lisa asked how I would describe them. I said, "Grateful Reggae." They have that groove that practically shakes your ass for you as well as that cool, lay back feel that makes you want to sip iced drinks on a beach at sunset. Or sun rise, as the case may be. I've been a fan of lead singer Roland for some time now. I would catch his smooth brand of songs at open mics around Hoboken. But more than liking the music, I like him. He is always eager to greet friends with smile.

Roland of Forbidden Fruit [ click for pix ]

Forbidden Fruit's lovely manager Rebecca was the one who really turned me on to the full band experience. Back in December I had first caught a semi-full version at the Goldhawk here in Hoboken. All of the members were in place, but still acoustic. Back then, Rebecca made it a point to tell me about the true Forbidden Fruit experience. Not long after that, she and I met again at the Goldhawk and she invited me to this Maxwell's show.

Lisa couldn't stop talking about them. She loved their sound and the presence they had on stage. Again, her point of view matched mine. To say they were hot this night would actually not be a cliche. To chill down, Roland poured ice water over his head.

After that set, Lisa said she was getting tired so I walked with her back to my apartment. Luckily I live only a block away so I was able to get back to catch eugene's opening acoustic portion of their set. The ripped thru a few classic tunes before introducing their new drummer.

Some time ago, eugene's long-time drummer Drew Berman decided to leave the group. With this came stories that they'd be continuing on, but changing their name. Nothing had been confirmed or denied by the band. One thing they were sure of was their new drummer.

Kimberly of eugene [ click for pix ]

Her name is Kimberly and the packed room greeted her with a welcoming roar. She added a new heartbeat to Ed Smith's bass and the vocal/guitar stylings of Della Fave siblings Jaime and Dom. It took their usual energy to the next level of exuberance. The crowd went nuts as if hopped up on a triple dose of caffeine. That extra bounce in our party came partly from nervous anticipation. We were all wondering what was to come of these Hoboken natives. After all, we're all like family.

They were referring to this night as 'eugene's wake'. In fact some folks thought that was the new name. Before the set started, Jaime told me that they had not really decided about the name. At one point in the set, some confusion was added to the mix when Dom said, "You can call us eugene ... or eugene's wake." To which Jaime said, "Just not to my face."

Tonight was also Dom's birthday and we all sang badly to him as any crowd would at a birthday party. Their set ended in what is becoming a Hoboken tradition. A free-for-all jam with all sorts of characters joining in. Gibby of High Speed Chase was the first to the front, grabbing one of Dom's guitars.The boys from Butterspy soon followed and then more folks climbed on to the stage. Ivy from ArtKore.org leaned in to say how Ross of Crewman Number Six looked like a slinky when he danced.

Dom is down, but not out [ click for pix ]

To my right standing in front of the stage was the ever smiling Roland from Forbidden Fruit and we jumped up and down chanting along to, "NO ROGER! NO RE-RUN! NO RENT!! NO ROGER! NO RE-RUN! NO RENT!!" Dom, soaked in sweat and beer fell to the floor as the whole thing was about to come apart at the seams. At this point he called to Kimberly for a beat and they kicked back into their classic "Wade Into the Deep End" for what should have been a fitting end to the fun.

But those of you who think the night ended here simply don't read my columns enough. As the fallout of the set settled, an address was being passed around like a secret code in a spy movie. It was of course to be the scene of another infamous Hoboken after party. Heading out to the front bar I see people who were lost in the crowd all night. Aileen, Lauren, Michelle and others who were as amazed as me to think we didn't see each other all night. Maxwell's is a small place but it can get very, very crowded. Emeri lost her jacket and a killer belt in the stuffed shuffle to the exit. She recruited me to help look. All was eventually found.

I was chatting with Aileen, who I had not seen in ages when Lisa called. She just woke up, had some tea and was ready to drive back to her own apartment. So I memorized the secret party address and ran back to my apartment to accompany Lisa to where she parked her car. I didn't want her to go alone at 3:00 in the morning. As safe as Hoboken is, it's just never a smart thing for a girl to do. I grabbed a bottle of wine from my place to bring to the party. By this time it was cold so we called a cab. When we got into the back seat, I spotted $6.00 on the floor. Lisa and I looked at each other as if to silently say, "Cool, free cab." Of course in about 10 minutes, karma would kick me right smack in the ass.

Lisa dropped me off at the party and headed home. I saw Ed Smith's girlfriend Brooke at the door. "Hey, it's Bus Stop Boy," she said with a smile. One very curious thing about me is the number of nicknames I have. All these people know my real name. After all, I'm a promo-whore. I tell everyone who I am all the time. Flyers, cards, button, stickers, free candy, word-of-mouth, bribery, extortion ... you name it. Still, they all have these alternate handles for me. It's actually quite flattering. It tells me that I mean a different something special to each person. It's nice.

So ... Karma. OK I'm standing at the door of this loft on Willow with my bottle of wine. I never go to a house party empty handed. And ... there's a cover charge!! It's only $5.00, but still! So there goes that lingering thrill of my free cab ride. Anyway, I got over this pretty quick and chalked it up to a good time. It turned out that the $5.00 was to help pay for a keg, but in my experience, most kegs at a house party tend to be tapping crap beer. So I settled into place and just drank my bottle of wine.

The loft was set up like a photo gallery with very interesting portraits of flying babies on display. The place was pretty well packed too, so I never got to even meet the owner, let alone talk to him or her about the photos. A CD changer played an odd selection of the Beastie Boys and the Doors as we all mingled.

A high point for me was when Dom came in with his bottle of Gentleman Jack and we shared swigs. My affinity for American whiskey is well known in these parts. A low point came when I girl I've had a crush on left with another guy. I bitched about it for a few minutes, but got over it after some really sweet, ego-boosting comments from my friend Yvonne as well as Gibby, Brooke and Ed.

I walked out at about 6:00 AM with Brooke and Ed. We laughed some more about the situation and I told them how I want to find a relationship like what they have. I know there is no such thing as perfection, but they always look happy and like they're having fun.

Alas, my romantic life is fodder for a story that has not been written yet. Though I am looking to interview some research assistants. Call me sometime ladies and we'll set up an interview.

Cheers,
Stephen

Related Links:
StephenBailey.com Photo Gallery
Maxwell's
End of October
Zef Noise
Butterspy
Forbidden Fruit
eugene

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I call myself a Cultural Exchange Advocate, which is just a fancy way of saying when
I find something new, I tell people about it. Want to know more? Check out StephenBailey.com