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I was born in Philly. It will always be my first city love – hell, it’s right there in the name. I’ve been a New Yorker for over two decades. It will always be my favorite city. But for the 30 years in between, I was a proud resident of New Jersey, possibly the greatest state in the nation. Alright, some of that last statement may be hyperbole. As a teen I didn’t feel proud. It took leaving NJ to love it. And greatest state? Nope, that I stand by. Whether you agree, one thing we can’t dispute is that a turnpike-load of legendary & incredibly diverse music has come from NJ.

Take the 3 artists that most people think of first: Sinatra, Springsteen, Bon Jovi. None of them sound alike. In fact, their only commonalities are their NJ roots & Italian heritage – which OFTEN go hand in hand. Then there's the Fugees/Lauryn Hill & Whitney Houston. Two more legends. And I have to shout out 2 of my all-time faves: Fountains of Wayne & Kool & the Gang. Here’s a list of some of the greatest acts from the greatest state:

· The Sugarhill Gang

· Blues Traveler

· Thursday

· The Gaslight Anthem

· Looking Glass

· Skid Row

· The Feelies

· Dramarama

· Donald Fagen

· Naughty By Nature

· Queen Latifah

· Ice-T

· Redman

· Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes

· Ricky Nelson

· The Shirelles

· Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

· Dionne Warwick

· Sarah Vaughan

· Count Basie

· Wayne Shorter

· John Pizzarelli

· Halsey

· Patti Smith

· Debbie Harry

· The Misfits & Danzig

· Yo La Tengo

· My Chemical Romance

· Jonas Brothers

· Gloria Gaynor

Which band didn’t I include? The Smithereens. I did that to prove a point. Most of these artists almost anyone can identify (okay, maybe not Dramarama & Looking Glass, but overall that’s true). Ask most people who the Smithereens are & you’ll draw a blank. You can say that about other bands. But what makes the Smithereens special is they were once HUGELY successful. They had a string of hit singles & albums in the late 1980s & early 1990s. Their songs were in movies. They performed & recorded with artists as big as Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Julian Lennon, Suzanne Vega & Belinda Carlisle.

AND their music was awesome. Listen to “A Girl Like You”, “Blood and Roses”, “Only a Memory” or “Too Much Passion” and tell me I’m wrong. I haven’t heard these songs in years and I can still recall them, because their dynamic mix of revivalist 1960s rock, punk & power pop is well crafted & infectious. It’s a crime that this band has been so forgotten & that many of their releases are so hard to find.

I have a soft spot for artists who hang in there for decades. It shows that music is their passion. That they don’t let the ups & downs derail their journey, including in this case the 2017 death of their prime mover, Pat DiNizio. I feel so strongly because of my own career. Despite very little recognition & even less money, I’ve put out 15 albums, hundreds of songs, and worked with dozens of bands on the side. And since my band REC is releasing a new album later this year, it ain’t ending anytime soon.

The Smithereens are a great power pop band that show you can be singer/songwriter-y & even haunting in the midst of sheer rock joy. You can hear their influence in lots of my earlier work, including “Do You Wanna”, “Deal”, “It’s Almost Over”, and this week’s pick, which clearly has the jangly/beefy power pop pedigree:

REC – “Beautiful Love” (from the album, Parts and Labour)

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