Plus, Wildwood Tattoo event, the Album of the Week and Drew Toonz.
Susan Cowsill
35th Somers Point Fest to Feature Susan Cowsill and Others
Now in its 35th year, the Somers Point’s Good Old Days Festival (Sept. 8, 11am-6pm) has become a summer staple, and who better than to highlight a summer staple than the original “Flower Girl” Susan Cowsill? The lead singer for the family band the Cowsills that formed in the mid-1960s (serving as inspiration for the hit ’70s TV show The Partridge Family), Cowsill will perform some of the songs she and her family made into hits (including “Indian Lake,” “Hair” and “The Flower Girl”) during sets at 3pm and 4:30pm. The critically acclaimed singer/songwriter will be joined by her own band and special guest Billy Walton, the Jersey shore’s homegrown guitar hero, at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park in Somers Point. Local favorites the Danny Eyer Band and Dane Anthony will also be performing at the festival, as will several other bands and solo artists on three stages. The event also includes the annual 5K Run/Walk for Bud to benefit the Lawrence “Bud” Kern Scholarship Foundation (starting 9am), more than 50 vendors, antique cars, fun for the kids, raffles, demonstrations and more. Visit spgoodolddays.com. — Ray Schweibert
Goin’ Hog (and Tattoo) Wild in the Wildwoods
The third annual Wildwood Tattoo Convention and Show will again bring a weekend full of festivities catering to tattoo and body-art enthusiasts back to the Wildwoods. Several nationally known ink artists will be part of the event, which takes place at the Wildwoods Convention Center Friday through Sunday, Sept. 7-9. There will be tattoo contests, a traveling museum, seminars, art exhibits and contestants from Ink Master Season 2, Spike TV’s hit tattoo competition reality show. The convention is being held in conjunction with the 17th annual Roar to the Shore Motorcycle Rally, where thousands of motorcyclists will engage in a weekend full of live entertainment, vendors selling and demonstrating the latest in cycling accessories, a beer tent, and special events like a custom bike show, a battle-of-the-biker-bands, a poker run with the best hand winning $1,000, and the annual Rubber Duck Boardwalk Ride with a chance to win a new motorcycle. Tattoo Convention hours are Friday and Saturday from noon-11pm, and Sunday from noon-6pm. Daily passes are $20 and weekend passes are available for $40 for all three days. Tickets will be available at the door. Visit wildwoodtattoobeachbash.com for more on the convention, or roartotheshoreonline.com for more on the motorcycle rally. — RS
Jimmy Cliff
‘Rebirth’
From the first sounds of “World Upside Down,” the lead-off cut on reggae vet Jimmy Cliff’s fabulous new album, Rebirth, we are transported back to the early 1970s when Cliff’s classic The Harder They Come album and film were released and reggae music was becoming a worldwide hit. Cliff’s new album, produced by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, revisits those raw, rootsy sounds and is one of the most enjoyable new reggae albums to come out in years. Cliff’s songwriting is top notch and Armstrong gets big props for recreating classic reggae sounds, infused with a touch of modern awareness. Highlights are many, including the irresistible “One More,” a take on the Clash classic “Guns of Brixton” — a song that references Cliff’s Harder They Come and the character he portrays in it — and even a Rancid cover of the ska song “Ruby Soho.” While the vinyl does not come with a digital download, listening to Rebirth on LP will make you feel like you’re in Kingston, circa 1972. Party music for the modern world. — Jeff Schwachter
Drew Toonz
"Well, I just don’t think it’s possible for us to be alone in this universe. It would really be frightening."
PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadow, NY witnessed the birth of world beat music as they walked by the Jamaican pavilion. A talented teenager named Jimmy Cliff was there, helping to introduce the burgeoning ska/reggae music to the world. Forty-one years later, Jimmy Cliff is still an excellent musical ambassador for the music he helped define. He is making his first visit to Atlantic City March 12, performing at the Trump Marina's suitably named Grand Cayman showroom. The singer-songwriter, born James Chambers in St. Catherine, Jamaica on April 1, 1948, began living his dream of being a musician at the age of 14. He changed his name to Cliff because he was determined to reach the heights of musical fame and acclaim. As his career took off in Europe, he signed with Island Records and lived in Paris and Great Britain. While his first chart hit in Britain, "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" managed to crack the U.S. Top 25 in 1969, it wouldn't be until a half dozen years later that Cliff would become a cult star stateside thanks to a movie. Cliff starred in and wrote several songs for a little Jamaican gangster flick called The Harder...
� Smokin' Jimmy Cliff hasn't lost a bit of his charisma or showmanship in the more than 40 years he's been a world-class reggae performer. Last weekend, he turned Trump Marina's Grand Cayman into a little corner of Jamaica, performing many of his classic hits and several new ones from his current CD, Black Magic. While the aroma of ganja wafted up from the crowd on several occasions, the security guards were polite. They did, however, insist on a "smoke-free" environment. Cliff, however, backed by his dynamic band, was smokin' on stage, presenting such tunes as "Many Rivers to Cross," "The Harder They Come," "I Want, I Do, I Get" and "Vietnam." Before singing the latter, his anti-war song, he told the crowd, "I want to say to President Bush and Tony Blair, don't let Iraq become another Vietnam." -- Lori Hoffman Soupy's Pie The Ocean City Public Relations Department trekked to New York City last week to join Soupy Sales and a cast of characters at Joe Franklin's Comedy Club. The event promoted Ocean City's upcoming Doo Dah Pieasco (April 9), which will honor the famous comedian, and the annual Doo Dah Parade (April 16). At the event were Elvis impersonator Ted...
The work was classy, along the lines of the pin-ups drawn by Alberto Vargas or Olivia De Berardiniz. You could tell because Eldis already had a pretty cool completed pin-up on his right arm — part of the special birthday present he was giving himself.
Plus DrewToonz takes on MTV's 'Jersey Shore' (again); Caribbean Luau at Renault Winery and the Album of the Week: Johnny Sansone's latest.
Their vision was to bring tattoo tradesmen together in Atlantic City for a gala extravaganza that not only included artists and tattoo recipients comparing notes, but also seminars, tattoo contests, vendors, live music and the kind of off-the-wall entertainment Henderson has become well known for in A.C.
An ambitious promoter with a flare for the wild and crazy, Jon Henderson is like the friend everybody knew growing up whose off-the-wall ideas drew blank stares, and were usually brushed off as too b...
Although they are all the rage today, tattoos have decorated people's bodies for thousands of years. While it's hard to say what culture originated these skin illustrations, their popularity has surg...
Plus, the premiere of 'Bernie & Ges,' the Album of the Week and 76ers coming to Boardwalk Hall.
Plus, Resorts-Mohegan Sun Deal, John Hughes Film Fest at Dante Hall and the Album of the Week.
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