If there is one thing that I have gotten out of writing this blog and tracking the music of this almost-gone decade of the 2010's, is that I have been able to meet, either in person or via social media correspondence, aspiring musicians, either directly, or through longtime friends or relatives of them. Although I track the progress of nationally known artists and bands, it's the local, striving, obscure ones that I am most interested in; a grass-roots movement in hopes that I see someone rise amongst the ranks.
While nobody has attained that feat in the nine-plus years I've been doing the blog, I have struck friendships with some of those musicians, among them Rachel Allyn, Shannon Marsyada, and Leila and Omnia Hegazy (of Hegazy). In those cases, it's myself listening to the music first, then following them on social media, seeing them perform in person and becoming friends. In other words, it was me who pretty much made the first move.
But, there is one instance where I have become good friends with an artist who apparently had read my blog first, contacted me and offered some more of his music to listen to, which evolved into a friendship.
 |
| Local artist and Jersey laureate Paul Czekaj is back with a new video "Painter of the Sky"" |
It was September of 2011, and one of my regular Facebook friends, Sue Briggs Baker, posted a video called "My Home New Jersey". In it, were images of places around the state and the song discussed the fun places to go, famous people from the Garden State as well as all New Jersey had to offer. There had been songs about the Garden State before; one comes to mind was something called "I Like Jersey Best", originally done by the Phil Bernardi Band in 1981 and played frequently on North Jersey's WDHA. Thirty years later, upon hearing "My Home New Jersey" I had a nice flashback, but more important a flash forward.
On September 19, 2011, I added "My Home New Jersey", and it eventually rose to #20 on my SNS 100 blog chart; on my year-end Top 100, the song came in at #93. It was shortly after I published that year-end list that I had gotten an email from this artist, Paul Czekaj thanking me for including the song on my list. Turns out that Paul lived in the Flanders section of Mount Olive, just a couple towns away from me and performed at some local venues, including Bell's Mansion in Stanhope, among other places. We became Facebook friends shortly thereafter. But, it wasn't until recently that I found out that he had quite a career in music, spanning six decades, and that he had brushed against some of the well-known names in rock history.
Last week, Paul Czekaj released his new music video, "Painter in the Sky", his first release in more than three years. But more about that later.
To prepare me for this blog, I took a look at Paul's website, essexmorris.com/music/bio.html , and was amazed to see how early he got into music. Hailing from West Orange, NJ, he took up music at an early age, and played trumpet in the high school band (similar to what I did!). But, like many aspiring musicians of the era, it was The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the evening of February 9, 1964 that inspired him to take up the guitar.
The mid-60's was the prime era of what was retroactively called Garage Rock. Musicians, inspired by The Beatles and other Brit invasion bands, would form their own combos. Although perhaps the image of local teens gathering together in one member's garage to rehearse is somewhat of a misnomer, the amateurish sound of those bands gave credence to that term. And Paul was no exception. He and some fellow neighborhood friends formed a band The Live Wires, with Paul on keyboards and rhythm guitar. Like many aspiring bands of the day, The Live Wires played many a school dance, area clubs and "battle of the bands" competitions. Local television personality Clay Cole, who had a Saturday night dance show on WPIX-TV, Channel 11 during this era, Clay Cole's Discotek, also made local personal appearances around the New York tri-state area. One such show, "Land of a Thousand Dances" (named after the song made popular by Chris Kenner, Cannibal and the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett, who hit #6 with the song), featured The Live Wires backing up The Jive Five, who had a #26 hit in 1965, performing that song "I'm a Happy Man". Perhaps, the band could wind up being successful on their own, such as Union County's The Critters, or at least be on the verge, like The Doughboys (also known as the Ascots). But alas, the band broke up.
 |
| Paul in his early days. |
After The Lime Wires split up, Paul joined a band called The Hot Fog with three of his classmates. They seemed destined to hit the big time, and they traveled west to Los Angeles to try and seek their big break, renting an apartment in Hollywood. They actually had an offer to sign with Liberty Records, but wound up not signing with them. Money issues forced them to return to New Jersey, and that band would call it quits shortly thereafter.
Paul would attend the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August 1969, and wound up shaking hands and talking a bit with Jimi Hendrix; he mentioned this as one of the highlights of his life. but in the 1970's, Paul drifted from band to band, none of which lasted very long. However, he was starting to at least make a name for himself on the Jersey bar band circuit. He moved into a house in Morristown, and started writing and recording some music on his own.
The Jersey bar connection would pay off in the early 1980's, when he met Bobby Bandiera,, who was a member of the Shore bands Holme ("Garden State Parkway Boogie"), Cats (On a Smooth Surface) and then later, of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, as well as fronting his own band which played many Jersey Shore venues. Bandiera, who now records and tours with Bon Jovi, would be instrumental (both literally and figuratively) in his recent recordings. Paul and Bobby would also record and tour as a duo and would play anything from pop, to classic oldies and even country. Sitting in occasionally would be Nick Massi who was with the original Four Seasons with Frankie Valli, and singing with Peter Lucia from Tommy James & the Shondells. Paul has also met and/or performed with Bruce Springsteen (Paul bought him a beer at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, Gene Cornish of The Rascals, Robin Trower of Procol Harem, and many others.
Paul would marry Jackie Fitzgerald in 1985; they have two daughters, Nicole and Julianne, and owns a local carpet cleaning company. Since then, Paul has performed mostly solo, although he did get together with a couple former bandmates for various Beatles "battle of the bands" tribute shows in recent years.
And that brings us to my blog era. In 2009, Paul released his first album, The Saved Recordings, which in effect, rounded up many of the songs from his career to that point. Included is a song from Hot Fog, as well as several of his solo efforts from the 1970's Morristown era, plus records with local artist Joe Formato, who had toured with Meat Loaf and recorded with Todd Rundgren.
JERSEY'S HIS HOME: Paul's second effort, Young and Free, released in September 2011, contained recordings that he had previously written but had never seen the light of day. The first single, "My Home New Jersey" was a viral sensation, and has to date garnered over half a million views on YouTube. As mentioned earlier, this was my introduction to Paul. It entered my SNS 100 on September 19 at #91. At the time, I wrote:
".also entering is Paul Czakej's localized "My Home New Jersey". The video, which shows everywhere around the Garden State (several times more than The Big Trouble's latest, at #12), was a viral hit on Facebook over the weekend, so I thought I'd check out the song that goes with it. It reminded me of an old early 80's called "I Love Jersey Best", but even more of a plug for the state I call home."
Video for "My Home New Jersey" (2011)
.
"Home" steadily climbed my SNS 100, peaking at #20 on November 21, 2011. But it was its inclusion on my Top 100 of 2011, at #93 that garnered the attention of Paul, who thanked me for including it on my blog list.
Shortly afterwards, we became Facebook friends, and Paul mentioned that a "sequel" would be coming, especially since there were many other places that weren't featured in the first video. However, on October 29, 2012, tragedy struck the state, as Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy scored a direct hit on the Jersey Shore, destroying many homes, boardwalks and other Shore attractions, as well as much damage inland (a tree fell on our house up here in Roxbury). The rallying cry became "Even Better Than Before", and "Jersey Strong". Czekaj had just released, "My Home New Jersey Part II" as a video (but not yet as a download), and I re-entered the original song at #83 on my list; this time it peaked at #62 in late November when "Part II" was finally released. "Part II" was the Top Debut on November 18, 2012, just three weeks after Sandy. The video featured several people holding a "Jersey Strong" sign, ironic as this was filmed a couple months before the storm. The song had a relatively short life, peaking at #30, but should have gone higher. It was the only song of his to miss my top 20. But Paul was just getting started.
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, 2013 focused on the assessment and rebuilding of the Jersey Shore. While Jersey shore-based country-rock outfit After the Reign came out with "Jersey Strong", Paul countered with the much better "Even Better Than Before". The video showed much of the damage as a result of Sandy; many of the pictures were provided by yours truly during visits to Belmar and Spring Lake (two weeks after the storm) and Manasquan (three months after). It was the Top Debut at #50 on April 13, 2013 and peaked at #4 (the After the Reign song peaked at #17).
Video for "Even Better Than Before" (2013)
Perhaps contributing to the positive outlook for rebuilding in the future, Paul followed it with an upbeat song, "At the Beach", with the video showing fun times at the Jersey Shore, the beaches, bars and other fun to be had. Released in time for the Memorial Day weekend, the song got airplay on Centenary University's radio station WNTI, alongside traditional summer classics by groups like The Beach Boys. "At the Beach" became Paul's first, and thus far, only #1, staying at the top of my blog list for six weeks, and winning my "song of the summer" honors for 2013.
Paul followed up that hit with a track from Young and Free, "Wheels on Fire", with the video extolling a biker's life on the road. The carefree romp made it to #15 on my chart. He then capped off a very successful 2013 with a new holiday single and video, the sentimental "Christmas Is Forever". The video shows various scenes of light displays and more importantly, family Christmases throughout the years. The touching song peaked at #9, and was the second biggest song on my blog that year, behind Bad Attitude's "Merry Christmas Anyway'). "Christmas is Forever" has been a staple on my Christmas Top 100 countdowns ever since; in 2018, it was ranked #33.
 |
| Paul performing at Bells Mansion in Stanhope NJ, November 2013. |
On my year end list for 2013, "At the Beach" was #12, and "Even Better Than Before" landed at #60. Showing Paul's versatility, also that year, he released a children's video based on the writings of Dr. Seuss, "Reading's Lots of Fun". Finally, on November 15, I finally got to meet Paul in person as he was performing at Bell's Mansion. While his acoustic set mainly focused on covers of oldies, he also asked me if there was anything I wanted to hear; I replied "My Home New Jersey", a song he doesn't normally perform, but he sang it right on target. Needless to say, that year was a great one for him.
Video for "At the Beach" (2013)
Paul Czekaj started 2014 right where he left off the previous year. In January, on the 79th anniversary of his birth, he released "Elvis in Heaven", a tribute to the King of rock 'n' roll. Starting off with John Lennon's famous quote "before Elvis....there was nothing", the video shows images of Graceland, his star on the Walk of Fame, the song also mentions his stillborn twin brother Jesse, and the song is sung in his style, complete with a spoken bridge. The song peaked here at #12, after which Paul would take a two year hiatus. "Elvis in Heaven" came in at #36 on my year-end 2014 list.
 |
| Paul Czekaj on the front page of the Mount Olive Chronicle (2015) |
LOCAL STAR: Paul gathered more local notoriety when he emerged in late 2015, with a video "That Old New Jersey", focusing on key landmarks around the state that are no longer there, just residing in our memories. Paul made the December 24, 2015 cover of the weekly Mount Olive Chronicle, a couple weeks later he was featured in the county-wide Daily Record. The song would rival his "My Home New Jersey" success, again scoring more than half a million hits on YouTube. It would also mark a renewed association with Bobby Bandiera, who contributed lead guitar and background vocals. Once again, friends would post the song, as well as various Facebook groups covering the state, perhaps unaware that the singer was a good friend of mine.
 |
| Paul at WNTI Summer Stage in July 2016. |
However, I could not add the song at the time, as Paul usually releases the video before making them commercially available via downloads. In the meantime, Paul released "Up in the Sky", a song about loved ones who are on drugs and those caring for them and hoping they can recover, and losing their "enablers". It's an example of a song that Paul does best; one with a positive message. Again, Bandiera contributed vocals and guitar; he also appears in the video. The track reached #8 on my SNS 100. By then, "That Old New Jersey" became available as a commercial download, and hit my blog on May 27, 2016 at #49. The song peaked at #2 for four weeks, held back during its entire stint by Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dark Necessities". During the run at #2, Paul, who has a close association with radio station WNTI, performed at what turned out to be the final WNTI Summer Stage, performing at the venue's Café Stage at the Knowlton Lion's Club Pavilion in Columbia NJ. WNTI, based at Hackettstown's Centenary University, would be bought out by Penn University-based WXPN, and 'NTI would become an online station. It would be the second time I would see him perform; unlike his Bells Mansion gig, he played mostly his original material, including "That Old New Jersey".
The emotion-stirring video for "A Place I Once Called Home" (2016)
Czekaj would cap off 2016 with "A Place I Once Called Home". Like "Christmas is Forever", he looks back, and returns to sentimental beginnings growing up. Upon watching this for the first time in three years, I got misty-eyed looking at this. It's something we all can relate to, looking back at our hometowns and how much things have changed; the reality of the here and now. But it's the memories you just can't take away. The song hit #5 on my blog late in the year.
He would wind up with three songs on my 2016 year-end list: "That Old New Jersey" (#17), "A Place I Once Called Home" (#42) and "Up in the Sky" (#50). Paul would finally release his third album during that year, Gallimaufry, which contains all of his singles dating back to "My Home New Jersey Park II" (with the exception of "Wheels on Fire" which was on Young and Free), plus a couple of new tracks. Perhaps in exchange for the publicity I had given his work on my blog, or maybe justbecause I am a friend, I was blessed with getting a complimentary copy of Gallimaufry as a gift. It's an excellent album, by the way. Paul would then go on another long hiatus.
 |
| Paul with his wife Jackie, along with myself and my wife Barbara at Jefferson House, summer 2018. |
RE-EMERGENCE: In 2019, he announced a new song he was writing about sunsets and was soliciting various sunset pictures from his family and friends. As I had posted many a sunset picture on Facebook (both originals and those shared from other sites), he had asked me if I had any to share. Coincidentally, another friend, Shannon Marsyada was also requesting pictures of sunsets, for her then-upcoming album Oceans, to appear on the album cover. While I didn't make Shannon's first cut, one or my pictures did make Paul's new video.
The song, "Painter of the Sky", released on October 24, contains a montage of various sunset photos submitted by his friends, family and fans. His first release in three years, it's a song with a chugging, pulsating beat as Paul describes an "artist" painting the sky at dusk. It has a rather Americana-like feel to it, punctuated by a funky-"wah-wah" guitar riff. Again assisted by Bobby Bandiera's guitar work, the song does paint a picture of the late day sky, with images taken from various places around the state and the world.
As is usually the case with a release of his, "Painter of the Sky" is not yet eligible to chart on my SNS 100 since it's not yet available commercially, but as the credits at the end of the video roll, it appears it will be soon. No doubt that it will have a high debut. Here is his new video:
"Painter of the Sky"" (2019)
Many thanks to Paul Czekaj for making some great memorable music and videos for the past eight years.
***************************************************************************
SNS 100: Matthew Murphy came "close but no cigar" with his band The Wombats, but his solo endeavor as Love Fame Tragedy, garners his first #1 song on my blog, with "My Cheating Heart", knocking out "Love is Everywhere (Beware)" by Wilco after a single week at the top. It was a close race, with one point separating the two songs. Wilco drops to #2, while Shannon Marsyada's "The Message" bullets from #7 to #3. Andreya Triana and Grace Potter, advance to #4 and #5, albeit without bullets. The remainder of the top 10 is basically stagnant, with no new songs entering this week. Outside of the top 10, several songs are knocking at the door, with The Villagers, Goo Goo Dolls, Middle Kids, Delacy and Impact winner ScreenAge making impressive gains in the 11 to 20 range.
ONE MORE HIT: Michael Kiwanuka, a blog favorite whose recent "Money" just missed the mark with me, is back strong with the Top Debut, "Hero". Some great, melodic, feel good acoustic guitar work accompanies Kiwanuka's voice. This should put him back in "One More Night" range, which hit #1 on my blog back in 2016. It's song like this that make it worth listening to current music, even if radio refuses to touch it. Also debuting are the current #1's on both Alternative and Triple-A charts: Caamp's "Peace Fuzz" and Twenty-One Pilots "The Hype"; respectively. Caamp hails from Columbus, Ohio and makes its SNS debut; the song is from their second full-length album, By and By; the band recently performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and had been #1 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart. Highly Suspect, Milky Chance, Of Monsters and Men, and Dermot Kennedy round out the debuts.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: We are down to the final two months on my blog, which as of now, will end my coverage in new music. Of course, never say never, but in the meantime there are several tidbits to look forward to. There is of course, holiday music emerging; will one hit the top spot like "Cozy Little Christmas" did last year? Then, of course my Top 100 of 2019 as well as a look back at the 2010's, a decade that I vastly covered in my blog as well as a list of my favorite songs of the past ten years. Plus, another tribute to a recording artist friend is in the works as well. Stick around!
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
October 27,
2019
This
Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
1
|
2
|
NUMBER ONE:
Album:: I Don't Want to Play tthe Victim, But I'm Really Good At It
|
9
|
2
|
1
|
13
|
|
3
|
7
|
8
|
|
4
|
6
|
7
|
|
5
|
8
|
8
|
|
6
|
5
|
13
|
|
7
|
3
|
15
|
|
8
|
4
|
14
|
|
9
|
9
|
19
|
|
10
|
10
|
13
|
|
11
|
17
|
8
|
|
12
|
18
|
9
|
|
13
|
19
|
14
|
|
14
|
15
|
20
|
|
15
|
25
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"My Man"
(Single Only)
|
5
|
16
|
11
|
17
|
|
17
|
29
|
5
|
|
18
|
12
|
19
|
|
19
|
14
|
16
|
|
20
|
16
|
16
|
|
21
|
20
|
19
|
|
22
|
13
|
13
|
|
23
|
23
|
18
|
|
24
|
28
|
8
|
|
25
|
24
|
9
|
|
26
|
30
|
8
|
|
27
|
34
|
7
|
|
28
|
21
|
11
|
|
29
|
22
|
10
|
|
30
|
31
|
16
|
|
31
|
27
|
15
|
|
32
|
39
|
5
|
|
33
|
46
|
4
|
|
34
|
45
|
5
|
|
35
|
33
|
18
|
|
36
|
52
|
3
|
|
37
|
54
|
3
|
|
38
|
26
|
15
|
|
39
|
37
|
11
|
|
40
|
65
|
3
|
|
41
|
40
|
9
|
|
42
|
42
|
6
|
|
43
|
32
|
11
|
|
44
|
36
|
21
|
|
45
|
48
|
5
|
|
46
|
51
|
4
|
|
47
|
64
|
3
|
|
48
|
57
|
4
|
|
49
|
50
|
6
|
|
50
|
76
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
"Only One"
Album: Ballads
|
2
|
51
|
74
|
2
|
|
52
|
35
|
12
|
|
53
|
66
|
14
|
|
54
|
41
|
16
|
|
55
|
38
|
16
|
|
56
|
49
|
16
|
|
57
|
59
|
7
|
|
58
|
43
|
17
|
|
59
|
71
|
3
|
|
60
|
44
|
17
|
|
61
|
53
|
20
|
|
62
|
47
|
18
|
|
63
|
58
|
23
|
|
64
|
56
|
16
|
|
65
|
70
|
12
|
|
66
|
55
|
30
|
|
67
|
68
|
5
|
|
68
|
61
|
29
|
|
69
|
62
|
22
|
|
70
|
80
|
2
|
|
71
|
82
|
2
|
|
72
|
67
|
21
|
|
73
|
79
|
2
|
|
74
|
---
|
TOP DEBUT:
"Hero"
Album: Kiwanuka
|
1
|
75
|
63
|
8
|
|
76
|
60
|
14
|
|
77
|
75
|
6
|
|
78
|
69
|
17
|
|
79
|
---
|
1
|
|
80
|
72
|
4
|
|
81
|
83
|
2
|
|
82
|
73
|
7
|
|
83
|
90
|
2
|
|
84
|
77
|
30
|
|
85
|
87
|
4
|
|
86
|
91
|
2
|
|
87
|
---
|
1
|
|
88
|
---
|
1
|
|
89
|
78
|
6
|
|
90
|
---
|
1
|
|
91
|
---
|
1
|
|
92
|
---
|
1
|
|
93
|
88
|
26
|
|
94
|
89
|
3
|
|
95
|
86
|
22
|
|
96
|
81
|
15
|
|
97
|
85
|
19
|
|
98
|
92
|
5
|
|
99
|
84
|
17
|
|
100
|
93
|
4
|
Songs with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs with 25 or more plays on my iPod/iTunes.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod/iTunes.
¨ Songs with 100 or more plays on my iPod/iTunes.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
No comments:
Post a Comment