The Wave Gathering: An Artist’s Perspective

By Lisa BiancocloseAuthor: Lisa Bianco Name: Lisa Bianco
Email: Lisa@lisabianco.com
Site: http://www.LisaBianco.com
About: Finding a balance between the visceral and intellectual is one of the trickiest things to pull off in music, but Lisa Bianco manages to do just that. Her songs, evocative and inventive, straddle the line between punk rock passion and singer/songwriter introspection to create something uniquely her own. On her new album, Post-Data, Bianco takes on the new and constantly evolving relationship between people and a data-saturated world, searching for the personal connection that breathes life into humanity...and music.See Authors Posts (1)

Summer breeze, grilled cheese at Plan B, ice cream on the boardwalk, coffee at the Twisted Tree Café, fine wine at Market in the Middle, and every other business jumping with live music. Where is this wonderful utopia? All of this can be experienced for 3 days at this year’s Wave Gathering Festival in Asbury Park (June 19th-June 21st). All you have to do is walk/run/drive/train to Cookman Avenue and you are pretty much set.

My first time in Asbury Park was performing at last years Wave Gathering Festival at Carmine’s. I’m originally from Long Island. Now in Queens (while where at it I’m ½ Italian and ½ Croatian, I love to eat really good food and I get a lot of parking tickets). After 3 days hanging out it felt like a second home. I was saying “Hello” to the owner at Americas Cup, the local antique shop was playing my CD, and I met a few fellow musicians I now call friends. I return again this year to “The Wave” and will be performing at Market in the Middle (516 Cookman Ave.) on Saturday June 20th at 8 PM. It will be an acoustic set with my band mate, Gerry Perlinski, backing me up on guitar and vocals. My music can be described as “pop singer-songwriter with a punk heart.” Introspective lyrics. Lil’ bit of edge. Crunchy guitars. Like Prego: It’s in there! You can hear some of my music at www.lisabianco.com and also find my links to Myspace, Facebook and Twitter. Take a listen and meet me in Asbury Park!

Some artists and bands that I have come to know and/or admire are performing at the Wave Gathering as well. Here’s the skinny on them:

The Milwaukees: Jersey boys. Four of em’. Engaging, raw and instantly approachable music. Sonically between the Foo Fighters and the Faces. Explosive live show a la the Who and the Clash. Performing on June 19th at the Saint (601 Main Street) at 8 PM.

Kagero: My Brooklyn friends. Japanese Gypsy Rock. Get your groove on here for sure. And they have a song about my favorite drink: Grappa! Performing on June 20th at The Annex@ Brickwall (522 Cookman Avenue) at 10PM.

Christine Martucci: Jersey gal and she rocks as authentic as authentic can be. Real soulful rock n’ roll. That woman can sing! Performing on June 20th at The Wave Main Stage on Cookman Avenue at Noon.

Christian Beach: Fabulous songs along the time honored traditions of John Prine, the Band, and Bob Dylan. Christian offers tripped down country guitars and mandolin with sparse, melodic pianos. Performing on June 19th at the Twisted Tree Café (609 Cookman Avenue) at 9:45 PM.

Rick Barry: His sound could be described at “neo-folk” cause it’s not like your mama’s old dusty folk records. His lyrics are raw and unapologetic poetry. Rick is a real interesting guy. I had the pleasure of doing a couple of shows with him. Performing on June 21st at The Saint (601 Main Street) at 9:30 PM.

The Honors: Now theses boys are from Boston (oh, my gosh I’m a Yankee fan!). We crossed paths while doing an interview for a radio station. Echoing melodic guitars, haunting smooth vocals and a Killers-like style. Complex rock groove! Performing on June 20th at The Saint (601 Main Street) at 10 PM.

The Wave Gathering Music Festival, presented by METROMIX.com, will take place June 19 – 21, 2009 in Asbury Park, NJ. Coinciding with the rebirth of Asbury Park, the music of the region’s great new artists are showcased throughout the entire weekend. In past years, Wave Gathering has brought hundreds of original bands to town and introduced their music to thousands of tourists making their way into Asbury Park. The Wave is a three-day weekend event that offers great entertainment in many venues throughout the city.

Tickets for the Wave Gathering Festival can be purchase tickets at: www.ticketweb.com. More information and a detailed schedule of all artists performing are at www.Wavegathering.com.