Pay attention rock fans, get ready to be “havin’ a party” this weekend in Cranston with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. The legendary band will bring their high-energy show to the Park Theatre on Saturday, December 7.
The band from the Jersey shore, which got its start in the dive bars and beach clubs along the East Coast, is celebrating 50 years on the road this year. They are widely known for over-the-top live shows and FM radio staples, including “I Don’t Wanna Go Home,” “Havin’ a Party,” Talk to Me,” and “The Fever.”
I spoke to founder John Lyon (aka Southside Johnny) by phone last week and asked how he felt about the band’s 50th anniversary.
“Old,” he laughed. “You fret over all the things you fret over in life, and then you step on stage, and it all goes away. It’s one of the great things about being a performing artist. Once you get home, which is on stage, you forget everything. All the cares in the world of the world disappear. You enjoy your time, interacting with the audience, listening to the band, and singing; it really is a therapeutic thing; just getting to it is tough sometimes.”
Indeed, life on the road for working musicians, beyond the party atmosphere frequently portrayed in film, can be challenging. Staying healthy, being able to perform nightly, and fulfilling additional responsibilities on the road is not easy. Lyon never expected it to last this long.
“I thought I’d be playing in bands on weekends and working at the gas station or something like that,” he said. “I remember seeing Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and I thought, you know what, what else am I going to do that’s going to please me so much and give me a chance see the world. Once we made the first album, I found out I loved touring, I sure didn’t expect it to be this long.”
He recalled a career-defining moment that happened in the mid-1970s when the band was virtually unknown.
“We played a place called a little place called The Quiet Night in Chicago when we were just starting out,” he began. “Unbeknownst to us, the club owner, who was also the promoter, was in jail for whatever reason. So there was no publicity. When we played there, I had ten guys in the band and there were like eight people in the audience. But the next night it was packed, there was no hype, it was just word of mouth, people came and heard us and told all their friends and they all came, and we had a great night.”
“It was a vindication, one of those moments when you realize you are doing the right thing, people like you for what you do, not so much for every hyperbole they try to lay on you, as they do in the music business.”
What’s the secret to filling those venues?
“Seeing somebody who is committed to being the best they can be on that night,” said Lyon. “There are no gimmicks, no light shows; it’s the connection that the audience makes with a bunch of guys and women, up on stage doing their best and really enjoying themselves. With our audience, the pleasure that we have performing on stage translates to the audience.”
Their signature “Southside Sound” is centered around a tight horn section of John Isley on sax, Chris Anderson on trumpet, and Neal Pawley on trombone. “It elevates it once the horns kick in,” said Lyon. “It just goes up a notch, if I can quote Emeril. It adds an element that you can rely on for solos and colors in the music. They are very exciting when they play together. It makes it easier for me, all I have to do it stand there and sing.”
And he keeps doing it, 50 years down the road. “I was going to retire, but they won’t let me,” he laughed. “We’re looking forward to playing, we’ve had some time off, we’ll be raring to go.”
Click here for tickets to the show.
