Riding home the Wave
Asbury's brightest shine at '09 Wave Gathering

Metromix

By Stephen Bove / Producer, Metromix Jersey Shore
June 14, 2009

With all stages set for its fourth annual run, Asbury Park's Wave Gathering Music Festival this weekend will continue in its mission to not only provide a proving ground for emerging local musicians, but a showcase for established, Asbury-bred performers ready to return some love to the city where it all started.

Featuring more than 175 performances across three days and more than 20 stages, here are just a few of the accomplished local acts set to play this year's festival, artists out to prove that despite successes thus far, their grandest achievements still lie ahead.

Status Green
With a track-record spanning film ("Exit 102''), television (WWOR-TV, News 12, MTV) and radio (Yahoo LAUNCHcast) and new material set to be unveiled soon, these Shore-based stomp-pop rockers are living proof that, once in a while, fame moves whistle slick.

In February 2006, after only four months together, Status Green won a listeners poll on 95.5 WPLJ-FM, scoring the opportunity to open for Bon Jovi at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

"This IS the modern rock / indie band from our area that deserves it all'' said Wave Gathering co-founder Gordon Brown. "Touring, recording, packing their shows, writing new material to blow us all away, these guys are writing the rule book on how to be a band in the modern music industry.''

Status Green will play 5 p.m. Saturday on the Metromix/Miller Light Daytime Street Festival Main Stage on Cookman Avenue.

Jerzy Jung
Raised in South Jersey, Jerzy Jung (yes, it's her real name) has been disarming national audiences since 2004, spreading her dusky pop gospel at shows and festivals ranging from the now defunct Toms River Fest to the South by Southwest music conference/festival in Austin, Texas.

"They don't come more talented, nicer or sweeter. Voice like an angel, heart of gold,'' Brown said. "Here's an artist from our area that is doing things with such strong commitment and passion. Her story needs to be told.''

Jerzy Jung will play 7:45 p.m. Friday at America's Cup Coffee Co., 663 Cookman Ave, and 11 p.m. Sunday at The Saint, 601 Main St.

Rick Barry
The Point Pleasant native has become one of the local music scene's most visible and vital personalities since establishing a foothold within the Asbury Park cityscape in early 2000.

Seemingly tireless, the vocalist, lyricist and composer hasn't stopped to breathe since releasing the full-length, ""This Antediluvian World,'' early this year, having performed both solo and with his band, The New Rick Barrys, at myriad shows that include his own "Night in Progress'' events and this year's South by Southwest music conference/festival.

"He just started working on his first real video and is probably the best example of what it means to be a true hard-working starving solo artist out of Asbury Park at the moment,'' Brown said. ""Everyone in the music community loves and respects him dearly.''

Rick Barry will perform Saturday at midnight at Synaxis' Parthenon Lounge, 662 Cookman Ave., and Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Showroom, 708 Cookman Avenue, and 10 p.m. at The Saint.

Val Emmich
With Emmich's leap to the big screen imminent (he'll star in the Annette Apitz-directed indie ""Fighting Fish'' later this year), fans can still catch the Manalapan singer-songwriter doing he does best when he plays the Wave Gathering main stage Saturday.

In 2005, Emmich (who's played every Wave festival thus far) co-wrote the song "Absolutely Still'' with Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin. Griffin's band recently recorded its own version of the song and released it as the first single off its latest album, "Paper Empire.''

Val Emmich will play at 3 p.m. Saturday on the Metromix/Miller Light Daytime Street Festival Main Stage on Cookman Avenue.

April Smith & the Great Picture Show
If the coy, mischievous croon of Wanda Jackson were to coalesce with the swaggering bravado of Nick Cave, the aftermath would look and sound uncannily similar to the live show of Toms River-born songstress April Smith, who has been an onstage tour de force since breaking into local theater in the early '90s.

Smith will follow up her Wave Gathering appearance with a performance Aug 7 at Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park.

April Smith & the Great picture Show will perform 11 p.m. Friday at the Saint.