newarking

So I ventured out at around 11ish last night to catch some friends at Shaggy’s. Couple of buddy’s have been talking about some decent (as in “can actually play their instruments”) bands as of late, and while I’m not a student and shy away from some of the larger bars (at least in the beginning of the night), I set out to check it out. After waiting in line for a few minutes (it was packed!), I decided maybe it wasn’t the crowd for me. I did get to hear Hijinx do a cover of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted”, and everyone is a closet Jovi fan, so I enjoyed it.

I forgot to mention on my walk over to Shaggy’s, I heard the band Feverdog play a Dave Matthews tune (”American Baby”) at Klondike Kates. While I didn’t get to actually see either band, it was cool to at least hear them play across the street or while waiting in line.

After a few phone calls and meeting up with a friend at Iron Hill, we made our way down to Deer Park to catch last call. Little did I know their was a band playing there too! Liquid A had the stage, and had the entire crowd bobbing up and down and created a really fun atmosphere.

How awesome, I thought, that I got to hear three different bands in three different bars in one night! Okay, maybe I’m just a drunk, but it’s exiting to know that the little city you live in has a pulse. If you’re into music and aren’t a cover band hater, be sure to venture out next Thursday and get your rock on!

A few years back, a friend and I went up to New York to do some sightseeing, and we decided that we would walk around Battery Park at the bottom tip of Manhattan. I had watched the movie Wolfen the night before, and parts of it were filmed on location in the park. It felt a little eerie to be walking around the same streets the next day.

I was walking past Panera Bread this morning, and noticed a sign in the window for the Newark Premiere of a movie - Jack of Clubs.

I’m not sure that I’ve seen any signs around town before announcing the “Newark Premiere” of a movie before, so I decided to investigate. It looks like the film was produced in local Boys and Girls Clubs, A.I. DuPont Middle School, and other locations in Delaware. The Newark Premiere is scheduled for Thursday April 17th, 2007, 7:30pm at the Newark Cinema Center 3, in the Newark Shopping Center.

The link to the movie has a trailer, and as I was watching it, I could tell that parts shown were filmed nearby.

Out and About Magazine has a write up of the filming of the movie from last September - The Joy of Sets. It was filmed by a couple of brothers, Greg and Gordon DelGiorno, who go by the name the Film Brothers. Gordon is from Wilmington, and Greg lives in Newark.

I looked up the brothers at the Internet Movie Database, and came up with a horror movie, Shockheaded, which has Gordon Delgiorno playing the character of “Philadephia Jack.”

I didn’t find their previous release, set in Newark - Franks and Weiners, which starred a Newark native, and was filmed primarily in Newark.

I hope that the movie does well, and that the premiere is a success. It might be fun to go, and try to identify some of the locations.

If you’d like to see some of tomorrow’s film makers from this area, there are some interesting clips at YouTube in a search for Newark, Delaware.

If you’re from Newark, or perform regularly in Newark, we’d like to add your to our newly created Newark Music page.

I’ve added one band already, though perhaps a little too late. It appears that they’ve changed names. Endwave is out of New Castle, and I listened to a couple of tracks on their MySpace page. They have an interesting sound. Their new name is Good Morning Noise. I’m going to wait until they have their new web site up to change the name in the link on the Newark Music page.

If you are in a band that plays in this area, or know of one, please get in touch and I’ll try to add a link on that page to the band web site, or MySpace page.

Can art engage a community, and enrich the lives of the people who live there. I’d say that it can. I’m happy to see creativity be the focus of activities happening in Newark. If you would like to see some of the work of local artists, a number of Newark shops have made that easier for you to do.

The Newark Arts Alliance and the merchants on Main Street in Newark are putting on an Art Loop through the month of April.

Art work will be displayed at a number of locations up and down Main Street.

Bonaia Rosado - Photography
Adria Café

Michael Brock - Landscapes, Wildlife & Aviation
Hardcastle Gallery

Anyta Thomas - “Spiritual Expressions” Screen Sculptures
You’ve Been Framed
With a Wine & Cheese Reception on Friday, April 6, 5-8 pm

Don Sinclair - Photography ‘49
Bill Murray - Nostalgic Photography
Dragonfly Leathrum - Stained Glass
Sinclair’s Cafe

Whitney Bateson - Acrylics & Mixed Papers
Gecko Fashions
With a reception on Sunday, April 15, 5-6:30 pm

Bill Kreisel - Watercolor & Oil Paintings
Main Street Florist

PJ. Foster - Aqua Mixed Media Collage
Caffe Gelato

Carl Bailey - Artwork
Brewed Awakenings

Bret Black - Sculpted Mixed Media & Apparel
Central Perk

“People of the People’s Republic”
Peggy J.O. Schultz - Photography of China
Newark Arts Alliance

Cheers to the Arts Alliance and the participating shops.

Scott McCloud, writer/artist of Understanding Comics fame, will be appearing at Newark’s favorite comic book shop, Captain Blue Hen’s, on Friday March 16th.

He’ll be in town from 4pm-6pm to sign his new book, Making Comics, and to answer questions and discuss comics as sequential art.

Hope to see you there.

Some of the biggest acts in Rock and Roll passed through the doors of Newark’s Stone Balloon at one time or another.  The club opened in 1972, and is at the edge of destruction, as long as the permit is approved.

Bruce Springsteen performed there, and when Metallica came to Newark, there was an army clad in black concert t-shirts on Main Street as far as the eyes could see.  The Allman Brothers would roll their tour bus into town every so often, and put on a show, especially after Wilmingtonian Johnny Neal joined the band. Meatloaf came back for a few extra helpings, Pet Benatar announced her engagement to a band member at a performance in Newark. Run DMC, The Cure, Dave Matthews Band, and others put on shows on the Balloon’s stage.

Located right in the center of Newark at 115 East Main Street, the club has been an active part of the evening social scene in Delaware for years, and years.  A popular mug night held on Thursday nights at the venue saw long lines of predominately college students waiting for music and inexpensive beers. The doors of this entertainment hall closed for its last performance on December 17th, 2005.

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