Tune In, Turn On
By Doug Deutsch
Let’s hear it for girl-fronted pop groups. The Jersey Shore has its very own in the form of Molly Ringworm, fronted by a young lady whose sound is perfectly suited for the role, vocalist-guitarist Sarah Holt.
“I was really inspired by ’90s indie rock from Liz Phair, and ’70s folkie music from Neil Young and Joni Mitchell,” Holt recently said via email when asked which music artists she and her MR bandmates consider their influences.
“On (our latest EP) “Seems,” the ’90s influences come through a bit more, like Pavement, The Breeders and Pixies, and more modern fuzzed-out bands like Speedy Ortiz.
“Growing up during the early 2000s (as I did), emo and pop music are kind of ingrained in our songwriting subconsciously. As we move toward writing a new album, I’d like to try to bring through our love of ’60s boy bands and power pop acts like Big Star,” adds Holt.
The local indie music scene, although small, is looking up, insists Holt, who gives props to the venue she’ll perform at next Friday.
“The shore has been popping off lately with the establishment of the Anchor Rock Club (in Atlantic City). They’re really bringing in great national acts and providing local bands with a lot of opportunity to connect with those national acts. They’re a venue the shore has desperately needed.”
Next we discussed the band’s new album. “Seems” was recorded entirely remotely and was the first thing the band put out that they didn’t do completely themselves.
“We hopped on board with (North Jersey-based label) Kidokoro Records, owned and operated by Oscar Suh-Rodriguez, who mixed, mastered and co-produced the record,” she said. “Oscar really pushed our songwriting to what I think is the best it’s been and opened our minds to different production and arrangement techniques.
“Moving forward, we don’t want to just sound like a band playing in our bedrooms in our recordings, and experiment more.”
WLFR, Stockton University’s radio station, celebrated its 38th anniversary last weekend with a concert at the school’s main campus. Holt’s band performed an acoustic performance that evening; the concert was also a memorial to the late, longtime WLFR director of training Paul Glaser, who passed away recently.
“I’ve been involved with the radio station since 2016. I started deejaying there my first semester at Stockton, and put on a lot of shows to benefit the station during my time there. The station and its deejays are our family and biggest supporters.”
Molly Ringworm’s recent video, “Crystal” (watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50XB3rmf_64) starts out with Holt’s sweet-sounding pop vocals, backed by images of teens skateboarding at a local park, which is okay. But then the song kicks into a next-level, guitar-driven frenzy with Holt, lead guitarist and Holt’s cousin, Johnny Zappas, bassist Andrew Simpson and drummer Michael Auble channeling grunge-rock-era chaotic but talented frontperson Courtney Love and her band Hole. It’s definitely a good thing and a sonic direction we hope Molly Ringworm continues to pursue.
WLFR 91.7 FM. Stockton’s Lake Fred Radio, welcomes Molly Ringworm 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 at the Anchor Rock Club, 247 S. New York Ave. in Atlantic City. For tickets and info call 609-808-4990 or visit http://www.anchorrockclub.com/. Also performing are Teen Idle, Coke Spiders and Away Game. For more on Molly Ringworm see https://www.mollyringwormnj.com/ .
Electrify Your Halloween
If you want to rock on Halloween and are looking for something slightly left of center from what most of the area’s venues feature, may we suggest Electric Halloween, taking place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29, at multiple venues in Atlantic City.
“This is an annual event on Halloween weekend that showcases local musicians and artists in the South Jersey area,” reads a press release received from the event’s organizers. “We have musical acts of all genres performing throughout the weekend.
“Artists will live paint, create installations, and display their work in gallery spaces. Electric Halloween gathers all types of creatives together to collaborate and support each other’s work. This is our first year having this event in Atlantic City and we are excited to be featuring local staple bands are artists in our line-up.”
Electric Halloween’s Pre-Party Boat Show sets sail from Gardner’s Basin Thursday night, Oct. 27. Choose wisely as going out on the bay at night may not be for everyone. It sets by six live bands, followed by Friday and Saturday shows at Anchor Rock Club and Bourre, the latter at 201 S. New York Ave. The venues are conveniently located close to each other.
Friday’s festivities include a wrestling show, and Saturday night’s an aerialist show. The music will be a mix of indie/progressive featuring no fewer than 25 bands, headlined by longtime Montclair -based group, Thank You Scientist. There’s definitely something different going on here, but isn’t diversity what life is all about? For tickets and info, see http://electrichalloweenfestival.com/tickets.html.
