From Scrod Rocket to Aloha Salvation

25 years ago, if you were seeking out a loud rock show in some club in the tri-state area, you may have come across a lively act called Scrod Rocket. If you did, you saw some of the gang that were affectionately known during our fraternity years as "Dave's hoodlum high school friends."  Among them, John.

Muscle flannels...

John and Rob and Neil and Ryan and Mose and Melanie and Noelle (hoodlums aren't just male, you know) and others were surprisingly dedicated to venturing down the Turnpike, 95, and 64 to see Dave. What a draw that guy was.  They livened up our already-overachieving freshman hall with punk rock and preposterous antics, from the Olympics to the Great Shoe Heist of '88 to the Melissa Manny Mota Incident to . . . well, countless other misdemeanors and felonies best left to rapidly depleting memory banks.

And they kept returning for all four of Dave's years in the 'Burg. Fire extinguisher incidents with the campus cops, the Fake Squirrel Licking Fight, the Wok Food Fight, the Whitney's Fake Cousin at Wine and Cheese (and subsequent marshmallow-in-a-piggy-bank letdown), the Day of the Tolteca Grande . . . it just went on. It was no wonder that we all got pretty excited when these people rolled into town -- and also locked our doors.

Scrod Rocket was a related endeavor that blossomed in the early 1990's, and they had some success before life got in the way and splintered the boisterous band. John both played guitar and served the group in a capacity similar to Face in The A-Team.  He's as normal and down to earth as that collection of misunderstood savants gets, and he and I became friends if only to discuss on a rational level what the hell must be wrong with Dave. Which we had cause to do quite a bit.

...to flip flops

Big jobs and bigger family commitments took him out of the New Brunswick zip code, then the area code. (He still has a southern NJ 609 area code cell phone; you never give that up if you can help it.) Along the way, music re-entered his scene, and just recently, he did what I promised you that I would do in 2019: release a 10-track album of original material. And it's great stuff. Majorly mellow melodies right in line with his band name and song titles. I'm thoroughly jealous, appreciative, and inspired.  To do that annoying thing where rock reviewers draw derivation or at least parallel sounds, he's got a bit of Jeff Tweedy, some Kurt Vile, and some Billy Joel/Elton John.

Just kidding about that last part, Dave.

I will say it's a long way from bourbon shots and Scrod Rocket band practice in the lizard-infested former brothel on Route 18.  "Surfin' Dog" has begotten "Our Love Is a Melody." From cheesesteak and egg and Fat sandwiches to poi and pineapple smoothies. Punk rock to dad rock. And I really enjoy it.

Snag a hard copy here. Listen to the Spotify playlist below. Enjoy.