Asbury Park – The Shore Sound
All the bars in Asbury Park still have a setting for great live music, like in the 60s and 70s, when many good bands played there. The R&B influenced rock ‘n roll Southside Johnny and his Jukes play still rocks. The driving force of the Jukes was Steven Van Zandt, one of the main creators, if not the creator of the Jersey Shore Sound. Currently Stevie, or Little Steven, is touring Europe presenting his long-awaited album “Soulfire” with his amazing band “The Disciples of Soul”.
The unknown Disciple of Soul
“There were a lot of bands in Asbury Park”, said one who should know, Benjamin Newberry, the unknown Disciple of Soul who still wears the black leather coat that Steven had made for the original Disciples of Soul in the early 80s and it’s probably one of the only ones that are left.
In fact, Ben is not so unknown to long-time fans of Little Steven. Starting with “Men without women” he was one of the studio musicians on Steve’s albums. Now Steven is relying on him as Backline Manager for the Soulfire Tour. Only two weeks before the 2017 leg of the tour started, Steven told Ben to pull together a crew of experienced people. All of them are close to the music business, mostly musicians themselves, like Ben.
Kog Nito and the Geeks
Ben’s career in show business started in the 60s, when he began to play in bands and later became known as “Kog Nito and the Geeks”. In the early 80s he was forced to slow down his career as a musician due to an accident that had made him, the guitar player, lose the dexterity of his hand. He still performs but only for special occasions.
Few recordings of Kog Nito and his Geeks have survived the ravages of time, now they have become rare unique pieces.
The “Sounds of Asbury Park”, released in 1980, compiles some of the well-known names from the shore area, - Gary Tallent, Vini “Maddog” Lopez, Eddie Manion and Ritchie “La Bamba” Rosenberg, two of Little Steven’s original Disciples of Soul, and of course, Ben Newberry as Kog Nito and the Geeks.
40 years of Rock ‘n Roll
Ben had reoriented his career after his accident and put his experience in the service of other artists; his long-time friend Little Steven, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Foreigner, Meatloaf and Roberta Flack, to name just a few. 40 years almost entirely spent on the road, after more than 10,000 shows, he decided only a few years ago to settle down a little and get married. Rock n’ Roll still makes his engine run, like in 1966, when he was 15 years old and played guitar in a band.
All photos courtesy of Mr. Benjamin Newberry.
TOUR DATES Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
Paris, France, 9 July
Madrid, Spain 11 July
Vigo, Spain 12 July
Limburg, Belgium, 14 July
Rome, Italy 17 July
Cortona, Italy 18 July
Malmö, Sweden, 20 July
Telemark, Norway, 21 July
Hamburg, Germany, 23 July
Karlsruhe, Germany, 25 July
London, UK, 27 July