New Brunswick, NJ music scene

New Brunswick, New Jersey's music scene has been the home to many notable rock bands. New Brunswick has been a center for punk rock and underground music; a scene that thrives on semi-legal live shows in residential basements. These shows are host to not only local bands, but underground bands from across the country and the world. Numerous self-managed (DIY) bands from New Brunswick have gone on to receive broader acclaim, including Kadian Quartet, Semiotics, Milkmen, The Blithedale Romance, Dusters, American Lions, and Will Wood and the Tapeworms. Others include Modern Chemistry. In March 2017, NewJersey.com wrote that "even if Asbury Park has recently returned as our state's musical nerve center, with the brick-and-mortar venues and infrastructure to prove it, New Brunswick remains as the New Jersey scene's unadulterated, pounding heart."

Rock bands which started in the New Brunswick area clubs and went on to national prominence include alternative rock band The Smithereens and mainstream stadium rock band Bon Jovi.

More typical examples include locally successful bands such as Crossfire Choir in the 1980s and Rotator Cuff in the 1990s. Crossfire Choir, crossed over into the New York scene at CBGB where they opened for more well-known punk bands. The band lost a record deal with Geffen Records while recording an album with Steve Lillywhite (who worked with Psychedelic Furs and U2) in London. Rotator Cuff was noteworthy as being one of a handful of bands who made video debuts on MTV's 120 minutes along with bands like The Blases and Nude Swirl.

MTV host and radio personality Matt Pinfield was also part of the New Brunswick music scene for over 20 years, including time spent as music director at Rutgers University's student radio station, WRSU. Local music-hosting bars frequented by Rutgers students included the rock bar Court Tavern (with its motto "Cruel but Fair"), and the dance club The Melody Bar. These establishments hosted many local bands during the 1980s and 1990s, including: Transilvia, Crocodile Shop, Inspecter 7, The Rockin' Bricks, The Hub City All Stars, Frozen Concentrate, DP and the Greys, The Blasés, Glen Burtnik, The Slaves of New Brunswick, Spiral Jetty, Tiny Lights, Mango Garden, The Wooden Soldiers, Destroy All Bands, All God's Children, Spiraling, Spy Gods, The Thin Men, Hip Shy, No Matter, Bad Karma, Alice B. Talkless, Lord John, The Deal, The Mad Daddys, Mars Needs Women, The Urchins, Sit 'n Spin, Three to Six Inches, Mildred Pierce, ExVegas, Sicker Than Others, Hippie Killer, Instant Death, Rotator Cuff, Jigs & The Pigs, TWIG, The Atomic Missiles, The Stuntcocks, Shrubs (American band), Nudeswirl, The Eve, The Cheshire Cats, Lord John, True Love, Loaded Poets, Anderson Council, The Fletchers, Aviso Hara, Bionic Rhoda, Buzzkill, Boss Jim Gettys, Duochrome, Prosolar Mechanics, Lesser Koodoo, Parallax1, Moot, Stretch, Probable Cause, The Null Set,Unsound, Duck Soup, Judy Dad Called, Flyte, BBC, The 45's, Bloody Smegma, The Groceries and Peachfuzz.

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