The rise of basement shows have been sweeping the Jersey Shore and tristate area.
However, you don’t have to go out of your way to New Brunswick or Philadelphia to enjoy a show at one of these places, because there are basement concerts with great live bands in our own back yard
Long Branch, Ocean Township, and Asbury Park are known for their basement scene.
The reason why these venues are gaining recognition is a matter of money, promotion, and the return of something that is sometimes forgotten in the music world: an intimacy between band and audience.
In larger venues, the band is playing to the audience.
Contrarily, in a basement, they are playing with the audience. But if you ask any local or aspiring musician about playing or hosting basement gigs, they will tell you how it has advantages and disadvantages.
Sara Wojciehowski, a music industry major, has played enough basement performances to identify the pros and cons of this informal environment that is gaining so much traction.
Wojciehowski said, “One advantage would definitely be experiencing that intimacy you can’t get at a formal venue, on a stage above the audience.”
“I like letting people get more involved and feeling like they’re included in that bubble with all our friends, fans, and family. The band [is] family” Sara said.
“But it has its disadvantages too. I’ve played a show in someone’s basement and for a few house parties, but I am not a fan of doing it too often” Wojciehowski pointed out.
“It can be a fun and intimate experience for a local show, but if the show is too crowded, then of course the basement or house gets really hot, and people start to get out of control” she concluded.
Another popular local band with Monmouth roots are Eric Schwartz, Scott Bucksbaum, Ray Laux, and James Spavelko of Malibu.
At Hawk TV’s Homecoming Special, the band discussed how they started playing house shows this year.
Schwartz said, “We’ve only done a few so far in Long Branch; at our house and a friend’s house.”
“With the one at our house, we decided it would be a cool way to engage our fans and get some more attention with the local music scene,” Schwartz shared.
“Regarding the other show,” Buckbaum added, “our friend had a band from Rutgers playing and we were invited to open for them.”
Buckbaum continued, “Both shows helped garner some more support and get our name out there, specifically in the basement and house show scene.”
Malibu’s experience is a testament to the intimacy basement shows bring for the band and crowd.
The gigs are also popular because of how easy it is to organize one.
Taylor Jones, a 2016 alumni, has played and organized shows in basements through his time at the University and still to to this day.
Jones said, “Besides it being so accessible and plausible to just setup and start playing, for maybe $5 a guest, it is also as simple as making a cool and creative name to capture a small sense of space, time, and place to share with our fans.”
“Like The Drunken Boat, where I used to live and play a lot of weekends during the semester with our band; or The Dog House, my best friend’s parents’ place in Ocean Township where we play in the basement and backyard when they go away,” Jones reflected.
After learning about the music scene sweeping the east coast and talking to some of the new musicians, the reason why basement and house shows continue to gain more traction is clear.
Wojciehowski captured this new music scene the best when she said, “There’s also something youthful, rebellious, and inspiring about basement and house shows.
She continued, “No matter how big or small the bands, the venue serves as a look into the past, correlating a lot of the time with the place most bands start out from in the first place: the basement.”
PHOTO TAKEN from Variety
