bergenPAC Presents Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, 9/21

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes come to bergenPAC Friday September 21, 2012; on sale Friday, July 13^th at 11:00am.  Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or bergenPAC.org or by calling the box office at 201 227 1030.

For more than 35 years, Southside Johnny, aka John Lyon, has delivered a soul-searing brand of raucous blues and R&B that has made he and his Juke’s a seminal force as All-American rock n’ roll song-slingers.  Now, the affable New Jersey rock icon is setting his sights on a long-desired project that will deliver to music fans some of the singer’s most cherished and under-recognized song nuggets; Original gems as well as what Johnny calls ‘those seldom-played and maybe even forgotten rock ‘covers,’ in an intimate, acoustically-mined live stage throw down billed as Southside Johnny and The Poor Fools.   

Backed by Juke’s musicians John Conte/bass, Tommy Byrnes/guitar, longtime Juke’s collaborator Jeff Kazee/organ and percussion, and premier Springsteen violinist/fiddle player Soozie Tyrell, The Poor Fools’ project looms as a stripped down ‘up-close-and-personal musical joy fest.  Johnny is also quick to point out the ebullient singer will be sharing front man duties as well – “getting everyone out of their comfort zone” - rotating singing, instrumentation, and percussion roles among fellow-Fools, and even strapping on a guitar himself, for the first time in decades.  “I lost the feeling in my fingers many years ago,” he says.  “But I promised myself one day I was going to accept the challenge of playing guitar on stage in a live setting and that time is here,” he adds, laughing: “With this great, great group of musicians ready to cover up my mistakes.”  

Southside Johnny says, "The Poor Fools tour is a chance for me to try out different material and some Jukes standards in an acoustic-ish form. In this incarnation, Jeff Kazee, John Conte, Tommy Byrnes, Soozie Tyrell and I will all be singing, playing, and having some fun on stage. It will be a loose mix of songs, stories and banter between the musicians and-- hopefully--the audience. Just lookin' to have a good time. It'll be a little side trip between the usual Asbury Jukes touring and our next recording."

No rules. No fences. Just a New Jersey legend and his troubadours looking for a little fun on a rare night off.