NJ004

Inventory to the New Brunswick Music Scene Archive

By Frank Bridges, Christie Lutz and Tara Maharjan

October 2017

Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Finding aid encoded in EAD, version 2002 by Tara Maharjan, October 2017
Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.

Descriptive Summary

Title: New Brunswick Music Scene Archive
Dates: 1981-present
Quantity: 5 cubic foot
Abstract: The New Brunswick Music Scene Archive documents the rock music scene in New Brunswick, New Jersey from 1981 to present. The collection is comprised of flyers, set lists, publications, press clippings, ephemera and sound recordings relating to shows and bands who were based in New Brunswick. The collection also contains information about the founding of the archive in 2015 and includes press clippings and flyers from events.
Collection No.: NJ004
Language: English
Repository: Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives
Acknowledgment: Additional processing by Rachel Ferrante.

History of the New Brunswick Music Scene

New Brunswick, New Jersey, is an historic city with a rich and diverse connection to music, from the days when Rutgers students no doubt sang tavern songs at the Sign of the Red Lion, which was, in the 1770s, the first meeting place for Rutgers University classes. Throughout the 19th century, the Hub City boasted numerous theaters, an opera house, music shops, local and traveling musicians, musical associations such as the New Brunswick Band, and the largest musical string manufacturer in the world, the National Musical String Company. In the early 1900s, the multi-talented Paul Robeson sang for spending money in cafes and taverns throughout New Brunswick. In 1964, Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Group played his first gig with his band The Vandals at a Rutgers fraternity.

The New Brunswick Music Scene Archive (NBMSA) was established in September of 2015 to act as a repository for the vast amount of ephemera generated from the ever-changing music scene, including various formats of music releases, show flyers, and zines. It also serves to address a gap in documentation of musical life in New Brunswick from the late 20th century through the present day, and to demonstrate the value and reach of independent, local music.

In the 1980s, New Brunswick was home to several live music venues including The Court Tavern, The Melody, and Patrix, as well as several spaces around Rutgers including The Ledge, now the Student Activities Center, the Student Center Multipurpose Room on College Avenue, and Scott Hall’s large lecture rooms. As the sounds of “college rock” began to grow in popularity with the help of college stations such as Rutgers’ WRSU, bands such as The Smithereens, Crossfire Choir, The Blasés, and Spiral Jetty began to grow in popularity and help put New Brunswick on the map. Additionally, the New Jersey hardcore scene emerged and bands such as Pleased Youth, Bouncing Souls, and Headstrong, began to call New Brunswick home, and “house party” shows for all ages began to develop.

In the early 1990s, more venues began to open throughout New Brunswick including the re-opening of The Roxy, The Bowl-A-Drome, Down Under, Club 357, and Café Newz. However, as the 1990s went on most of the New Brunswick venues began to close as the city’s landscape began to change with the growth and expansion of healthcare and corporate entities in the city and the redevelopment of the downtown. During the 1990s the price of replicating CDs, cassettes, and vinyl records became more affordable and many labels centered in New Brunswick began to form including Well Primed Records, Chunksaah Records, Model Rocket, Powerbunny 4x4 Records, and Da Da Records. Well-known bands of this time included Lifetime, Deadguy, Buzzkill, Bionic Rhoda, and Seething Grey.

By the end of the 1990s the New Brunswick basement shows, held in off-campus student rentals, began to take off and the 2000s ushered in the “New Brunswick basement scene” and brought national attention to The Hub City with bands like Thursday, Screaming Females, and The Gaslight Anthem. Don Giovanni Records, founded in 2003 in New Brunswick, became the label of choice for many New Brunswick bands, is the most successful record label the city has produced, signing bands beyond New Brunswick and New Jersey.

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Scope and Content Note

The New Brunswick Music Scene Archive materials date from 1981 to present. The collection is made up of paper format, audiovisual, and ephemeral materials. The collection is arranged into nine record series: FLYERS AND POSTERS, SET LISTS, PUBLICATIONS, FRITCH CLARK AND THE LAST BASTIONS OF ROCK, PRESS CLIPPINGS, EPHEMERA, NEW BRUNSWICK MUSIC SCENE ARCHIVE, PHOTOGRAPHS, and SOUND RECORDINGS.

The FLYERS AND POSTERS are arranged by venue and contains a number of handmade originals, flyers from basement shows, well-known venues throughout New Brunswick, and shows at Rutgers University. PUBLICATIONS consists of commercially printed magazines and books about the music scene, as well as a subseries of zines. The FRITCH CLARK AND THE LAST BASTIONS OF ROCK series is made up of the research materials that Fritch Clark collected to create his 2015 documentary The Last Bastions of Rock. The documentary focuses on music venues throughout New Jersey with a particular focus on the New Brunswick music scene. PRESS CLIPPINGS is made up of press materials from local New Brunswick bands and also news clippings. The EPHEMERA series contains business cards, buttons, matchbooks, patches, shopping bags, stickers, and T-shirts.

The NEW BRUNSWICK MUSIC SCENE ARCHIVE series consists of materials regarding the founding of this archive. Flyers and press clippings make up a majority of this series. PHOTOGRAPHS are of New Brunswick based bands, shows, and venues. The SOUND RECORDINGS series is made of 12" vinyl records, 7" vinyl records, compact discs, cassettes, tape cartridges, and acetate discs. Recordings are from New Brunswick bands. Some of these recordings came from WRSU, the non-commercial college radio station broadcasting from Rutgers University.

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Related Collections

New Jersey Zine Collection, NJ010, 2016-present. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Jersey Beat, 1982-2005. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. (SNCLNJ ML3533.8.J47)

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

New Brunswick Music Scene Archive, NJ004, Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The New Brunswick Music Scene Archive is and active collection comprised of donations of materials. Materials in this collection have been donated by:

· Frank Bridges
· Bryan Bruden
· Fritch Clark
· Adam Dickinson
· Greg Di Gesu
· Rick Dillenberger
· Rachel Ferrante
· Brian Goad
· Jeff Hersch
· James Hodges
· Pete Horvath
· Gary Kaplan
· Ronen Kauffman
· Sandor Kekesi
·Eddie Konczal
· Bob Makin
· Marc Mazique
· Derik Moore
· John Mulez
· Anthony Palma
· Geoffrey Pape
· Marissa Paternoster
· T. Penn
· Mike Polilli
· Alex Saville
· Amy Saville
· Alex Sentenat
· John Simek
· Andrew Spina
· John Terry
· Dave Urbano
· WRSU

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Detailed Description of the Collection/Container List

This section provides descriptions of the materials found within each series. Each series description is followed by a container list, which gives the titles of the "containers" (for example, folders, volumes, or cassettes) and their locations in the numbered boxes that comprise the collection. The availability of any digital items from a container is indicated with a hyperlink.

FLYERS AND POSTERS
Box
1 20 Huntington Street
120 Hamilton Street
See also Oversized Box 1.
331 Somerset Street
The Alamo
Alfa Art Gallery
Basement Shows
See also Oversized Box 1.
Bowl-O-Drome
Boyd Park
See also Oversized Box 1.
Budapest Cocktail Lounge
Cheap Thrills
Cooler Ranch
See also Oversized Box 1.
The Court Tavern
See also Oversized Box 1.
In The West
See also Oversized Box 1 and Map Case Drawer.
Box
OS1 Indigo Jones
Box
1 Knights of Columbus Hall
Melody Bar
See also Oversized Box 1.
New Brunswick Based Bands Flyers from Outside New Brunswick
See also Oversized Box 1.
New Brunswick Based Bands Flyers from Outside New Jersey
New Brunswick Free Public Library
Patrix
Plum Street Pub
The Roxy
See also Oversized Box 1.
Rutgers University
See also Oversized Box 1, Box 6 and Map Case Drawer. Box 6 contains a large, rolled 2005 Tower of Tomorrow WVHP 90.3 The Core banner.
Second Reform Church Hall
Technical Ecstasy
SET LISTS
Box
1 Set Lists
PRESS CLIPPINGS
Box
1 Avso'Hara, 1996, 2001 and undated
Box
OS1 Buzzkill, undated
Box
1 Central Jersey News, 1993, 1997 and 2016
A Halo Called Fred, undated
New Brunswick Newspapers, 1991-1992
P.E.D., 1987 and undated
Rotator Cuff, 1995-1996
Sparks Fly From A Kiss, 2003 and undated
PUBLICATIONS
Box
2 90.3 FM - The Core Static!, 2007
Box
OS1 Aquarian Arts Weekly, 1986, 1996
Box
2 CoreFest Program, 2014-2016
Court Tavern Newsletter, 1990-1992
Box
OS1 East Coast Rocker, 1999
Box
2 Jersey Beat, 1992, 1994-2000
Box
3 Jersey Beat, 2001-2002
Lazy Determination, 2015
Loud is How I Love You, 2015
Book by Mercy Brown.
Box
OS1 New Brunswick Focus, 1992
Box
3 Montclarion, 1996
Scholastic Action, 1995
Article about the band Seething Grey.
Box
OS2 The Splatter Effect, 1989-1991 and 1993-1994
Box
3 Stop and Smell the Locals, 1997
Waiting, undated
Zines
Box
4 Complex Lies, 1988
Free TNT printed in this zine.
Consumable Zine, undated
Demons and How to Deal with Them, 1989
Digestor Zine, 1994
Free TNT, 1986-1987 and undated
Fun with Music, undated
Get to Know...Puddle Splasher, undated
Gimp, 1995
Honeyrider, 1994
New Brunswick Underground, 1998
New Brunswick Underground, 1999
Poor Tori Fashion Page, 1996
Powerbunny 4x4, 1994-1999
Radio Riot, 1991-1994
Waiting, 1989
White Bread, 1995
Wounded Thought, 1990
FRITCH CLARK AND THE LAST BASTIONS OF ROCK
Summary: Research materials from Fritch Clark's documentary The Last Bastions of Rock.
Box
5 Basement Shows, 2008-2009
Café 52, 2008-2010
Court Tavern, 2001 and 2008-2009
Mad Daddys Press Kit, 2001
Melody Bar, 2003-2009
Miscellaneous, undated
Music Fanzine, 1998 and 2007-2008
New Brunswick, NJ Laws, 1981, 1998-2009 and undated
New Brunswick, NJ Music, 1999, 2006-2009 and undated
Photographs, 2001 and undated
See also Oversized Box 1.
Plum Street Pub, 2002-2004
Box
OS1 Posters from the Court Tavern, undated
See also Map Case Folder.
Box
5 Press Clippings, 1981-1988, 1999, 2003-2009 and undated
See also Oversized Box 1 and Box 3.
Stone Pony, 2001-2007 and undated
Box
6 U-Matic Tapes, undated
EPHEMERA
Box
5 Business Cards
Buttons
Box
OS5 Kapa Cobra Guitar, circa 1960
Box
5 Matchbooks
Patches
Shopping Bags
See also Map Case Folder.
Stickers
Box
OS4, OS6-OS7 T-Shirts
Box
5 Tickets
NEW BRUNSWICK MUSIC SCENE ARCHIVE
Box
5 Ephemera, 2016
Events, 2015-2017
Box
Map Case Drawer Poster, 2018
Box
5 Press Clippings, 2015
PHOTOGRAPHS
Box
5 Photographs, 2000 and undated
SOUND RECORDINGS
12" Vinyl Records
Box
7 A Mountain of Music, Various, 1989
Compilation
Attack of the Jersey Teens, 60s Punk from the Garden State, 1984
Compilation
Grains, The, Stone Street, undated
Human Adult Band, Mugwort&Sage, undated
Human Adult Band, Hearing Damage Sessions, undated
mOck, m()ck, 2011
Real Good, A Boy Named Good, undated
Smersh, AIP, 1989
Will to Live, Pagan Songs, undated
Wooden Soldiers, Test Pressing, undated
Wooden Soldiers, (hippes, punks, and rubber men), 1987
2 copies
Unknown, undated
Acetate Discs
Box
7 171, Your Fool & Late Last Fall, undated
Single Press
Blases, The, The Blases, undated
Single Press
Bob Florzak, EP, 1979
Single Press
Capital One, Single: Can You Believe, 1984
Single Press
Deal!, The, Headin For A Breakdown, 1983
Single Press
Detention, EP, undated
Single Press
Eve, The, The Eve, undated
Single Press
Gett Sett, EP, 1985
Single Press
Gett Sett, Just For Fun & Falling Apart, 1984
Single Press
Gett Sett, Between Us & Without Care, 1985
Single Press
Last Change, Take Me Away, 1985
Singe Press
Lawn Darts, Western World & Skin and Bones, undated
Single Press
Louie Louie, Spinnin Round & Love Isn't Pretty, undated
Single Press
Marbles, The, EP, 1984-85
Single Press
Nordica Repliquet, Nightmare Serenade & Crying, 1985
Single Press, 2 copies
Rich Henry Band, The, I Love My Boat, 1985
Single Press
Weevils, The, Space Girl & Whats Your Girlfriends Name, undated
Single Press
7" Vinyl Records
Box
8 Anderson Council, The, Don’t You Think? & Love Bomb, 2008
Single Press
Aviso'hara, Me-n-Danai & Pretty Low Guy, 1996
Single Press
Billy Crosby's/ Meowch, Split, 1995
4 copies, all different
Blisters, The, Storch, 1997
Boss Jim Gettys/ Stuntcocks, Diseased & She Gets All Her Pets High, 1997
Single Press
Bouncing Souls & Weston, [Untitled], undated
Single Press
Bubble Gum Thunder, Coward & Cheater, 1994
Single Press, 2 copies
Butthead, Volume, 1992
Single Press, additional sleeve.
Buzzkill, Meat is Dinner, 1996
Single Press
cuppa joe, busy work EP, 1993
Dandelion Fire, Dandelion Fire EP, 1993
Missing disc,
Da-Works, Da-Works, undated
Drag Pack, Johnny's Last Race & We Sell Soul, 1997
Single Press
Drag Pack/Smoke In Sunshine, My Wild Zero & Slo-Motion Rider, undated
Single Press. No record, just sleeve.
Dullset, Forget You First & Counting to One, 1986
Single Press
Duochrome, King Of Pop, 1994
2 copies
Duochrome, Neon Ground Effects, 1994
2 copies
Duochrome/ Electro-Lux, 20 Goto 10 & Technology, 1997
Single Press. 2 copies
Duochrome/My Dad Is Dead, My Life As A Dumb Terminal & The Memory of Your Kiss, 1999
Single Press
Duochrome/yellow no. 5, Split, 1994
2 copies
Ex-Vegas, Hydrostatic Trepid, 1994
2 copies
Fishermen's Stew, Small Life, Hollow Roads and Fairy Tales & Fine, 1992
Single Press
Fishermen's Stew, Tear Down the Fences, Sunken Ferry, Cheap, 1993
Gerrymander Bob, OOPH!, 1992
Gett Sett, EP, 1985
Single Press
Greyhouse, Revolution By Numbers, 1991
A Halo Called Fred, Body Parts and Flying Things, 1995
Single Press
Halogen, Wandering with Gato & Heartbeat, undated
Single Press
Headstrong, Headstrong, 1992
Hope, Star, & Browning/Sparks Fly From a Kiss, We'll Make It Somehow & I Cant Sleep, 2002
Single Press
Human Adult Band, Samantha, undated
Single with Poem Reading
Longest Summer of All Time, Monday or Tuesday & Denmark, 1995
2 demos, 2 releases--4 copies
Loose, Come through Gently & Stolen Fire, 1991
Single Press
mOck/rapid cities, Split, undated
Most Underrated Spice, The, Fennel, undated
2 copies
Mr. Thumb, This Time It's Gonna Fucking Hurt, 1991
prosolar mechanics, X Marks the Spot & Impact, 1997
Single Press
Search and Annoy, Volume 1, 1991
Compilation
Slow Children Playing, August 3, 1973 & Put Me In Your Motion, 1994
Single Press
Toofless, toofless, undated
2 copies
Transilvia, Screaming in The Basement Strapped to a Leather Spiderweb, 1991
3 copies -- 2 different colors
Worthless, The Revenge of Dr. Stanley, 1997
Bouncing Souls & Weston, [Unititled], undated
Single Press
Cassettes
Box
9 Ars Nova, Turning the Tide, 1993
Bionic Rhoda, Look it All this Posse I got, 1997
A Halo Called Fred, Chester's Dozen, 1993
A Halo Called Fred, untitled, 1993
A Halo Called Fred, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1996
Loved Ones, The, Fifteen Minutes With the Loved Ones, 1996
Rapid Cities, Peripheries, 2010
Shrubs, Somebody's Watching, 1996
Stampede, Stampede, 1996
Stuntcocks, The, The Stuntcocks, 1996
Various, New Brunswick Underground at the Budapest Cocktail Lounge, 1997
Compilation -- 2 copies
Various, How will we cross the seas, undated
Compilation
WakeOloo, Live At Budapest Cocktail Longue, 1997
Weeping Cysts, The, undated
Compact Discs
Box
10 A Halo Called Fred, NITMFOI, 1998
Anderson Council, The, The Fall Parade, 2006
Anderson Council, The, Listening Party!, 2015
Anderson Council, The, Looking at the Stars, 2012
Awake Asleep, Going Through The Notions, 2000
Aviso'Hara, Made From Scratch, 2000
Bald Red Lady, Dead For A While, 1993
Bionic Rhoda, Bionic Rhoda, 1997
Buzzkill, I feel like myself again, 1994
Buzzkill, UP, 1996
Buzzkill, House of Bad Touch, 1999
Dandelion Fire, Dandelion Fire, 1992
Dinosaur Eyelids, Left Turn on Red, 2017
Duochrome, Tactical Knives, 1999
Duochrome, ADIDAS, 1998
Firsst Fest, 2016
Compilation.
Fletchers, The, Reset the Dial, 2014
2 copies
Fletchers, The, Lights Out Loud, 2010
Fletchers, The, Bright Blue Lights, 2008
Fletchers, The, Heroes of Gravity, 2011
Ghost Camp, Tamal, 2015
Kiaro Skuro, Realtime, 1992
Love Gas, 1998
No disc or jewel case; booklet only.
Lumous, b. authorization, 1997
Margie Rylatt, Looking for Love, 1991
Milkmen, Milkmen, undated
Mohawk Barbie, N/A, undated
Nepenthe, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, 1997
Planet You, The, The Planet You, 2015
Prosolar Mechanics, Turn On, 1999
Rapid Cities, Machinery Saints, 2009
Robin Renee, Spirit. Rocks. Sexy, 2009
Rocky Catanese and the Chapter, Sun Goes Down, 2015
Secret Photos, Layers, 2014
Seething Grey, MirrorComputerChair, 1998
Seething Grey, Louver, 1997
Sounds of Greg D, my little monkey got caught, 2006
Speedsters and Dopers, 9 oclock in the afternoon, 2003
Spiral Jetty, Band of Gold, 1993
Spiraling, Challenging Stage, 2004
Trinitron, A Quiet Echo, 2010
Various, Parachute Pants: Songs of the 80s by bands of the 90s, 1999
Compilation
Various, Thorazine Stretch Factor, 1991
Compilation
Various, Kitra Volume 1, 1996
Compilation
Various, Kitra Volume 2, 1997
Compilation
Various, Kitra Volume 3, 2001
Compilation
Various, Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares, 2002
Compilation
Various, Artist Amplification, 2001
Compilation/ 4 copies
Various, Friends With Benefits, 2010
Compilation
Vending Machine, The Chamber From Here to There, 2000
Wooden Soldiers, The, Lazy Man's Load, 1989
Young Spines, Young Spines, 2015
Tape Cartridges
Box
10 Dandelion Fire, The, Seasons, 1990
Frozen Grin, Obsession XXX: ends cold, 1988
Frozen Grin/XXX, Cliche Love Song/Ends Cold, 1989
Jet Boy/Jet Girl, 1988
Phantoms, Dancing in the Rain, 1988
Wild Kisses, Tear Up the Night, 1989