Coolest New Wave places in NJ -- early 1980s
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 5:15 amHi, I'm new to the board and in a nostalgic mood.
1. Aldo's Hideaway, Lyndhurst -- Definitely the place to go on a Friday or Saturday night. On Friday night, Bruce was the DJ and he played more funk, while Saturday night Brian was the DJ and he was more into Bowie and Japan. Nevertheless, both nights were always jam-packed. Most of my record collection came as a result of asking Bruce or Brian what they were playing.
2. Looney Tunes Record Store, Wayne -- This place was really fun to hang out in, especially if you were underage and new to the whole new wave/punk scene. After the store closed, the owners would let some of us kids hang around and watch Divine films. They also had in-store autograph sessions, bands like Blotto (remember "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard"?), The Plasmatics, The Ramones, The Rattlers, and DJs like WNEW-FM's Vin Scelsa.
3. Hitsville, Passaic -- The best club for live music and since it was local, a lot of the Aldo's regulars would go there. There I saw bands like Billy Idol, Sick Fucks, Johnny Thunders ... always bigger names.
4. The Dirt Club, Bloomfield -- A smaller club for the lesser known new wave bands.
5. The Capital Theatre, Passaic -- Once new wave started getting big, you can see the best of it here. This was before the days of overpriced tickets and scalping, so I got to see bands like Gary Numan, Psychedelic Furs, The Police, The Pretenders, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, The Clash, B-52s, Culture Club, Pat Benatar, all in the first 10 rows.
6. Two-Tone, Passaic -- Excellent new wave clothing store: skinny satin ties, big earrings, band t-shirts. Lots of buttons too, which were big in those days. Conviently located across the street from the Capital Theatre.
7. Harmony Hut, Willowbrook Mall, Wayne -- Even record stores in the malls were cool back then. I remember buying 45 rpm records by lesser known bands like The Fast and Candy Apple in Harmony Hut.
8. The Meadowbrook, Cedar Grove -- This place was classic, and huge. I only made it there a few times.
9. One Step Beyond, Little Falls -- Even though this place was in my own town I never made it there because I was too young. But they had the coolest ads in the Aquarian/Arts weekly and I always wished I could go there. I remember seeing an ad for a Blondie cover band and a band called Thor that I saw on the Uncle Floyd Show. But they didn't have "all-ages" shows back then.
10. The Tick-Tock Diner, Clifton -- We thought it was cool to eat here because we heard Uncle Floyd liked to eat here. This was one of our stops after Aldo's. Or if our fake IDs failed us, we'd always say, "Screw it, let's eat" and head over to the Tick-Tock Diner. One of the few places you could go dressed new wave or punk in New Jersey and not be stared at too much.
11. Seaside Heights -- Punk and new wave were big down the shore in the early 1980s for some reason. I was too young to hit the clubs down there but always did a lot of chatting with fellow new wavers on the boardwalk. I miss the way it was in those days. People would just approach you if you had a Clash shirt on and start talking excitedly about music. This all changed when goth started getting big in the later 1980s, when it seemed to be more about fashion and less about the music. People seemed to want to "out-goth" each other and suddenly turned unfriendly. If you didn't look harsh enough, you couldn't possibly know anything about music (note sarcasm). Even in NYC people were so friendly in the bathrooms of the Peppermint Lounge, the Ritz, the Mudd Club, as if you were friends for life. If you had music as a common ground, that's all it took. Not anymore. (And I'm not the only one who says this, my older NYC friends agree).
12. Hole in the Wall, Rochelle Park -- This club was so small and it was so easy to get to the front of the stage here. I remember a really good local band called The Nines. Also saw Joan Jett, the Ramones and the Plasmatics here.
1. Aldo's Hideaway, Lyndhurst -- Definitely the place to go on a Friday or Saturday night. On Friday night, Bruce was the DJ and he played more funk, while Saturday night Brian was the DJ and he was more into Bowie and Japan. Nevertheless, both nights were always jam-packed. Most of my record collection came as a result of asking Bruce or Brian what they were playing.
2. Looney Tunes Record Store, Wayne -- This place was really fun to hang out in, especially if you were underage and new to the whole new wave/punk scene. After the store closed, the owners would let some of us kids hang around and watch Divine films. They also had in-store autograph sessions, bands like Blotto (remember "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard"?), The Plasmatics, The Ramones, The Rattlers, and DJs like WNEW-FM's Vin Scelsa.
3. Hitsville, Passaic -- The best club for live music and since it was local, a lot of the Aldo's regulars would go there. There I saw bands like Billy Idol, Sick Fucks, Johnny Thunders ... always bigger names.
4. The Dirt Club, Bloomfield -- A smaller club for the lesser known new wave bands.
5. The Capital Theatre, Passaic -- Once new wave started getting big, you can see the best of it here. This was before the days of overpriced tickets and scalping, so I got to see bands like Gary Numan, Psychedelic Furs, The Police, The Pretenders, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, The Clash, B-52s, Culture Club, Pat Benatar, all in the first 10 rows.
6. Two-Tone, Passaic -- Excellent new wave clothing store: skinny satin ties, big earrings, band t-shirts. Lots of buttons too, which were big in those days. Conviently located across the street from the Capital Theatre.
7. Harmony Hut, Willowbrook Mall, Wayne -- Even record stores in the malls were cool back then. I remember buying 45 rpm records by lesser known bands like The Fast and Candy Apple in Harmony Hut.
8. The Meadowbrook, Cedar Grove -- This place was classic, and huge. I only made it there a few times.
9. One Step Beyond, Little Falls -- Even though this place was in my own town I never made it there because I was too young. But they had the coolest ads in the Aquarian/Arts weekly and I always wished I could go there. I remember seeing an ad for a Blondie cover band and a band called Thor that I saw on the Uncle Floyd Show. But they didn't have "all-ages" shows back then.
10. The Tick-Tock Diner, Clifton -- We thought it was cool to eat here because we heard Uncle Floyd liked to eat here. This was one of our stops after Aldo's. Or if our fake IDs failed us, we'd always say, "Screw it, let's eat" and head over to the Tick-Tock Diner. One of the few places you could go dressed new wave or punk in New Jersey and not be stared at too much.
11. Seaside Heights -- Punk and new wave were big down the shore in the early 1980s for some reason. I was too young to hit the clubs down there but always did a lot of chatting with fellow new wavers on the boardwalk. I miss the way it was in those days. People would just approach you if you had a Clash shirt on and start talking excitedly about music. This all changed when goth started getting big in the later 1980s, when it seemed to be more about fashion and less about the music. People seemed to want to "out-goth" each other and suddenly turned unfriendly. If you didn't look harsh enough, you couldn't possibly know anything about music (note sarcasm). Even in NYC people were so friendly in the bathrooms of the Peppermint Lounge, the Ritz, the Mudd Club, as if you were friends for life. If you had music as a common ground, that's all it took. Not anymore. (And I'm not the only one who says this, my older NYC friends agree).
12. Hole in the Wall, Rochelle Park -- This club was so small and it was so easy to get to the front of the stage here. I remember a really good local band called The Nines. Also saw Joan Jett, the Ramones and the Plasmatics here.
