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OPENS 10-NIGHT STAND AT GIANTS STADIUM IN NEW JERSEY A SoundPress.net Feature Article by Rich and Laura Lynch From the very first notes the historic 7-piece band from Asbury Park, New Jersey had the crowd moving and shaking at Giants Stadium. No, not THAT band — we're talking about Boccigalupe and the Badboys, whose musicians have been playing the Jersey-shore scene for as long as some of the state's more famous musical exports, and who had the privilege of opening Bruce Springsteen's 10-night stand with an energetic and impressive two-set performance at the carnival and boardwalk set up in the Meadowlands parking lot.
 Boccigalupe and the Badboys' Tony Amato Looms Large at Giants Stadium. The band kicked the night off with 'Movin' On Down The Line' from their debut CD It's My Turn Now and both sets of the evening contained renditions of the title track, a song about pioneering the Asbury Park music scene in the early 1970's. The band's founder, leader and lively keyboard player Boccigalupe, who received his nickname from Bruce Springsteen personally, explains: "We started in late '69 and 1970, I was like thirteen-years old sneaking in to The Upstage. We jammed with Bruce then. Then the Pony came into the picture. We had the band 'Cahoots' and during that time Bruce had a couple of years downtime, when he wasn't recording, we we're just hanging together, and every Sunday night, and this was before 'Cats on a Smooth Surface', he would be there. On Friday, on the weekends, he'd be jamming with us all the time, jamming with 'The Shakes', jamming with 'Southside'. In reality, the Pony turned into a much larger Upstage for us."
 Hey!!! What's Bocci, John Luraschi on bass and Billy Walton on guitar, looking at???
 oh... they're checking out sax-player Al Weber on double duty. Highlighting the evening's sets were the talents of guitarist Billy Walton and the Badboy's horn section who stormed through solid originals 'Hot Blues,' 'She's Evil' and rocking covers 'Mustang Sally', 'On the Dark Side', and the 'Devil with the Blue Dress Medley'. A rendition of 'Until the Good Is Gone', one of two covers by Little Steven which appeared on the band's first record, was also well received. At one point in the second set Boccigalupe told the fans to be on the look-out for the Badboy's follow-up CD, which they recently began recording.
Of the new CD, Bocci says, "The direction may open up a little bit, but it's really hard for us to get away from that Asbury sound... we are who we are... we were there... each band member that was connected with the Upstage in the early Stone Pony era is rooted in that sound. The way the band sounds is who we are."
"A couple of people have knocked me through the years for saying that there really is not an Asbury sound," Bocci said in further explaining the music the Jersey-shore seaside town became famous for. "You know, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band do not sound like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. They don't sound alike, they're different. You got horns and the blues with Southside where Bruce has got the rock and one horn."
"Basically, the sound is a chemistry of the way that we all grew up in that social era. That chemistry is what made the sound of Asbury Park. It's the chemistry and energy that we put forth that made the sound," Bocci said in describing the vibe that still permeates through the music of Boccigalupe and the Badboys today. "Don't forget, while the world was playing disco, we we're playing rock and roll... everything runs backwards in Asbury."
 Billy Walton wowed the crowd all night with his scorching guitar licks. We asked if the new CD would contain additional songs first recorded by Little Steven, the long-time E Street Band guitarist, now a nationally known radio host who has become more famous for his role portraying Sylvio Dante on HBO's hit series, The Sopranos. "He's got a bunch of stuff to pick from, so maybe. I don't know if we're going to try and do something off of the new album, I'm thinking 'Face of God'," Bocci said, referring to a track off of Little Steven's 1999 release, Born Again Savage, which marked a departure from his R&B/soul/rock style to more of a traditional power-trio rock combo in the style of bands like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. "We'll put it into our style with some keyboards, and some horns on it. He did it as a three-piece and I'll try to put a little different flavor on that, we haven't tried it yet, but, it's in my mind," Bocci said describing the approach the band may take in recording the song. Continuing the thought on Little Steven Bocci said, "I think that last album that Steve did was the most phenomenal work that he's ever put out in that it was so opposite of what people would expect from him."
 Special guests Joe D'Urso and Danny White took the stage for Johnny B. Goode. More musical friends joined Bocci onstage during the Giants Stadium show when Danny White and Joe D'Urso made an appearance to join the band on the rock classic, 'Johnny B. Goode'. All three of these artists are prominently featured in a new book, 'Beyond the Palace' by Gary Wien, a chronicle of places, bands and artists who had a part in developing the Asbury Park scene and sound. They were on hand to promote their triple-headlining gig at the Stone Pony on the following evening which was sponsored, in part, by a Boss-related fansite. "The fan club from England, Badlands, offers field trips to go to Bruce concerts. This was their first field trip from England to go to Giants Stadium on opening night. So, basically, on the night off we put a show together of bands they were interested in seeing. That was a nice show," Amato said in describing the club gig at the Pony, the recently-sold night-club which has been a point of controversey in the city's waterfront redevelopment plans. He continued, "It was a great night, great music. Danny White sounded fantastic. Joe D'Urso was great. Joe and Danny and both bands jumped back onstage at the end of the night during Johnny B. Goode," reprising the song from the Giants Stadium show, this time with more than a dozen performers on stage at the same time.
 The Badboys Horn Section: Saxophone - Al Weber, Ron Lankone - Trumpet, Pete Maurer - Trombone. "It was pretty good, it was pretty good, it was great. We have done big shows like that but that was sort of special for this band," Bocci said when asked about the experience of opening up Springsteen's record-breaking 10-date run at the Meadowlands entertainment complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. "Don't forget, the bass-player and myself basically grew up with Bruce so it was a great way to welcome him home. I thought the whole event outside was pretty great." Fans can also catch Boccigalupe in a new local band that is paying tribute to some of Springsteen's most-rocking and least-known material. The band 'Steel Mill Retro' features original E Street drummer Vinny Lopez on drums and Boccigalupe on keyboards, and they have been playing extended jams that defined Springsteen's "guitar days" including songs like 'Wind & The Rain', 'He's Guilty (The Judge Song)', 'TK88' and 'Come On'. The sets at Giants Stadium were just one stop in a busy summer of touring and Bocci was scheduled to return to the Meadowlands Racetrack on July 26th to perform again before the Springsteen show as part of the eliminations for the 78th Hambletonian race-day activities. With all the attention on Asbury Park brought about by the new book, Springsteen's interest, and the imminent water-front redevelopment, it's a sure bet that Boccigalupe and The Badboys will continue "Movin' On Down the Line" for a long time to come. Related Links: For more information on Boccigalupe and The Badboys and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- Boccigalupe | Danny White | Joe D'Urso | Little Steven
 (Originally Published on July 16, 2003) |
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