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On November 7, 2009 RockEyez got witness Ted Poley and band at his “Greatestits” CD release party at The Cup in Linden, NJ. To our surprise the opening band for the evening was named MINUS JOE, who are made up of former members of the New Jersey-based band XENON… minus singer Joey Fiamingo. I guess the band ultimately got tired of waiting for Joey to get out there and sing again or just felt they wanted to go out and keep their chops in top form. I mean XENON started back in 1983 before nipple rings were obsolete!
MINUS JOE are simply a classic band with harmonies that are phenomenal and music that is played to perfection. The band play high-profile covers and their vocalist is Sarah Dunlap (formerly of THE SCREAMING VIOLETS) and she has quite a powerful range. I really didn’t want to shoot that many photos of MINUS JOE because this was the first time seeing them but I did have Stephanie and Mark shooting, so we were covered on that end. I wanted to get the full effect of the band and see if they could measure up. I really concentrated on each member and it’s kind of sad they don’t seem to play out that often because Bob Specht is such a great guitar player as is Ronny Smith as they traded off leads on METALLICA’s “Master of Puppets”. Irene Wohlman holds the bass lines in check as only a seasoned veteran can, but I can’t say enough about Dunlap, as I was drawn to here charisma. I would say the only minor problem was Tony Capobianco’s few technical problems behind the kit on this night. Otherwise, I would recommend for others to see them when they play out next. I wonder if they will try out some originals, I hope so. (Editors note: The band played another set after Ted Poley’s show and they performed the Xenon classic “Tip Of My Fingers” with Poley himself!)
Ahh, now to the main attraction… Mr. Ted Poley, and it was a last minute thing that our RockEyez staff, Mark Balogh, Stephanie and myself, were going to attend this show at all but how could we really resist? We have such a good friendship with the band members and it’s only right for us to support some kick-ass musicianship and friends. Ted, in the truest word, is a great frontman. He gives what is expected from a frontman and is a true class act on stage and off. His vocals are one of the best and most endearing in rock music and he adores his fans and treats them as friends and even extended family. His forty five-minute set this night was powerful and fun. Standing to his left on stage all night was the man Vic Rivera who does it all. (Gotta Check his work on the new LIBERTY N JUSTICE CD “Light It Up”) Vic is a truly talented guitarist, writer, producer, and much more. Stage left was good friend and bass master Doug Odell (currently also playing with cover band MAGNETIC). This guy seems to have more fun on stage than any musician I’ve seen! Always smiling away as he makes his way around the stage. Rounding out Poley’s band was guitarist Eddie Campbell (currently with THEM, a KING DIAMOND Tribute act) and behind the kit was Ed Faust.
Ted and the band did a great selection of both POLEY solo material and DANGER DANGER classics and even threw in the JOURNEY hit “Stone In Love” for good measure. All in all it was a great evening. So, if you’re looking for a great time out all I can do is say check out Ted Poley you get the best of DANGER DANGER, POLEY/RIVERA & TED POLEY solo material and a whole lotta fun! What a show!!! (Editors note: Ted Poley and band will be playing NJ again at Dingbatz (www.dingbatznj.com) in early December-so check them out!)
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