Enjoy! Rocks the Shore

If you're down the shore, and you hear a live band playing your favorite classic rock, punk or soul song drifting out of a bar's open door, pop on in; it might be Enjoy!, one of the Jersey shore's most popular cover bands.

These four childhood friends and Cranford High School alumni have been playing together in the current lineup since 2005. Brendan Brophy is the frontman, Lou Donovan plays the drums (both are CHS class of '92), Chris Soltis, CHS class of '95 is on lead guitar, and his twin brother John plays bass.

The band members bring their own tastes and styles to the set lists and shows, as evidenced by the eclectic list of bands they cover, from AC/DC to the Commodores to Phish to Weezer. The band's flexibility allows them to tailor their sets to specific venues and crowds, and drummer Donovan credits knowing its audience as a big part of the band's appeal and success.

"We know who's coming to see us and what they're looking for," he said, and added that the diversity of Enjoy's set list helps keep the music fresh for the band. "It keeps it from getting boring for us…as long as we're having fun (on stage), we're hoping everyone else is."

Though the band got started in Union County, playing the Riverside and the Crossroads in Garwood, the Jersey shore became Enjoy's adopted home. The band plays at a handful of different bars, such as Legget's in Manasquan, The Ark in Point Pleasant, and 507 Main in Belmar. And they're busy; four to seven shows in a weekend is the norm -both in the bars and private affairs like birthday parties, fundraisers and weddings- all while balancing other careers and projects. Brophy is a professional musician with a number of side projects, Donovan recently quit his day job to go back to school for a special ed teacher certification, and the Soltis brothers work in finance. Brophy and the Soltises have since relocated down the shore and Donovan commutes from Summit and crashes with a band member for the weekend.

" It's tough floating on couches," said Donovan. "I feel like I'm back in college."

Enjoy! is a band decades in the making. Brophy and Donovan have been friends since 1^st grade at Walnut Ave. School. The Soltis brothers lived a street away from Donovan and played in a band with Donovan's younger brother Dan (now in Chooch the Mighty Train). Donovan and Brophy moved to Arizona to further their musical careers, and Donovan hooked up with the Soltises and Enjoy! when he returned to New Jersey a few years later. When Enjoy's original singer left the band in 2005, Brophy moved from Arizona to become Enjoy's new frontman.

Being in a band has allowed the members to see and experience things they normally wouldn't have. Donovan cites Battery Park and the beach at Manasquan as two of his favorite places Enjoy! has played. But despite their success, the members have remained grounded.

"We just concentrate on working," said Donovan. "I don't envision myself as a rock star or anything…and we never forgot where we come from. We always like to look out into the crowd and see faces from Cranford."

Check the band's website for showtimes and contact info.