Ten years ago DJ Ken Dashow said it would be four guys with guitars screaming into a microphone playing as loud at they could trying to be a rock band. But look at this, Dashow, who works at Q104.3 said as Quincy Mumford and the Reasons why left the stage at Rock the River in Red Bank Saturday, horns.
The musicianship is really coming back, he said. A Hammond Organ, a horn section, all here in Red Bank during KaBoomFest.
The local bands are really mixing it up he mused. They are “getting back to the musicianship, this is where somebody’s going to break out,” he finished.
Find out what's happening in Red Bank-Shrewsburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Showcasing the eclectic mix of instruments and sound characteristic of Jersey Shore music, the Matt O’Ree Band and Quincy Mumford and the Reason Why Rocked the Navesink on a warm July night.
Playing with an intensity that builds on the foundations of Jersey rock, the two bands play very different styles, but use classic elements to weave a web of sound that comes straight out of the soft summer nights of the New Jersey coast.
Find out what's happening in Red Bank-Shrewsburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Erick Safka ripped the night open with his Hammond B-3, a perfect complement to Matt O’Ree’s fiery vocals and blazing guitar. Safka, who has been playing for about 14 years fell in love with the Hammond at his first Phish concert as a teenager. With no musical background, he was able to eventually buy a cheap Hammond organ and just start playing.
“I hated all music,” Safka said. “Pretty much just started playing.
“I got into a lot of bands, not because I was good, but because I had (the organ)."
The band’s lead, Matt O’Ree, is an accomplished blues-rock guitarist
who not only won four awards at Asbury Park’s famed Stone Pony, but who has played with legendary musicians such as Buddy Guy and Buddy Miles.
O’Ree grew up in Holmdel and tours all over the country. On Wednesday they are leaving for a tour out to Nashville and back and will play in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
O’Ree said they love playing Red Bank and usually do a gig once a month at Jamian’s. An upcoming record release will be released on vinyl, truly bringing O’Ree back full-circle to his blues-rock roots and early influences like Hendrix, Neil Young and Zeppelin.
Playing with a pop-soul-funk style, Quincy Munford and The Reason Why took the stage and transformed the night into a bouncy soulful affair with an infectious mix of reggae, pop, soul and funk.
Playing mostly original tunes, you can detect a hint of Southside Johnny in many of Mumford’s tunes with horns.
Talking about his horn section, Quincy Mumford said that their “last record had a few horns in it and we decided we needed them at the CD release party.”
“We liked it so much and had so much fun we decided to put a section in permanently," he added.
Mumford loves playing Red Bank and the local venues and headlines “Feel Good Thursday’s” every summer Thursday at Jamian’s.
