Chorus and Verse's first anniversary is approaching. This November we'll mark off a year as an online music mag.

A pretty successful year it's been as we now are approaching close to 200 people visiting C & V each day, with totals growing every month. While Matt (Mrowicki, C & V's Publisher) and myself started this to cover the NJ band and bar scene, we now look to expand our coverage all around the world and into the mainstream. Of course, we'll keep our coverage of Garden State music going!

Anyway, just went out to the Saint (Asbury Park) last Friday, September 27, to see Slowdrown and Dragpipe. Latshaw was on the bill, but they couldn't play the show. I am yet to find out why as of now. Lethal Aggression also played the bill.

If you go to the Bands page, you'll see that C & V was a big supporter of Slowdrown, with its past line-up. Singer Dan Caputo and drummer Chris O'Brien have since left the band, but their replacements are taking over solidly.

The best part is, Slowdrown hasn't revamped its sound.

Sonically, it's raspy and heavy when need be, but can be melodic and picturesque as well. The three remaining members George Pond (bass), Adam Taylor (rhythm guitar/vocals) and Eddie Heedles (lead guitar), if anything, have gained more chemistry since the break-up, instead of loosing it. With important parts of the band changed, Slowdrown has built on its strengths and covered new ground, rather than re-tool its former sound.

Heedles' tasteful effects-laden licks have become more a part of the sound, while Pond seems to be adding some jazz/fusion influence to Slowdrown. All in all, the band is stamping a signature sound, which will make them one to watch out for.

Since this is a band whose future may have an exciting outcome, C & V will follow them as much as we can. Look for an upcoming article about its new members Rick Vazquez (vocals) and Ed Allen (drums), formerly of Stem, in the weeks to come.

The band will soon record with Eric Rachel of Trax East, South River, NJ with a CD release to come in December, Pond said. The Misfits, Patti Smith Group and Skid Row are clients there.

Dragpipe (Interscope Records) had the crowd's heads moving and bodies moshing. Another band with consistent stage chemistry, the Union City, NJ band made a name for itself in the New York scene and has toured with Filter and Sevendust.

Singer Jai Diablo led the adrenaline rush, while his band mates put forth a powerful effort. The band's debut release Music for the Last Day of Your Life, has just been released. It contains some spine-thrusting, bone-clenching metal over a raw rock base. The live show was a burst from studio constraints, but maintained a true representation of the upcoming release.

All in all, it was a good night. The Saint did an excellent job handling the sound, bringing the music to the audience in a clear fashion. This made it all the more enjoyable taking in what each musician had to offer. When bands like these come to the club, the spirit of raw rock in Asbury goes unmatched.

In September, C & V got in touch with a couple of musicians traveling to other parts of the world to craftily develop their own music careers. Chris Grenda, a/k/a Mr. G, recently e-mailed me to tell me he is in South Carolina working on advancing his knowledge of the music biz and furthering his career. Matt interviewed Erik Balkey, who gave him some interesting insight on what it takes to be a self-sufficient songwriter. These are two articles that we hope our musician readers will learn from. If there are any musicians with similar stories to share, please let us know.

Our newest writer, Vinnie Apicella, dug up some retro rock 'n' roll last month, with articles on Warrant and The Knack. In the future you will be reading about some newer cover bands from our Cover Scene Contributor, Natasha McGrath, so be sure to look for that. Another of our writers, Dave Tomar, continues to provide us with a look at local music's more avant-garde side and had provided us with some avant-garde work of his own in an excerpt from his book Easily Amused. We plan to post some book sections from other authors soon as well.

Oh yeah, September's features were a straightforward, truthful interview with Planet Janet and a hilarious one with Clever Hans. Coming next month, our first October feature will be Cryptkeeper 5.

If you have any questions or comments about C & V, or gardening tips (huh?), feel free to reach me at editor@chorusandverse.com or go to our Contacts page and hit up Matt or Natasha.

Wait, did I say gardening tips?

Uh, see ya.