What does Steven Tyler have to do with a band from New Jersey? Well, everything, it seems, according to today’s Band of the Day!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Well, we are the Slumlords of New Jersey! It’s all in the title of our next EP.
How did you meet?
David Cardenas, our guitarist, and Steve Cardenas, our drummer, are brothers. So, they met at a very young age. Nick Hade, our singer, was in another local band who opened for Rahway one night at a local Jersey bar. He was impressed with the band as much as the band was impressed with him and a week later, he ed. I, too, played in another local Jersey band who played many shows with Rahway. One day, I was delivering Chinese food and it happened to be at the Rahway rehearsal space, and at the time, they needed a bass player. They never let me leave.
How long have you been playing as a band?
The band has been around for as long as the Cardenas brothers have been playing. Let’s just say they were friends with McCartney and Lennon. I’ve only been in the band for about five years.
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Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Okay, so this is a true story and it’s pretty cool, so we never get sick of telling it. As legend goes, the band, known as Sun at the time, was working with producer Jack Douglas, who was also working with rock heroes Aerosmith at the same time. Jack Douglas happened to play a Sun song when Steve Tyler walked in. Mr. Tyler asked who the band was and when Jack told him it was a band called Sun, Steven told him that the band’s name was terrible. He asked where the band was from, and Jack told him that they were from Rahway, New Jersey. Steven Tyler asked why the band didn’t just call themselves Rahway? And the name just stuck ever since.
What are your influences?
My influences are Nikki Sixx, Rex Brown, Rachel Bolan, Gene Simmons, Duff McKagan, Jeff Ament, Sebastian Bach, Michael Corleone, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Triple H, Tom Byron and Peter North. As a band, we’re influenced by bands like Mötley Crüe, Led Zeppelin, Guns N’ Roses, Godsmack, Shinedown, Aerosmith, Kiss, and Soundgarden.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our music is just raw, unprocessed rock ‘n’ roll with catchy and classy hooks that you will not be able to get out of your head for days. That’s something you can’t find on the radio these days. Everything sounds the same and is over processed.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Sex, drama, and rock ‘n’ roll! No drugs since none of us do any! Marijuana is not considered a drug anymore, right? Especially, if you eat it, right?
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Our live show is like dynamite. You light the fuse, and get the full explosion on stage. We’re four scumbags on a stage that gives you the most entertaining 30-60 minutes of raw rock ‘n’ roll that money can buy. How many shows have we played? Way too many to count!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I’m guessing you’ve never seen our drummer’s kick drum? No, seriously, he might have the longest kick drum I’ve ever seen! Yes! I’m really talking about his kick drum! I swear!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I play a Gibson Blackbird through an SWR Goliath stack with a Line 6 Bass Pod for effects. I also play a Fender Jazz bass when the feeling strikes.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We are currently promoting our new EP, Slumlords of NJ, and our new music video for our new single “Stone.” We’re also still promoting our music video for “Sugar,” which was our quarantining hit with all of our music friends and fans lip syncing the chorus.
What are your plans for 2020?
Our plans for the rest of 2020 is to beat this COVID-19 monster, get back in the studio to rehearse and get out there to play some live shows to promote Slumlords of NJ. We are dying to play live again.
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If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We would love to Mötley Crüe with Greta Van Fleet opening for us! We actually opened a sold-out show for Greta Van Fleet in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Those are some good kids right there. When our set was done, we walked ed their dressing room and they gave us a standing ovation. That was classy!
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