Bayonne’s music scene is thriving in basements, garages, and loft spaces as the town’s increasingly colorful landscape of hip spots blends with our quirky old-school family businesses. The upshot? More and more artistic types are calling Bayonne home.
Take Rye Coalition, a band that pioneered the emo sound in the early ’90s. It was recently featured in an award-winning documentary, “Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck Five.” Four of the five original members are Bayonne residents who are active musicians here in town.
The movie, which won best documentary at The New Jersey International Film Festival and best music documentary at the Kingston Film Festival, is filmmaker Jenni Matz’s directorial debut. It tells the story of a rock band that was on the brink of making it big. They went from recording their own music on cassette tapes in the early ’90s to signing with DreamWorks in 2003, with Hudson County as their home base all the while.
The film opens with a shot of the group driving down Broadway in Bayonne on the way to the home of bassist Justin Morey. The full-length movie goes on to feature interviews with rock royalty, including Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, who took the band under his wing by producing their album and taking them on tour as an opening act.
Plenty of scenes will thrill locals with recognizable backdrops, including the Bayonne Bridge, the Broadway Diner, and Country Village. A screening was held on Oct. 12 at The New Jersey International Film Festival’s “Best of Festival.”
The “Hard Luck” part of the story is that Rye Coalition never achieved rock-star status or accumulated piles of cash. Despite legions of loyal fans and touring with famous acts like Queens of the Stone Age, Rye is not widely known. But this lack of recognition never stopped them from playing, because they do it for the love of music.
The movie shows the band members’ dedication and deep friendship, unspooling an underdog story that resonates even with folks who are not hard-rock music fans.
“I think it appeals to anyone who’s been in a band or aspires to be in a band, because it gives an inside look at the realities and hardships of that life,” Matz says. “It also speaks to any artist, or anyone who appreciates what dedication and love for a creative outlet can entail in terms of sacrifice, with or without a monetary payoff.”
Rye Not
Rye Coalition still plays together occasionally, but the members have many other projects.
Morey went on to start a band called The Black Hollies, who have had their songs featured in TV commercials and on shows like Ugly Betty and Vampire Diaries. He is currently half of rock duo Sunshine & the Rain, which he started with his wife Ashley Morey, who played bass in The Black Hollies. They are booked to play music festival SXSW in 2015.
Ashley Morey describes their sound as a combination of “the rawness of garage punk with psychedelia.”
Justin Morey plays guitar, synthesizer, electronic organ, and tape loops for the duo and contributes vocals. He also has a solo project called Lanoka Harbor, and makes chocolates at town favorite Al Richard’s. It’s a job that he’s held between tours since the late ’90s.
Originally from Jersey City, Morey met drummer Dave Leto (see story p. X) in the seventh grade at Our Lady of Mercy elementary school; they started playing music together soon after. Rye Coalition vocalist Ralph Cuseglio and guitarist Herbert Wiley grew up in Bayonne. The Leto family moved to Bayonne as well. Guitarist Jon Gonnelli from nearby Secaucus is the only band member who doesn’t live in Bayonne. His stepfather is Secaucus mayor Michael Gonnelli.
At Home in Bayonne
Justin Morey says that living in Bayonne is great because it is close to Jersey City and New York City, where a lot of the band’s gigs are.
“It’s nice to be part of a community that’s not already oversaturated with hip spots, but has just one or two where likeminded people can come together and have a great time,” adds Ashley.
Justin thinks that supporting independent shops over corporate stores will make Bayonne even stronger. He’s a fan of the bar Lot 13, which features local bands. “Lot 13, combined with old-school establishments like Al Richard’s, Churchill’s, Hendrickson’s, and San Vito, to name a few, restore my faith that the future of Bayonne may progress in the right direction,” he says.
Beyond the laidback vibe and urban amenities, it doesn’t hurt that you get more for your money in Bayonne.
“There are some great homes with a lot of character,” says Dave Leto. “We wanted a yard, a driveway, and a basement. That is not going to happen in New York.”
Gregg Leto, Dave’s brother, who played drums for Rye Coalition after Morey left the band to concentrate on The Black Hollies, agrees. “We lived here as renters for quite a while, allowing us to save money to finally buy an old row house that dates back to 1885,” he says. “Condos in Jersey City that we were looking at cost as much as a whole house in Bayonne, so the decision was simple.” In a condo, he would never have been able to set up a makeshift recording studio in the basement.
Salon Sessions
If you’ve ever passed the hair salon A Cut Above on Broadway late at night you might have been lucky enough to hear a practice session of Cold Fur or Life Eaters. The Leto brothers play drums for both bands, which rehearse amid the hooded hair dryers and containers of blue Barbicide.
Gregg Leto’s band, Life Eaters, has a debut LP set to release on Killing Horse Records this fall. The band has been compared to The Stooges and Thin Lizzy. They play high-energy rock and roll with a dose of punk.
Cold Fur, which includes former Rye Coalition singer Cuseglio on vocals, combines elements of metal, punk, and rock and roll.
Among Dave Leto’s favorite Bayonne bands are punk pioneers such as Blondie, because Blondie band member Clem Burke is from Bayonne.
Leto says that plenty of modern-day music moments are being made in Bayonne: “My favorite recent memory was being at Lot 13 watching Murphy’s Law play Black Flag songs with Dez Cadena on vocals, in front of like 40 people 10 blocks from my house.”
“I am psyched that there are young kids who are into music in Bayonne,” he says. “Seeing these kids walking around in Misfits shirts and classic rock tees, it’s cool that they are into learning to play an actual instrument.”
Bayonne’s music future looks bright. “My four-year-old son, Jude, writes his own songs and is an avid beat boxer,” says Gregg Leto. “He loves Life Eaters and sings to every song on the album. He’s obsessed with music.”—BLP
Resources
The Documentary:
upcoming screenings at ryecoalitionthemovie.com/screenings
Sunshine and the Rain
facebook.com/pages/Sunshine-the-Rain
instagram.com/sunshineandtherainband
twitter.com/svnshineandrain
Life Eaters
Cold Fur
facebook.com/coldfur
coldfur.bandcamp.com