The “Glory Days” of Hoboken Music

My first article for hMag about the great live, original music history of Hoboken


My first article written for Hoboken’s hMag


Photo by Robert Wagner

Do you like my clever title? Do you get the reference? Huh, do ya? Huh?

So anyway, the bulk of the article is about the live original music scene in Hoboken and the local folks that made it happen. But you can’t write about the bar a the center of it all without mentioning Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” video. I’m pretty sure that it’s been written into NJ state law now.

Well, here’s an excerpt. Go read the whole thing at hMag.com and pick up a copy of the magazine this weekend. It’s free and available all over in Hoboken.

When Hoboken resident John Sayles directed the ‘Glory Days’ video for Bruce Springsteen at a then relatively young bar called Maxwell’s back in 1985, no one could have predicted how prophetic history would prove that day to be. By the time Bruce and his crew had stepped out of their Chevy van and into MTV annuls, the Hoboken music scene was already off to legendary status. A status that would sustain for the better part of two decades and then burn out quickly.

So, when were the Glory Days of Hoboken music? For a lot of folks, they were not that long ago. However, memories of the past can be blurred by nostalgia or corrupted by a lingering present-day bitterness. (In fact, I began to wonder if my own memories were all that clear.)

Crammed into dark spaces under low ceilings, choking on smoke and ears ringing from over-amplified sound, the object was try to find cheap beer and try to be heard. It was a trial of obstacles that bands needed to overcome. As harsh as it sounds, the conditions were really no different than those of any other musical metropolis. What made Hoboken’s scene different was the amount of venues and the unusual camaraderie among bands.

Read the rest at hMag.com…


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One Response to “The “Glory Days” of Hoboken Music”

  1. Kevin Cale
    07/27/10 at 9:55 pm #

    And what a great article it is!! Nice work!

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