In the mid seventies, being a teenager consisted of hanging out with your friends, attempting to date girls, partying and listening to music. Bell-bottoms were in, Elvis was still in the building and being "politically incorrect" meant you supported the wrong party.

I graduated from Cranford High School in 1977. The drinking age was eighteen, which meant access to bar bands was only two months away. The club scene in New Jersey was at its peak for live music. The Aquarian Weekly was my bible back then. A typical week that summer would include a trip to the Capitol Theatre, the Garden State Arts Center, Convention Hall in Asbury Park, the Colonel's Garter, the Forest Lodge, the Arrow Lounge or Royal Manor North. My friends and I would usually end the night at Demsey's Pub in Linden, which closed at 3:00 am Thursday thru Saturday. Life was good.

NewJerseyRock.Com is a photo tribute to the bands, the concert halls, clubs and people from the mid seventies to today. I shot all the photos on this site. Concert photography has been a passion of mine since I took my first crappy photos of Black Sabbath in 1975 with a Kodak Instamatic. I continue to shoot bands where cameras are permitted, usually in smaller clubs or outdoor festivals. My current tastes remain with some of the old time rockers as well as jazz and contemporary folk.

This site will be updated with new photos now and then along with my thoughts and anything else I can do to keep it interesting. Your comments and requests are welcome. My thanks to John Scher for bringing the bands to New Jersey and Minolta for helping me capture the moments. A special thanks to WFUV 90.7 FM (Fordham University in the Bronx), for remembering our roots and sharing with us a new generation of talented artists.

Enjoy,

Kevin R. Papa
January 2002
Email: keswah@comcast.net