Outside the Box

OUTSIDE THE BOX – Bridge (www.outsidetheboxband.com)

Cutting straight to the stirring chase with the rousing opening song “Love is the Villain,” this Jersey Shore group rock it up somethin’ sweet with a winning surplus of raw energy, sturdy musicianship, and positively infectious go-for enthusiasm. The robust vocals holler with tremendous aplomb over a dynamic sonic onslaught of rippin’ guitars, poppin’ basslines, and constantly pushin’ ahead steamroller drums. The songs work a hot, lively, and tasty groove with always enjoyable and often exciting results, with the deliciously lowdown bluesy “I Think It’s Love” rating as a definite smokin’ highlight. The snappy tempos and bumpin’ beats rarely let up for a minute. A totally kick-ass album. - Joe Wawrzyniak - Joe Wawrzyniak

While this originally started out as a general notice for a New Years Eve show, I found the band Outside The Box to be worth discussing in further detail. Outside The Box is one of the Shoreworld’s newest contenders for reaching the “next” level. OTB is a young band with big talent and a seasoned sensibility for the live show. Big winners at this year ’s 2008 AMA awards, the group took Top Blues Band as well as Top Young Band with a crowd yelling confirmation of the loudest decibel. Yep, it’s a fact. Outside The Box is growing fast both in fan base and the vast scope of music that they create. This is a band that has turned heads quickly, all the way to the top of the head-turning heap. While playing an event for The Monmouth County Arts Council recently, Outside the Box was joined onstage by Southside and Bobby Bandiera. After the show, OTB (not the gambling place, you degenerate) was asked by them to open for Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes on New Year’s Eve 2008, at the Count Basie Theatre. Traditionally Southside has utilized old school Jersey rockers to open the show and has done so for years. Bobby and Johnny are masters at spotting upcoming talent and this wasn’t a coincidence. The group’s ability for writing interesting music and a great live show has lit them on fire within the music scene and loaded them right into the pit with some of the top names in the business. Upcoming shows are slated at the Stone Pony on Jan. 3 with the almighty Johnny Winters as well as headlining their own show there on Jan. 17, a fact that should tell you that they draw—lots. The group is also scheduled to be at Sullivan Hall in NYC on Jan. 23. While they are still young and have much to absorb, Outside the Box is in great company and on they’re way to the big time. OTB have individually played with Jimmy Vivino, (great guitarist who plays with Levon Helm) Bobby Bandiera, Jerry Gaskill (Kings X), Rich Pagano (Fab Faux, etc), as well as the shore’s own Billy Hector. The band plans to release their first album in early 2009. The group consists of Jeff Cafone (guitar, vocals), Mark Masefield (Hammond B3 organ, Rhodes, piano), Warren Thieleman (bass guitar), and Francis Valentino (drums). To get Count Basie info, go to: Count Basie Theatre.org to talk directly to the band go to myspace.com/outsidethebox.


- John Pfeiffer

Outside the Box already enjoys a well-earned reputation as one of the best young bands in Asbury Park’s fecund music scene. But when the band was asked to do its third summer residency — a series of Wednesday night shows — at the Stone Pony, singer-guitarist Jeff Cafone wanted to give the band’s fans something special.

“We felt like if we were going to do this again, we had to kick it up a notch somehow,” he said, speaking before the band’s show on Wednesday. “So we decided to pay tribute to some of the artists that helped us become who we are today.”

This Wednesday, the talented quartet will perform Bob Dylan’s groundbreaking “Blonde On Blonde” in its entirety. For the first night of this series on June 1, the spotlight was on Elvis Costello’s debut album, “My Aim Is True,” with guest vocals from longtime supporter John “Southside Johnny” Lyon. And this past week, the band delighted an audience of mostly teenage fans (and a smattering of parents) with its rendition of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1979 classic “Damn the Torpedoes,” sandwiched between short sets of originals.

Cafone and keyboardist Mark Masefield formed Outside the Box in 2004, when they were still in high school; the initial version of the band provided a youthful take on classic blues. Over the years, the rhythm section has changed a few times — bassist Ryan Wheeler and drummer Francis Valentino anchor the current lineup — and the band’s sound has matured to incorporate a Springsteen-like barroom swagger.

Cafone’s gritty vocals and supple guitar leads still reference the blues, while Masefield’s classic Hammond B3 organ and barrelhouse electric piano provide soulful undertones. But on originals such as “Love Is the New Villain” (just released as a single), “Safe Tonight” and the crowd sing-along “Forbidden Romance (Silenced the Radio),” Outside the Box crafts a sound that captures the heart and soul of Asbury Park’s musical traditions while still forging an identity of its own.

“Damn the Torpedoes” proved a brilliant choice to showcase OTB’s strengths, especially Masefield’s double-duty keyboards and Cafone’s effortless leads. The band nailed the familiar singles — the biting “Refugee” and the new-wavey “Don’t Do Me Like That.” But the highlights of the set came from some of the deep album tracks, which Cafone infused with his own personality.

This wasn’t Outside the Box doing Tom Petty karaoke; the boyish, curly-haired Cafone never tried to imitate Petty’s distinctive vocal style or mimic his guitar parts. Instead, he made the songs his own, while still capturing the essence of the originals. You could hear Petty’s debt to Lou Reed on the undulating “Here Comes My Girl” and the glammy Bowie-esque shadings of “Century City.” And with Masefield providing sonorous organ undertones, the band captured the country-western flavor at the heart of “Louisiana Rain.”

After a few more originals, Cafone invited the crowd back to hear Outside the Box’s take on “Blonde On Blonde”; then, as a tribute to Dylan, the band ended the night with a triumphant cover of “Like a Rolling Stone,” with Cafone transforming the anthemic chorus into a playful, jammy roundelay. - Jim Testa