Saltwater Allstars

Making the switch from heavy metal to surf rock and reggae was pretty simple for guitarist Chris Siano.
"When he saw girls dancing in front of him, he was all about playing music you could dance to," said Rory Fream, lead singer for the Saltwater Allstars. Fream and Siano make up one half of the Point Pleasant NJ based band, formed 2 years ago. The band's current lineup is rounded out by Mike Flores on Bass and Kenny Peterson on Drums.
The band has steadily developed a following on the Jersey Shore and recently released debut CD "Benny Plow" which can be purchased at their shows, and soon to be released on Itunes and other digital mediums.
The four men of the Saltwater Allstars have learned to mesh their individual styles, but their success has not always been assured. Siano and Flores come from metal backgrounds while Peterson and Fream's tastes are more laid back.
Flores occasionally would play for Fream's former band, Sprout. He liked the music and when Fream left the group, he suggested that they join forces, Fream said.
"Its just the way fate plays out" Fream said during a recent interview. Now the band tries to incorporate each musician's distinct style to create a unique sound. Although their music clearly has a surf rock reggae sound, Fream tries to appease his bandmates "darker side", that keeps the band from getting locked into one genre of music, Fream believes.
The band frequently plays at local venues such as Magee's West Side Tavern and The Idle Hour in Point Pleasant as well as The Ark and Marlin's Cafe in Point Pleasant Beach.
They also performed in the annual Belmar "St. Patrick's Day" parade last weekend. The Saltwater Allstars had their own float sponsored by local restaurant chain Surf Taco and G. Rock Radio (WBBO-FM 106.3 & 106.5) then performed at the Surf Taco on main street in Belmar following the parade.
"The Parade was Awesome," Fream said. "I saw people, young and old, bopping around to our music, which is always great to see."
The band also kept busy in the past year and a half working on their CD "Benny Plow" which was recorded at the Navy Lakehurst center through Ocean County's vocational technical school. The schools run a program on the base for audio production and electronic media. The studio where the band recorded was located to the side of the "Hindenburg Hangar" which housed helium-filled airships developed by the Navy. The German airship Hindenburg effectively ended public support for the ships in 1937 when it exploded into flames while trying to land on the base, and claimed the lives of its 36 passengers on board.
While no exploding blimp, the naming of the band's CD also has a story of its own. The name "Benny Plow" is a tongue-in-cheek play on everyone that visits the Jersey Shore from May to early September.
The name comes from a car a local kid used to drive around Point Pleasant, Fream recounts. "A blue, beat-up Buick with surfing stickers plastered all over it had a large bulkhead in the place of the front bumper tied to the front of the car. Spray-painted on that bulkhead was the phrase 'Benny Plow', and it was the first thing you saw when the car came around a corner."
Expect the band to capitalize on the name's humor, Fream predicted. The Saltwater Allstars plan to enter the Point Pleasant Beach Tube Race Parade at the end of the summer. "All I can say is that it will be very creative and involve a plow."
For more information about the Saltwater Allstars, visit www.myspace.com/saltwaterallstars - Asbury Park Press 3/15/07

2/27--2/29 -- Host: Steve Hook

The operative word when describing The Saltwater Allstars is fun. These guys have been at it for a while now on the Jersey Shore scene and always get the crowd moving their asses. They bring a ska/reggae/funk vibe to their live shows, and too on their latest CD "Benny Plow" I have seen these cats at various clubs and pubs for the past two years and have always have had.....well....fun. How many bands do you know that break out Kazoos just for the fun of it??!!

In case you are wondering, the title "Benny Plow" is exactly what the name implies, a plow for bennys. This attitude is purely tongue-in-cheek, but it is a funny thought. As locals, we can all relate to the absolute crush of "touristoes" (bennys) that flock 'down the shore' every year between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This is just the Saltwater Allstars way of showing that they too feel our collective pain!! They do so with some very cool tracks that are perfect little pick me up from a long cold winter. For some reason, whenever I hear the Saltwater Allstars, I think about good times and long hot summer nights. Its good time rock and roll with a very healthy dose of ska/reggage/surf rock thrown in the mix.
Make sure you check out Jersey Rock this week as we crank up the sounds of The Saltwater Allstars. You can check them out online at www.myspace.com/saltwaterallstars.com - www.wrat.com