trench

The guys from Trench are ready for their close-up. The four musicians in this creative, high energy punk band from Toms River have inspired an indie horror film, and will be featured in same. they spent an afternoon last week at the Brighton Bar in Long Branch, filming a scene of "Fans Anonymous" by the local director Sean Guess. Thedirector heard Trench's infectious song "My Motto" and envisioned a movie with that same vibe. The manic narrator of "My Motto" is on the prowl, but is skittish about the object of his desire: "Can't be broken by your love...I don't wanna die in your arms, no," It remains to be seen how Guess will bring that love-hate mind-set to the screen--the movie is expected to premiere at the end of this year or early in '08. In the meantime, Trench will spend the summer performing and promoting its new album, due in September. Trench opens tonight for the New York Dolls at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Trench later will hit the road with Frankenstein3000, who are also on tonight's bill. Bruce Ferguson, whose scary-sexy voice fuels all of Trench's songs, is humbled by the gig with the Dolls. "Those guys are my idols," he said. the glam-punk sensibility of the New York Dolls can be heard on a sampler of Trench's upcoming CD, but this is a band difficult to categorize. Trench is heavily influenced by bands of the early punk scenes, especially the Ramones, The Damned and The Stooges. "We're All The Same" for example, had the same warm, encompassing spirit as the Ramones' freak show anthems ("Gabba gabba we accept you we accept yo one of us..") but there's also an element of Boomtown Rats in that song. "Runnin' From The Pain" a previously released track, brings together the disparate styles of Van Halen, New Order, Depeche Mode and David Bowie. Meanwhile "Devil Dance" a new song, drifts into Phil Spector's realm, with a shimmering aural backdrop and a bridge with a woeful cry worthy of a doo-wopper: "I don't wanna be alone again." On the surface, the lyrics can seem like standard-issue punk platitudes, but Ferguson is not a lazy songwriter. His songs are fun, puncuated with 70's punk cries of "Hey hey hey hey" and leavened by the "ooh ahh ahhs" of 60's pop. And he can turn the Great American songbook on its head, with a couplet such as "Coffee, cigarettes, sex and sleep, no, ou can't take that away from me, hey." "I'm so happy about it" Ferguson said of the band's new material. "We've been getting a good response from our Myspace page--we're getting people from Ireland, Japan, who like our songs." Ferguson's bandmates are MikeyD, bass and backing vocals; Ciid Birardi, guitar, keys and backing vocals; and Bernie Branz, drums. Write it on the bathroom wall: Trench totally rocks. Go see theese guys before they become movie stars. - asbury park press