bill bodkin gets all romantic …
Our Band Consists Of: Gerry Perlinski – Guitar/Vocals, Amine Smires – Drums, Tony Kroposky – Bass
We’re Been Performing Since: 2011
We’re Based Out Of: New Brunswick, NJ
Find Our Current Music (online, in stores at): http://www.lostromance.net, http://lostromance.bandcamp.com
New Record To Be Released: E.P. The Light And The Dark Summer 2013
Our Sound Has Been Likened To: The Replacements, Husker Du, Foo Fighters, U2, The Lemonheads, Nirvana, Buffalo Tom, The Descendents
Awesome/Famous Bands We’ve Performed With: Rye Coalition, The Black Hollies, TAB the Band, Laura Warshauer, Joie Calio (dada).
Pop-Break: You guys are described as an ‘alt-rock trio mixing punk with 90s power pop.’ Is your sound, which combines sounds from two beloved and bygone eras, the reason why the band is called Lost Romance?
Gerry Perlinski: Sort of. The name came from something a friend of mine, producer David Patillo (The Dead Exs) said. He was talking about living on the Lower East Side and how the soul of the city was kinda disappearing amongst the chain stores, banks, etc. that are replacing mom and pop stores. He spoke about the lost art or lost “romance” of artisans and craftsman in that area of NYC. It hit me that the art of real rock ‘n’ roll has kind of become a lost one and we needed to bring it back a bit. We’re striving to bring back the true passion and fire that makes rock n’ roll the vibrant and exciting art form it is.
PB: Was there ever a concern that crowds might not ‘get’ your sound or feel it was dated?
GP: No, not at all. Good songwriting and music never sounds dated to me. I’ve always strived to write timeless music; something you can listen to years from now. The crowds are ready for this. We’re not a retro act by any means. It’s just a fresh take on a familiar form. We all know music and fashion recycles about every 20 years. So I’d say we’re right on time!
PB: Lost Romance donated a song to the Tiny Giant Artist Collective’s Hurricane Sandy relief compilation. Talk about the song you chose and how much it meant for you and the band to be a part of something as charitable as this?
GP: Well, we all grew up in New Jersey and still call it our home. I’ve spent many summers up and down the Jersey shore. So, to see it destroyed the way it was during Hurricane Sandy really hit us hard. We had no power for 14 days, but that’s nothing compared to people who lost everything. So donating a live version of “Top Of The World” which was recorded at The Saint in Asbury Park seemed appropriate. Mike V from The Everymen was driving force behind that compilation and we were excited to be able to give back something in the best way we knew how; through music. It was so great to be joined by some of Jersey’s top indie rock bands like Real Estate, Nicole Atkins and The Front Bottoms. We were honored to be a part of it.
PB: You’ve shared the stage with a number of terrific, national touring artists. Which one did you learn the most from whether it be through words of wisdom or by just watching them onstage?
GP: Rye Coalition are an amazing straight up rock band from Jersey City. They absolutely dominate the stage and feed off the crowd. We’ve taken that high energy approach to getting our crowds into the live show. We try to break down the wall a bit, rather than just shoegazing during our set. To me, a great live show is not only about the music, but the visuals and energy you’re giving from the stage. If you look like you’re bored up there, the audience will be bored too, no matter how great your music is. The best bands in the world don’t just play music; they add an element of danger and put on a show. We just want to give our fans their money’s worth and keep rock ‘n’ roll dangerous.
PB: We worked with you guys at The Wonder Bar in Asbury, N.J. in February. Can you talk about the Asbury Park scene and how Lost Romance fits into it and how the band has received by the scene of this historic rock ‘n’ roll city?
GP: To be honest, Lost Romance really hasn’t played that much in Asbury Park … yet! We all have in the past in other bands, but as Lost Romance, we’re just getting our feet wet. We’ve been concentrating more on playing outside of the area to build our regional fanbase. But, we are doing a big show on June 22nd at Asbury Lanes with the Tiny Giant Artist Collective called the Summer Bummer and we’re very excited about that. It’s a three day, four venue event that will take place all over NJ, but the big event will be at Asbury Lanes that Saturday all day long and into the night. As far as how we’ve been received, it’s all been positive. Asbury has a strong history with singer/songwriters and more classic rock and soul type bands. We are a bit more edgy than that, so it’s hard to judge how we fit into the scene just yet. Only time will tell!
PB: Can you describe the Lost Romance live experience?
GP: It’s pretty raw and fun. There are no gimmicks. We just plug in and turn it up! Strange as it sounds, there are so many bands afraid of doing just that. They end up being the flavor of the week or add electronic toys and forget the art of putting on a great rock ‘n’ roll show. For us, it’s all about connecting with the audience while commanding the stage at the same time.
We’re a trio and so many of my favorite bands are trios … The Police, Rush, Nirvana, Dada, Husker Du. The list goes on. There’s just something so primal about a trio. You are forced to cut out the fat and fill up a bigger space. It makes you better as songwriters and as a band. We try to bring that lean and mean essence to our live shows.
PB: You guys hit the road a lot, performing not only locally all over N.J. but heading out, on the regular, to Brooklyn and Boston. Do you see a difference in the reception of your sound in these cities?
GP: Absolutely! The scenes are very different outside of Jersey and we love it. People come right up to the stage and totally get into it. I think people are more open to music in areas outside of here because they have less choices when it comes to entertainment and nightlife. There are a million great bands in New Jersey and NYC, but if you play the middle of PA or OH, you might be the only game in town for that night. People seem to appreciate you a bit more when you’re on tour. Also when playing a small town or city and being from Jersey, you get respect. Call it the Soprano effect or Springsteen effect, but people seem to respect Jersey bands outside of this area.
PB: Talk about the future, the rest of 2013, for Lost Romance.
GP: We’ll be touring regionally more and more for 2013. Right now, we are averaging about 4 or 5 shows at month in a 200-300 mile radius. We’re slowly going to at least double that to 8-10 shows at month. We are also planning our first week to 2 week tour for the summer. Most likely, it will start in New England and head down the East Coast. In between there, we are going to release our debut E.P. “The Light And The Dark” on L.A. based indie label, Starving Dog Records. It’s been a long time coming, but we’re really excited to get this album out and to see how it’s received.
So far, we’ve had great response from local and regional radio. But, that’s just the beginning for us. We already have enough songs for our next record and have begun pre-production at Fish On Fire Recordings in Trenton, N.J. Once we choose the best songs, we’ll start recording the next album later this summer. So you can say our plate is pretty full right now!
