One of the coolest things about covering the Asbury Park music scene is seeing musicians from different bands you’ve enjoyed for years getting together to form a new, exciting band.
The Extensions — comprised of current/former members of Paper Jets, Rose Boulevard, Fun While You Wait and numerous other bands — have joined forces to create The Extensions. This indie rock outfit that evokes audio images of Spoon, The Cars, and Elvis Costello, and they’ll be performing tonight at Happy Mondays at Wonder Bar in Asbury. We caught up with the to talk about their influences, signing to Mint 400 Records, and their new record coming out.
The Extensions Are (Members of the Band & Instruments They Play): Brian Erickson – vocals/guitar, Lisa LoVell – keyboard, Kevin Newcomb – bass, Pete Stern – drums.
Year We Formed In: 2018
We’re Based Out of: Asbury Park, NJ
Story Behind Our Name: (Brian Erickson) Nothing particularly special, actually. We were trying to come up with something snappy like ‘Elvis Costello & the Attractions.’ And our friend Jesse Elliot – a great songwriter in his own right – came up with The Extensions.
You’ve Seen Us in Other Bands Before Like: The Paper Jets, Jesse Elliot, Fun While You Wait, Dave Mooney & Viewers Like You, Centennials, Rose Boulevard.
Famous/Cool Bands We’ve Shared the Stage With: (Pete Stern) We’re still kinda new so no one famous just yet, but we have been able to play with some of our favorite local bands; Lowlight, The Burns, and Alpha Rabbit, just to name a few.
You just announced you signed to Mint 400 Records — can you talk about how this came up and when can we expect the new album?
Brian Erickson: We knew of Neil [Sabatino – owner of Mint 400 Records]’s band Fairmont beforehand and was also friendly with a couple other bands on the roster. Neil’s a big Smoking Popes fan and thought we sounded a little like them, so we got very lucky that what we were doing appealed to him. And we are just that – very lucky an opportunity like that came about.
And the new record should be coming in the next couple months; probably summer or fall. It’s finished recording and is in the mixing phase right now. We’re making really good progress on it.
How would you describe your sound?
Pete Stern: If you took late 90s/early 2000s Spoon and had them start making music right now instead of back then. Add some Walkmen-type vocals in there, and some Cars/Elvis Costello keyboard and that’s us.
What’s been one of the most important things you’ve learned as band since you first formed?
Lisa Lovell: That our communication as band is so effortless, we always do what’s best for us when it comes to making decisions and we feed off of each other’s energy it’s such an egoless group.
What’s one of the wildest moments you’ve had as a band — one that’s indelibly marked on your souls forever?
Pete Stern: Being signed!
What is it about this band that you love?
Our chemistry is pretty effortless. Even our random warmup jams are so much fun because we can read each other pretty well musically. As a result it’s always a blast writing together and playing together.
What are you most excited for in 2019?
Pete Stern: To release our EP into the world.
