Interview contributed to The Pop Break by John Poveromo, a nationally touring comedian, cartoonist, writer, actor, and the host of Dystopia Tonight with John Poveromo on, ApplePodcasts, Spotify and YouTube. John’s been seen on Gotham Live, written for Newsweek, and has a short film on Amazon Prime titled, “Duppet.” Subscribe on www.dystopiatonight.com follow on Instagram.
Anyone who has ever seen Frank Turner live will tell you it’s become a rite of passage. His music often features infectious choruses and anthemic hooks that invite sing-alongs and create a sense of collective energy and purpose. Turner’s songs explore universal themes of identity, love, loss, and rebellion. Which is why Frank’s return to Asbury Park to kick off The Stone Pony’s Summer Stage concert series makes so much sense. Through his music and activism, Turner embodies the spirit of community that is at the heart of the Asbury Park music scene.
Below is an excerpt from Frank’s first appearance on Dystopia Tonight with John Poveromo, where he talks about his first solo US tour and arriving in Asbury Park. Enjoy!
Frank Turner: One part of Essex is basically London, and where I am is an hour and a half away from London, which is about a thousand miles in America. So, similarly, there’s a lot of jokes about Jersey girls that transfer to jokes about Essex girls and that kind of thing. And they’re kind of bullshit. So basically, I feel like I’ve moved to the New Jersey of the UK.
John Poveromo: Oh man.
Frank Turner: And, I’m happy about that! In fact, if I’m going to extend this metaphor way, past breaking point, I’m gonna think of where I live now. I’m not gonna say exactly where I live now, but thinking of where I live now. It may be a little bit like Asbury Park.
John Poveromo: That’s great!
Frank Turner: That’s my new theory.
John Poveromo: I love Asbury, man. You’ve done shows there right?
Frank Turner: Many times! The Asbury Park punk scene is amazing, and there are houses there I used to sleep on the floor at … there’s a lot of great bands out there and I used to play the lanes all the time and I’ve played, Wonder Bar and I’ve played the Stone Pony, which was a huge thing for me. I know Asbury well, and incidentally, as I’m sure you know, but I didn’t know…Asbury and Asbury Park are two separate places.
John Poveromo: (laughs) Oh no…
Frank Turner: Oh yeah. So for example, if you were a young English musician on your first ever solo tour of the USA, which was literally solo, it was just me and I didn’t drive at the time, so I was getting around by kind of public transport, and lifts and Greyhound buses and all this kind of thing. It’s probably useful information to know that they’re different places.
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls open The Stone Pony Summer Stage along with The Interrupters on Saturday May 13, 2023.
Click here for ticket.
John Poveromo: Tell me you didn’t make it to a gig?
Frank Turner: I did! Okay. I’ve gotta tell you this story [because] it’s amazing. I was on the train, I got most of the way to Asbury and then I was like looking at the train map and it had Asbury and Asbury Park and I was like, what the fuck?
I was going to The Lanes, it was the first show of a tour called the Revival Tour with a guy called Chuck Ragan from Hot Water Music, another guy called Tim Barry, and another guy called Ben Nichols from the band, Lucero.
So I was joining the tour, I was the unknown, I was the English guy opening up the tour and all this kind of thing. And, and I was really excited. These are some of my favorite artists. And so I’m running a little late. It was October, so it was kind of dark by the time I got to Asbury Park Station.
And I felt like I was the only person who got off the train and I didn’t know where the Lanes was. And this is pre Google Maps on your phone, I might add.
I had an address, obviously, and I had my ruck sack and I had my guitar case and I was like, I’m gonna get a cab and then it, I dunno if you’ve ever been to Asbury Park Train Station, but basically there’s not really a station there. This train just kind of gives up for a bit and then you’re there. You know what I mean?
John Poveromo: (Laughs) Yes! Absolutely, what a perfect way to describe it.
Frank Turner: So I got off the train and looked around and bit like…”Shit.” And then there was one cab, right? So I went over to the cab and as a Jersey person I’d be interested in your opinion about this story. I went over to the cab, thinking to myself, “Thank God there’s a cab. This is, this is gonna be fine.” So I go up and I look at the window. The guy’s like, “Yeah, where you headed?” I said, “The Lanes.” He said, “No problem.” I threw my stuff in the, in the trunk, as you would say, ‘the boot,’ I would say.
I got in the back of the cab and was sat down and was like, “Let’s go!” And he didn’t go anywhere. And then about two minutes later, someone else came and got in the cab and told ’em where they were going and I was thinking, “This is my cab.” Like, you know, “Why are you getting it in my cab?” But the driver seemed cool with it and I was very out on a limb at this point, and I was like, “I guess maybe this is how cabs work in Jersey?”
The guy still didn’t fucking go anywhere. Right? And then an elderly African American woman with what I’m presuming is her granddaughter came and they got in the back with me. So now there’s somebody in the front and I’m in the back of one corner and there’s this kind of like eight-year-old girl in the middle, and then her grandma in the corner.
And then, so now the cab is full, and the cabby starts driving and he’s told these other people where he was going. Not said another word to me. So he starts driving and I was sitting there thinking, “Am I being kidnapped? Um, you know, it’s like, what, what’s happening here?”
John Poveromo: It’s like Taken but you know Liam Neeson isn’t coming for you.
Frank Turner: Yeah! And, and, and I was kind of clearly looking a bit fidgety because this sort of eight year old girl who was so cute, like sweet and lovely and sort of angelic. She kind of looked at me, then looks at her grandma, then back at me, then back at her grandma and goes, “Who’s this guy?”
And I wanted to say, “Who the fuck are you?? This is my cab. I got in the cab first!” Anyway, I didn’t say anything. I was just in my head going, “What the fuck?” So we dropped off the guy in the front off, and, then we drove five minutes somewhere else. We dropped off those two and then the driver drove back and dropped me at the Lanes, which is literally a stones throw away from the fucking Train station.
And that was my arrival in Asbury Park.
Click here to listen to Frank’s full Episode on Dystopia Tonight.
