The Asbury Park music and arts scene has always been a fertile crescent for creativity and outside the box thinking. So it makes perfect sense that the undeniably unique band NASKA — a group that wears its country and ska influences on their sleeves (and for some band members, their lack of sleeves) — to kickstart their run on the clubs and boards of the city that Bruce built. The band has an arsenal of reimagined covers in their arsenal and are crafting original tunes — which makes for their future even brighter and more exciting.
The band has already rocked the stages of The Stone Pony and Low Dive, and are kicking off the new year on Saturday January 4 with their “NASKArade Party” at The Wonder Bar to benefit Garden State Equality.
We recently caught up with Jim Kelly (aka Al Fuego) from NASKA to discuss the band’s unique sound, the reception they’ve received from the Asbury scene, supporting Garden State Equality and what the future holds for them.
NASKA is (Band Members & Instruments They Play):
Casey Caruso (aka Sissy Biscuits): Lead singer, tambourine, harmonica.
Marc Caruso (aka Leroy Biscuits): Rhythm guitar, vocals.
Jim Kelly (aka Al Fuego): Bass, vocals
Chris Smaltini (aka Fif Wheel): Drums
Casey Kretmar (aka Bob): Lead guitar.
Chris West (aka Lug Nut): Trumpet
Year We Formed: The seed was planted in 2020, but our debut at the Stone Pony was in February of 2024.
Backstory: Marc, Casey and I (Jim) started with an electric ukulele and a borrowed bass guitar in 2020. The idea [for the band] spawned in the summer of 2020 on the First Avenue beach in Asbury Park, where the three of us spend as much time as we can. Marc usually brings a ukulele or a guitar to the beach and singing songs has always been a part of our lives, individually and collectively.
In September of 2021 we played for the first time in public, the three of us, at Marc and Casey’s block party, affectionately dubbed the Heck Street Hoedown. Not for nothing, and despite the fact that we’re good musicians, we did a fairly lousy job. Still, we didn’t care, we had fun, and the neighbors, friends and families, amongst whom were peppered other talented musicians who had also played that evening, loved that we were doing our thing.
From 2020 to 2023 Marc, Casey and Jim got together regularly to run through songs like Dolly Parton’s “9-5” and Loretta Lynn’s “You’re Lookin’ at Country,” and so on. We wanted to start a ska band that covered all those fun and zany songs by artists like Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, and Kenny Rogers. Chris West would come around once in a while with his trumpet or his harmonica collection. We didn’t even have a band name. We were just fun-loving musicians doing a fun and silly thing. It was during those days that we came up with characters for ourselves, Marc and Casey adopting Leroy and Sissy Biscuits, and Jim taking on Al Fuego.
By the spring of 2023 Chris Smaltini had joined on drums and took on the character Fif Wheel, and Casey Kretmar had joined on lead guitar, naming himself Bob. We debuted as we are today, in character, with our signature sound and visual show at Marc and Casey’s third annual Heck Street Hoedown in September of 2023. Since then, we’ve been on constant launch. By spring of 2024, our trumpet player Chris West jumped on stage with us as Lug Nut and brought that special something that only a wind instrument in a rock band can bring.
Story Behind the Name: For Jim’s 45th birthday in April of 2021, Jim and a bunch of his friends, including Marc, Casey and Chris West, went to Fine and Rare in NYC for dinner under the stage of Brian Newman. Prior to dinner we rendezvoused for cocktails, and Marc, Casey, Chris and I were sharing our predicament with the rest of our friends. We had this great band idea to play ska versions of mid-century country pop, but we had no name.
It was in that moment that Chris West suggested, “How about Naska?” I don’t know how a more perfect name, more befitting its purpose than any other term in the lexicon of witty titles, could possibly exist. Our band, whether it would do anything more than get together to drink cocktails and sing songs, had a name.
You’ve Seen us In Other Bands Such As: From 1996-1999 Marc and Jim were in a local original band named Black Feet, native to the Asbury Park area. In 1999, Marc and the guitarist from Black Feet started an original jazz fusion group named Sunny Daze, with whom Marc went on to gig all over the local scene and beyond for twenty years. Chris Smaltini played drums and sang in a couple of Lakehouse bands, Natalica from 2014-2016, and Resin Betty from 2016-18. The most impressive legacy we have, though, is with Casey Kretmar, whose father, Donald Kretmar, played bass with The Blues Project. We like to consider Bob musical royalty.
Our Sound Has Been Likened To: We sound like what you’d expect a high-octane version of mid-century country pop would sound like, but infused with the camp that makes bands like Yacht Rock Revue and Super Trans Am so awesome. You will hear rock influences like Social Distortion, Rancid, and The Cramps, and ska influences like The English Beat. But each of our songs has its own personality. We’ll play a rockabilly version of “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” and then we’ll play a ska version of “All my Exes Live in Texas.” You’ll even hear a little swing on some of our song versions.
The concept of the band is absolutely fascinating — mid-century country pop songs with a rockabilly ska twist. Would love to know how this sound was inspired, how it came together?
Jim: I’m going to speak in my own voice here. Marc’s got this infatuation with 50’s island ska, the original stuff. We’re usually listening to it in the summer. He’s also a trained drummer, a really talented drummer, and he’s got a beautiful voice. Marc has his own style of strumming/picking the guitar. He plays it almost like a delicate percussion instrument. He’s a groovy player; makes your hips move.
Casey has been singing with Marc for years, the two of them, just singing songs around the house, at the beach, out in front of a coffee shop. The two of them are a package deal. They harmonize, she takes lead, sometimes he takes lead. Her voice is perfect, like she was born for this, really gives the punch that our audience feels in the gut when we play.
I am an energetic bass player. My bass style is nothing if not in your face, obnoxious, but lovable, like me. My bass playing is influenced by punk, funk, bluegrass and jazz. NASKA is so fun because I can work all those influences into the songs. I sing too, harmonize with Marc and Casey, or take lead sometimes. I’m the rockabilly guy.
Chris Smaltini matches my energy, and often exceeds it. That dude is a physical menace behind the kit, veins bulging, cymbals crying out for mercy. We lock in on each other pretty tight, especially when we’re cranking through one of our more explosive songs, like “Johnny B. Goode” or “Jackson.”
Casey Kretmar nailing the licks we are so accustomed to hearing in these seventy-year old hits is what makes our songs recognizable. Chris West’s trumpeting is what makes “Walking on Sunshine” one of our hypest songs. The whole thing just seems to work in a special way. The costumes, the character personas, the familiar tunes, and fan favorite genres; the crowd loves it, they get into it, they sing along as loud as they can. It’s exhilarating.
You’ll see what I’m talking about when I say Marc’s style will make your hips move when you hear our take on “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “When Will I Be Loved.” You’ll hear bass lines that range from downbeat half-note bluegrass to punk surf rock to dub reggae. When we drive into our “high octane” (I don’t know who started using that phrase to describe us) songs, like when Sissy Biscuits sings “You’re Lookin’ at Skountry” you will know immediately you’re seeing something really cool, and hearing something really special. When you hear our version of “Jolene,” or “Jackson,” you can’t help but compare it to the original.
We work hard to do justice to all the songs we perform. We are all serious music lovers, respecters of the art and the craft and the legacy of the great music of the twentieth century. We wouldn’t be so crass as to mock Chuck Berry. When we do our version of “Johnny B. Goode,” we explode because that song deserves everything we’ve got.
How’s the reception been from the Asbury/Jersey Shore scene to the band?
We are a new band. We played Asbury Porchfest the past two years, but other than that we’ve played three billed gigs; the Stone Pony in February, the Low Dive on Pride weekend, and the Pony again on Labor Day weekend. Now we’ve got this fourth gig coming up at the Wonder Bar, a benefit fundraiser to support Garden State Equality.
So far, I don’t think the scene has really noticed us. We draw a good crowd, but most of them are our friends. We caught some attention from the public at the Stone Pony show on Labor Day Weekend. Folks who were coming into the Summer Stage for Almost Queen and Super Trans Am saw our set going on inside the Pony and crowded in, and they got into it. That’s where the quote “One more song, one more song, one more song” is from. This cute brunette with a pixie haircut ran up to the front of the stage and started rocking out. When we finished our set, she started the crowd chant.
Hopefully we’ll be well-received by the Asbury music scene, both socially and critically. Marc and I grew up playing here, so it just feels like we’re playing in our living room.
On January 4, you will be performing a charity “New Year’s Masquerade Ball” for Garden State Equality at The Wonder Bar. Can you tell us why the band supports Garden State Equality and why others should do the same?
I would like to refer to the event as the NASKArade Ball, (credit Chris Smaltini).
We are friends of the LGBTQIA+ community, and we want to partner with an Asbury Park organization at an Asbury Park venue to benefit issues close to the heart of the Asbury Park community.
We grew up here. Marc and Casey have lived here for over twenty years. GSE are fighters, advocates for equal rights and treatment for the LGBTQIA+ community. Asbury Park has been a place for the gay community for decades. Paradise at the Empress Hotel is an institution.
It is the gay community that revived Asbury Park, breathing life into its homes, its businesses, its restaurants and nightlife. Asbury Park is one of those come-as-you-are communities where creativity and inspiration thrive. We were offered the opportunity to play the Wonder Bar on January 4th. We’re not playing music for money or status. We just love to have a good time and play in front of a crowd. While brainstorming ideas of how to bill the show we came up with the idea to do a benefit for Garden State Equality.
Is there any plans for original NASKA music?
NASKA has two original tunes, both written by Marc and Casey. The names of our original songs are “Keep Your Hands off my Money, Honey,” and “I’m Going Out Tonight.” They are written and performed in the spirit of the mid-century country pop man/woman razzing found in Conway Twitty’s and Loretta Lynn’s “You’re the Reason our Kids are Ugly.”
What is it that you love about being in this band?
We love that we’re all friends. We all hang out beyond being in a band. Our spouses and friends are our fans. It’s a big old family affair. Even our kids love watching us and singing along and helping us with graphics and merch – their ages range from mid teens to early twenties. We love that we get to play music. I mean, who doesn’t love that? We love that we make people happy and give them a good time. The crowd dances and sings along and laughs and cheers and we just absolutely love being the ones who get to bring that to them. And we love getting dressed up and playing our characters. We’ve all put a lot of effort into our personas and our costumes, none more than Sissy Biscuits. And we love rocking. And I mean we rock. When we open up like we do when we play our most energetic songs, it feels like a rocket blast. It’s electric.
What are some plans you have in the works for 2025?
Who knows. Right now, it’s hard to see past January 4th. But on the virtual calendar is Marc’s 50th birthday party NASKA show in late March, hopefully Porchfest again in September, and maybe get an invite to play in a local event like the Bond Street Block Party, or a festival like North to Shore. If a genie came out of a bottle and asked us what we wanted, we’d say we want to open for Yacht Rock Revue on the Stone Pony Summer Stage. But at the moment the biggest show in 2025 is the NASKArade Ball Fundraiser to Benefit Garden State Equality.
NASKA performs at The Wonder Bar on Saturday January 4 with special guests Tony and the Kiki. Click here for tickets.
