Manville Public Library to host concert.
By: Donna Lukiw and Charlie Olsen
Manville Public Library will hold its second annual free rock-music show at 6 p.m. Wednesday, featuring local bands headlined by Manville punk rockers Burn the Brightest, and performances by the Hsu-Nami, Someday Never and Breakaway.
Rebecca Casey, who is organizing the event, said the library hopes for a big youth turnout, like it had last year.
"We’re hoping for a lot," Ms. Casey said. "Last year we had 100 kids who showed up it was a fun, safe concert."
Ms. Casey said the library holds the concert to try to attract high school kids to the library.
"It’s something to offer the high school students to get them back at the library," she said. "We want them to know we’re here and we have resources that they can use."
"Manville library has a tradition of music we have something almost every month," Ms. Casey said. "We’re probably the only place in town that still offers this much free music."
Burn the Brightest, composed of vocalist Chester Higgins, lead guitarist Jeff Piorkowski, drummer Scott Petzinger, rhythm guitarist Chris Nordone and bassist Mike Petzinger, plays emotional rock or emo-rock, a style of punk.
"A lot of bands in this genre tend to having screaming vocals; we stay away from that," Mr. Higgins said.
The band, whose members are recent Manville High graduates, has performed in firehouse halls, Elk lodges, basements, schools and even a few bars across New Jersey. It also has played weekend shows in the Philadelphia area.
Band members said that in 2004, after setting up shows in the Manville Company No. 1 firehouse, they looked for a new setting and with the help of their friend Karen Bielanski, set up the first free library rock show at the Manville Public Library the following year."The people at the library were very kind and helpful throughout the process of setting the show up, considering no one had an idea of what to expect, but all we could do was promote the show and hope that we would attract a good turnout," Scott Petzinger said. "By the night of the show, the head count was over 200 people. Everyone who came out absolutely loved it and it was a complete success."
There will be giveaways during the show, as Drive-Thru Records donated some of its merchandise, as did the bands and Bombshell Entertainment, the company providing the sound system for the concert.
"We all love music, but we do realize the harsh reality of the music business," Scott said. "We all plan on finishing up getting our degrees in school and, in the meantime, we’ll continue to write and play shows.
"By the end the summer we’re looking forward to heading back to the studio to record our new material. If we happen to catch a break and get signed by a label, that’d be great, but in the meantime we’re just going to continue going to school and write catchy tunes."