New Royalty to headline benefit for child who is fighting cancer

By MAUREEN DAYE Correspondent

There is no need to curtsy, but the audience members are likely to clap their hands, and possibly dance.

The New Royalty, an indie pop rock band whose members are area residents, will headline a special benefit at The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park, from 1-5 p.m. Nov. 30. The New Royalty will perform at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

Proceeds from the benefit will go to the family of Gwendolyn Marra, a 20-monthold toddler who is battling cancer. The bands in the show’s lineup all share an interest in helping the child and they include Lost In Society, Monterey and Aardvark Smile.

The band members in The New Royalty heard about Gwendolyn from one of their fans, who was helping to promote the cause. The band members felt they could help make a difference by drawing their growing fan base to the benefit, so more funds could be raised.

The New Royalty includes Kyle Davis, 19, of Millstone Township, bass; Ricky Joyce 25, of Milltown, drums; Brittany Iafelice, 19, of East Brunswick, vocals; her twin brother, Nick Iafelice, 19, of East Brunswick, guitar; and Eric Drylewicz, 25, of Rahway, guitar.

Davis, who grew up in Millstone, said the band formed in 2008 in the studios of a music school. The New Royalty evolved from a band that imitated music of the past into a band that is creating the music of the future.

Davis said he believes the friendships he made in Millstone formed a large part of the loyal base of support for the band. He mentioned that he is an Eagle Scout and said the rich friendships he made in scouting have proven to be very supportive to the band.

Paul Sallee manages The New Royalty and owns Music University, Freehold. Sallee works to open doors for the group because he believes its members are talented, hardworking and successful.

“These five young musicians combine powerful, catchy melodies with meaningful lyrics that address the joys of their generation as well as the difficulties to come,” Sallee said. “The entire band writes the songs together as a team. They seem to develop (a song) easily from a lot of different influences into a song that everyone loves.”

The New Royalty was proud to have been a Top 5 Finalist among a field of 450 bands that entered in the Z100 FM Jingleball Hometown Hero Competition in 2010 and 2011. The New Royalty played in front of 8,000 people at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson as the opening band for Big Time Rush.

The group has performed at the Vans Warped Tour and the Bamboozle festival. The New Royalty has performed with groups that include Big Time Rush, Emblem3, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Action Item, Paradise Fears, Before You Exit and 100 Monkeys.

The New Royalty is currently making videos and music, and performing at gigs. After The Saint benefit, the band will perform at Mondo in Summit on Dec. 21 at 9 p.m.

As Christmas approaches, The New Royalty is continuing to promote its most recent CD, “The New Royalty Revisit Christmas.” The CD contains six covers and six original tunes. The first single is “Angels” and one of the covers is John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “War Is Over.”

The New Royalty is available on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GXbUVV.