Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: BASIE REELS IN FRESH HOT TUNA

Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen bring their Electric Hot Tuna set back to the Basie stage after Vince Herman (below) and Leftover Salmon serve up the openers.

leftover-salmon-3-2-2998552While “finely aged” is an asset for commodities like wine and cheese, it’s traditionally not much of a selling point when it comes to seafood. But if the notion of Leftover Salmon and Hot Tuna comes across as less than fresh here in the doggie-bag baking days of summer, be assured that the hard-touring, veteran roots music acts retain an appeal that’s anchored in a certain timeless quality, one that transcends a given flavor of the month, or even catch of the day.

When the long-playing duo of Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady takes to the Count Basie Theatre this Thursday, the guitar/bass partnership will be returning to town with the electric configuration of Hot Tuna, the blues-rock institution they’ve maintained off-and-on since their days as bandmates in the best-remembered lineup of Jefferson Airplane.

Those original late-60’s Tuna sets (which featured Airplane crewmate, the late Paul Kantner) mixed selections from the Jefferson songbook with vintage blues from the likes of Jelly Roll Morton — and as the “sideline” band coalesced into a recording and headlining act in its own right (teaming childhood friends Jorma and Jack with an ever-shifting roster that would come to include the late and legendary fiddler Papa John Creach, as well as touring guests David Bromberg, Jim Lauderdale and G.E. Smith), the group would perform in both acoustic and electric contexts; something that it continues to do to this day.

Over the decades, finger-style guitarmeister Kaukonen and bass ace Casady would explore various solo and spinoff projects, including respective “new wave” inspired adventures with Vital Parts and SVT. But the revival of the Hot Tuna brand was never far off the horizon at any given time —  and despite having released only seven studio albums since their 1970 vinyl debut, the road-tested band that’s graced with an encyclopedic affinity for classic country-blues and roots rock ‘n roll (and unencumbered by any hit records that would only serve to consign them to a particular era) continues to “Keep On Truckin’” for a generations-spanning fan base that ranks the Basie as one of its must-play tour stops.

For Thursday’s 8 p.m. concert, Kaukonen, Casady and company are joined on the bill by Leftover Salmon, the Colorado-based jamgrass (or even “slamgrass”) combo that introduced trad bluegrass forms to a younger rock-reared audience who latched onto its bottled-lightning energy, long before “Americana” existed as an awards-accredited pigeonhole. Founding fathers Vince Herman (vocals, acoustic guitar, washboard) and Drew Emmitt (vocals, acoustic and electric mandolin, electric guitar, fiddle) are teamed with Andy Thorn (vocals, acoustic and electric banjo), Greg Garrison (vocals, acoustic and electric bass) and Alwyn Robinson (drums) in the concert for which tickets ($25 – $59.50) are available right here.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...