There was an explosive surprise at O'Donoghues
bar in Hoboken Saturday night.
As though the scheduled act Dropbox wasn't enough, Sully
Erna, lead singer of the multi-platinum,
nationally-touring, Grammy nominated band Godsmack,
jumped up on stage and belted out a couple of tunes.
This stuff doesn't happen every day. It was why Teflon
from Wu Tang Clan and Il Nino came to watch the show.
Rock and roll came to visit Hoboken, and the Current was
there.
Dropbox is a five-piece straight forward rock and roll
band with a metal edge reminiscent of Alice in Chains.
They're local boys. Singer John Kosco, who's cousin Ken
Kosco owns the bar, is from Teaneck, guitarist Joey
Wilkinson is from Paterson, drummer Bobby Jenkins is
from Hawthorne, and bass player Jimmy Preziosa is from
Elizabeth. Guitarist/vocalist Lee Richards, formerly of
Godsmack himself, is from Massachusetts. Saturday night,
they played their first ever acoustic show in a rare
local appearance. They performed after just two
rehearsals.
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"We're just going up there real loose and playing some
of the songs on the record and a couple of songs we
never recorded officially," said Kosco. "We're doing it
acoustic because we felt like doing it acoustically."
And it's a good thing that they were playing acoustic,
because if they plugged in, they would have blown the
roof off of the place.
The front of the crowd was packed with gorgeous women,
and the room was full of walk-ins and longtime fans, all
of whom had a favorite song off Dropbox's self titled
album.
Michael McHugh from Hawthorne knows the band as friends
of friends and has partied with them before. "They're
fun," he said with a nod, eliciting laughter from the
two girls he was with. "They're all out to have a good
time."
A rare event
The Dropbox show was a rarity at O'Donoghue's on First
Street, which typically packs the house using local
cover bands. The local show was a rarity for Dropbox as
well - their first tour was when they opened on
Godsmack's national Full Bells and Whistles tour,
followed by a tour supporting Drowning Pool, a
promotional tour with Metallica and Godsmack, and
another go-around with Godsmack on their acoustic tour.
During that last tour, Kosco and Richards played three
songs with Godsmack.
Since getting off tour, they rarely play locally except
for shows at the Stone Pony, the Starland Ballroom,
Connections, and Dingbatz, all of which are in New
Jersey. They have never even played in New York City.
"Our first tour, they threw us on an arena tour with
Godsmack," said Kosco. "It was great. We played in front
of an average of 7,000 people a night."
Kosco said he loves both large venues and more intimate
shows, and is ready to do both at any time. "I'll do
more stretching before an arena gig, and less smoking
during a bar gig," he said.
Eddie Blue
Opening act Eddie Blue used to be in the cover band
Majestic 12 with Jenkins. He played a solo acoustic set
of his own songs and some originals before Dropbox took
the stage at 10 p.m.
The band parked themselves in chairs, but the show
didn't feel unplugged; it blazed with power and energy.
Kosco's vocals filled up the room - just one indication
of talent of the band, and Richards's harmonies are
unwavering.
The crowd was excited for this rare opportunity to see
the band in action. Up front, girls rocked to the beat
and sang along, at one point an excited female fan
flashed for the band.
When Kosco introduced Erna, it seemed like a natural
happening - buddies from different bands jamming
together. Which is what it was, but let's get a little
perspective.
Grammy-nominated
Erna's band, Godsmack, is a multi-platinum,
Grammy-nominated group that sells out 7,000 seat venues
headlining, and held down the opening slot for the
latest 100 Metallica show which sold out across the
country. Their hit "Whatever" off their self-titled
album zoomed to the top of the charts.
Yet Saturday night, it was perfectly easy to get within
six feet of the musicians in a neighborhood bar that
hosts weekly open mics. In fact, you couldn't make it
into the back bar without getting within 10 feet.
Dropbox's performance ended with a jam of Jazz Gillum's
Reefer Head Woman (also covered by Aerosmith) shortly
before midnight. It may be months before Dropbox plays
again, so visit www.dropboxmusic.com to find out more.
