Finding 'heart of the night' drives Southside Johnny

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes bring their unique mix of R&B, soul and rock to the Rochester Opera House stage on Saturday. (Courtesy photo)

OCEAN GROVE, N.J. - It was snowing today in Ocean Grove so Southside Johnny was bummed out.

"It's a mess down here," he said today in a telephone interview with The Lebanon Voice.

But one thing about Southside Johnny. He may sing the blues, but he doesn't live them, he just keeps on truckin'.

On Saturday the 60-something rocker will be truckin' as frontman with his band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, onto the storied Rochester Opera House stage, where cult-like fans of his unique Jersey Shore sound are sure to gather and pay homage to his longevity, talent and energy.

Southside Johnny, so named for his appreciation of blues from the Southside of Chicago, was born John Lyon in New Jersey on Dec. 4, 1948.

His charismatic energy on stage is infectious, and he always seems to get the audience rocking right along with him.

Southside's contemporaries, friend Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, all grew from the Jersey Shore music scene. Ardent Southside fan Bon Jovi once said, "I've always wanted to be a Juke...and I still do!"

Springsteen as well as several other E Streeters have played with the band.

Southside's first three albums I Don't Want To Go Home, This Time It's For Real and Hearts of Stone were produced by band co-founder Steven Van Zandt (E Street Band, The Sopranos) and feature songs written by Van Zandt and Springsteen. Southside and the Jukes have produced 30 albums and have performed their classic blend of R&B and rock thousands of times around the globe.

The band, which has been performing since the 1970s, is renowned for its solid brass section and has a star-studded alumnus similar to Tower of Power. Southside Johnny estimated today that as many as 100 different horn players have performed with the band over the years.

Southside Johnny was writing and performing music in the 1960s, but didn't release his first song, I Don't Want to Go Home, until 1976. The song is still considered one of his anthems, but there are about "six or seven that everyone always wants to hear," he said, "and we usually play pretty much all of them."

But Southside Johnny said he also likes to leave room during the show to try "to find the heart of the night and do something different," he said. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it allows us to be musicians and not just performers.

"We try to find an emotional chord with the audience."
Southside Johnny will have his full band with him, with Jeff Kazee on keyboard, as well as a well-stocked horn section, drums and guitars.

Kazee, who has written or co-written several of the band's more recent songs, provides backup vocals and can sing lead, too, Southside Johnny said.

"It's not an ego trip, we go out there to have fun," he said.