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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Kinnelon's AisleFive Performs in Smoke Rise

Kinnelon's AisleFive NJ Cover Band Performs
AisleFive: Marivelle Davis, Mark Odian & Glenn Gray
Save 6pm on August 14th, 2010 for NJ cover band, AisleFive, at the Smoke Rise Beach!

My friend, fellow hiker and Kinnelon Resident, Glenn Gray performs with his band AisleFive on the Smoke Rise Beach on Saturday, August 14th. I hope you can make it.  Glenn and his band also played at the 2010 Kinnelon Hunger Cycle Tour on May 1st.

I caught up with Glenn last weekend to ask him a few questions:

CB: Glenn, how long has AisleFive been playing?

GG: We've been around for about two years now, but three members of the band have been playing together since High School.

CB: Who's in the band?

GG: Chris Sharkey, on keyboard. Mark Odian on bass guitar; I'm on drums. Paul Salvatoriello plays guitar and sings and Marivelle Davis sings.  It's a great group.

Three of us - Chris Sharkey, Mark Odian and I - graduated from Kinnelon High School in 1988. We played in the High School marching band and jazz band.

AisleFive: Glenn Gray on drums
AisleFive: Glenn Gray on drums
CB: How did AisleFive get started?

GG: Chris Sharkey and I played together in High School. Mark was successful in college and later in night clubs in NYC. Interestingly, I ran into Mark at the retirement performance for the Kinnelon High School band director who taught us. Bob McLean.  He came to Kinnelon in 1987.  Really good  guy.

Anyhow, we decided to get together and see what would develop. We found Paul and Marivelle independently, but nearly at the same time, which rounded out the band perfectly with two great front people.

We had our first gig at O'Flaherty's in New York City's theater district in May 2009.  We're now booked to play twice a month. We've played in Morristown area bars, at The Famished Frog, at 54 Main in Madison, in Denville at the Rattlesnake Ranch, at Pub 517 in Allamuchy and private functions.

Locally, we opened the summer at Fayson Lakes over Memorial Day weekend, we played at the Bloomingdale's Fire Department 100th anniversary and we'll be playing at the Smoke Rise Beach on August 14th.

CB:  Why the name AisleFive?

GG:  Because cool band band names The Jackson 5, The Dave Clark Five, Maroon 5, and Five Finger Death Punch were all taken.

CB: What kind of music does AisleFive play?

GG: We don't play original music. We do play 80s, 90s and current rock covers.  We sometimes sneak in a tune from the 70s - Blondie is my favorite! It's music we grew up with and it's what gets people up and moving.

AisleFive in action
AisleFive in action
CB: What's your earliest music memory and influence?

GG: My earliest musical memory is listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash's Marrakesh Express. My aunt's collection of music albums influenced me heavily - Led Zeppelin, Chicago, Yes [Note: Glenn turned me onto Jeff Buckley's Alleluia], ...  I personally listen to Yes, Genesis, interesting progressive music, jazz, modern alternative music. I love music.

CB:  What has been the biggest surprise?

GG: Seeing people I haven't seen in 25 years, and having superfans who don't miss a single gig. It's great.

We are professionals by day - I'm a clinical consultant pharmacist, Chris writes for insurance industry publications, Mark is in the computer industry, Marivelle is a CPA and has an MBA, Paul's a lawyer - we aren't working musicians. We practice one night per week and do it to have fun, to be with friends, to relieve stress. It's big fun.

Chris Sharkey in the back, Paul Salvatoriello on bass & Glenn Gray
Chris Sharkey in the back, Paul Salvatoriello on bass & Glenn
CB: Glenn, how do readers learn more about AisleFive and connect with you?

GG: You can visit our website: AisleFiveBand.com where you'll find pictures, a few audio clips, humor and our schedule.

You can also find us on Facebook. In fact, I'd love it if readers joined our AisleFive NJ Cover Band group on Facebook. We've had a lot of success using Facebook to promote our events and connect with friends. It's a great tool to use, too, for events and for adding information, maps, photos, etc. It's easy to send out announcements about where we'll be. Become a fan and you'll get notices about where we'll be playing.

CB: Glenn, we can't wait to hear you and AisleFive play on August 14th on the Smoke Rise Beach. I'm counting on front row seats!  Thanks so much.

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