Stephen Angelo
By Amy Batista, Correspondent
HIGHTSTOWN – They’re not the Beatles, or Led Zeppelin, of Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen. But that didn’t deter students from rocking downtown Hightstown during local Summer Jam Showcase.
“This is the fourth year putting this event on and every year it seems to keep growing,” said Bob Gilmartin, organizer and musician in an email Sunday. “It’s been awesome.”
The Summer Jam took place on June 26 on the patio at Tavern on the Lake. This year there were 20 students participating and 15 different “acts.” Ages ranged from 7 to the retired in the live concert event, said Mr. Gilmartin.
“I have an amazing group of professional musicians, that are also my good friends, who provide the musical backdrop for the performing students,” he said.
Students take center stage with the band and get to perform a few songs for their family, friends and the public.
“There’s lots of diverse material,” he said. “Some play acoustic, electric or bass guitar. Some play drums or sing. But no matter what instrument, everyone gets to experience the joy of playing music live. It’s so much fun playing a part in a band.”
Music played included – “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran; “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealer’s Wheel; “Surrender” by Cheap Trick; “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith; “Hold the Line” by Toto; “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi; “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstell; “Ten Years Gone” by Led Zeppelin; “Funk 49” by James Gang; “Take It Easy” by Eagles; “Second Chance” by Shinedown; “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band; “Purple Rain” by Prince; “Something” by The Beatles; “Renegade” by Styx; “Anyway You Want It” by Journey; “Suffragette City” by David Bowie; “Remedy” by Black Crows; “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fightin’” by Elton John; “Wonderwall” by Oasis; “Space Oddity” by David Bowie; “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd; “Over the Hills and Far Away” by Led Zeppelin; “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi; “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple; “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd; “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” by The Beatles; “Wanted: Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi, “X’s and O’s” by Elle King; “Too Much Time on My Hands” by Styx; “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin; “I Saw Her Standin’ There” by The Beatles; “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones; “Baby Girl” by Sugarland; “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar; “Red Barchetta” by Rush; “Money” by Pink Floyd; “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen.
“I wanted my students to have an opportunity to play with a professional band live,” said Mr. Gilmartin. “When I was growing up, if you had a few people on the block who played instruments, you got together in the garage or basement and jammed for hours or until the cops came and told you to stop.”
Those that do that often usually evolve into playing in a band.
Mr. Gilmartin said that most of the students don’t have situations like that, so he wanted to provide an environment for the students to display their talents.
Because there were so many students who participated this year, Mr. Gilmartin had to combine the students into acts. He said some met each other for the first time standing on stage together.
“The best part of that was it showed them that no matter who you’re playing music with, everyone involved is relying on one another for the sake of the music,” he said.
Mr. Gilmartin said he loves seeing families perform every year.
“Fathers and sons, brothers and sisters,” he said. “In fact, this year, I had a family of three perform together for the first time. One sister on acoustic guitar, another sister on bass guitar, and their brother on drums.”
That was something new, exciting and different this year, and it worked very well, he added.
He said another highlight was that his good friend and violin instructor Lynn Rubier-Capron of Hopewell joined the band and rocked the violin on a country song.
“At that moment, including the two students playing guitars, we had a total eight musicians playing on stage together,” he said. “The sound was so big, and the audience was enthusiastic.”
Bill Krause, of Spotswood, he has been taking guitar lessons from Mr. Gilmartin for about six months.
“I played when I was younger, but never took it seriously, until now,” he said. “I play both acoustic and electric guitar and did perform with both at the Summer Jam.”
He played acoustic guitar on the Eagles’ “Take it Easy” and electric guitar on “Second Chance” by Shinedown.
“I haven’t done that (played on stage) since I was about 17, and it was a great way to motivate myself to want to improve,” he said.
Mr. Krause said that he was nervous because it this was his first Summer Jam, but he is now looking forward to next year’s event.
“Bob is an outstanding teacher who’s main drive is to see his students improve and gain confidence in their abilities and this event definitely helps achieve those goals,” he said.
This year’s weather was perfect for hanging out with friends and family on Tavern of the Lake’s outdoor patio, and Mr. Gilmartin thanked the owners and staff.
“They are always so supportive of the Summer Jam Showcase every year,” he said.
He said that he is blessed to have musicians who are gracious enough to devote their time and energy to jamming with the students.
Those musicians included “Brian “Skip“ Delaney on electric and acoustic guitar, bass and vocals; Sarah Dunlap on lead and backing vocals; Tony Capobianco on drums and percussion; and Chris Scialfa on keyboards and vocals.”
“I can’t thank these people enough. They are top-notch musicians, and I couldn’t put on an event like this without them,” said Mr. Gilmartin.
Anyone interested in learning to play guitar, bass, drums, mandolin, beginner piano, vocal training, recording, music production and songwriting, can contact Bob Gilmartin at 732-754-5566 or RoyalBearMusic@gmail.com. For additional information, visit www.bobgilmartin.com.
