Chronicling Asbury Park's Legacy: An Update

Gary Wien, former Upstage Magazine proprietor and current driving force behind Penguin Radio, has always been committed to both the legacy and the promise of Asbury Park, and it's the legacy he's hoping to polish up with his latest adventure - a refresh of his seminal history of the region's music scene, "Beyond The Palace". Here's the details:

(ASBURY PARK, NJ -- MAY 4, 2010) – Seven years ago, Gary Wien released “Beyond The Palace”, the first comprehensive look at the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park. In the next thirty days, he is trying to raise three thousand dollars with Kickstarter.com to release an updated version in hardcover. Fans of Asbury Park or rock and roll music may make pledges online at:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1614580898/beyond-the-palace-hardcover

“Kickstarter.com has helped many artists raise funds for their projects,” said Gary Wien. “People make pledges of donations, but they don’t have to pay anything until the project funding period is over. If the project fails to reach its pledged goal, the people who made pledges do not pay anything. Whether it succeeds or not, this project will end on June 5, 2010.”

Wien is hoping to raise $3,000 to pay for the usage rights to photographs and the actual production costs of the book. Those who pledge will receive rewards such as autographed copies of the book, tickets to a private book release party, and their name thanked in the book.

When most rock fans think of Asbury Park, they instantly think of Bruce Springsteen, but the music scene goes much farther. “Beyond The Palace” takes readers on a ride through all of the city's music history; from the Upstage Club where musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Chinnock, David Sancious and Southside Johnny used to jam all night to early clubs like The Student Prince and Sunshine In; from the legendary Stone Pony and Fastlane to alternative clubs like the Green Parrot, T-Birds Cafe and The Saint. The original book contained interviews with over 40 artists and featured over 70 rare and never before seen photographs; the updated version will included additional interviews and photographs.

"Beyond the Palace" takes you inside the scene like never before. You'll hear the stories right from the artists themselves. It's a look at drugs, sex and booze; bands that made it big, artists on the rise, and those that just missed the mark. It brings you inside the music industry from how bands fight to get signed to how things can fall apart overnight. But most of all, it shows how artists don’t have to sell millions of records to be remembered.

"Asbury Park is a special place,” said the author. “Many people compare Asbury Park’s music scene with cities like Seattle or Washington, DC, but they don’t realize that Asbury Park is so much smaller. I don’t think there’s another town in the United States with a population of less than 20,000 to be home to so many great musicians or have such an illustrious music history.”