Dead Äire Livens Up Silverball’s Night of Covers For 2024 Light of Day Shows

Every January, the Light of Day Foundation holds its annual Winterfest to raise money and awareness in the battle against Parkinson's Disease and its related illnesses.

The list of performers over the years who have participated is like a Who's Who of musicians - everyone from Bruce Springsteen to my own band Dead Äire, which for the second consecutive year kicked off the Night of Covers at the Silverball Retro Arcade.

In addition to me on guitar and vocals, Dead Äire is Tom Kaminski from WCBS 880 on drums/vocals, Mike Trinker on bass/vocals, Chris Flynn on lead guitar/vocals, and Sean Seymour on guitar/vocals.

You might have seen us open up for the legendary Smithereens at the Stone Pony over the recent Thanksgiving weekend.

Here are a few songs from our Light of Day Winterfest set.

"One Guitar" was written by Willie Nile and has been a staple of Joe D'Urso's live shows with his band Stone Caravan for years.
https://youtu.be/E243Bs0t6bM

Originally recorded by Grand Funk Railroad, "Bad Time" was a Top 10 hit for them. This version is closer to the recording the Jayhawks did some years back.
https://youtu.be/xoreGR1abaw

"Into Your Arms" was originally done by the Lemonheads. It's one of Evan Dando's best songs.
https://youtu.be/3kDwsxIYbvE

As in past years, all of the Light of Day Winterfest performances and events go toward raising money and awareness for its continuing battle to defeat Parkinson’s disease and its related illnesses ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) within our lifetime.

Venues hosting Light of Day WinterFest 2024 shows include Asbury Park’s Stone Pony, Wonder Bar, Asbury Lanes, Clinch Transparent Gallery, Asbury Hotel, McLoone’s Supper Club, Watermark, Silverball Museum, Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, Low Dive, RBar, The Break, and Capitoline; Deal’s Axelrod Performing Arts Center; Red Bank's Count Basie Center; Outpost In The Burbs in Montclair; City Winery in Manhattan; and Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point, NY.

Over the past 24 years, Light of Day has utilized the awesome power of music to raise approximately $6.5 Million to combat Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and PSP. Light of Day has grown from a one-day event into a multi-day festival in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.

More significantly, Light of Day has expanded into an internationally recognized tour, through a true grassroots effort of musicians, music fans, and benefactors.

Light of Day shows have taken place around the world on three continents, with shows in Canada, England, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Australia.

It's not enough for me to play music on the radio on WDHA - I also get the urge to grab one of my guitars and play live on a local stage.

For the second consecutive year, my band Dead Äire was invited to open the Light of Day Foundation's Silverball Night of Covers at the legendary Silverball Retro Arcade in Asbury Park.

To kick of the 2024 festivities, we were joined by Joe D'Urso who is the president of the Light of Day Foundation, performing Willie Nile's "One Guitar."

Dead Äire is Tom Kaminski from WCBS 880 on drums, two-time Emmy Award-winning Mike Trinker on bass, and Chris Flynn, Sean Seymour and me on guitars.

Chris and Sean have serious music cred - Chris is part of a duo with Deni Bonet (I've been playing their music a lot on All Mixed Up lately).

Meanwhile, Sean is currently touring with the Richard Lloyd Group (Lloyd, along with the late Tom Verlaine was a founding member of the legendary New York City band Television).

In addition, Chris and Sean also play regularly with the Crash Combo.

Dead Äire has been together since October 2022 when they got together for Cranford's annual Porchfest, an annual family-oriented music festival in town.

Since then, we have gone on to play at the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, and the Stone Pony in Asbury Park where they opened for the legendary Smithereens.