NOTE: All photographs are copyright of Dean Keim 2025
90’s alt rock band Dramarama played an intimate show at their old stomping ground of Wonderbar in Asbury Park on a chilly January night as part of The Light of Day Festival that raises money and awareness for ending Parkinson’s disease, fighting the good fight since 1998. “Light of Day” is a song written by Bruce Springsteen that was performed in the 1987 film Light of Day by Joan Jett as well as Michael J. Fox, the actor who has been battling the disease since the early 90’s. This year’s festival featured shows from Manhattan’s City Winery to Red Banks’ Count Basie Center and featured a number of high profile performers including guitar legend Albert Lee at one of the many venues and Bruce Springsteen himself showing up for one of the shows with Jesse Malin, Willie Nile, and Joe Grushecky. I could only attend a couple of these many showcases and I’m lucky to have witnessed Dramarama rocking out with such intensity on this glorious evening.
Dramarama formed in New Jersey back in 1982, built up a following here in the beach town of Asbury Park, and started getting a lot of attention after songs like “Anything, Anything” got some major airplay. They did eventually relocate to LA in the mid 80’s and got big in the early 90’s with hits like “Haven’t Got a Clue”and “What Are We Gonna Do?,” only to sadly break up in 1994 at what seemed the peak of their success. They reunited in 2003 after an appearance on VH1 which rekindled interest in the band. Since then, the band has consisted of lead singer John Easdale and guitarists Peter Wood and Mark Englert, all of whom were close friends way back in high school when they started the band in a small basement of a record store in Wayne, NJ. Also along for the ride are longtime players drummer Tony Snow and bassist Mike Davis who have been playing with Easdale since the 90’s.
On big display for this show was Easdale’s serious Tab addiction, for which he had several cans laid out on stage and he drank throughout the night, at one point confessing he buys these cans on eBay, and are probably several years past their expiration date. Now that is a extremely serious craving for the diet drink that was so popular back in the 70’s but was discontinued in 2020. Also, the chronic need to rock hard was on full display for an epic full set of at least 24 singalong classics. They opened with “Steve & Edie” from 1987’s Box Office Bomb and finished with the awesome “Anything Anything” from 1985’s Cinéma Vérité, and along the way they played prime rockers like “Haven’t Got a Clue,” “Work for Food,” “I’ve Got Spies” and many more vintage Dramarama, as well as a surprising stripped down cover of Elliot Smith’s “The Biggest Lie” sandwiched in the middle. I would have loved to hear “Last Cigarette” and “What Are We Gonna Do?,” but it’s hard to imagine how you could make the evening more perfect.
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