The Tiny Giant Artist Collective Raises Money For Sandy Victims With A Winter Beach Ball

The Tiny Giant Artist Collective is a group of musicians, labels, promoters and general people interested in keeping some semblance of a "scene" alive in New Jersey independent music. The collective started as a group of like-minded musicians banding together to help promote and raise awareness for each other. The collective has evolved to represent a slew of cool local bands and people looking to pitch in and help deliver these bands to people all around the state and its surrounding areas.

This weekend (Feb 8th-10th) the great people who make up the Tiny Giant Artist Collective are putting together a 3-day showcase at four different venues around NJ to help raise money for Sandy Victims. All in all over 30 Tiny Giant bands will be playing this weekend, and its surely a great opportunity for anyone interested in aiding in the Sandy relief effort, supporting local music or just looking to see what these Tiny Giants are all about.

Friday, February 8th will be the first show, at New Brunswick's Court Tavern, a venue that has recently reopened and has been a mainstay for independent music through the years. The night will feature some of New Brunswick's Tiny Giants: Sara, Vasudeva, Science, Paper Streets, The Humbolds and Rocky Cantanese, a full night of great bands. ( 7PM / $7 )

The Everymen

Saturday at Asbury Lanes will be an all day event that will showcase most of the Tiny Giant heavy hitters. The day starts off at 11:30am and will go will the wee hours of the morning. Here is list of performers: Lost Romance, Janet Labelle, Lionel Pryor, Zac Clark and The Griswalds, Cicada Radio, Meet Pause, Cinema Cinema, Thomas Francis Takes His Chances, Life Eaters, Secret Country, Holy City Zoo, Those Mockingbirds and The Everymen. (11:30AM / $10 ).

Sunday will have two shows. One at The Lampost in Jersey City and then later that evening at Maxwell's in Hoboken. The Lampost show kicks off at 3pm and will have Slow Moves, The Dark Matters, Cotton and Invisible Lines playing. The Maxwell's show ends the whole weekend with 6 bands and will feature I Am The Heat, Morning, Vows, France, Pour The Pirate Sherry, and Reese Van Riper. ( Lamp Post: 3PM / FREE, Maxwell’s: 6PM / $8 )

Ultimately, if you are anywhere near any of these venues this is a great weekend for local music, so NJ Skeletons strongly recommends you check out some this weekend's wares.

Dad Brother

If you need help navigating the weekend, here is what we are most looking forward to.

Friday night - Sara is one of our favorite current New Brunswick bands. Noisy and unpolished, kind of post-weezer, hard indie rock. These guys are earnest and aren't trying to bullshit anybody.

Saturday night - this is the big one - with so many bands playing its hard to pick out just one, so lets mention a few highlights. The Everymen, fresh off their opening stint for Titus Andronicus at Brooklyn Bowl last week are a fun and exciting saxaphone fueled, Springsteen-esque joy ride. Life Eaters, featuring ex members of Rye Coaltion are high-energy and always a fun show. Dad Brother, a dark, indie rock two piece have been really impressing lately, not to mention Tiny Giant stalwarts Secret Country, Holy City Zoo, and Those Mockingbirds who have been playing some really cool NJ shows. All these bands are highly reccomended if you are going to be at the Asbury Lanes show.

Sunday at The Lampost will be the first Invisible Lines show in a while for fans of melodic post punk. The Maxwell's show has catchy, bright indie rockers, Morning on the bill as well as France which features ex members of They Had Faces Then which should be a good time.

Mornning