Renee Maskin | Beachfront

RENEE MASKIN | BEACHFRONT

ALICE: Songs on Site is recorded on location and features each site’s unique soundscape as an audio backdrop. This episode includes the ocean, birds, lifeguard ATVs, and beach-goers. We recommend listening to Songs on Site with headphones for an immersive audio experience.

MUSIC: SONGS ON SITE THEME PLAYS UNDER.
SEAGULLS FLY OVERHEAD. A TRAIN PASSES BY.

MICHAEL: From Cocotazo Media and You Don’t Know Jersey—

A BUS PASSES BY.

MICHAEL: —this is Songs on Site—

BIRDS TAKE FLIGHT. A CAR BEEPS. A HORSE (OR THE JERSEY DEVIL) RUNS BY.

MICHAEL: —where we explore the music and environmental soundscapes of the Garden State.

CONDUCTOR: Stand clear of the door.

MICHAEL: I’m your host Michael Aquino.

COFFEE POURS INTO A MUG. SILVERWARE CLINKS AGAINST DISHWARE. KIDS ON A PLAYGROUND. A CAR PASSES BY. CRICKETS ON A SUMMER NIGHT.

MICHAEL: Hey, there. It's Michael Aquino, the host of Songs on Site.
We’re back this week with the second half of my interview with Renee Maskin. If you haven’t heard the first part, go back and listen to that episode before continuing with this one. You know the deal.

MUSIC: “WE’RE FAR” PLAYS UNDER.

MICHAEL: In part two of my conversation with Renee, we chat about her experience of opening for the Pretenders, performing at the Franklin Schoolhouse, the Asbury Park music scene, and her upcoming album. Let’s get to it.

THE OCEAN IS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND.

MICHAEL: You have worked with some amazing female musical icons like Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. What has working with these incredible artists taught you?

RENEE: Well, I mean, so many things, little technical things, like, you know, with some of those bigger stages and things. But, the not-rock-and-roll answer about Chrissie Hynde, specifically, is how to be a good boss. We were the opening act. She was not happy with the way venues were doing sound for us, so she put her sound people on our band with the knowledge that if these guys sound bad, that makes the whole show worse. But if these guys sound good and everybody's having a good experience from the time they're rolling into the venue to the time they leave, that’s not just good for the audience. That's good for me. That's good for her. You wish that everybody in life would realize that if you care about the little things, the bigger are even better.

MICHAEL: It's great that she cared about an opening act. Some people would be like, we have the opening act.

RENEE: Yeah. We managed to get on a really great tour with a really great person.

MICHAEL: How long were you on tour?

RENEE: Not very long. We did an east coast run with her, starting down in Miami, Florida. Just kind of chasing them in their whole caravan of tour buses and us and this little van trying to keep up, you know? It was amazing.

MICHAEL: You often play the old Franklin Schoolhouse in your old hometown of Metuchen. What do you enjoy about performing music at this unique venue?

RENEE: I enjoy everything about it. It's literally an old schoolhouse from the 1800s. So it's got that sort of charm. It's small, it's intimate. The people who run the shows there, those particular shows, are music fans. Steve has seen Bob Dylan more than 365 times and met his wife Tyreen at a Pixies concert. The old Franklin schoolhouse is truly, like, a labor of music love, you know? It's not about money. And you can feel that at every show. It's not about them trying to figure out how to pay the bills. Although they are trying to do that. But it's really just about their joy of music. If you go to the schoolhouse and you meet them, you will see the joy on their faces, on everyone who's there. It's a beautiful listening room, and at the same time, everyone's there to have a good time. So, it's just the best atmosphere.

MICHAEL: Dania and I actually saw a radio drama performance of The Hound Of the Baskervilles there. It was a lot of fun.

RENEE: It's a cool spot. They do all kinds of cool stuff there. Metuchen itself is sort of artistic and open-minded and wants to do interesting, weird things. And the schoolhouse has become this little hub for that.

MICHAEL: Asbury Park is known for its mythical boardwalk, the historic Convention Hall, and of course, The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. Tell us something about Asbury Park that most people don't know.

RENEE: We had another very famous resident here, named Johnny Cash, who for a couple decades, I think—or at least one—had a spot over at the Berkeley Hotel, which is another iconic building here in town. And back in the 80s, you know, Johnny and June saw something in Asbury Park and they were here. So it's funny that the Church of Bruce is very strong in Asbury Park. But there's been a lot of other famous people and entities here. And not-famous too. It's a cool place that draws a lot of people

MICHAEL: Can you describe the Asbury Park music community?

RENEE: It's hard to describe. There's a lot of us. There's a lot of different sounds and a lot of different types of people with different influences, different goals. On any given night, there'll be, like, a drum circle over at the end of the boardwalk. And then, you'll walk past a rock show. And then, there'll be, like, a soul review somewhere else in town. And open mic poetry. It's just kind of everything. That's why so many people wanna play here, cause there's so much going on. There's so much energy and there kind of is room for everybody to a certain extent. It's hard to break into Asbury Park, but once you're here, whatever you're doing, there's a space for it.

MICHAEL: Do you think New Jersey music has sound?

RENEE: I guess it depends on who you ask. I would say no. But on a broad scale of what's commercially popular, I mean, you could point to like Gaslight Anthem, or emo, or whatever. But I hear so many different people with so many different influences, right here. I don't really think there's a sound. I mean, you guys had Jackson Pines. And then, cut to all of the hip hop out of New Jersey, like, Fugees—how can you say this is what New Jersey sounds like when there's so many people here doing so many different things? There is a little bit of, like, a tough Jersey—maybe it's a sound, maybe it's a rhythm, or a vibe. It's, sort of, friendly and aggressive at the same time.

MICHAEL: That is a perfect description. Friendly and aggressive. That's great.

RENEE: Yeah. Maybe that. You could probably pick up something, some kind of frequency from New Jersey.

MICHAEL: In addition to Scrimshaw, which is available now, what musical projects do you have in the works?

RENEE: I'm working on my next record. And a couple of singles and things like that. I have a new band in the works. My current band, the Mysterious Wilds, just put out an album that we were promoting. And Mike Noordzy is having a kid, so we're gonna press pause on that. So, I'm doing a bunch of other stuff. Kind of talking to a couple people about some collaborations. I don't really know how to sit still. And maybe that's a Jersey thing. You gotta just kind of keep moving.

MICHAEL: 100%.

RENEE: Yeah. Like sharks or cars on the turnpike, you just kind of have to keep going. So concretely, I don't have anything, but there's always something. In the works. There's always something going on.

MICHAEL: Where can people find information about you and your music?

RENEE: I'm at reneemaskin dot com. I'm on Instagram. I'm Renee Makin, Facebook, all that stuff. I'm around.

MICHAEL: Renee Maskin, are you ready to perform your music on the beach of Asbury park?

RENEE: Yeah, absolutely.

MICHAEL: Let's do it.

MICHAEL: And now, enjoy this performance of “Horses” written and performed by Renee Maskin on the Asbury park beachfront.

RENEE: This a song that I've been playing for a long time now, and about feeling awkward at parties, and it's called, “Horses.”

MUSIC TRANSITION.

THE BEACH IS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND.
MUSIC: “HORSES” LIVE ON THE ASBURY PARK BEACHFRONT.

RENEE:
I showed up to the party
But I had nothing to say
Everywhere I stood, I stood, I stood
I stood in someone’s way
And some dude kept fucking with the stereo
Someone else drank all the wine
In one corner a couple was making out
And in another a girl was crying

And I thought about horses
Running through dusty fields
I thought about horses
Running running running

I could barely manage any words today
Except for, “Hey, how’s it going?”
When I showed up to your apartment
I could listen to you talking

I took you by the hand
And we laid down on your couch
You brushed your fingers across my face
I brushed my fingers across your mouth

I thought about horses
Running through dusty fields
I thought about horses
Running running running

Poor tired little horses
Poor tired little horses

MICHAEL: Renee Maskin, it’s been a pleasure spending time with you on the beach in Asbury Park for Songs on Site.

RENEE: Thank you for having me. This is great.

MICHAEL: Last question, where are we going to go eat?

RENEE: We're going to continue this journey on foot over to Kim Marie's, which is just around the corner from here. And it's a nice little dark divey place for us to grab a drink and a meal.

MICHAEL: Let's go.

MUSIC: SONGS ON SITE THEME (INSTRUMENTAL) PLAYS UNDER.

MICHAEL: Thanks for listening to Songs on Site. I’m your host Michael Aquino. Songs on Site producers are Michael Aquino and Dania Ramos for Cocotazo Media, and Ed Magdziak and Alice Magdziak for You Don’t Know Jersey. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. If you’d like to hear bonus content with the featured musicians, you can unlock it by supporting us at Patreon dot com slash Cocotazo M.

MUSIC: SHIFT IN THEME MUSIC (INSTRUMENTAL) CONTINUES UNDER.

ALICE: Audio editing, design, mixing, and theme song by Michael Aquino. Story editing, scriptwriting, and additional audio editing by Dania Ramos.

The featured musician was Renee Maskin. “Horses” was written and performed by Renee on guitar and vocals. Learn more about Renee at renee maskin dot bandcamp dot com. You can find a link to her website and our website in the show notes.

This episode was recorded on the shore at Asbury Park and was produced in Essex County, New Jersey. Both locations are situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

As always, thanks for listening.

KIDS PLAY ON A PLAYGROUND.

RENEE: Name the ears earnest. Maybe these are some earnest ears you got there.