Status Green - www.StatusGreen.com
It was Thanksgiving eve and true to tradition, our friends gathered at Woody’s Tavern to share a few holiday drinks. As the clock ticked on, the place became strangely more and more packed. I grew more curious as to what was going on and while getting another round a drinks I asked the bartender what the deal was. “Status Green is playing a surprise late set tonight at 10,” he said. I quickly shared the good news with my friends and the beers clinked and clanked in a celebratory toast. 9:45 hit and Woody’s was wall to wall of people. You could feel the anticipation rising as the clock ticked away. Only a few minutes later, Status Green made their grand appearance. Heads sharply turned, bartenders give a celebratory raise of the glass, and titillated girls gave charming winks hoping it would motivate the band to walk their way. You would have thought the Beatles just charged through the door! The anticipation soon became worth it with the first note and strum of the guitar. Good friends and great music...it was a truly a memorable night.
Status Greens’ pop-rock, fun-loving, Elvis Costello meets Weezer sound, inspires the uninspired to grab a friend and hit the dance floor. And how poetically fitting being that the bands creation came after an uninspired Lou Montesano (lead vocalist/guitar/piano), hopped on his motorcycle to spend his summer cruising, journaling his thoughts. After that fateful summer in 2005, Lou Montesano rallied his pals from the good ole’ Howell High school days, Chris Marino (vocals/guitar), Russell Tolas (vocals/base), and Mike Montalto (drums), to put the ideas to work. Status Green was born.
Taken from their hit song, Firebomb, “under bright stage lights & the sleepless nights,” the band hit the ground running playing shows up and down the East Coast. It wasn’t long until they started to really shake up the music scene and sell out famous venues like the legendary CBGB’s in NYC and The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Then...poof! The band turned from a local Jersey band to a bona-fide national act overnight after winning a tri-state listener poll on 95.5 WPLJ, capped by opening for fellow Jersey legend, Bon Jovi.
In 2006, the band self released its first album titled, Greatest Hits Volume 1. Jesting yes, but it might possibly be an appropriate title because since their release they have received rave reviews from Yahoo Music, both commercial and alternative radio stations, and even licensed their music to TV show Guiding Light, MTV, and Vans Triple Crown surf competitions. To boot, New York Giants have used their songs 'Big Debut' and 'New Start' at their home games last season.
Most recently, the band was cast to play a role in the film Exit 102, a story about the battle between rock n’rollers and greasers in 1974 in Asbury Park. The film was produced by Dan Jouett, long-time doormen at The Stone Pony. The whole band is featured in the movie, including Lou, who was cast as the lead, fittingly, as a “guitar-slinging heart-throb.” Wow-wee!
So where do you get the music of Status Green? If you’re looking for one or two songs, certainly iTunes is a great start, but you would be missing out on a true musical experience. “I feel you'll appreciate what we're doing much more if you experience it,” says Montesano. So remove yourself from the usual Saturday night routine, grab a friend, and check them out at The Stone Pony, May 2nd! If you already have something scheduled, check out their list of upcoming shows to the left!
Check out their video for "Firebomb"
UPCOMING SHOWS
- May 2 2009 Doors at 11PM: The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, ALL AGES!!
- May 8 2009 10PM: Leggetts, Manasquan, New Jersey
- May 9 2009 8PM: Continental, Arlington, Virginia
- May 14 2009 6PM: Florida Music Festival, Orlando, Florida
- May 22 2009 10PM: PK’s Shamrock, Belmar, New Jersey
- Jun 19 2009 10PM: PK’s Shamrock, Belmar, New Jersey
For more on Status Green, visit their website: www.statusgreenmusic.com