Jersey Fresh

The infamous Ewing VFW show

Everyone's got that one local band that at the time, seemed almost legendary. Well in 1986, straight out of my home town of Ewing, New Jersey, we had Jersey Fresh. As far as I knew, all the members went to my high school, but were a few years older than me and graduated before me. I do remember their guitarist, Dave, going to summer school at the same time as me. We weren't in a class together and I was just about to enter high school, so I assume he was probably taking a class so that he could graduate high school. I just remember seeing him around the school and seeing his Charles Manson tattoo, which he was pretty damn legendary for. Their bass player, who was also named Dave, was friends with a few guys that I hung around, so I remember going to a show or two with him and being at a couple of the same parties.


Jersey Fresh bassist, Dave Bryson, take notice of that sweet Justice League sticker on his bass

Jersey Fresh played a few local shows, none of which I got a chance to see, but I was well aware of and heard the stories. The Ewing VFW show with F.O.D. in January of 1987, was one that I always thought about because the VFW hall that they played was right across the street from a soccer field that I played many games at. I don't remember hearing about too many hardcore shows happening right in Ewing, so that one that went down was definitely etched into the local history books. Every time I passed that hall, which was quite often, all I could think about, was the fact that hardcore bands actually played there.


This flyer hung inside my junior high school locker in 1987, along with a handful of other choice flyers of the time

Like I said, everyone's got a band like this from their town, but considering a Jersey Fresh page just popped up on Facebook, I thought I'd mention it and draw a little attention to it. I've been talking to their drummer, Todd, off and on for a year or two now and I'm planning on getting an interview together with him for DCXX. Really just out of my own curiosity, I'd love to hear some stories and details from him about the early hardcore scene in my home town, so hopefully I can pull that together sooner than later. For now though, click this link and check out the Jersey Fresh Facebook page. I know they've got their 1986 demo tape up and streaming, so that's worth checking out. There are also a handful of photos and some band information. -Tim DCXX


Jersey Fresh drummer, Todd Waladkewics