Happy Hump Day, everyone! Time for another edition of Only in Jersey!
If it’s filming in Jersey, takes place in Jersey, or is about celebs from Jersey, you will find it here.
Sayreville’s native son Jon Bon Jovi gets the Oprah treatment when the rock singer is featured in “Oprah’s Master Class,” airing at 10 p.m. Sunday on OWN. In an exclusive clip to “Entertainment Tonight,” Jon gives credit for his success in the music business to his hometown mentor. “And a man by the name of Al Parinello moved in across the street from my childhood home, and he was in a club band,” Jon reveals. “He was like, a hip guy, and he showed us how to play songs – and he showed me how to play ‘House of the Rising Sun.’ … When you learn a song, you start to think about songs, when you think about songs you want to write songs. When you write songs, you get to be here… Thanks to his encouragement, I stayed with it.”
As a child of the ’80s, I have a soft place in my heart for the music of that time.
Mike Tramp: You bet your sweet bippy this poster was hanging on my bedroom wall.
All through high school, I was uh-bsessed with Duran Duran. And somewhere along the line, my tastes branched out from New Wave to the unfortunately labeled “hair bands.” Oh, I loved them all… Winger, Whitesnake, Warrant (why do they all begin with “W”?), Def Leppard, Slaughter, L.A. Guns, Bang Tango, Bon Jovi (Jersey, holla!)… you get the picture. But one of my favorites from that time was that other “W” band – you know, the one with the super hot Danish lead singer whose sculpted cheekbones clearly were carved by Michelangelo.
It’s Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week, and it’s time for another edition of Only in Jersey!
If it’s filming in Jersey, takes place in Jersey, or is about celebs from Jersey, you will find it here.
Who would've thought of West Orange as "status symbol land"?
In the wake of Davy Jones’ untimely death last week, I’ve discovered at least two connections The Monkees have to the Garden State. First, I was very surprised to learn that one of their hit songs, “Pleasant Valley Sunday,’ was written about life in West Orange, of all places. Yup, that’s right: the tune, penned by Carole King and her then-husband, Gerry Goffin, was inspired by their time living on Pleasant Valley Way in the township’s Watchung Mountains. Kinda gives new meaning to the lyrics, huh?
The local rock group down the street Is trying hard to learn their song Serenade the weekend squire Who just came out to mow his lawn
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday Charcoal burning everywhere Rows of houses that are all the same And no one seems to care
See Mrs. Gray She’s proud today Because her roses are in bloom Mr. Green He’s so serene He’s got a TV in every room
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday Here in status symbol land Mothers complain about how hard life is And the kids just don’t understand
Creature comfort goals They only numb my soul and make it hard for me to see My thoughts all seem to stray to places far away I need a change of scenery
The second Monkees/Garden State connection, which I recall but had forgotten, is that the band filmed the video for its ’86 comeback hit, “That Was Then, This Is Now,” at Great Adventure’s arena in Jackson. The song and video only feature Monkees Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, although apparently Davy was part of the tour.
Contrary to prior reports and her outright denial, The New York Post says that “Jersey Shore’s” lead meatball, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, is in fact pregnant with boyfriend Jionni LaValle’s child. The newspaper says Snooki has been shopping exclusive rights to her offspring story to various tabloids, and Us Weekly won the bidding war. There is no word on when Us Weekly will go public with Snooki’s story, or how MTV plans on handling this bit of news since Snooki and Jenni “JWOWW” Farley are currently filming their untitled spinoff in Jersey City. “MTV went into crisis mode after they found out,” the Post quotes its source as saying. “They’re trying to hide it because it would greatly affect the creative direction of the show.” Will a pregnant, sober Snooki make for interesting television? That remains to be seen…
Despite speculation to the contrary, Whitney Houston’s family has no plans to hold a public memorial for the late singer, who died February 11 in Los Angeles, California. Whitney will be remembered during an invitation-only funeral service beginning at noon on Saturday, February 18, at her childhood church, New Hope Baptist, in Newark. There is, however, talk that the singer will be buried in Westfield’sFairview Cemetery. TMZ reports Whitney will be laid to rest beside her father, John Russell Houston Jr., who died in 2003, because that was what she wanted. Newark, meanwhile, is preparing for a crush of fans and onlookers during Saturday’s celebrity-filled, somber ceremony. “Obviously Whitney Houston was one of the greatest performers of our time, and certainly we expect a huge presence of other performers, actors and we’re preparing for all that,” the city’s police director, Samuel DeMaio, told The Star-Ledger. And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered that state flags be lowered to half-staff on Saturday in Whitney’s memory.
Ava Gacser is a freelance writer in Central New Jersey. She is a former television columnist and features writer for several Gannett-owned daily newspapers in New Jersey.
Ava is an avid couch potato with a special affinity for reality TV, and she can't believe how many shows feature New Jersey residents!
She was a member of the Television Critics Association from 2005 to 2010.
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