New York Junk at the Bowery Electric

The four members of New York Junk are survivors of the New York music scene of the early 1980s. This was the era when attention to punk rock had died down and local bands were playing basic rock and roll again. The musicians in New York Junk played in various bands during that era and now are reviving that music.

At the Bowery Electric tonight opening for the Waldos, at first New York Junk sounded like another band playing three chords fast in a garage rock way. Listening more carefully, one heard songs, real songs, songs from the soul of thinking, working class people. Guitarist/songwriter Joe Sztabnik sang with a limited range that simultaneously pushed his angst and his passions. The roar of the two guitarists then echoed those sentiments with raw and gritty rock and roll leads. It sounded simple, but it also sounded compellingly honest.

New York Junk will be opening for the Jim Jones Revue at the Bowery Electric on New Year’s Eve.