Tag Archives: Las Vegas

MOBSTER TALES-Jon D’Amore Who Grew Up in Secaucus, Pens Page Turner on Jersey Wiseguys and The Casino Caper

By Sally Deering

If you grew up in New Jersey it’s likely you knew somebody who had a friend whose second cousin had a brother-in-law whose uncle was connected to “the Mob.” Born in Jersey City and raised in Union City and then Secaucus, Jon D’Amore had family members who were “connected”. An accomplished musician and songwriter, D’Amore kept mental notes of a Las Vegas casino caper that went down back in the day and tells the fascinating and sometimes nail-biting story in his new book, “The Boss Always Sits in the Back.” Here’s an excerpt:

“This is my story, based on actual events, of living on the fringe of what some people call ‘the Mafia.’ You see, several members of my immediate family were connected. Connected simply means that through blood, honor or business…you have a direct connection to the Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, Our Thing, La Famiglia, the Mob. Continue reading MOBSTER TALES-Jon D’Amore Who Grew Up in Secaucus, Pens Page Turner on Jersey Wiseguys and The Casino Caper

Searching for the Echo-Book and Film Shine Light on 1960s Street Corner Acappella Groups

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By Sally Deering

Acappella groups – four or five guys singing harmonies with no back-up band – bridged the gap between 1950s Doo-Wop and 1960s rock and roll, but until now, little has been written about that time in music history when teenagers harmonized on street corners, inside subways and underneath train trestles searching for the echo that gave them their sound.

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Abraham Santiago and Steven Dunham author's preserving a music genre of the 1960s

Abraham Santiago grew up in Jersey City and remembers the days he sang tenor in The Concepts,concepts a street corner acappella group of fellow students from Ferris High School in Jersey City. Santiago, who now resides in Chicago, took his memories of those days and collaborated on a book and documentary about the acappella era with Steve Dunham, an acappella enthusiast and music producer in Las Vegas with a mammoth acappella record collection and a passion for singing street harmonies.

 “Acappella Street Corner Vocal Groups:  A Brief History and Discography of 1960s Singing Groups,” (Mellow Sound Press, Chicago,167 pgs;) chronicles every street corner acappella group ever recorded from that time like  heartaches-cover-of-albumJoanne and the Heartaches, the Royal Counts royal-countsthe-persuassionsand the Persuasions; and the record companies that produced their songs, like Snowflake, Relic and Catamount. The documentary, “Street Corner Harmony: The Missing Link in Rock and Roll History,” narrated by record producer Wayne Stierle delves deeper into the singers’ lives and the genre of acappella music. Both the book and the documentary are touchstones to a bygone era, the time between the 1950s and 1960s, when musical tastes shifted to British rockers like The Beatles and short-haired teens singing acappella became as old-hat as the Hi-Fi record players that spun their songs.         Continue reading Searching for the Echo-Book and Film Shine Light on 1960s Street Corner Acappella Groups

Real Estate Views-Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City Looks Ahead After A Summer Of Success

Retail, Referrals and Rooftop Radiance Abound At the Sophisticated Luxury Condominium

Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City Lights up the night sky on the Downtown Jersey City Waterfront.
Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City lights up the night sky on the Gold Coast in Downtown Jersey City .

 Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City, the exquisite residential tower located on New Jersey’s prestigious Gold Coast, is celebrating a successful summer of stellar sales and building enhancements as it looks forward to exciting events in the coming new year.

Sales at the luxury condominium at 88 Morgan St. have greatly exceeded expectations, with approximately 50 homes having sold since January of this year. About 20 residences sold during the summer months, which is typically a slow time for real estate sales.

 

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Big Brother’s Enzo Palumbo -Bayonne to Hollywood with the Meow-Meow!

enzo-p-photo-3Bayonne’s Enzo Palumbo Loses “Big Brother” Cash but Keeps an Eye on the Hollywood Prize- River View Observer Exclusive Interview

By Sally Deering

Photo sent  by Enzo Palumbo

      First, an explanation of the “meow meow.” It’s like “etcetera, etcetera,” mixed with “yada yada” with a hint of “Oh yeah? What’s it to ya?” It’s also the nickname of Enzo Palumbo, a handsome, funny, “tell it like it is” insurance adjustor from Bayonne who spent 75 days as a contestant on CBS’s “Big Brother” this summer.  Let’s let Palumbo describe the “meow-meow.”

enzo-p-photo-5“Meow-meow” it stems from back in the day,” Palumbo says. “Years ago, I was with my friend and we were with two girls. One sits in the front seat with me and before I put my radio on, she farts in my car and tries to blame me. I ask her, what are you doing?  She says, ‘whatever, meow, meow. That was the end of it. Meow meow.  I’m a straight up cool cat.”

 
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Ringwise – Scott Yaniga – Boxing

RingWise by Scott Yaniga

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Pacquiao Cements Best P4P Reputation At

Hatton’s Expense

 

After the first minute of the recent Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao tiff, it only became of matter of when ‘Pac Man’ would starch the Britisher, not IF he would. While the pre-fight odds favored Pacquiao (bettors rooting for the favorite had to lay $250 to win $100), and many fight game cognoscenti figured the Fightin’ Filipino to eventually lay waste to the pallid U.K’er, absolutely no one was prepared for the brutal and sudden demolition of the heretofore resilient Hatton.

Continue reading Ringwise – Scott Yaniga – Boxing