A dynamic and powerful album from one of New Jerseyâs beloved âpower popâ bands. Itâs filled with catchy melodies, great dance beats, brilliant harmonies and songs that will keep running through your head long after the last chords are played! So, if you are looking for songs that will put you in a good mood, this album will do that and more!

9 MP3 Songs in this album (25:47) !
Related styles: Pop: 80's Pop, Rock: British Invasion, Mood: Party Music

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Details:
The Modulators unofficially began when Joe Riccardello walked into Vintage Vinyl Records, a small store in Irvington, NJ, and met owner Rob Roth. After a few months, Riccardello started working at Vintage Vinyl and he and Roth started writing songs together. Riccardello wrote the music and Roth wrote the lyrics. After writing several songs, the pair hit on a couple they wanted to record, and went into a tiny 4-track studio, appropriately called âMini Sound.â Riccardello played all the instruments, while Roth produced. The songs were âGirl Troubleâ and âAmplitude Modulation.â While the results were decent, they decided to re-record the songs in a bigger studio. That studio was the 8-track equipped âMagma Sound.â Riccardello again played all the instruments, but the sound was both fuller and more professional. Originally dubbed, âJoey and the Modulators,â Roth and Riccardello felt that âThe Modulatorsâ worked better. Roth decided to press 500 numbered copies, and to distribute it locally. Subsequently, he felt they should get a band together to play some shows to promote the record.

Riccardello called his old band mate, guitarist Mark Higgins, and the band, The Modulators, began. Riccardello and Higgins recruited some other players, namely Fran Barbone on drums, and Jim Gordon on guitar, with Riccardello shifting to bass, and the foursome began a series of promotional shows at various NJ clubs. The Dirt Club in Bloomfield, NJ, was the first club they played, and the Modulators became a fixture there â probably playing there more than any other band. Ron Cassel replaced Barbone on drums shortly after the band started. Soon thereafter, Gordon left the band and bassist Gene OâBrien joined briefly. With the departures of Cassel and OâBrien, The Modulators were down to a twosome â Riccardello and Higgins. The duo began recording a Roth/Riccardello song, âDown at the Dirt,â a tribute to their favorite club. The song became an anthem at the Dirt Club, eventually winding up on the Dirtâs Various Artists album, Vol. 1.

After auditioning way too many drummers, Mark âCakesâ Westlake solidified the band. The Modulators were now: Riccardello, bass/ vocals; Higgins, guitar/vocals; and Westlake, drums/vocals. The band began playing more high-profile gigs, at clubs like Kennyâs Castaways and the Bitter End, in NYC, and the Meadowbrook in NJ. All the while, they continued playing at their home base, the Dirt Club. They recorded their next single, Higginsâ âSheâs So Cynical,â and Roth/Riccardelloâs âDream Girlsâ at the 16-track Homegrown Studios. This single garnered more radio airplay, on stations such as Long Islandâs WLIR, New Yorkâs WNEW, and New Jerseyâs WDHA, along with many NJ college stations. Additionally, the band promoted the record on the âUncle Floyd Show.â

The band was doing well, and a representative from A&M Records contacted them, requesting more material. The band went back to the studio to work on new songs, which would eventually form the basis of their album, âTomorrowâs Coming.â Unfortunately, by the time the new material was completed and sent to A&M, the interested rep had left the label. The band continued recording, finishing and releasing the album in 1984, to critical raves, and receiving airplay on many college stations as well as the NJ shore station, WHTG.

The band added bassist/vocalist, Jim Brennan, shortly after the album was completed, and he has been an integral part of the Modulators ever since. Following the recording of a video for the Roth/Riccardello song, âSpin Me Around,â the band performed throughout the mid-1980s, playing Jersey shore clubs. More recently, their video for Spin Me Around has received over 13,000 hits on YouTube.

The Modulators have remained good friends, and continue to play a few shows a year. In November of 2009, International Pop Overthrow (IPO) founder and promoter, David Bash, contacted the band and asked them to play the IPO festival at Kennyâs Castaways in New York. The show was very well received. Some comments posted on YouTube included, âThis was an amazing show,â âThis group can still rock,â and âGREAT band! Great music! Nice to see them playing again.â Subsequently, Bash invited the Modulators to play the Cavern Club in Liverpool, UK, for the 2010 IPO festival.