Asbury Park legend Leon Trent talks West Side, Springsteen, Waterfront shows
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Playing music at the Jersey Shore ain't easy. In the words of Jerry Butler, only the strong survive.
Asbury Park native Leon Trent has survived and thrived. He's been entertaining audiences at the Shore for the last 60 years. On Saturday, Feb. 18, he plays with Al Torre as the Waterfront Duo at Christopher's Pub, inside the Holiday Inn on Hooper Avenue in Toms River.
“My forte is still the same thing,” said Trent to the USA Today Network New Jersey. “I don't want you to turn away from me looking. I want your ears to pop every time I do something you remember. I want your eyes to light up. I want you to smile and laugh when I do. I'm there for you.”
Trent was in the top line city group the Broadways in the 1960s. A young Bruce Springsteen opened. Since then, Trent has been a solo act and member of Waterfront in various combinations.
“My spectrum of music is everything from Sinatra to doo-wop to oldies to R&B to Motown to the Impressions to Elvis to James Brown,” said Trent, adding that working with Torre in this version of Waterfront Duo is fun and a pleasure. “The whole gambit, and that's wardrobe, too.”
Trent knows the clothes. He used to dress city vocal groups and rock bands, like Southside Johnny, when he worked at the former Fisch's store on Springwood Ave. in Asbury Park after his tenure in the Air Force. Danny DeVito worked across the street in an Italian restaurant.
More:How Black music history of forgotten West Side of Asbury Park is being rediscovered
He's pleased that people are rediscovering the history of Springwood Ave. and the West Side of Asbury Park. For decades, the rich cultural history was all but lost.
“The amazing thing about Asbury Park on the West Side, if you were not there you could not conceive how wonderful that area from Main Street in Asbury Park to Route 35 going down Springwood Avenue was," he said. "How majestic it was from a sense of a neighborhood. Everybody knew everybody. Everybody had their favorite stores.”
Springwood Avenue was formerly a vibrant center of music in Asbury Park, where greats like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Sonny Greer, Lenny Welch, Bobby Thomas of the Orioles, Clarence Clemons and more either came up in or played the avenue’s clubs. The Broadways, with Billy Brown, Ronald Coleman, Robert Conti, Dennis Anderson and Trent, played there, too, when they were the stars of the city.
More:The Turf Club, a long dormant Asbury Park musical landmark, shows signs of life
In the shell of the former Turf Club at 1200 Springwood, the last remaining club on the strip, the Asbury Park African-American Music Project is seeking to renovate the venue, partly with revenue from its summer series, Tuesday at the Turf.
Trent grew up a block away on Avenue A, next to Kershaw's BBQ.
“The smell of the barbecue was always on my block,” Trent said. “The thing about it was when the bars closed, everybody went to Kershaw's to get a barbecue sandwich and some potato salad and collard greens, and you'd see everybody there. Everybody would come from the bars and they'd go there.”
Everybody went to Trent's run at the Playpen Lounge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the summer of 1975. He had a little help from a friend. Springsteen, who had just appeared on the cover of Time and Newsweek, was playing in the area and joined Trent on stage.
“I always owed him a big favor for that because the place was packed every night the rest of the summer,” Trent said.
Go: Waterfront Duo with Leon Trent and Al Torre, 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, Christopher's Pub at the Holiday Inn, 955 Hooper Ave., Toms River; christopherspubandgrille.com.
More:Bruce Springsteen poses for photo shoot in Asbury Park on eve of tour
Jarod Clemons at the Wonder Bar
Jarod Clemons has a very real connection to the West Side of Asbury Park. His dad, Clarence Clemons, played the clubs on Springwood Avenue before finding fame as the Big Man with Springsteen and the E Street Band.
The younger Clemons returns to the city's Wonder Bar with his band the Late Nights for a 25th birthday show on Saturday, Feb. 18.
What's cookin' at the show?
“A lot of new music! New covers and a lot of energy!” said Clemons via text. “It's going to be a rockin' night at the Wonder Bar for my 25th birthday!”
Go: Jarod Clemons and the Late Nights, 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, Wonder Bar, 1213 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park. $13 in advance/$15 at the door; wonderbarasburypark.com.
Mardi Gras at the Jersey Shore
Who are the dudes you want to know on Mardi Gras? The VooDUDES, of course.
New Jersey's premier New Orleans-inspired band will play the Friday, Feb. 17, Asbury Park Masquerade Ball at the Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten to kick off a two-day Asbury Park Mardi Gras party.
Between sets there will be a costume contest to crown the Ruler of Mardi Gras.
Events on Saturday, Feb. 18, include a King Cake Baby Hunt, which takes place downtown starting at noon at Backward Glances, inside the Shoppes at the Arcade, 658 Cookman Ave. The babies (traditionally, small baby figurines are baked inside king cakes) can be found around town, and Backward Glances will tell you where they are. Visit downtown shops to find each baby to win prizes and get donuts.
The third annual Mardi Paws Pet Parade starts at 2 p.m. on Cookman. Best dressed pets and owners will win prizes. Call Paws Pet Boutique at 732-449-5000 for more info.
Visit the Asbury Park Mardi Gras Weekend 2023 Facebook page for info and updates.
Also on Friday night, the Philly-based James Day & The Fish Fry play a Mardi Gras show at the Lizzie Rose Music Room, 217 E. Main St. in Tuckerton. Day and the guys say “Laissez les bons temps rouler” — “Let the good times roll!” in New Orleans speak.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Visit lizzierosemusic.com for more info or tickets.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park legend Leon Trent on West Side, Springsteen, Waterfront
