Southside Johnny brings classic Jersey Shore sound to The Palace

Apr. 3—When Southside Johnny hits the stage with the Asbury Jukes, he likes to tell the audience, "You're more than welcome to enjoy yourself."

The invitation is extended to those who come to hear their raucous, horn-heavy, roots-tinged rock at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

"We're gonna come on stage and turn it up," said the front man known off-stage as John Lyon. "We're not trying to save souls or convince anyone of a political point of view, we just want everybody to have a good time."

Southside Johnny and band have been bringing the party to stages across the country and around the world for close to 50 years, starting in the Jersey Shore clubs that also gave rise to Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.

Formed in 1974, the original Jukes featured Lyon and guitarist/songwriter Steve Van Zandt. Van Zandt left for the E Street Band in 1975 and later formed Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul, but continued to produce, manage and write songs for the Jukes.

Behind Lyon's gritty vocals, the Jukes evolved as a white R&B horn band.

"In the beginning, we wanted to be Stax Volt Records and Motown, with some Count Basie. We just wanted a powerful sound," said Lyon, 74, who has been dubbed the Godfather of the New Jersey Sound.

Though the band has experimented with different musical styles over the years, roots rock, R&B and soul — along with the signature horns — still are the bedrock of its sound.

"We experiment with a lot of different things. Whatever you want to play in this band, you can play," he said. "I don't think we're ever stuck in any one style, but once the horns kick in, you know it's the Jukes.

"They lift up the excitement level and certainly the volume."

'Wild free-for-all'

At The Palace, fans are likely to hear some of the Jukes' best-known songs, like "I Don't Wanna Go Home," "Havin' a Party," "The Fever," "Talk to Me," "Trapped Again" and "This Time It's For Real."

But there could be some surprises.

"It's really a wild free-for-all up there. We never know what's going to happen next — certainly I don't," Lyon said. "I make a set list and then the band laughs."

They've even been known to try a song or two that they've never rehearsed before.

"We'll give it a shot," Lyon said. "If it doesn't work out, we'll go into a song that everybody knows, and hopefully we'll be forgiven."

Over the decades, about 125 players have called themselves Jukes, some for one gig, some for a few weeks and some who stayed for 20 years. Currently, Lyon is backed by seven musicians.

The band's most recent studio album of all original material is "Soultime!" from 2015. In 2017, they released "Live from E Street," a limited-edition, vinyl 12-inch EP of Springsteen covers recorded live at the Stone Pony, the Asbury Park club that has anchored the New Jersey music scene since 1974.

The Jukes return to the Stone Pony for an annual Fourth of July show as a thank-you to the place and people who gave them a start.

"It was the Jersey Shore in the summer and everybody was looking for entertainment, so if you put together a band, you usually could get some work," Lyon said. "You couldn't make any really money, but it was a chance for us to hone our chops and figure out what we wanted to try to accomplish. It was a great, welcoming place for us."

Away from the band, Lyon has recorded solo and contributed tracks to movies and television shows. After living in various cities around the country, he said, "I washed up back in my old home town, and I'm loving it here."

People stop in to play music or have a cocktail on the porch of his house in Ocean Grove, N.J. He spends his free time reading, bird-watching, collecting records and appearing at various charity events.

He runs into Springsteen and Van Zandt on occasion and recently appeared at a Springsteen concert in Florida.

The opening act for the Jukes' show at The Palace will be The Weight Band, led by guitarist Jim Weider, who was lead guitarist for The Band from 1985 to 2000, following the departure of founding member Robbie Robertson, and was a member of Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble Band.

The group plays classics from The Band, along with original music.

Tickets for the concert are $45-$85, available at 724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .