January 12, 2025 • 14 mins
Original Air Date: January 12, 2025
Tony Pallagrosi (of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Park Jukes) is the co-founder & executive director of The Light Of Day Winterfest, celebrating its 25th (!!) year . It’s all about ending Parkinsons Disease & ALS but (shh) when Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers perform, Bruce often joins ‘em, unannounced. Shh.
Tony Pallagrosi (of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Park Jukes) is the co-founder & executive director of The Light Of Day Winterfest, celebrating its 25th (!!) year . It’s all about ending Parkinsons Disease & ALS but (shh) when Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers perform, Bruce often joins ‘em, unannounced. Shh.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Greasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I cannot believe we are at the twenty fifth anniversary
for the Light of Day winter Fest, which is set
to begin this month. In joining me this morning, as
he has for the last several years, Tony Pallagrossi. He's
the co founder and executive director. Twenty five years when
(00:30):
this started, Tony, did you ever, in your wildest dreams
think that a quarter of a century later you know
that this would become not only hanging in there, but
growing every year.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, quite honestly, we all hoped that would definitely not
be the case, that we wouldn't have to be around
for twenty five years.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
And so it's kind of a two edge.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yes, we're we're very happy that we can still do
the work that needs to be done, but on the
other hand, we're not very happy about the fact that
we still have to do the work because these these
diseases als PSP in Parkinson's haven't found cures, and the therapies,
(01:24):
while better, aren't really game changers at this point.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
And actually maybe because we're hearing about it more. But
it's my perception that more people are getting als in
Parkinson's disease. I'm hearing about it more, which is frightening.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, you know, some of that has to do with
just you know, advanced diagnostics maybe, yeah, and DNA testing
things like that, people or being alerted to the fact
if they want to be.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
If they have some kind of genetic genetic tendency.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, Parkinson's als or PSP, but particularly Parkinson's. So yeah,
we're probably hearing about it more. It's probably a combination
of all things. But we know that the environment plays
a substantial role in als PSPN Parkinson's.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
And we know where the environment's going.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
We know where our food is, our food supply and
the problems with that, So you can't discount those possible
contributing factors.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, tell us, let's review again for those of us.
I mean, our audience certainly has heard of the Light
of Day Winterfest, but not everybody knows the story behind
it because it's all very local and very heart wrenching,
and it really started with Asbury Park.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Well, it started with Bob Benjamin who was a music
business who is a music business professional. He was Joe
Grisheky's manager and Joe Durso's manager.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
I think at the time that I got to know
him better.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I had met him probably in nineteen eighty eight, somewhere
around that time, when he was working for Billboard magazine.
He invited me to I think as actually a kind
of a coming out party for an artist by the
name of Will Hoag who's still with us and still
performing and doing quite well, I think actually. But in
(03:41):
nineteen ninety seven, Bob was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And a guy who I think you know, Rich Russo.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, and I decided to throw a birthday party for Bob,
a surprise party, just to you know, pick up his spirits.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
He was just.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Giving this diagnosis. He was struggling in terms of you know, now,
what do I do? How do I deal with it?
And so we were going to throw this party for him. So,
as with most surprise parties, it seems like the object
of the surprise ends up knowing more about it than
the people were actually planning it. So I got a
call from Bob a couple of days before the surprise party.
(04:26):
He goes, ton, you know that surprise party you're throwing
for me. I have an idea, why don't we pass
the hat and collect money and will donate it to
the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in New York City because they've
been really helpful guiding me through this process of trying
to figure out how to deal with his disease. And
(04:47):
that's what we did, and we collected two thousand dollars
approximately that night in Red Bank, New Jersey, and wasn't
called Light of Day yet. Fast forward, we're approaching seven
million dollars.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Wow. Now tell us about the lineup this year when
it all begins the highlights, I mean it's huge.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, yeah, they're over. They're approximately twenty eight events, over
one hundred and fifty bands and solo artists. And it
starts in New York City on the fifteenth Wednesday, January
fifteenth at the City Winery. And some of the folks
(05:35):
that will be performing there are Johnnysdale from Drama Rama,
Glenn Burtnick from Styx, the Weakling Summer of Love songwriter,
and Willie Nile will be there again. A great lineup
of ten singer songwriters to you know, to five persons
(06:00):
songwriting circles, great night of great music by the songwriters themselves,
kind of in the Nashville style of songwriting circles.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
So that kicks it off.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Then we're in Asbury Park with the official kickoff at
the Wonder Bar.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Fantastic Cat will be headlining that.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
On Friday, we have multiple events at the Wonder Bar.
We have Drama Rama in the Weeklings. At the Stone Pony,
we have Tangier's Blues Band featuring Danny Clinch. It'll be
a jam. All kinds of cool people are coming to that.
(06:40):
Willie and I will be performing there, Joe Grishky and
Stoneca and the House Rockers.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Okay, let me not be there, because when Joe Grishki
appears at Winterfest, Light of Day, Waterfest often if he
is in town, if he is available, if he is healthy.
Bruce shows up now, not on tour right now, and
(07:08):
I think he's feeling better. And I know you can't
say for sure, but.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
And I can't.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Have no idea before we go on with the lineup.
Was when did you first meet Bruce? What's your Bruce story? God,
it had to have been a long time ago.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I remember, I mean I first met him when I
was with Southside and the Jukes, and he used to
sit in with us a lot when we were still
playing three nights a week at the Stone Pony, So
I think that's when I first met him, But I
first saw him in nineteen seventy when he was in
(07:56):
steel Mill and it was kind of a being a
notorious gig in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to swim club
called the Clearwater Swim Club. There was a riot after
the show because the Middletown police decided to shut the
show down at about ten o'clock and there was, you know,
a ruckus ensued. You know, Danny Federici pushed some speaker
(08:21):
cabinets over on the Middletown Police department and disappeared. Hence
the name Phantom Dan. And actually the show was I'm
not mistaking they were raising money to get Vinnie Lopez
out of jail, who was in jail I think in Richmond,
(08:43):
who was their drummer at the time, So they had
a different drummer, and they had a different singer that
night as well, a guy who the named Robin Thompson
from Richmond, who was actually the lead singer at this
point in steel Mill, Bruce just wanted to put his
head down and play les Paul guitar licks odd in it.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
So it was it was amazing night. But that was
the first time I saw him.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
But I definitely met him obviously when we were in
the when I was in the Jukes, and then I
went out on the road with him during that period
of time where he couldn't record with the Asbury Jukes
horn section of Miami winds.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Well back in the day. I mean, there were so
many artists on the scene down the shore. Did you
have any inkling did you have any feeling that Bruce
would become, you know, this iconic, long lasting, treasured, A
(09:39):
treasured I mean, did you have any inkling?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
None of that.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
No, but I believed he would make it, and in
those days, making it meant being signed to a major
label record deal. That I believed, and I believed it
from the first time I saw him, because I saw
something in him that was uniquely and originally rock and roll.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
It was real, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
You know, in those days you used to have a
favorite band and everybody else kind of sucked. So so
my favorite band was the Rolling Stones, and I just
seen The Stones for the second time in nineteen sixty
nine when they first brought mc taylor on board. So
the Stones are just killing it, right, and then I
(10:27):
see Bruce about a year later, and you know, where
the songs as good as the Stones songs at that point,
know were you know, was Mick Taylor's guitar playing maybe
better than Bruce's at that point? Yeah, I think so.
So there was nothing that stood out except this feeling
(10:49):
that I'm looking at a real rocker, not some guy
who's just up there playing the part. You know, it
was like I was watching Mick Jagger, I was watching
Paul McCartney or John Lennon. It was that kind of feeling.
And he transmitted that how to this day, I don't
have any idea, but I went back to some of
(11:11):
my musician friends in New Jersey in Point Pleasant, and
I said, you know, I really believe if this guy
Bruce and he had one he's had one name in
those days, Bruce, he was a one name guy already
all right in the local scene. I said, if he
doesn't make it, I think roll screwed. And interesting, no
(11:33):
that I think he was going to become an icon
Booves you knows.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
I'm speaking with Tony PALLAGROSSI He is the co founder
and executive director of the Light of Day Winterfest, which
is beginning. It is beginning now mid January, and it's
a twenty fifth anniversary, and we stopped with you know,
we don't have that much time left. We have like
(12:01):
three four minutes left, so tell us more of the
highlights and how people can get tickets. It's a really
special event for a really special cause, trying to find
a cure for Parkinson's and als and related diseases, and
had its start and heart down the shore. So it's
(12:22):
a uniquely local event that has just become a huge
event in at least two states. So it's New York Jersey.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Yeah, well we're you know, we're in New York City
on the fifteenth. We're in Asbury Park on the sixteenth, seventeenth,
and eighteenth. We're also in Red Bank, New Jersey for
the main event. Now that is currently sold out, but however,
as with most concerts, you know, day of or day
(12:53):
before sometimes their ticket releases, so I would look for that.
We're as Bury Park on Sunday, and we are in
Red Bank again on the twenty fourth, So we're extending
Light of Day by a week and We're in Montclair
at outposting the Urbs on the twenty fifth, and you know,
(13:16):
I'm I reached my seventieth birthday and I can't remember
all of the artists anymore. So there's so many, there's
so many. I used to be able to rattle this off,
but I'm not even going to try, so that the
simplest thing is just to go to our website Light
Offday dot org o rg l I g h t
(13:39):
O f d A y dot org, Light of Day
dot org and it's all laid out for you there.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
You can also go to.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Our Facebook page, the Light of Day Foundation Facebook page
and click on events and they're all there as well,
and there are tickets for all of the other events.
The only one that's sold out currently is the main
event at the Basie on the eighteenth, and that's an
amazing event with Brian Fallon from a gaslight Anthem, Johnny
(14:10):
Resnick from the Goo Goo Dolls the lead singer, and
the featured artist that night is Jesse Mallin, who you
might know suffered a spinal stroke two and a half
years ago and gotten to the point where he's playing again.
God bless him and he will be the featured artists
at our main event at the count Basie on the
eighteenth of January.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
That's just amazing. Okay, well, congratulations to you for keeping
this going for twenty five years, and I'm sure you'll
be back next year as well.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
You've been listening to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, a production
of New York's classic rock Q one four point three
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Greasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I cannot believe we are at the twenty fifth anniversary
for the Light of Day winter Fest, which is set
to begin this month. In joining me this morning, as
he has for the last several years, Tony Pallagrossi. He's
the co founder and executive director. Twenty five years when
(00:30):
this started, Tony, did you ever, in your wildest dreams
think that a quarter of a century later you know
that this would become not only hanging in there, but
growing every year.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, quite honestly, we all hoped that would definitely not
be the case, that we wouldn't have to be around
for twenty five years.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
And so it's kind of a two edge.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yes, we're we're very happy that we can still do
the work that needs to be done, but on the
other hand, we're not very happy about the fact that
we still have to do the work because these these
diseases als PSP in Parkinson's haven't found cures, and the therapies,
(01:24):
while better, aren't really game changers at this point.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
And actually maybe because we're hearing about it more. But
it's my perception that more people are getting als in
Parkinson's disease. I'm hearing about it more, which is frightening.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, you know, some of that has to do with
just you know, advanced diagnostics maybe, yeah, and DNA testing
things like that, people or being alerted to the fact
if they want to be.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
If they have some kind of genetic genetic tendency.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, Parkinson's als or PSP, but particularly Parkinson's. So yeah,
we're probably hearing about it more. It's probably a combination
of all things. But we know that the environment plays
a substantial role in als PSPN Parkinson's.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
And we know where the environment's going.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
We know where our food is, our food supply and
the problems with that, So you can't discount those possible
contributing factors.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, tell us, let's review again for those of us.
I mean, our audience certainly has heard of the Light
of Day Winterfest, but not everybody knows the story behind
it because it's all very local and very heart wrenching,
and it really started with Asbury Park.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Well, it started with Bob Benjamin who was a music
business who is a music business professional. He was Joe
Grisheky's manager and Joe Durso's manager.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
I think at the time that I got to know
him better.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I had met him probably in nineteen eighty eight, somewhere
around that time, when he was working for Billboard magazine.
He invited me to I think as actually a kind
of a coming out party for an artist by the
name of Will Hoag who's still with us and still
performing and doing quite well, I think actually. But in
(03:41):
nineteen ninety seven, Bob was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
And a guy who I think you know, Rich Russo.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, and I decided to throw a birthday party for Bob,
a surprise party, just to you know, pick up his spirits.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
He was just.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Giving this diagnosis. He was struggling in terms of you know, now,
what do I do? How do I deal with it?
And so we were going to throw this party for him. So,
as with most surprise parties, it seems like the object
of the surprise ends up knowing more about it than
the people were actually planning it. So I got a
call from Bob a couple of days before the surprise party.
(04:26):
He goes, ton, you know that surprise party you're throwing
for me. I have an idea, why don't we pass
the hat and collect money and will donate it to
the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in New York City because they've
been really helpful guiding me through this process of trying
to figure out how to deal with his disease. And
(04:47):
that's what we did, and we collected two thousand dollars
approximately that night in Red Bank, New Jersey, and wasn't
called Light of Day yet. Fast forward, we're approaching seven
million dollars.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Wow. Now tell us about the lineup this year when
it all begins the highlights, I mean it's huge.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah, yeah, they're over. They're approximately twenty eight events, over
one hundred and fifty bands and solo artists. And it
starts in New York City on the fifteenth Wednesday, January
fifteenth at the City Winery. And some of the folks
(05:35):
that will be performing there are Johnnysdale from Drama Rama,
Glenn Burtnick from Styx, the Weakling Summer of Love songwriter,
and Willie Nile will be there again. A great lineup
of ten singer songwriters to you know, to five persons
(06:00):
songwriting circles, great night of great music by the songwriters themselves,
kind of in the Nashville style of songwriting circles.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
So that kicks it off.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Then we're in Asbury Park with the official kickoff at
the Wonder Bar.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Fantastic Cat will be headlining that.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
On Friday, we have multiple events at the Wonder Bar.
We have Drama Rama in the Weeklings. At the Stone Pony,
we have Tangier's Blues Band featuring Danny Clinch. It'll be
a jam. All kinds of cool people are coming to that.
(06:40):
Willie and I will be performing there, Joe Grishky and
Stoneca and the House Rockers.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Okay, let me not be there, because when Joe Grishki
appears at Winterfest, Light of Day, Waterfest often if he
is in town, if he is available, if he is healthy.
Bruce shows up now, not on tour right now, and
(07:08):
I think he's feeling better. And I know you can't
say for sure, but.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
And I can't.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Have no idea before we go on with the lineup.
Was when did you first meet Bruce? What's your Bruce story? God,
it had to have been a long time ago.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I remember, I mean I first met him when I
was with Southside and the Jukes, and he used to
sit in with us a lot when we were still
playing three nights a week at the Stone Pony, So
I think that's when I first met him, But I
first saw him in nineteen seventy when he was in
(07:56):
steel Mill and it was kind of a being a
notorious gig in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to swim club
called the Clearwater Swim Club. There was a riot after
the show because the Middletown police decided to shut the
show down at about ten o'clock and there was, you know,
a ruckus ensued. You know, Danny Federici pushed some speaker
(08:21):
cabinets over on the Middletown Police department and disappeared. Hence
the name Phantom Dan. And actually the show was I'm
not mistaking they were raising money to get Vinnie Lopez
out of jail, who was in jail I think in Richmond,
(08:43):
who was their drummer at the time, So they had
a different drummer, and they had a different singer that
night as well, a guy who the named Robin Thompson
from Richmond, who was actually the lead singer at this
point in steel Mill, Bruce just wanted to put his
head down and play les Paul guitar licks odd in it.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
So it was it was amazing night. But that was
the first time I saw him.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
But I definitely met him obviously when we were in
the when I was in the Jukes, and then I
went out on the road with him during that period
of time where he couldn't record with the Asbury Jukes
horn section of Miami winds.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Well back in the day. I mean, there were so
many artists on the scene down the shore. Did you
have any inkling did you have any feeling that Bruce
would become, you know, this iconic, long lasting, treasured, A
(09:39):
treasured I mean, did you have any inkling?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
None of that.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
No, but I believed he would make it, and in
those days, making it meant being signed to a major
label record deal. That I believed, and I believed it
from the first time I saw him, because I saw
something in him that was uniquely and originally rock and roll.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
It was real, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
You know, in those days you used to have a
favorite band and everybody else kind of sucked. So so
my favorite band was the Rolling Stones, and I just
seen The Stones for the second time in nineteen sixty
nine when they first brought mc taylor on board. So
the Stones are just killing it, right, and then I
(10:27):
see Bruce about a year later, and you know, where
the songs as good as the Stones songs at that point,
know were you know, was Mick Taylor's guitar playing maybe
better than Bruce's at that point? Yeah, I think so.
So there was nothing that stood out except this feeling
(10:49):
that I'm looking at a real rocker, not some guy
who's just up there playing the part. You know, it
was like I was watching Mick Jagger, I was watching
Paul McCartney or John Lennon. It was that kind of feeling.
And he transmitted that how to this day, I don't
have any idea, but I went back to some of
(11:11):
my musician friends in New Jersey in Point Pleasant, and
I said, you know, I really believe if this guy
Bruce and he had one he's had one name in
those days, Bruce, he was a one name guy already
all right in the local scene. I said, if he
doesn't make it, I think roll screwed. And interesting, no
(11:33):
that I think he was going to become an icon
Booves you knows.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
I'm speaking with Tony PALLAGROSSI He is the co founder
and executive director of the Light of Day Winterfest, which
is beginning. It is beginning now mid January, and it's
a twenty fifth anniversary, and we stopped with you know,
we don't have that much time left. We have like
(12:01):
three four minutes left, so tell us more of the
highlights and how people can get tickets. It's a really
special event for a really special cause, trying to find
a cure for Parkinson's and als and related diseases, and
had its start and heart down the shore. So it's
(12:22):
a uniquely local event that has just become a huge
event in at least two states. So it's New York Jersey.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Yeah, well we're you know, we're in New York City
on the fifteenth. We're in Asbury Park on the sixteenth, seventeenth,
and eighteenth. We're also in Red Bank, New Jersey for
the main event. Now that is currently sold out, but however,
as with most concerts, you know, day of or day
(12:53):
before sometimes their ticket releases, so I would look for that.
We're as Bury Park on Sunday, and we are in
Red Bank again on the twenty fourth, So we're extending
Light of Day by a week and We're in Montclair
at outposting the Urbs on the twenty fifth, and you know,
(13:16):
I'm I reached my seventieth birthday and I can't remember
all of the artists anymore. So there's so many, there's
so many. I used to be able to rattle this off,
but I'm not even going to try, so that the
simplest thing is just to go to our website Light
Offday dot org o rg l I g h t
(13:39):
O f d A y dot org, Light of Day
dot org and it's all laid out for you there.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
You can also go to.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Our Facebook page, the Light of Day Foundation Facebook page
and click on events and they're all there as well,
and there are tickets for all of the other events.
The only one that's sold out currently is the main
event at the Basie on the eighteenth, and that's an
amazing event with Brian Fallon from a gaslight Anthem, Johnny
(14:10):
Resnick from the Goo Goo Dolls the lead singer, and
the featured artist that night is Jesse Mallin, who you
might know suffered a spinal stroke two and a half
years ago and gotten to the point where he's playing again.
God bless him and he will be the featured artists
at our main event at the count Basie on the
eighteenth of January.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
That's just amazing. Okay, well, congratulations to you for keeping
this going for twenty five years, and I'm sure you'll
be back next year as well.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
You've been listening to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, a production
of New York's classic rock Q one four point three
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