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Stone Pony
Photo taken 03/04/98 - The Lost Playground © 2001
------The Stone Pony is located at 913 Ocean Avenue. Originally named Mrs. Jays, the club opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1934. A group named the Moonbeamers was the first to appear. After World War II, the members of the Moonbeamers re-formed the group and called themselves the "Midnight Revelers." The Revelers were the first official house band for the nightclub, a distinction later held by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
------Mrs. Jays was in business until 1968 when it was closed ostensibly due to a waitress wearing a see-through blouse. Mrs. Jays moved two doors south and reopened a short time thereafter, but the original building remained dark until 1974 when it reopened under the Stone Pony banner. The second incarnation of Mrs. Jays became a notorious biker hangout in its later days before being demolished in the late '80s. Harley-Davidsons lined entire blocks after cruising the circuit.
------Quoting from Bob Santelli's article in Backstreets Magazine #25 (Summer '88), "Springsteen has performed at the Pony on countless occasions over the years. During one winter stretch in the early '80s he played practically every Sunday night with the group, Cats on a Smooth Surface."
------Springsteen even launched his now-legendary "Born in the USA" tour from the Pony stage in June, 1984. He's played more in this club than any other hall.
------"Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes were the Pony's first house band," continued Santelli. "In 1976, a live broadcast from the club introduced the Jukes and their debut album, 'I Don't Want To Go Home,' to rock fans across America. Since then, hundreds of great rockers have played the Pony, including Elvis Costello, Little Steven, Gregg Allman, the Stray Cats and more recent bands like the BoDeans and the Replacements." Other notable bands and artists that appeared there were the Ramones, David Johansen and Cyndi Lauper.
------The Pony closed in October 1991, the day after a concert featuring Bruce, Steve Van Zandt, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Jukes was filmed for a TV special. The original owners apparently had decided that they had enough and that they were not able to keep the club open. The club remained closed for a year while various proposals for its purchase were pondered. At one point, several of the Pony's employees had thought of forming a partnership to buy it, but that idea never blossomed (they did, however, open the "Rock Horse" one block away in the former site of Club Xanadu, but that didn't last either). Finally the Pony was purchased by Steve Nasar, an Ocean Township businessman with no prior experience in the music or nightclub industry.
------Nasar renovated the inside of the club and reopened it a year after it closed, in October 1992. The first show was by Carter, the Unstoppable Sex Machine (!), a possible signal that Nasar didn't intend to stick exclusively with the old "Sounds of Asbury Park" formula. Shortly afterward, however, there were shows by such acts at Southside, LaBamba's Big Band, the Smithereens, and Glen Burtnik. All sorts of up-and-coming bands including Soul Engines and 78 West were beginning to make their mark there, and for a brief, heady moment in time it seemed like the Asbury rock 'n' roll scene of old was on the verge of a renaissance.
------But the music scene is a fickle
one, and with the coming of grunge at right around the same time as the Pony's
reopening, the club pursued a different booking strategy, featuring all sorts
of hard-music bands, "alternative" acts, and even hip-hop dance
nights. No "Bruce-type" musicians or "Sound of Asbury Park"
bands played there anymore; very few of them, if any, still existed. Bruce
himself took his impromptu appearances elsewhere (most notably to The Trade
Winds) after having a falling-out with the management.
The inside of the club was only a sad remnant of its former self, even after
Nasar's initial renovation; the place was trashed by rowdy hardcore fans
and the management didn't bother to clean it up. All that was left was a
little photo exhibit in the back (courtesy of Billy Smith) showcasing the
"glory days."
------The inside of the club was only a sad remnant of its former self, even after Nasar's initial renovation; the place was trashed by rowdy hardcore fans and the management didn't bother to clean it up. All that was left was a little photo exhibit in the back (courtesy of Billy Smith) showcasing the "glory days."
------But even that one reminder is no longer. In September of 1998, the booking agency announced they would no longer be booking the Pony. Nasar decided to completely reinvent the club, renaming it "Vinyl" and changing its format to dance music. The inside of the club was completely gutted and the interior redesigned so that it bears no resemblance to the Pony. The photo exhibit was purchased from Smith by Nasar for his personal collection. The stained glass pony that once stood behind the bar was donated to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on the final night of a three-day "Pony's Last Ride" party September 18, 19 and 20, 1998. Bob Santelli, the Education Director for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and a former pop music critic for the Asbury Park Press, accepted on behalf of the Hall. The closing night was highlighted by appearances by Southside Johnny, the Bobby Bandiera Band and Cats on a Smooth Surface.
------Vinyl itself closed in January shortly after its opening in late '98. Former employees, investors and booking agents have shown some interest in reopening the venue as a rock club, but as of late January there were no definitive plans.
(Source: Jersey
Shore Tour - Asbury Park)
------The Stone Pony reopened
its doors on May 27, 2000 and continues to book shows with many different
styles of music. It was redone to look like it's old self and now has Asbury
Park memorabilia all over its walls. The Pony is back and it's as good as
ever!!!
