We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Soul In Exile 2: Jersey Shore Baby

by The Hesh Inc.

/
1.
Jersey Shore Baby 04:59
lyrics
buy track
This is the story of a love affair Of passion and despair with that lazy crazy place The holy city the holy land oh Lord have mercy Jerusalem New Jersey to me it’s no disgrace Who’s that child sitting in the stroller A junior rock’n’roller in front of daddy’s hotel Ridin’ across the sky suspended from a cable Mixing bowl cradle casino carousel Well folks met folks and the seeds of love were sown Paradise found now for the time it could be home In the wild turbulence the seeds were scattered and blown But what’s been planted must grow Thus did the Jersey Shore Baby I once shared a playpen with an inner lake angel baby And maybe just maybe she rubbed off on me And when thirteen came around there came the magical weekend Off the lovers’ deep end between I and she I found the secret to life on a lucky charm imprinter And I shattered to splinters all I used to be From neb-nerd to cool no longer a pushover The old way was over and I felt so free I made this town mine I made it all my own Dreamland high above all the mundanities of home I had stumbled upon Eden but my flight fell like a stone Into open ended exile thrown Orphaned Jersey Shore Baby A simpler time in the not too distant past When the cars were fast and the love was in bloom A more innocent age when the buildings were standing Life wasn’t so demanding and the bust was a boom Maybe one day I can end this dispersion With no more diversion keeping me from my one true love Well it’s no time to bitch it’s time to get moving About time to start proving these dreams made flesh and blood And though what we grew up with in our generation May have fallen into disintegration But I’m marshaling forces to turn desolation Into paradise by the sea, I’m the Jersey Shore Rebuild the scenery, I’m the Jersey Shore Well come waltz with me I’m the Jersey Shore Baby © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
2.
Coastal Groove (You Know It's All Right) 05:08
lyrics
buy track
I said Help me Doc I got songwriters’ block I just can’t find my inspiration He said That ain’t no block you just ran out of stock what you need dude is a long vacation I was in the east my heart was in the west and when asked why resist assimilation I left my heart back in Asbury Park that was the explanation In junior high I would lift my eyes to from where will come my salvation In the army I swore I’d head straight for the shore when my three years reached their cessation The beacon that shined its light into a mind blackened by social darkness and isolation With the promise that someday after the bull gets blown away I’d undertake massive relocation Chip on my shoulder since I was a soldier Drive your friends crazy don’t get lazy Underground homesick grab yourself a broomstick This ain’t no statement just block abatement Tramping around through the streets of this town under an onslaught of precipitation The mist was so thick I knew I’d be sick without some spiritual medication I staggered my way to nuevo dolce cafe and sat down to the taste of innovation Then the evening sky cleared so I regrouped and steered my sights to nocturnal invasion Saw her sitting on the boardwalk rails with her usual gang of friend females in sweatshirt jeans and flirtation Flashed her my jazz and blues and snakeskin shoes and then she was mine for the duration She took my arm she felt so warm she was soft intoxication I didn’t inquire she was lover for hire but she didn’t fit the characterization What am I trying to say here this ain’t no cliché here You wanna be a beatnik you gotta be a streetnik Check the rhyme and meter you ain’t gonna beat her Blinded by the light Bruce no use call a truce But you know it’s all right Yeah you know it's all right But you know it's all right It's all right if it's all night Well maybe the agencies declared a hiring freeze But I’m not looking for a job or a vocation This is the time I’ll seize just to follow the breeze Blowin’ through town on revisitation I’ve come here to spurn the life of Sit And Learn And I don’t want no redemption or salvation No matter which way I turn my bridges seem to burn So I’m just here in life to find my station From the seaside bar joints to the land’s end points Pick choose and shoot for my destination I’ve come to anoint the long-awaited counterpoint To these trends of cynicism and stagnation 127 miles of as many different styles The possibilities of limitless exploration No more self-denial or tribulations and trials I won’t accept any statute of limitation Playing my wordgames so what if it all sounds the same None of this crap rap beatin’ like a clap trap Radio hum drum makes me go ho hum Rock’n’roll tidy bowl no soul pigeonhole Grab your attention keep it in suspension It’s the great backlash against all the cheap trash Mindless conformity mental deformity If you ain’t receivin’ it don’t you believe in it © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
3.
Bruce! 03:52
lyrics
buy track
One hazy teenage summer as my world began to change A song oozed through the radio so new and different and strange So unlike the current trends, my hair stood on end At the sound of that guitar and that sax I stood still and succumbed to the piano and drums And I knew there was no turning back He was the boss, the doctor, the angel of soul King of the Jersey Shore, crown prince of rock’n’roll The music he made reached deep inside and took hold Oh the love that it gave me! Through whirlwind years of love and pain after I first discovered him Through earthquake battles shaking the walls after being told to sink or swim Through the storm and the stress and the fear and the threats Always on the edge of a hurricane squall Through innocence and wildness and ecstasy and crisis Whether laying low or walking tall He’d be speaking straight to me whenever I’d hear him sing He was right there with me telling me he’d been through the same thing He gave me strength and courage through whatever fate would bring Oh the faith that can save me! Not just a rock’n’roll singer, he was my big brother He was my male role model above any other He showed me how to express the things that I’d feel And he showed me what it meant to be true and be real. Then people made faces whenever I’d mention his name I couldn’t understand why, it was such a damn shame Ten years of backlash Disrespected and bashed Especially in his own backyard Headbangers and hangers-on and that ersatz refrain All the hype and hoopla, so cartoonish and lame. His love life displayed More than the music he made Where the hell was the hero with his guitar? Three fugazy albums and an image gone sour Gave me reason to doubt his undeniable power Taking the world’s weight Stumping for issues and candidates The way he’d never dream of selling me a car His myths and legends have become unhip and passé His rock’n’roll promises have all faded away I used to believe, I still wanted to believe But he’s making it so damn hard! Well I still tear up the highways whenever I’m back down here Into the bars and the backstreets of these towns here I follow all the bands that emulate his sound here Still looking for him ‘cause I know he’s around here And when I finally meet him after I waited so long I’ll say Thanks for the music, the great lyrics and songs You showed me how to hold on to a dream that’s so strong Someday it may raise me! © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
4.
Exile Detour 05:18
lyrics
buy track
The sea’s relentless pounding roar, the salt air, the gentle breeze Feet booted, bare, sneakered, sandaled clicking, padding, squishing, slapping their way down the boards in lazy rhythm Electronic ditties and video versions of well known songs Mindless idle yet oddly philosophical patter Thump thump thumping rap radio dopplering out of a passing four wheeled invader Mighty buildings on the bluff overlooking the wide vast blue blanket Small cheesy tacky signs advertising dead sea prices for the types of transactions that invariably take place in these weatherbeaten clapboard establishments Cracked pavement sloppily patched turning roads to rivers when a summer’s torrent falls in fury Sloshing ankle deep across raging urban rapids just to capture the moment forever. Flying across the high arch, oh tall river open for me as the landscape of dreams and romantic fantasies unfold before my eyes and my car. Relative wind howl around the thick bush on my head and face like Jersey colors back roads snaking through acute angled fuzz tipped reeds tightrope black ribbon balancing two week a year houses with various assorted clunkers and putt putts parked hanging onto the precipice of bay shore. Earthbound suspended space station spinning slowly Vicious open car trains whipping violently Gondolas dangling precariously skyhooked on a string Tilting, dunking, octopussing, each carrying willingly participating victims in love with every centrifugal minute. Six lanes of death through teen dream city, kids brownbagging instant liquid parties island hopping, snowballing, mushrooming in procession on the way to where it’s happening. Dots on a map, dots on reality, speck spots on the world, strung out in succession from the scorpion’s tail in the north through the holy city, through the endless carnival parade, through the at once desperate and jubilant wheel of chance to the big toe in the south. One hundred twenty seven miles of freedom unlimited possibility for long awaited success with failure but a minor nuisance and misery but a memory The Exile has finally come home. © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
5.
Coda 03:04
lyrics
buy track
So why do I keep coming back? ‘Cause of all I’m saying here Teenage punk fantasies of getting a band and playing here On hold for twelve years but now there’s no delaying here I’ve established the fact ‘cause now I’m back and babe I’m staying here I feel free! Myself! Loose! Unchained and unfettered here Unweighted unburdened untied and untethered here Because for the first time life began to look better here And so I upended the reason for following the law to the letter here Oppression thrown off and independence declared here The forces that would claim me all blinked when I stared here They fell before my challenge they took and lost my dare here Now I got the last word about how long to grow my hair here Now I’m the one to decide how outrageously to dress here Which realities to question and what conventions to test here And if the past was cursed then the future is blessed here ‘Cause I won’t stop till I’ve shot to the top and I’m up there with the best here Falling in love and coming of age here Finding the key to the universe and unlocking the cage here Planning my strategy and setting the stage here And if you ask me what’s all the rage here Well—rock’n’roll is king here! The angels they sing here! It’s all got that swing so it means everything here! History was made here! The greats all stayed and played here! The bands made their stands on the strand’s grand parade here! No apologies here! The place to just be is here! The wild innocent spirit in the night still runs free here! There’s a heart that still beats here! The unfinished completes here! Romance blooms in every crack in the streets here! I know just what gives here! No more negatives here! I’m reborn, I feel alive, I touch life, I live here! So now I’m coming back to be with the things that formed me To stomp on ideology and laugh at conformity In spite of all the well-meaning naysayers who warn me I’m coming back to harvest all the things that are going for me I’ve come back to this place from the ends of the earth To taste that shot of love and experience rebirth I can lie on the sand and melt into the turf I sit by on the water’s edge and become one with the surf It’s a way of life it’s not just another place It’s where everything moves at just the right pace Without any needs to get caught up in the race It’s contentment and ease and a certain style and grace So this is the story of where it’s all at Where the awkward geeky kid became a supercool cat Where the Jersey Shore Baby sprang free of his trap It ain’t just an act he’s here and he’s back … and that’s that! © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
6.
Beach Town in the Off Season 05:51
lyrics
buy track
(Instrumental) © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
7.
Lost In Your Universe 05:48
lyrics
buy track
Baby you used to be so original I couldn’t hold a candle to your homegrown ideas Always direct never subliminal You showed me your heart and said it all comes from in here I was so inspired by the things you used to do You knew just what you wanted and you weren’t afraid to kick some butts Those are the things I loved about you You flew in the face of everything when I didn’t have the guts And in the sweet summer nights under the carnival lights I knew I was so in love with you You showed me there was more than all I saw around me A whole other universe An island of music in a stormy sea of noise I wanted to get lost in your universe Washed away in the sounds of your chords and your voice Then came the day I was severed from you girl I tried so hard to reach you but you went on without a clue But when you sang your song it was heard round the world Well babe you didn’t know it but I was so proud of you I was stuck to the place I was sitting in I knew I’d come back to you but I didn’t know when While defending the place I was living in I wouldn’t stop talking about how I knew you “back then” I held out my hopes like holding onto the ropes A lifeline in a sea of uncertainty It pulled me through the confusion that surrounded me I knew I’d come back to your universe A world of harmony where I could find my peace I needed to get lost in your universe Where raging chaos could finally cease I went alone unguarded down the old mine shaft But all the gold has so long ago been taken And all I find is precast parts when I go looking for fine craft That faith that saved me for so long has been shaken There was a time I’d drop everything I’d be doing Just to catch your every whispered word But now I don’t stop anymore I keep going It seems all your heroes are unsung and unheard I see you coming up the street but you can’t see me We walk right past each other without a word You seem to regret the day you ever found me But I’m lost in your universe Living for a world that no longer exists Lost in my New Jersey universe I hung on for so long and now I come back to this Lost in your universe It doesn’t make sense to stay here but somehow I still do Lost in this New Jersey universe Everything may have faded but I still love you © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
8.
Town Full of Self-Described Saints 05:08
lyrics
buy track
The prophets have fallen between the boardwalk cracks Their voices still ooze out but no one wants to hear The dreamers have all beaten it down the dusty tracks No need to stick around when their ideas are met with jeers The poets have been eclipsed by their own egos Spewing their words of venom and hate The cynics make it their business to tear down heroes So they can cover up their own inadequate state. And while the journalists are trying to get things flying to replace all the dying with hope The editor screams his lungs out as the laundry is hung out and the council acts strung out on dope. The visionaries have lost their gift of vision Clouded by salt air and ocean mist The seekers have all become targets for derision Victims of a generation (“Z”) all armed and pissed The pundits speak their own arcane language Deluding themselves the public will dig their hipness The promoters do their best to take maximum advantage And the performers buy into it—they can’t see it’s all a big sickness. The kids burst onto the scene with their heads full of dreams To be the next big thing from this place But if they don’t conform to the latest trends and norms They find themselves scorned and disgraced. Second-hand smoke and third-rate bars Snotty punk attitudes and fuzzy guitars I’ve been through that grind, I’ll show you my scars There’s nothing romantic or quaint. A curse on an establishment that forces musicians To morph from creatives into politicians The whole thing arouses nothing but suspicion In this town full of self-described saints. The tramps, they’ve all climbed the social ladder Carving their niche in a murky world of outtakes and boots Tickets and drop lines and how many shows, it’s all chatter And somehow the message in the music is rendered moot And me, I just sit there and listen, and shake my head in wonder Is this the sum total of everything I cared about These roads have long since been silenced of their thunder And if this is all that’s left, then I’ll deal without. Well I’m taking myself out of this toxic scene It’s a bane to inspiration, a dangerous machine Whatever looks positive is just a smokescreen A safe, nurturing haven, it ain’t. But long after the bandwagoners have left for their homes And long after the sun has bleached dry the bones I’ll still be picking up the intrinsic sounds and tones Even if the signals are faint. ‘Cause my blood runs with this place’s spirit I know where to listen and how I can hear it And all these fools could try but they could never hope to come near it In this town full of self-described saints. © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
9.
Feel Alive Tonight 05:50
lyrics
buy track
I’m going out tonight In search of something I can’t place It’s out there but out of sight An entity without a face I feel the night outside calling me I can’t figure out what it wants me to do But its power is enthralling me And it’s a force I’m going to pursue Oh, I want to feel alive tonight Oh, I want to touch life tonight I’m going out tonight Looking for the lifeline that’s long been hidden To turn all that’s wrong into right And I won’t take the wrongs as given. Baby you know sometimes I feel so paralyzed Sometimes I’m left feeling so frozen With the dream in sight but out of reach, I’m tantalized And I wonder why I’ve been chosen To walk through the trash, among the ruins Sifting through the wreckage looking for that spark And listening for long-gone sounds and archaic tunes That echo through the old buildings from the beach to the park Oh, I want to feel alive tonight Oh, I want to touch life tonight I want to break this routine that adds up to suffocation I’m tired of watching the fruits of my labor keep shriveling I don’t want to be surrounded by decay and desolation Tonight I need to be among the living. Procrastination, procrastination Leaves me feeling like nothing gets done Frustration, vexation About the things I lost but should have won Spend a lifetime falling back Farther and farther from where I want to be Railroaded, diverted, sidetracked All sorts of hidden forces stalling me Oh, I want to feel alive tonight Oh, I want to touch life tonight Well I drove these streets a hundred thousand times In search of something to reverse the negative I’m not just going to sit around waiting for the moment to strike me Tonight I’m just going to go out and live. © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
10.
Paramount Theatre (This Is No Dream) 05:15
lyrics
buy track
There she stands Like a castle made of sand Rising from the strip of land down by the sea Like an ancient marine Palace of a dowager queen Straight out of a fairy tale or dream She calls out to me The city’s been restored to its rightful place After decades being kept down Now people come from far and wide to see her beaming face And pay homage to the jewel in her crown The days are past When her nobility was downcast But she endured and outlasted the adversity And now she shines Gleaming and polished up so fine With a countenance so divine for all eternity Pilgrims come from the ends of the earth To hear the music played in her halls To bear witness to the magnificent rebirth To see majesty standing tall This is no dream All you have to do is will it This is no dream It is up to you to fulfill it. Sit inside You’re overwhelmed with pride The visionaries haven’t lied or merely said sooth The seats are full Thanks to new prestige and pull Thanks to the Most Bountiful, and that’s the truth The famous faces have returned And so have the sold-out crowds It is so good to see how the tide has turned And to hear her praises sung aloud To hear her name mentioned once more In the same breath with the best She radiates her glory onto the whole shore And like her, may we all be blessed This is no dream All you have to do is will it This is no dream It is up to you to fulfill it This is no dream It is a part of your very soul This is no dream To see your days renewed, as of old. © 2007 The Hesh Inc.
11.
This Is The Time 03:53
lyrics
buy track
Went down to the ocean just the other day Listened for what the sea and sky had to say The breeze was a caress and the sun was in my eyes The summer temperature was beginning to rise The storm from the day before was just a memory The lashing rain and thunder were by then history And then out of nowhere came the word With a force so undeniable—this is what I heard: This is the time The time of the season This is the time The season for completion This is the time The completion of the overdue This is the time It’s overdue but you’ll see it through. Cruising through the atmosphere up above the clouds Far from the rat race and the madding summer crowds The earth spread out below me, above me just space Held aloft by physics and a dose of divine grace A spiritual magnet, drawing me near Not by might, not by power, not by terror, not by fear But rather by a force much greater than us all And all around me on that flight I heard its voice call This is the time The time for new horizons This is the time Bear is bull and bull is bison This is the time The present, not the future This is the time The time to silence the accuser. Walked through my beloved city just the other night Heard that voice calling, Do you see the light?! The rising of the truth comes like the morning star All the doom merchants will be shown for what they are Don’t let the lies and propaganda wear you down Your blinded brothers and sisters will eventually come around Your mind has been poisoned living in exile for so long Your resolve has been weakened, now it’s time to be strong This is the time For salvation and redemption This is the time No exception or exemption This is the time For doing what you’ve planned now This is the time The world is in your hands now. This is the time The time for fulfillment This is the time The potential is so brilliant This is the time For so long you have wished it This is the time Now it’s yours, don’t you miss it. © 2007 The Hesh Inc.

about

Some people bead in on an issue and take it to its inevitable conclusion. Like taking a river all the way to the falls. And that’s the direction and the message of this record, with a bittersweet and personal juxtaposition of raging passions, free form musical experience combined with a painter’s style of lyrical expression that uses broad strokes, coming to terms with the initial betrayal and forgiveness of the awe inspiring musical history that draws all of us towards it, and as in Heshy’s case, even from across the globe.

The story of a place, central to his life, that fell from a once great place featuring all things reproachable and good. The reasons it came to fail, and the ways that it became all right again. For Heshy it’s about redemption, but redemption always comes with a price, and while it starts in the self, the self eventually leads you back to the confrontation of the betrayer.

Heshy uses his music as a form of direction, a compass, if you will. And in this story you are led towards this object of the betrayal and the whirling dervishes that left her desolate.

Soul In Exile II takes a healthy swing in many directions, from music biz politics, to restlessness, hypocrisy, triumph and failures from Jersey Shore super heroes, Heshy and locals alike. From the frustrations of a budding musician in awe of a city and an ideology that for a time shunned its greatest sons, Heshy uses positivity against the negative unbelievers who say “I don’t think this is the right time,” and as he says in the song “This Is The Time”: “Don’t let the lies and propaganda wear you down, your blinded brothers and sisters will eventually come around. This is the time.”

Whether this is the time for a rebirth or a crash and burn desolation, Heshy isn’t shy about telling you how he feels on this record, and as I listened through the lyrical and musical content I could see that this wasn’t a project that came about on the fly. The man doesn’t disguise words in arabesque symbolism as much as he gets directly to the points in only a way he could pull off.

...

Engineered by John Noll and Paul Ritchie over at RetroMedia in Red Bank, the sounds are excellent and an all-around good job from The Hesh who produced this with help from Kieffer. The list of players on this disc is too long to give justice to. Guys I’ve known, like Dave Mains and Ken Sorenson, as well as Mike Dalton and Stevie Brown, PK Lavengood, Rory Daniels are just a few of the many talented players that came together to make this record happen.

You can tell this is an artist that cares deeply about his musical roots and the resurrection of a place of former glory. The very reason records like this are made are to inspire and aspire the listener, and I believe Soul In Exile II—Jersey Shore Baby has accomplished that in all areas. I think that perhaps Heshy’s soul has found the way out of this exile at last.

~John Pfeiffer, The Aquarian Weekly

credits

released June 1, 2007

Hesh Meister – piano, organ, assorted keyboard instruments, lead vocals
Richard Blackwell – percussion
Joe Bop – drums
Steve Brown – percussion
Steve Czeslowski – guitar
Mike Dalton – guitar
Rory Daniels – guitar
Christine Ghilino – vocals
Steve Goodie – guitar, mixing, mastering
Wendy Horn – vocals
Gerry Kamber – saxophone
Izzy Kieffer – drums, percussion, vocals
Patrick "Pat Stone" Kocen – guitar
PK Lavengood – guitar
Yonah Lloyd – guitar
Steve Lopresto – bass
Dave Mains – bass
Mark Nuzzi – guitar
Rick Oricchio – drums
David Perkins – saxophone, clarinet, shofar
Chimene Petitt – vocals
Tony Scardaci – guitar
Trina "T-Bird" Scordo – guitar
Gidon Shikler – percussion
Barry Siegfried – guitar
Ken "Stringbean" Sorensen – harmonica
the Tel Aviv Jukes – horns:
Ofer Assaf, saxophone
Ron Baron, trombone
Amir Cohen, trumpet

Recorded/engineered by John Noll and Paul Ritchie at Retromedia Sound, Red Bank, New Jersey

Mixed and mastered by Steve Goodie at Punch Sound, Santa Monica, California

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

The Hesh Inc. image

The Hesh Inc. New Jersey

Songwriter, performer, keyboard player, beach enthusiast, perpetual transplant, aspiring cult figure.

contact / help

Contact The Hesh Inc.

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

The Hesh Inc. recommends:

If you like The Hesh Inc., you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Beans joins the show to discuss his album release, "ZWAARD".

listen now