Deena Shoshkes is a New Jersey-based singer-songwriter-rocker, known for her two solo albums as “Deena,” as a member of The Campfire Flies, and for her long history with The Cucumbers, the ‘80s Hoboken band she co-founded, with her husband, Jon Fried. Here’s what she has to say about her new two-song “thematic” single, “Some Days”:
“Some days, don’t you wish it was Saturday and you could go out and dance the night away to your favorite local band, mingle close to friends, laugh over drinks and feel the rhythm in a crowded bar? Some days are tough, but if you can just make it to Thursday or any other day, you’ll be okay.
That pretty much sums up my two-song new single, “Dance the Night Away” and “Thursday.” That and The Poor Man’s Opera. The Poor Man’s Opera is my favorite local bar band. They play the best rock & roll songs and seem to get a kick out of playing in any local dive bar that will have them. I always had a great time whenever I went to see them and I would get up and dance and dance. When I wrote “(All I Want To Do Is) Dance The Night Away”, I was thinking of them. (“…there’s a rock band playing at a tavern down the street….”). I mentioned the song to Mark Moran, the bandleader, and he invited me to perform it with them live, at a couple of their gigs. It was great fun and they played it just right (particularly memorable, was a night at The Great Notch Inn, on New Jersey’s Route 46.). I decided to record it with them, and figured as long as I was bringing them into a studio for tracking, we’d knock out another song, as well. I picked “Thursday,” because the rock feel seemed to suit this band perfectly, too. I sat on the tracks for several years. I was juggling many projects – recording Sparks Like Little Stars with The Campfire Flies, Love And Joy with The Cucumbers and the Hoboken Holiday All Stars and co-producing the Saturday Afternoon Song Swap 10th Anniversary extravaganza Swap Thing compilation, as well as ongoing home recording projects including, “The Mueller Report” and “Dear Leader.” I was happily overwhelmed, and realized I had to to focus on one project at a time, to get any of it done.
Now, in the long haul days of the pandemic, when it’s unclear when we’ll be able to gather – tightly packed – in a small club (my favorite kind), I returned to the tracks and finished them, feeling nostalgic for the time in which they were created. I’m glad for the memory. And you can bet that I cranked it up loud and danced when I got the mastered mixes back.”
Songs to help soothe, especially during such a strange and uncertain time – this is something we all need. Both songs have a great feel (and a little bit of a country twang to sweeten the sensibilities!). So here they are, to lift you up, make you feel good and dance!
www.deenashoshkes.com