Rock ‘n’ roll star Glen Burtnik has one. A Music Saved Asbury Park T-shirt, that is.
“The instant I saw this shirt and the message on it, I wanted one,” said Burtnik, who lives in city. “Music and the ocean certainly drew me to Asbury Park and I’d love the focus of the locale staying artistic.”
The shirts, which raise funds for the Asbury Park Music Foundation, are the must have casual wear option in Asbury Park in the Summer of ‘17. They come in black or white with a stylized lettering that says, “Music Saved Asbury Park,” on the front of the shirt.
Simple, but effective.
“It’s always uplifting to see people at shows or on the street wearing a ‘Music Saved Asbury Park’ shirt,” said Rose A. Montana, who sells the shirts at Foundation events.
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Montana and Jeri Houseworth brought a shirt up a Bobby Bandera performance at Windansea in Highlands.
“Bobby didn’t just hold the shirt up, he talked about the Foundation and people were asking where do you get the shirt,” Houseworth said. “So we started selling the shirts right there.”
Locals celebs, like Burtnik, Bandiera and Vini Lopez of the E Street Band have taken to the shirts. Houseworth is creating a gallery of notables wearing the shirts.
A batch of the shirts were originally made for the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival in April by the Asbury Park Press, a sponsor of the Foundation.
“It’s a serious statement about Asbury Park what we’re all about, but we also want people to have fun with it,” said Tom Donovan, publisher of the Asbury Park Press and app.com.
The Foundation brought them out again as the summer music season started in Asbury Park.
“It was kind of spontaneous. We said, lets put those out again,” said Jim Lenskold, chairman of the board of the Asbury Park Music Foundation. “People loved the message. We put a spin on ‘music saved my life.’“
The sale of the shirts have so far raised $2,000 for the foundation.
“I find it interesting when people from out of town come to town for the first time, they’re amazed that the city is adding as many venues as we are because in other cities, venues are struggling to fill up with people,” Lenskold said. “Here we just keep adding more and more. “
Has music saved Asbury Park? The city has used music and the arts as an economic engine to spur revitalization. The boardwalk is full on nice days and nights, lots of people are in the city’s clubs and venues, and Cookman Avenue is packed on weekend nights. The city was named the coolest small town in America by Budget Travel magazine.
Glen Burtnik with a Music Saved Asbury Park T-shirt. (Photo: Glen Burtnik)
There were more than a million visitors to Asbury Park in 2016, swelling the population of 15,800, and the city collected nearly $4.5 million in parking fees in the year, up from $1.9 million in 2013, according to city records.
Yet, there are parts of the city where the comeback has not reached, including west of the railroad tracks that have historically divided the city. The median household income is at $32,000 on the West Side, less than half the Monmouth County average.
“Music Saved Asbury Park, must people would agree with that, for the most part, but it’s not the whole situation,” Lenskold said.
Gale and Bill Gray of Asbury Park outside the Watler Kerr Theatre on Broadway in Music Saved Asbury Park T shirts. (Photo: Gale Gray)
The Foundation does have programming for all members of the community. It sponsors three free music series in the summer, including the Music Mondays at Springwood Avenue Park; the Asbury Park Live series on the boardwalk’s First Avenue Green on Wednesdays; and the Asbury Park Concert Band on Thursdays, next to Tim McLoone’s Supper Club, on the boardwalk at 5th Avenue.
“The Asbury Park Concert Bands are very traditional jazz and marching bands,” Lenskold said. “It’s had a 73-year run here. The Springwood Avenue Park concerts draw a very diverse audience and we do very diverse music styles, including soul, funk, Latin, blues. The Asbury Park Live shows showcase the new and upcoming bands.”
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The Foundation’s programs includes classes at Hope Academy Charter School; the Hip Hop Institute of the Asbury Park branch of the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County; the Asbury Park Summer Recreation Music Camp; and a new Foundation bus will bring music education directly to the kids.
The Foundation headquarters have recently relocated from a retail spot on Cookman Avenue, near Bond Street, to the Lakehouse Music complex on Lake Avenue.
“The new space is good for us,” said Lenskold, whose Lenskold Group, a specialized marketing company, is based in the city. “It’s much more of a music space. The prior space was more of a gallery. Our mission in the beginning was really to preserve the history of music in Asbury Park. Now, we want to make sure current bands can do well and there’s a place where inexperienced bands can play for all ages, a place where bands can invite their fans.”
Right now, you can only get the shirts at Foundation events, but they will be sold soon through the group’s web site, asburyparkmusiclives.org.
“We need music to be a heart and soul of our community,” said Lenskold, who’s first concert in the city was the Clash at Convention Hall in 1982. “It’s good for the economy and good to have an artistic community come in and make a living.”