PAGE 8 THE COAST STAR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 MANASQUAN

BY AMANDA STONETHE COAST STAR

MANASQUAN — Area resi-dents and tourists look for-ward to several things whenthe summer season rollsaround, including blue skies,warm weather, cold beerand good music.

Luckily for those that liveyear-round at the Shore, themusic scene continues non-stop, with dozens of bandsplaying at local bars up anddown the Shore throughoutthe winter.

One popular band hasbeen around the area fornearly one decade — withno plans of stopping anytime soon.

Enjoy! — a band com-prised of a group of friendsoriginally from Cranford —has played countless showsat several well-known barsin the area, as well as atweddings, fundraisers andpretty much any type ofevent that one could thinkof.

The band’s name, Enjoy!,was created after the groupof friends listened to a songcalled “Enjoy!” by theCalifornia punk rock bandThe Descendents.

“It is kind of an insidejoke,” said Chris Soltis.

Chris, along with his twinbrother, John, and theirfriends Brendan Brophy andLou Donovan, now make upthe band that has come to beknown as one of thefavorites in the area. ToddPalumbo, also of Cranford,

was originally in the group,though he moved across thecountry. The friends, how-ever, stay in touch with theirformer bandmate.

John plays bass guitar,Chris is the lead guitarist,Brendan is the lead singerwho also plays rhythm gui-tar and Lou is the band’sdrummer.

Though each memberemulates various musiciansthey admire, the group as awhole draws inspirationfrom the band Phish.

PLAYING WHAT THEY KNOW,

WHERE THEY KNOW

Though the group’s mem-bers are originally fromCranford, they have allmoved to the Jersey Shore,with the exception of Lou,who lives in Summit andtravels down the shore forgigs. Chris and and Johnboth live in Manasquan,while Brendan lives in Avon.

The friends had alwaystraveled to the area, espe-cially Manasquan, whenthey were younger, withsome of the members’ par-ents owning houses alongthe Jersey Shore.

It was not until after thefour graduated from collegethat they decided to start theband.

“We were just hanging outat a bar,” Chris said, of themoment when the friendsdecided to formally create aband.

With a gig here and there,the band eventually got intothe swing of things andfound themselves beingbooked at local bars moreand more.

Since their start in 2002,the group has compiledmore than 300 songs ontotheir playlist and has per-

formed more than 900shows.

From Frank Sinatra to IronMaiden, the group plays justa little bit of everything.

“It is hard to describe themusic we do — it is just amixed bag of everything,”Chris said.

And for most shows, headded, the group goes into itwithout knowing what theyplay.

Though there is an infor-mal list written up prior tothe show, the group tries toscan the bar or event theyare performing at to seewhat type of music theybelieve the audience wantsto hear.

And after one decade ofperforming in the area — thegroup knows its audience.

“We are pretty muchintertwined into the com-munity and we’re friendswith people who live hereand who grew up here,” Johnsaid.

Familiar faces, the broth-ers agreed, are somethingthey are used to seeing whenthey walk into a local estab-lishment.

“We have a good workingrelationship with local busi-nesses,” Chris said.

CROSSING THE COUNTRY

“We don’t do this tobecome rock stars. We justlike to play music,” Chrissaid.

Whether they want tobecome famous or not, thegroup is certainly wellknown not only in the area,but in various parts of thecountry.

Among their out-of-stateshows include weddings inCalifornia and New York.

And even if they are notperforming somewhere, the

band’s name still getsaround on their T-shirts.

According to Chris, T-shirts embedded with theband’s name and logo havebeen seen in places rangingfrom Texas to Peru.

BEHIND THE MUSIC

The song “On the RoadAgain” by Willie Nelson hasbecame a mantra for theband, with the lyrics, “Thelife I love is making musicwith my friends” theirfavorite.

Though the group enjoysplaying music for others tohear, they also enjoy thetime they get to spendtogether — which is often,as they perform roughly fiveshows per week in the sum-mer season.

Though Chris and Johnare biological brothers, all ofthe members have formed abrotherhood, where they alltake interest in and are apart of each other’s lives.

John and his wife, Alison,have two sons, Jack, 3, andChristian, 4 months old.

The pair married in 2007,after meeting at Leggett’sSand Bar, where Enjoy! wasperforming and Alison wasworking. He works as a cer-tified financial planner dur-ing the day.

The only other member ofthe group with a bride is

Lou, who is married to Erica.Lou works for a law firm.

When Chris is not per-forming with the band, heworks as an insurance ana-lyst and Brendan writesmusic.

STARTING THEIR “OFF SEASON”

Though the band per-forms year round, with themembers missing onlymaybe a weekend or two intheir last 10 years, the falland winter seasons slow

down as far as performanc-es.

Chris said the extra timegives the group the ability towork on their own projects,as well as learn new materi-al for next summer season.

Enjoy! has no plans to stopperforming, either, and arestarting to create more orig-inal music to perform nextsummer.

To learn more aboutEnjoy!, visit atwww.enjoytheband.com.

SUEANNE GOSS THE COAST STAR

Members of the local band Enjoy!, including John Soltis [from left], Lou Donovan, Brendan Brophy andChris Soltis recently played at Patio Bar in Point Pleasant Beach.

SUEANNE GOSS THE COAST STAR

Chris Soltis, a member of local band Enjoy!, recently performed withthe group in Point Pleasant Beach at Patio Bar.

Enjoy! brings a uniquetune to the Jersey ShoreManasquan-based band

has performed morethan 900 shows during its tenure

BEYOND THE MUSIC — LOCAL BAND PROFILE