Friday, May 13 bus tour of Jersey Shore Springsteen sites with Vini Lopez

900-978 Ocean Avenue,Asbury Park NJ 07712

13 May, 2022

Description

Join tour guides Stan Goldstein and Jean Mikle along with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Vini Lopez for a Springsteen sites bus tour and lunch. We're happy to offer up a bus tour on Friday, May 13 with tour guides Stan Goldstein and Jean Mikle, authors of "Rock and Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore" along with original E Street Band drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Vini Lopez, plus a visit with the legendary Carl "Tinker" West. We will visit some different spots on this tour than we have in the past. Here's our itinerary for Friday, May 13: 11 a.m. - Bus will depart from in front of the Stone Pony. First stop will be at the corner of Tenth Avenue and E Street in Belmar. It was recently a question on "Jeopardy!" We'll show you where original E Street Band keyboard player David Sancious lived and give you the different stories on why Bruce named the band "E Street Band." Then you can take a photo at the famous intersection, what we call the Springsteen fan's "Abbey Road Shot," with Vini. We will then head to Long Branch, to see the "Born to Run" house where Bruce lived when he wrote the entire "Born to Run" album in 1974-75. You can debate if it was "waves" or "sways" that was written in that house. From there, we'll walk a block to have lunch at the WindMill, a Jersey Shore institution where Bruce has had many a hot dog over the years. More information on the Windmill is at https://www.windmillhotdogs.com IMPORTANT NOTE: Lunch is not included in the price of the tour. You can order what you want on your own. The Windmill will have extra staff on so we will be accommodated quickly. After lunch, we will head to the town of Red Bank where we'll see Jon Bon Jovi's restaurant, The Hope Kitchen; the site of Clarence Clemons' bar "Big Man's West" and the historic Count Basie Theatre where Bruce has played many times (Stan saw his first Bruce concert there in 1976) and continues to be a popular theater today. We hope to have George McMorrow, the former manager of Big Man's West, speak to us about this history of the now abandoned building. Big Man's West was only opened from 1981 to 1983 and Bruce later rehearsed there before the start of the Born in the U.S.A. tour in 1984. We will then visit Jack's Music Shoppe in Red Bank, Bruce's favorite record store that he still visits. There are not many record stores left, and this one has been a Jersey Shore landmark for years. It's where Bruce made a surprise visit in April of 2001 at the midnight sale of "Live in New York City." Also, for any comic book fans, Kevin Smith has a store across the street, Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash. You'll have about a half hour to check it out. From Red Bank, we will visit the town of Highlands to meet Carl "Tinker" West. Tinker is written about in Bruce's autobiography and mentioned by Bruce in his Broadway show. He still has the truck that he and Bruce drove cross-country at the end of 1969, the story told by Bruce in "Springsteen on Broadway" and we'll be able to see that and pose for photos by it. The manager of one of Bruce's first bands, Steel Mill, Tinker will share his stories and he still lives at the same place where Steel Mill practiced and did some recordings in the early 1970s. While on the bus, Stan, Jean and Vini will point out all the historical Springsteen sites along the way and share their personal stories. Also Vini will be happy to sign autographs and pose for pictures. We will return to the Stone Pony at approximately 4 p.m. so you'll have time for any Friday night Spring-Nut festitivities. Cost of the tour is $85, which does not include the Eventbrite fees. The bus tour is not part of the Spring-Nuts ticket for Serenade 5. This is a separate entity. Tickets are non-refundable. If you cannot make the tour, you may sell your ticket or tickets to someone else but there will be no refunds.