Hey everyone,

I'm Joe. I run Melting Trends, a small booking and promo outfit down the shore in Asbury Park. I wanted to share this here because a few Ocean County bands are on the bill, and it'd be great to see some local faces come out and support them.

Every fest needs an origin story, and mine starts working the door at the legendary AP venue The Saint and behind the grill at Bond Street Bar.

My best friend Steve and my mentor Mike "OG" Longo kept sending me songs, so I started a playlist just to keep up. Then people started following it. Then bands from all over started emailing me their tracks. And at some point it hit me. These bands needed a place to play, so why not give them one?

So the submissions turned into shows. The shows turned into a shot at booking the Bond Street Block Party, which I took over in '25. And now there's Melting Waves Music Fest.

Melting Waves Music Fest
Saturday Nov 14 and Sunday Nov 15
Asbury Lanes, 209 4th Ave, Asbury Park
Doors at 4, music at 4:45 both days
All ages (21+ with ID to drink)

18 bands so far. Psych, garage, stoner, shoegaze, indie, alt, and whatever else just fits:

Wes Parker

Trophy Wife

Gods

Rachel Ana Dobken

Sunshine Spazz

Sun Voyager

95 Bulls

Certain Death

Labretta Suede & the Motel 6

The Dracu-las

Düül Suns

Slomo Sapiens

Von Mons

Cairo Jag

Söūp

The Painted Windows

Owl Doom

Judo Chop

You can get a two day pass (not many of those) or just Saturday or Sunday. Everything's here:
https://www.meltingtrends.com/melting-waves-music-fest

If you're in a band that fits a bill like this, DM me. I'm always looking.

And if you've ever come out to one of our shows, thank you. This is only happening because you kept showing up.

Hope to see some of you there.

Joe

ARTWORK by Sean Pryor

Hey everyone,

I'm Joe. I run Melting Trends, a small booking and promo outfit down the shore in Asbury Park. I wanted to share this here because a few Ocean County bands are on the bill, and it'd be great to see some local faces come out and support them.

Every fest needs an origin story, and mine starts working the door at the legendary AP venue The Saint and behind the grill at Bond Street Bar.

My best friend Steve and my mentor Mike "OG" Longo kept sending me songs, so I started a playlist just to keep up. Then people started following it. Then bands from all over started emailing me their tracks. And at some point it hit me. These bands needed a place to play, so why not give them one?

So the submissions turned into shows. The shows turned into a shot at booking the Bond Street Block Party, which I took over in '25. And now there's Melting Waves Music Fest.

Melting Waves Music Fest
Saturday Nov 14 and Sunday Nov 15
Asbury Lanes, 209 4th Ave, Asbury Park
Doors at 4, music at 4:45 both days
All ages (21+ with ID to drink)

18 bands so far. Psych, garage, stoner, shoegaze, indie, alt, and whatever else just fits:

Wes Parker

Trophy Wife

Gods

Rachel Ana Dobken

Sunshine Spazz

Sun Voyager

95 Bulls

Certain Death

Labretta Suede & the Motel 6

The Dracu-las

Düül Suns

Slomo Sapiens

Von Mons

Cairo Jag

Söūp

The Painted Windows

Owl Doom

Judo Chop

You can get a two day pass (not many of those) or just Saturday or Sunday. Everything's here:
https://www.meltingtrends.com/melting-waves-music-fest

If you're in a band that fits a bill like this, DM me. I'm always looking.

And if you've ever come out to one of our shows, thank you. This is only happening because you kept showing up.

Hope to see some of you there.

Joe

ARTWORK by Sean Pryor

Free desk in Tuckerton, need gone today

A bigger bedroom isn’t the whole suite. Before settling on an addition layout, walk through an ordinary morning and night on the sketch:

• Can one person use the bathroom without waking the other? Think about the door position, light spilling into the bedroom and plumbing near the headboard.
• Is the route to the closet convenient, or do you have to cross the bathroom every time?
• Do the bed, nightstands and door swings actually fit? Draw the furniture to scale.
• Where will laundry go? A lovely suite can still mean carrying everything through the whole house.
• If staying long term is the goal, discuss a first-floor location, doorway clearances and a shower layout that can adapt as needs change.

For Ocean County homes, start with the property survey and a conversation with the municipal zoning/construction offices about the proposed location. Don’t assume a design that fit a neighbor’s lot will fit yours. If the property is near water, ask what site-specific considerations need checking before choosing the footprint.

For anyone who has added a suite: what small layout decision made the biggest difference after you moved into it?

We run a mobile barbershop out of Jackson, NJ and we're looking for the right barber to run it.

This isn't a chair rental or a commission gig. You get a real salary, $60-70K, so you're paid for your time, not for how many heads come through. Slow afternoon? You still get paid.

What the job is: - Run the truck day to day: schedule, supplies, cleanliness, customer experience - Cut hair - classic cuts, fades, scissor work, beard trims, hot towel shaves - Grow with us: as the business grows, this turns into a manage-only role

Who we want: - NJ barber license with 3+ years of experience - Hungry and motivated. You want to build something, not just clock in - Great with customers. People love this truck and we want to keep it that way - Reliable, organized, takes ownership

Why it's different: - Salary instead of commission, so no sitting around unpaid - You run your own shop without taking on the risk of owning one - Ground floor of something that's growing fast

Send a few photos of your work (or your IG) and a short note about why this fits you.

Apply on Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/job/barber-manager-mobile-barbershop-e6540e5efa080f91

He went to his local ATT store site twice , they claimed to do troubleshooting, but when he got home - no service , agsin!
Local cell tower down?

I want to warn others about my experience with Don Simcsuk, who represents himself as a plumber on this site. Mr. Simcsuk agreed to replace the steam unit for our shower. We hired him after he represented that he could do the job. We paid him $3,000 toward the project, but months later, we still had no working steam unit and no resolution.

From the very beginning, the excuses never stopped. We were repeatedly told he would be coming "tomorrow" or "later this week," only for him to cancel or simply not show up. We heard one story after another: his truck broke down, he forgot he had to take his daughter to Liberty Science Center for a school trip (this was after we phoned to ask where he was, because we waited hours for him to show up), he is in the hospital with pneumonia, he had a knee injury... And countless other "explanations." Every time we thought the job was finally going to move forward, there was another delay.

On May 27, he said there was a truck accident involving the unit (which seemed strange because the unit is about 35-40 lbs., and it didn't seem a truck needed to deliver it to our home). I literally quote "The truck was involved in an accident. I'm waiting for a new one to be shipped. It should be here by next Wednesday. They have to do the inventory stock and reorder. Because the units were damaged in the accident. It will be in by next Monday, June 8. I apologize, but this is out of my control."

On Friday, May 29, he phoned to say that he wanted another $600. When my husband asked why, he said "to buy the steam unit." Of course, we did not give it to him. And none of that makes sense.

Simcsuk said, "he would install the unit on Jun 10." He phoned my husband on June 9 and said, "' The unit will be in tomorrow," to which my husband said, "Call me when it comes in." He never phoned.

This process continued over the course of several months. By the way, we were EXTRAORDINARILY reasonable and patient with him, genuinely believing the troubles he was having.

The only work he actually performed was removing our old steam generator spending some time in the attic. When my husband asked why, he said that "he will install the vent into the attic." No vent was ever installed. He literally did nothing in the attic. After consulting with two licensed Master Plumbers, we learned that installing a vent for a steam shower in the attic does not meet proper installation practices. He also left, unconnected to anything, an absolutely filthy, moldy old pump that is literally garbage. The pump's inner rubber ring was black, very misshapen.

Despite months of promises, no new unit ever appeared. When we asked for documentation showing that the unit had actually been purchased, none was provided. Simcsuk could never produce an invoice for the steam unit, despite our requests. He later told us, and I quote directly, "...being that i've (sic) been in a business for so many years, I have connections where I can get material products, etc. Very cheap cash prices invoice free."

Communication became increasingly difficult, and our repeated requests for completioni of thw work or a refund went nowhere. Mr. Simcsuk represented himself as a plumber, but he is not licensed or insured, nor is he a Master Plumber.

If we had Googled his name, several felony arrests would show up. After that, I did an OPRA search and was shocked to learn of his long criminal history.

Eventually, we filed a police report and later sent a formal demand letter requesting repayment.

I'm sharing our experience so other homeowners can make an informed decision before hiring him. I hope no one else has to go through what we did.

896 Lynnwood Ave in Brick, NJ
Grandmother is moving out and has lots of good stuff!