One thing was sure on Saturday, June 15 at the Surf City Hotel: The Pickles are the epitome of fun. With a band name like that, it is safe to assume they also have a good sense of humor.
“‘The Pickles,’ you either love it or you hate it. You can be blackout drunk at one of our shows, but you’ll always remember our name,” said the band’s bassist, Todd Raupp, 32, of Manahawkin. “It’s kitschy. It sticks with you, and people take notice.”
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill Members of The Pickles: Todd Raupp on bass and Charlie Berezanksy on drums. |
Between silly on-stage banter, the three-piece cover band – a group of talented, hysterical guys – brined up the best musical flavors available, offering tunes from the ’60s to today. Fifty-minute sets included songs from The Temptations, The Rolling Stones, Sublime, Men at Work, the Zac Brown Band and more. Boose Rutledge, 32, of West Creek, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, even played slide guitar using an empty beer bottle for an epic rendition of The Allman Brothers’ “One Way Out.”
Rutledge’s girlfriend, Candy Ermilio, 31, of Manahawin, had the beer bottle dumped out and ready for him to use “because he can, and I know he does it sometimes,” she said. Ermilio claimed he once used a slice of pizza during a performance at the Saw Mill on the boardwalk in Seaside Park. Food was never pulled out on Saturday, but Rutledge did manage to play a different song using the stage’s front banister.
A force of crowd-pleasers, it is no wonder why the band has had staying power since it initially formed in the late 1990s. Rutledge is the only original member left. Raupp – the only one who actually likes pickles – has worked as bassist and band manager since he joined seven years ago. Charlie Berezansky, 33, of Manahawkin has been drumming with the guys for the past three years. Berezansky and Raupp formerly played with a band called Downstage before the two ensembles basically swapped members.
Raupp took over as band manager, booking gigs and interviewing with the press, after the band’s former keyboardist, Brian “Bozman” Bozarth, passed away in the summer of 2010.
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill Guitarist Boose Rutledge takes a break from vocals to jam out during a solo. |
“Todd had some big shoes to fill, but he’s really taken the reins and brought us to a whole new level,” said Rutledge. “I give him a lot of credit for where we’re getting.”
A number of agencies are looking to sign the band, but Raupp’s managing skills make scoring gigs easy and cost-effective, the band agreed.
The group has 85 gigs lined up during the next 120 days. Rutledge and Raupp will play as an acoustic duo by the Tiki Bar at the Sea Shell in Beach Haven, from 3 to 7 p.m., and from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the club on Wednesday, June 19. Berezansky will join them by the pool on Friday, June 21, for a full, electric performance from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., again at the Sea Shell.
“Todd helps book us everywhere. He’s like the greatest pimp ever,” Berezansky joked.
“The nice thing about the band is that we respect each other’s talent very much,” he added in all seriousness. “If you asked either one of us, we’d all say that we wouldn’t want anybody else to take each other’s place. We really trust each other, and that’s what keeps a good band together. One of us might have a hiccup during a performance, but we know we’ll correct it next time,” he added.
The band members pride themselves on being able to cover every musical genre. Their “Island vibe,” which encompasses music from Bob Marley and Jack Johnson, thrown in with a bluesy, punk-rock vibe, caters to what the crowd wants and gets people up and dancing.
“We can go from playing an eclectic mix at Margaritaville in Atlantic City to music that’s young and hip where people want to dance, like at the Surf City Hotel,” Rutledge remarked.
Although the band has gone through different members since its inception many years ago, even at one time including a saxophonist, the group still radiates a genuinely gifted energy. The power trio said they often receive praise for sticking to playing live music without the backing tracks that have become popular with other bands.
“The coolest thing is that people can’t believe we’re only three people,” said Rutledge. “We refuse to get backing tracks; we’re completely live. We’re outside the box.”
“Which is actually inside the box,” Raupp added with a laugh.
The band performed louder and harder as the night went on, and more and more people paid the $5 cover to enter the back bar area, where they could listen and watch and let loose on the dance floor.
“These guys are fantastic, and I know music,” shouted Mike McHugh, 46, of Staten Island, who plays percussion in an eight-piece rock and soul band called Souled Out. The long-time Island visitor, who has been staying with his cousin in Harvey Cedars, said he was thrilled to catch The Pickles for the very first time. He promised to see them again after praising them for their upbeat performance.
“These guys always have fun together, and they always take time to acknowledge their fans,” said Ermilio. “They’re a genuine group of musicians; they’re like a real family unit.”
The Pickles will be performing at the Jersey Shorefest, a Sandy relief fundraiser for the first responders of LBI, on Saturday, June 22. The band will perform at Sunset Park in Harvey Cedars at 1:30 p.m. Visit thepicklesnation.com for information on other upcoming shows.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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