PUNK ROCK ROYALTY
Music icons to appear at Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market
TRENTON » Attendees of this weekend’s Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market may “wanna be sedated,” but it will be tough to put them to sleep with the lineup that is in store.
Marky Ramone, who drummed on The Ramones classic punk anthem, “I Wanna be Sedated,” will appear Saturday, April 7 and Sunday, April 8 at the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market (TPRFM) for a meet and greet and autographs.
“There are no surviving original Ramones anymore,” TPRFM founder Joseph Kuzemka said last week. “But Marky’s about as original as you get because he was with them the longest.”
Marky Ramone appeared in the band’s movie “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” and was a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band from 1978 until 1983, and then again from 1987 until 1996. The Ramones were known for infectious songs that the band blitzed through in two minutes.
Ramone will be joined at TPRFM by another punk legend.
Greg Hetson, of Bad Religion, The Circle Jerks and Redd Kross, will also appear both days at the two-day event.
“The Circle Jerks happened to be the first punk band that I ever saw at City Gardens,” Kuzemka said of the storied Trenton venue. “He was also the longtime guitar player for Bad Religion, which is another iconic and super-influential punk band.”
If the thought of those two legends in the same room wasn’t enough, TPRFM will also showcase Mike Zohn from New York City-based Obscura Antiques both days. Zohn stars in the reality television program “Oddities” about his shop on the Discovery Channel.
Mark and Mark from Weird NJ will also be making appearances on Saturday and Sunday.
Two live stages featuring musicians from all over the state will be the soundtrack for the event.
More than 260 different vendors will be selling wacky, cool and strange items each day. TPRFM will also have a dozen different food trucks both days.
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company beer will be flowing from the beer garden.
“This time around, we’ve not only brought in some old punk rock icons to do meet and greets and sign some autographs, but we’ve also brought in some pretty well-known vendors from around the area that are also a draw in of themselves,” Kuzemka said. “We’ve already got a good thing going. We’re just trying to improve upon what we can to make it bigger and better.”
Typically, TPRFM brings more than 10,000 people over the two days to Trenton.
“We’re certainly hoping that we’ll stay close to that,” said Kuzemka, who was named The Trentonian’s “Person of the Year” in 2015 and is also a former employee. “If we’re lucky enough to get good weather, I’m sure we’ll have an even larger crowd, which will be wonderful.”
To top off the festivities, Kuzemka’s booking company, Pork Roll Express, has put together an exciting show for an after party on April 7 at Championship Bar.
The World/Inferno Friendship Society along with Garden State favorites Will Wood and The Tapeworms and openers, Trenton’s own Molly Rhythm are set to light the stage on fire.
“This is by far the biggest show that we’ve done,” Kuzemka said of the after party show. “We’re more than half sold out right now in advance so we expect it to be a sold-out show.”
The capacity at Championship Bar, which is located at 931 Chambers St., is 275 people, Kuzemka said. The show starts at 6 p.m. and tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door.
A $5 admission is good to both days at the TPRFM. The event is held at the Roebling Wire Works at 675 S. Clinton Ave. in Trenton.
For more information, visit trentonpunkrockf leamarket. com/.