Get Real

New Jersey has the weirdest reputation. On the one hand, everybody makes fun of them for a variety of reasons that they've likely only heard about because they've never actually been to Jersey. Jersey is my least favorite favorite place. I can't deny that north Jersey is a third world wasteland that smells from the sewage running out of NYC. I can't deny that the rest of Jersey is a giant suburb that is completely devoid of anything interesting. What I also can't deny is that New Jersey just keeps giving. Jersey is that kid who knows a lot and does a lot for a lot of people but never quite gets the respect / appreciation it deserves. Jersey has given the world The Sopranos (best TV show ever), fat sandwiches (coolest junk food idea ever), and an endless supply of awesome bands. The Misfits, Adrenalin OD, Samhain, Turning Point, Lifetime, Rorshach, Mouthpiece, Floorpunch, Tear It Up, and Get Real just to name some of them.

Formed by Brett Jaeger & JR Hogan, Get Real is the closest thing New Jersey will get to having a Lockin Out band. Technically Get Real's inclusion on the Sweet Vision comp does make them a Lockin Out band, so yes, Get Real is a part of the LOC. Get Real was a cool band. Their music was influenced by Breakdown, Outburst, and Killing Time but with more bounce to it. Despite the obvious connections to so many scenes / styles, Get Real made it a point to brand themselves as their own outfit, independent from others. The band plastered Shore Style everywhere they went to represent Jersey. The band fashioned their logo from a piranha, a logo that has since become iconic among many east coast people. The most important thing about Get Real was that they made sure you knew it was Get Real from Jersey you were listening to / seeing.

Too often these days, kids want their band to fold into a specific scene or school. Bands that claim NYHC but aren't actually from New York, bands that say they're Lockin Out but don't get that that's just a label you need to be on to actually claim Lockin Out, kids that say they're Holy Terror but don't actually know what that entails. Get Real was cool because they went about things their own way. They didn't claim NJHC as much as they were Shore Style. They didn't change up their image. There was the piranha and the piranha was Get Real. Get Real is about identity found in self-awareness; reaching that point where you know you are actually doing your own thing. Get Real is about doing it for yourself as opposed to playing to a crowd or archetype.

Included is their discography.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/8nycz3fthfdzkvy/Get_Real.rar