Blue Hawk Records showcases Monmouth University rockers

To put it in classic rock terms, over at Monmouth University the kids are alright.

The West Long Branch institution of higher learning has been home since 2013 to the student-run, in-house label Blue Hawk Records.

The label's 11th compilation record, aptly titled "Volume 11," is out now, and Blue Hawk acts will celebrate the release with a showcase Friday, Dec. 8, at the House of Independents in Asbury Park.

(For a look at another rising Jersey Shore talent, watch the video above.)

Staffed by students from the university's music industry program, Blue Hawk gives aspiring entertainment professionals first-hand experience in the musical landmark of Asbury Park; each track on "Volume 11" was recorded at Asbury Park's Lakehouse Record Studios.

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“Everyone who’s on the compilation, they kind of see both sides because they’re in the business but then they also perform as well," said Monmouth University senior Olivia Rohlfs. "That’s what it’s like with my group at least. With The Nooks, pretty much all of us are industry majors and so we’re helping with the behind the scenes and the production and the recording and all of that, and then we get to flip around and actually perform on stage, which is so cool.

"But the convenience of campus has made it all possible, the location, just because we are a five-minute, 10-minute drive down the road from Asbury Park where we have the Wonder Bar, the Saint and the House of Independents, which is fairly new as a venue, but we’re hoping to forge a relationship with them through this event.”

Rohlfs plays bass in the indie rock quartet The Nooks, who will be joined at the House of Independents by "Volume 11" artists Malibu, Tim DiDomenico, Kristen Wilczewski and Jacke Tripp, as well as former featured Blue Hawk Records artists The Carousers and Antonio Gonzales.

The Nooks dropped their debut single, "Arno," earlier this year on Blue Hawk's "Hang Ten," and they're back on "Volume 11" with "Bulldog's Cage."

The track, Rohlfs said, is about her experiences with singer Amanda McTigue and guitarist Brianna Musco during a study abroad program.

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"(The song is) about our adventures, specifically in Amsterdam when we spent a weekend there," Rohlfs said. "We were in the Netherlands for like a four-day weekend and we just had so much fun and it’s just chock-full of inside jokes between me, Bree and Amanda.

"And it’s just a really great song to perform because every time we perform it it’s super reminiscent for us, so we just get to reflect back on the fun we had, the jokes we made, and I think it’s kind of a mysterious element that adds to the audience (experience) because they don’t really know what’s happening but they know that it’s a catchy tune.”

A 21-year-old native of Roxbury in Morris County, Rohlfs rents a home in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township not far from either Monmouth University's West Long Branch campus or downtown Asbury Park.

Rohlfs started her time at Monmouth University as a criminal justice major before deciding in her sophomore year to study the music industry, and said she hopes to work in venue or artist management after graduating in May 2018.

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"Blue Hawk Records provides students with that hands-on experience where on a day to day basis I’m active in the marketing department. I’m digitally distributing the albums through CD Baby. I’m trying to find outlets for news. We just had people on the radio this morning. It’s so hands-on that I feel like I’m well equipped for any internship or interview that I walk into.”

BLUE HAWK RECORDS SHOWCASE

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8

WHERE: House of Independents, 572 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park

TICKETS: $8 in advance, $10 at the door

INFO: 866-777-8932 or www.houseofindependents.com