JIGS AND THE PIGS

Power pop guy Joe "Jigs" Giglio was a big New Brunswick name in the early-1980s. He and his music are well-documented in Paul Devlin's Rockin' Brunswick, which characterizes 1983 Brunswick as a hotspot for new wave-influenced pop groups — when Casio and Korg were bigger brands than Fender and Gibson — and the complete fragmentation of musical styles was still to come. So credit where it's due: Jigs' 1982 single, "Reason I Rock," was a very early independent record for a scene in its infancy, and who knows how many artists were inspired to follow his lead upon its release. In retrospect it's clear that Jigs, along with Crossfire Choir, the Blasés, the Rockin' Bricks, etc., belonged to a time when New Brunswick was an identifiable scene with an identifiable sound. It wouldn't last long.

This is a terrific flyer from 1984 by Peter Hunt, for whom I have no information whatsoever, though he evidently did a lot of nice work around town. Not sure exactly how far into the future this illustration is supposed to depict, but last I checked, the New Brunswick police force was still driving cars, on the ground.

[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]