The first comprehensive look at the famous Asbury Park music scene from Bruce Springsteen to the artists of tomorrow. Featuring over 70 rare photographs and interviews with over 40 artists. "Asbury Park's place in rock explained, with appearances by Springsteen and Southside Johnny etc." -- Mojo Magazine, August 2003 "He's also wise enough to pay tribute to the glory days of WHTG-FM 106.3 in Eatontown..." -- Kelly-Jane Cotter -- Asbury Park Press, July 20, 2003 "In a word Beyond the Palace is comprehensive." -- Laura Lynch -- Book Review at Kweevak.com, July 23, 2003 "The title refers to the fact that Asbury Park rock-n-roll is about more than just Bruce Springsteen." -- Bob Makin -- The Aquarian, July 2, 2003 Music fans from around the world still travel to visit Asbury Park to see the places that inspired songs by Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi. The town has a special place in music history and this book tells its story. Gary Wien is a life-long music fan of the Asbury Park music scene. Born in nearby Red Bank, he spent many weekends in Asbury Park while growing up. He would hang out at old Palace Amusements building, walk the boardwalk and sneak into the clubs whenever possible. Wien graduated from Lynchburg College in Virginia with a Degree in English in 1992. Since then he has been a freelance author, playwright and website designer. He has been printed in such publications as "New Jersey Webguide Magazine, Discover Guides of New Jersey" and " Princeton Magazine." Mr Wien currently lives in Belmar, NJ with his beautiful wife, Dr, Sherry Wien. This is where it all began. Musicians gathered each night at a club on the corner of Cookman Avenue and Bond Street that was set on top of a Thom McAn shoe store. The Upstage brought the sights of San Francisco psychedelia and the sounds of Greenwich Village together in an endless array of all night jam sessions, which attracted the best young musicians in the area. "There was no place anywhere like the Upstage," said David Mieras, a regular at the club who grew up in Ocean Grove. "That place was totally in a league of its own. It was very, very different. It was a really avant-garde place, very art-oriented, individualized and where people found an identity. It was like your club. There was no liquor there, but you d identify it as your club. "Most people had passes to get in. It was no different than being part of a high school club. In Neptune, the cool kids belonged to their club, which was called the Centaurs. The Ocean Grove kids who had long hair and stuff like that and played music, they weren t cool enough for the Centaurs, but they had their own club called Upstage. That was the difference. We identified with music and stuff like that. We could care less about getting into a bar because we had the Upstage. It was the greatest place. I mean, we just had so much fun there it was incredible." David Sancious, one of the original members of the E Street Band remembers the Upstage well. "You d walk up this long flight of stairs and the next level was like a coffeehouse and they had folk acts in there, folk music, a small stage and some tables and a couple of coffee machines in the back. You walk up another flight of stairs and it was all done like a psychedelic club, you know. With a bigger stage, Day-Glo painting on the wall, no tables, no chairs, just a big open dance floor. There used to be a lot of bands that would play there and a lot of jams got started. In the early days, I used to go to Upstage to dance. I had some friends of mine from Belmar that used to go and dance and just be a part of the whole scene." According to Big Danny Gallagher, the origins of the Upstage arose from a series of parties that were held by Tom Potter. "I had a job working at around four in the morning. One night my boss says to me, Wanna go to a party? I m thinking a party at four in the morning, what the hell s up with this? He told me to go over to Tom Potter s house. He lived over the top of Park Drugs, which was located two doors down from the Upstage. It turns out that these parties got so big that he decided to rent the building next door, which eventually became the Upstage. "He sold memberships for two dollars. So, if you came and you had a membership it was a dollar and if you didn t it cost two bucks to get in." Used Book in Good Condition