By: Shane Bagot, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
SOUTH JERSEY – The South Jersey based band, Estrogents, embarked on their first tour, playing in South Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is a punk group that consists of Jack Darischuk on lead guitar and vocals, Grey Hobbs on drums, Mike Redd on rhythm guitar, and Dee Phillips on bass. This has been built up from years of practice, performing, and gaining popularity in the South Jersey live music scene.
The band started during their freshman year of high school with a motive of not having much else to do. Darischuk and Redd jumped into the group later on in high school. Filling in the spots that they needed.
Years removed from that, with growth and maturity, things are getting serious for the band as they go on this tour. Building on the momentum and confidence gained from their Hollybash performance at Rowan University. They will be playing in places like Vorhees, Pittsgrove, State College, and Philadelphia.
“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Hobbs said. “The culmination of the time that we’ve been around in the scene and made connections with other people.”
The band feels like this is a step forward in the direction they’ve wanted.
“We’re not getting out too far, but it’s a big move for us,” Darischuk said. “It’s kind of a step in a new direction. I think that just the idea of getting out of state is scary. I feel like what else are we going to do?”
Despite the fear of it all, they are still excited to go out and explore new places. To see the different acts and how they show their passion and love for music. Especially to be able to make new friends and connections. To them, that’s what it’s all about.
The tour is a starting point for the band’s new album coming out before the end of this year. They’ve been playing these unreleased songs for years to the point that the fans already know the lyrics. They are finally handing off this music to the fans. Feeling as if they are privileged to be around long enough for people to know these songs already.
That maturity can be seen on this new album as it’s a tonal change from their first album “Estrogents.” The first album was more focused on the dumb and silly problems that come from being a high school student. This new one is more on the things that rack the brains of the group as they hit adulthood and are met with more complex matters.
“I think the vibe that the album captures the best is growing up and realizing that life is not exactly what you thought it was going to be,” said Hobbs.
Hobbs writes most of the songs on this new album with Darischuk helping out. Darischuk has two songs on the new album as he grows more as a lyricist. They are building upon a dynamic that works for them.
Another important aspect of going on this tour is being able to interact and engage with the South Jersey community even more. Growing up, they didn’t know of the community as they do today, and would host shows right in Hobbs’s driveway. As they’ve delved more into the scene, they have been able to take a lot of good away from it.
“As we’ve kind of gotten into a more vibrant music scene and seeing more band play, I think it’s been a lot of fun to take inspiration from them, see what other bands are doing, and king of evolve with it because the music scene now looks completely different to what it did in 2022 when we first started going to Rowan,” said Hobbs.
As they journey on this tour, they will be representing their roots as much as they can.
“I think it’s nice to have that hometown pride and bring it with us out into the world and be like this is what’s really happening in South Jersey,” Hobbs said.
If you are interested in visiting one of the shows, music, or socials, click here to find the Estrogents linktree.
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