Although Seth Kroll and Alan Cohen remember meeting at Congregation Beth Chaim Hebrew School in their early years, they probably could not foresee that they would not only still be friends, but in the same band, several years post college. Both graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School (South), Class of 2001.##M:[more]##
Family Junction debuted at the House of Blues in Cambridge, Massachusetts in May, 2002. Their soon recorded demos became the foundation for their first CD, “Pasta Bar,” produced, written, arranged, and recorded by Family Junction. The group began touring between Boston and Washington, D.C., in August, 2004 — with a rare performance April 7 at Small World Coffee in Princeton.
“We also lived near each other and would play roller hockey and soccer with other neighborhood kids around the same time period,” recalls Kroll. They also played Little League and recreational soccer in West Windsor and Plainsboro from elementary school through middle school.
Cohen is the son of Marshall Cohen, co-founder of Sensors Unlimited, a West Windsor firm that developed and manufactured infrared cameras and infrared sensing devices for various applications, and Debbie Cohen, a teacher at Grover Middle School. Marshall Cohen recently retired.
“We have been friends since then, and a few years later our parents became very good friends,” says Cohen. Family Junction recently released its second self-produced and self-engineered album and first movie on Saturday, July 14, at the Knitting Factory, in New York City.
Cohen, who has a bachelor of science degree from Tufts University in computer science, worked for rock groups, Dispatch and Guster, while in college. He spent a year as the technology coordinator of a Boston public high school after graduation and currently works in fundraising for Tufts.
Kroll is the son of Lee Kroll, president of Kroll Direct Marketing, a direct marketing company based in Plainsboro, and Judi Kroll, a teacher at Grover Middle School. At South, Kroll was involved in the Student Council, the Ultimate Frisbee team, and the 107.9FM radio station.
“Alan and I started writing songs together in high school during study hall and when I was in the radio station for a show or just hanging out after school,” says Kroll.
Kroll has a bachelor of arts degree from American University in international relations and Middle Eastern studies. He has worked in student programming and film production at Boston University since graduation.
“We filmed the ‘Aijah’ scene on the DVD portion of our recent album, ‘Running Trains (we’re huge in Japan)’ in Princeton last Memorial Day weekend,” says Kroll. “We did this because the song that was used in this scene was partially inspired by good ‘ol Hoagie Haven. The music that was recorded for the CD portion of the same album was recorded in various basements and living rooms in Princeton Junction and Brick Township, New Jersey, and Monroe, New York.”
“Another big thing for us is our involvement with the coalition to push through federal legislation that would ‘fix’ a royalty rate hike that will put internet radio out of business if it goes into effect,” says Cohen. “We played a show in support of it on Capitol Hill a few weeks ago, and lobbied various senators and congressman regarding the issue. We also published an op-ed in the Boston Globe in regards to it.”
“Running Trains (we’re huge in Japan)” features a CD of 13 songs; a DVD portion with a day-in-the-life alternative universe musical adventure of rejected superheroes, a 40-minute movie written, film, directed, and edited by the entire band; and a 12-song compilation album, FamJam’s Music-Stache, Volume 1, including MP3 songs of independent artists. It is available for $11 at www.familyjunction.org. Their first CD, “Pasta Bar,” is $9 on their website.
“Even though we moved away for college and post-college we still have strong connections to the WWP community and draw upon a lot of the friends and the experiences we gained from our hometown for support and inspiration,” says Kroll.
