Gooch's Send Off - The Schwam @ Czig Meister Brewing

Name: Gooch's Send Off - The Schwam @ Czig Meister Brewing
Start: 2025-11-29T18:30:00-05:00
Location: Czig Meister Brewing Company

Schedule

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025 at 06:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Czig Meister Brewing Company | Hackettstown, NJ

No cover!
The Schwam is coming to Czig Meister Brewing for the first time! And this will also be Gooch's last show with us :(
Come party with us and enjoy some great brews, classic rock, ska, and whatever else we feel like playing!

A "short" message from Gooch:
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🧡 Long post incoming…
This one’s gonna hit a little different.
My last gig with The Schwam will be on November 29th, and I’ve got a lot to say about what this band, this music, and these people have meant to me.
If you’ve ever seen us live, shared a beer, danced, screamed, or skanked in the crowd, this one’s for you.
I joined this band right after Christmas break in early 2013. I was still going to Bergen Community College and playing guitar in the student center with my friend Gabe Plotkin when this guy came up to say hello to Gabe. That guy was Brandon. We got to talking, and he mentioned his band was looking for a drummer. I mentioned that a band I was in at the time was looking for a guitar player, but I was super down to play drums whenever and wherever. After Christmas break, Brandon texted me and asked if I wanted to jam. I drove over to Paramus, and from that moment on, I was locked into The Schwam.
That first gig was Brandon’s birthday show. I had only practiced with the band three or four times, but we absolutely crushed it. I also remember all of us realizing how many Foo Fighters shows we had all coincidentally been at and been to before we even knew each other.
From Valentine’s Day of 2013 to November 29th of 2025, this has been one hell of a ride. Over a decade of shows, memories, and music that shaped my life. Somewhere between 100 and 150 gigs, give or take, two albums, one EP, a few singles, and multiple music videos later, it still feels unreal.
In 2014, while delivering food, I met an individual named Nima. The second he opened his apartment door and I saw what looked like a Guitar Center and a GameStop threw up in there, I knew I had to either be friends with him or at least tell him he had to come see my band play. Somehow, I ended up being one of the regular drivers who delivered to him four or five times a week for almost a year. We talked about music, I told him about The Schwam, and one day he told me about this event he was a part of putting together called AVGC, A Video Game Convention. That single connection ended up changing all of our lives. Brandon met Casey there. Jon met Nicole there. Brandon’s sister Jaime met Jorge there. We played those conventions multiple times and even became the band that played at their weddings, including one that just happened this past Halloween.
Later that same year, we played Braveathon 2014, where we met Feli Fame. We played a few shows with him and even filmed a music video together around the block from my grandparents’ house. None of us could have imagined that video would eventually end up on MTV, right after an Eminem video and right before a 50 Cent video. It is amazing where life and this journey will really take you.
Playing Starland Ballroom was absolutely insane. I will never forget realizing we were opening right before Badfish. Then a week later, we packed The Hilltop so much that people were parking across the street in the mini mall just to get inside and hear the music.
When I think of Clash Bar, I think of Bob. That place was like punk rock heaven. All the local bands would come together, play their hearts out, and stick around to support each other. Bob was the glue of that whole scene. Always kind, always welcoming. I will never forget those breakfast shots long after the bar closed. That place ruled. I hate to say it, but one of my favorite memories of that place, on top of hanging out and bullshitting with Bob after every single gig and even shows I went to but was not playing at, was being a part of one of the bands that had to sadly close Clash Bar. I say this because I swear there were so many people packed into that bar for that show on December 27th of 2019 that the mirrors on the stage fogged up from all the sweat and dedicated fans who loved that place as much as we did. It was a beautiful ending to a perfect story. That was a really cool lineup too: Fat Chance, Jounce, The Schwam, and The Record Keeper.
Releasing “Raise Highways,” our second album and third release, was another huge moment. That record was made with our good friend, drummer, and producer Joey Papa, who we met over ten years ago. His band Human Zoo absolutely rules.
We have shared the stage with so many incredible bands. Automatic 253, Fat Chance, Skunk Daze, Human Zoo, Disposable, Jokers Republic, The Muckrakers, Joe Billy, Backyard Superheroes, Crust, and so many others.
Meeting The Muckrakers in Brooklyn in 2014 and eventually getting to play drums on their first record was an absolute trip. We played MunozStock more times than I can count and got grandfathered in as part of the family. I know for a fact there are easily a hundred more bands I could name. Nothing against any of the others, I am just trying to keep this short and show love to the ones we spent the most time with.
And listen, I know there are definitely shows we have played and bands we have shared the stage with that I am probably forgetting to mention. So if you are reading this right now, yes, you, take this as your opportunity to say “hey, what about this” and tag me in it, or “hey, remember this” and tag me in it and tag the band too. I want to see every memory, every show, every ridiculous night that made this band what it is.
Being in this band taught me patience. It taught me to be ready for anything. It taught me how to listen, adapt, and find my place. I barely knew anything about ska before joining The Schwam. Everything I know about ska, I owe to this band. I will say this band also brought me a lot of luck when it came to finding the absolute best parking spots for every single show.
What I am most proud of leaving behind is being the backbone and timekeeper of one of the best bands in New Jersey. I have always brought energy behind the kit, and I like to think my drumming gave this band that extra kick in the ass it needed.
To the entire band, Brandon, Casey, Jon, Paul, Tito, Bryan, and last but certainly not least, Baz, thank you. I could not have asked for a better group of musicians and friends to share this part of my life with. I am proud of everything we have done together.
To everyone who has come to our shows, danced, sang, skanked, screamed, and supported us over the years, thank you. Whether you saw us at The Meatlocker, Starland Ballroom, The Hilltop, Clash Bar, Debonair, or anywhere else in the tri state area, you have been part of our story.
This band has always been about one thing. Bringing everyone together. Rockers, punk rockers, ska punks, misfits, metalheads, whoever. Every color of the palette. The Schwam was, and always will be, about making people dance their asses off and reminding them why they fell in love with live music in the first place.
I am leaving because I have been given an incredible opportunity to go back to school full time while working two jobs, and being in a full time band just is not realistic right now.
I am not done playing music. I am not done drumming. I am not done performing. I have finally started my solo project “The Floaties,” and I will still be making music, maybe even opening for The Schwam one day.
If you have photos, videos, or memories from any of our shows over the years, post them, tag us, or share a story. I would love to see what The Schwam looked like through your eyes.
And to everyone coming out to Czig Meister on November 29th, make sure you stuff your face on Thanksgiving because you are going to need all that energy to dance and skank your ass off with us, me, one more time.
Thank you for everything.
Now let’s make November 29th one more night you will never forget with us