Five years ago, Mike Virok opened up his instrument repair and custom shop, the Bordentown Guitar Rescue. Since then they’ve grown significantly, moving to a new location with an expanded sales floor and lesson rooms. Most notably, they’ve partnered up with Rob DeAntonio of Jaded Faith Mods, one of the foremost amplifier experts in the region.

Virok has been a member of The Paper Jets since early 2015, having started as the band’s guitar tech since opening his shop in 2012.

The Great Albums, a twice-weekly podcast which features our singer Brian and founding guitarist Bill Lambusta discussing and dissecting an album track-by-track, has now entered its second week as the #1 music show on iTunes. The program debuted in January 2015, quickly becoming one of iTunes’ ‘New & Noteworthy’ podcasts. It continued along with a mix of local and higher-profile guests and as it enters its third year, the program reaches its biggest milestone yet.

Said Brian of the achievement, “It’s flattering and humbling…hopefully we can keep it up.”

In addition to being 1/4 of The Paper Jets, Brian writes a monthly column for You Don’t Know Jersey, a popular NJ culture website. And in December 2016 when YDJK announced its annual Local Music Awards, Brian’s name got called for ‘Top Writer.’

The seeds of collaboration were sown after editors Ed and Alice Magdziak visited Brian’s house in late 2015 to discuss his music collection. They were in attendance for The Paper Jets’ comeback show this past May and have been hugely supportive of New Jersey’s arts community. This past Summer, they tapped Brian for a column called ‘The Great NJ Albums’ which highlights some of the best music the Garden State has ever produced. The series started in August of 2016. In between regular columns, Brian also reviews albums and writes show previews.