E Street Band Clemons, Federici, Lopez, Sancious, Tallent and Van Zandt honed their skills in numerous bands, both with and without Springsteen. These included Little Melvin & the Invaders, the Downtown Tangiers Band, the Jaywalkers, Moment of Truth, Glory Road, Child, Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom, the Sundance Blues Band, and the Bruce Springsteen Band. In 1972, when Springsteen gained a recording contract with CBS, he picked the cherries among Jersey Shore musicians to record – and to tour in support of – his debut album, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." By 1973, they had recorded a second album with
Asbury Park, New Jersey murals. On October 5, 2013, the largest gathering of zombies was achieved by the 9,592 participants in New Jersey Zombie Walk at the Asbury Park Boardwalk, an event held in Asbury Park every October. Every winter, when the surf grows colder and rougher than in the summer, the city is home to the Cold War, an annual cold water surfing battle. In 1943, the New York Yankees held spring training in Asbury Park to comply with restrictions on rail travel during World War II. Asbury Park is the nominal home to Asbury Park F.C., described as "Asbury Park's most storied