On Stage: Unique mix of local performances this week

Bozzio hits the area, Momsen, Thorn headlining

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

In the next few days, there will be shows in this area featuring artists with an amazing variety of backgrounds — a real smorgasbord of styles, influences and personal histories.

There is hard rock band fronted by a singer who was an actress and an international fashion model as a young child, a song stylist who graduated from Yale University summa cum laude and is a best-selling author, a drummer who has performed with legendary artists such as the Brecker Brothers and Frank Zappa and a singer-songwriter who is a former pro boxer as well as the son of a minister.

The first of these shows is scheduled for September 11 when the World Café Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com) hosts “An Evening with Terry Bozzio North American Tour 2014.”

This will be a night of solo drumming and include compositions from throughout his career — as well as improvisation. It is by no means a clinic or a workshop. Bozzio’s show is billed as “a unique, intense, dynamic, spiritualistic, melodic, orchestral, atmospheric, and musical performance on the largest tuned drum and percussion set in the world.”

“What I’m doing is more about the art,” said Bozzio, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from a tour stop in Washington, D.C. “The drum kit is 100 years old and has an amazing tradition. I’ve pushed the drum set into a melodic instrument.

“I like to incorporate it all — orchestration, tone colors and things I can shake, hit, rattle or roll. It’s very melodic. Half of the kit is tuned chromatically, which means it has all the notes on a piano — black and white. Half of it is tuned diatonic with just the white notes of the piano.

“Classical music is definitely an influence. There is also the harmonic element that I’m exploring — implied changes with melodies over one bass note. I use midi-triggers to produce the pure sine wave of the pitch.

“I’m trying to make a complete musical statement on drums. There are elements of classical, jazz and ethnic styles from all over the world — Middle East, South America, Japan, Asia and India.”

Bozzio has toured and recorded with a number of top world music drummers and percussionists, including India’s legendary tabla player Zakir Hussain and Japan’s Naoki Ishikawa.

His first real introduction to the music world came in 1975 when he joined Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention and recorded with Zappa and Captain Beefheart on Zappa’s “Bongo Fury (Live at the Armadillo in Austin, TX)” album.

Bozzio also is an accomplished sketch artist who has an art exhibition and sale at each of his shows. He credits Captain Beefhart (Don Van Vliet) as an inspiration both musically and artistically.

“The Captain did amazing things musically but you needed a thesaurus to figure out what he was talking about,” said Bozzio. “He was an amazing artist. He encouraged me with my sketching.

“My artwork is inspired by Captain Beefhart. I understand the need for the art I do. When some photo artists took pictures of me playing in the dark with lighted colored drumsticks, it turned out that those patterns were very similar to patterns I had been using in my sketches.”

While Bozzio’s show is a solo performance, it is far from just a series of impressively outrageous drum solos.

“I think of it as a classical performance,” said Bozzio, who also was the drummer for the 80s hit-making band Missing Persons.

“I play two one-hour sets with an intermission. There are also unplugged sections in each half. In the first half, I do a piece on a cajon, which means ‘box’ in Spanish. It’s a simple device with many colors. For the unplugged part in the second half, I use a chord-wave drum. It’s a very well-paced show.”

Show time at the Queen is 8 p.m. with tickets priced at $22 and $25.

Other upcoming shows at the World Café Live at the Queen’s Downstairs Stage are BANG, The Great SOCIO, Triphazard, Medusa’s Disco on September 13, Rusted Root on September 16 and the Von Trapps on September 17.

The schedule for the Upstairs Stage at the Queen includes Everett Gray and cookie Rabinowitz on September 11, Upright Citizens Brigade on September 12, Angela Sheik on September 13 and The Sermon on September 17.

On September 12, the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) will present singer/songwriter Paul Thorn — the son of a preacher and a former professional boxer.

“My father was a preacher so I grew up singing in church,” said Thorn, during a recent phone interview from his home in Tupelo, Mississippi. “Like Elvis, I went to black churches and white churches growing up.

“The white churches sang church music like it was country music. The black churches sang church music like it was rhythm and blues. There were both black people and white people who attended my father’s church. That was when I learned to sing a mixture of those styles.

“Back then, I played mandolin, drums and bass. Now, I just play guitar with my band. I’ve had the same band for 20 years. My keyboard player is from Tupelo. The rest are from abroad — Chicago, Alabama and Portland, Oregon.

“We’ve been working on my new album ‘Too Blessed to Be Stressed’ for a little over a year and it came out on August 19. We have our own recording studio here. Everything we do is in-house. We have our own label — and our own distribution.

“My first record ‘Hammer and Nail’ was on A&M Records back in 1997. I saw how the machine operates. If you don’t have a hit right away, you’re done. Fortunately, they released me. Everything I ever cut, I now own. We have a big catalogue and I take all my titles out on the road.”

Thorn’s album prior to “Too Blessed to Be Stressed” was “What the Hell’s Going On?,” which was a collection of cover songs. His new album takes off in a different direction.

“The theme I had in mind with the new album — I wanted songs that are uplifting and happy,” said Thorn. “I believe they’re saying something. I put in things people have advised me. It’s universal but it’s personal too. I love people and I try to put that in my songs.

“We all have problems that are pretty much the same. The songs came from about two years of writing. I wrote a lot of songs but not all were good. Some people say that God gives you songs. I say that life gives you songs.”

Prior to starting his career as a professional musician, Thorn was a boxer. He was a promising middleweight prospect who won the Mid-South Middleweight title in 1987 and retired with a 14-4 record in the late 1980s.

In April 1988, he was ranked ninth by the NABF and fought boxing legend Roberto Duran, who had an 82-7 record at the time. In the scheduled 12-round fight at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, referee Randy Newman stopped the fight after six rounds at the request of Thorn’s corner because of his severely split lip.

“It bothers me when people hear Roberto Duran’s name and all they remember is ‘No Mas’ (what Duran said when he was unable to continue his championship fight against Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980),” said Thorn. “He was a great fighter and he did the right thing at the time.”

Even though 25 years have passed since Thorn’s fight against the champion boxer with the nickname “Manos de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”), the Mississippi native still packs a punch. The only difference is that now he delivers it with a song rather than a jab or an uppercut.

Show time is 7:30 p.m. at the Ardmore Music Hall with Thorn performing a solo acoustic set and a set with his band. Tickets are $22 in advance and $27 day of show.

Other shows at the Ardmore venue over the next week feature Justin Townes Earle and Adventure Aquarium on September 11, Bill Evans’ Soulgrass, Splintered Sunlight and The Royal Noise on September 13.

Do you remember Ron Howard’s 2000 movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”? Do you remember the little blonde girl who played the role of Cindy Lou?

That little girl was Taylor Momsen.

Are you familiar with the CW television series “Gossip Girl”? Do you remember the blonde teenager who played the role of Jenny Humphrey?

That perky actress was Taylor Momsen.

In addition to her acting career, Momsen has demonstrated a variety of talents. She was signed with Ford Models at the age of two and began her acting career a year later with a national television commercial for Shake ’n Bake.

Now, Momsen is all grown up and is the lead singer for the hard rock band The Pretty Reckless. Momsen and her bandmates will be back in Philadelphia on September 13 for a return appearance at the TLA (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-922-1011, www.tlaphilly.com).

Momsen and her band arrived on the scene in 2009. They quickly signed a record deal with Interscope Records and released their debut album “Light Me Up” in 2010. The band’s new album “Going to Hell” was released on Razor & Tie Records earlier this year.

“The album came out in March,” said Momsen, during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Orlando. “It took a lot of work. It felt really good when it finally came out.”

The album has its own history.

“We were almost finished making the album when (Hurricane) Sandy wiped out our studio in New Jersey,” said Momsen. “We had eight feet of sludge in our studio. It was devastating. Hazmat came in and everything had to be cleaned and bleached.

“We rebuilt the studio. But, we lost a lot of digital files so we had to re-record the album. We were looking for a line that summed it up and that line was ‘Going to Hell.’ We wrote that track after the hurricane hit. We’re using it as a metaphor.”

Recreating the recordings that had been lost didn’t pose much of a problem for the Pretty Reckless, which includes Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), Jamie Perkins (drums) and Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar),

“We wrote this album with the live show in mind,” said Momsen. “This is very much a band record so it was easy to re-record it. There’s not a lot of production — just two guitars, bass, drums and vocals. We just had to go in and play the songs again.

“It was hard dealing with the effects of Sandy. But, we got a song out of it. We wanted this album to be very honest-sounding because the songs are very honest. It’s still the four of us that were in the band when it started. In three years of touring, we’ve become a very solid unit.”

And, they’ve created an album with a lot of hit potential — and already a lot of hits.

“This week, our song ‘Messed Up World’ is Number 1 on the Active Rock chart,” said Momsen. “And, on the Mainstream Rock chart, our song ‘Heaven Knows’ is Number 1 and ‘Messed Up World’ is Number 7.

“To have two Number 1 songs on two different charts with two different songs in the same week is really amazing. It’s something to really be proud of. The singles came out three months apart and ‘Heaven Knows’ has stayed in the charts for a long time.

“The next single will be out in October and I’m 90 per cent sure it will be ‘Follow Me Down.’ We hope it does as well as ‘Messed Up World,’ which stayed at Number One on Active Rock for 13 weeks.”

All three songs will be featured in the band’s live show.

“It will be an eclectic mix,” said Momsen. “There will be songs from the first album and the ‘Hit Me Like a Man’ EP. And, it will be heavy with songs from ‘Going to Hell.’

“In the live show, ‘Heaven Knows’ has had the biggest transformation. There is no kids’ choir like on the record. We play it acoustic live. That’s the way we originally wrote it — as hymn that would be an interlude on the record.

“When we recorded it, I’d sing a line and the kids would sing it back. It’s awesome live because the audience sings the kids’ part. The show is a little longer than before with three sections. There is a little more dynamic to it. We switch it up. We even play a couple covers.”

Momsen may have a lot of entries in her acting resume but she definitely is not just actress trying to be a recording artist.

“You can’t compare acting and music,” said Momsen. “Acting was a day job that paid the bills. I was always working toward it (fronting a guitar-driven rock band) but people didn’t know.”

The show will start at 8 p.m. with opening act Adelitas Way. Tickets are $20 and $23.

For a completely different vibe, you can head to the Sellersville Theatre (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) and swing to the music of Isabel Rose.

Be advised — listening to her smooth and lively songs might make you want to be wearing polyester and holding a martini in your hand. Her music features a retro sound that celebrates the music in Las Vegas in the 1960s and early 1970s.

“I spent every Friday night of my childhood watching an MGM movie musical,” said Rose, during a recent phone interview from her home in Manhattan.

“We were a Jewish family and we’d sing Jewish folk songs around the table. My mom was a classical pianist and my father was a fan of musical theater — and MGM classical musicals like ‘Singing in the Rain,’ ‘Gigi,’ ‘The King and I’ and ‘South Pacific.’

“Then, I started singing and performing for my family’s friends. I’ve been playing guitar since I was eight and have played piano since I was five. I played piano by ear. My influences for my dancing were greats like Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse and Ann Miller.”

Rose’s career went through more development when she was a student at Yale University.

“When I went to Yale, I had the lead in every show for four straight years,” said Rose. “I was a double major — theater and American studies. I was deeply entrenched in theater. I loved every single moment at Yale.

“I did shows at the Williamstown Theater Festival and got my Equity card there. But, I wanted to do my own thing. I’m very methodical. I wanted to learn the craft of writing. Taking time off from acting to write was a wonderful hiatus.”

Rose co-wrote and starred opposite Andrew McCarthy and Eartha Kitt in the film “Anything But Love,” which was released in 2003 by Samuel Goldwyn. Her first novel “The J.A.P. Chronicles” was published by Doubleday in 2005.

She adapted her novel into a one-woman, musical which ran off-Broadway in 2006. Her non-fiction essays have also been included in various anthologies and she is currently working on her second novel. Rose’s first album “Swingin’ from the Hip” came out in 2010.

“I’m a creative artist,” said Rose. “I set aside working on my second novel to work with (producer) Bob Rock on my new album. I was two months from turning the novel in.

“I feel that you can’t really achieve excellence when you’re pursuing more than one thing at a time. You have to stay focused, be disciplined and immerse yourself in the journey. I started the album three years ago and finished it a year ago.”

It was worth the wait.

“Trouble in Paradise,” which will be released on September 16 by BDG/RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment), is a delightful album that is modern and retro at the same time. It was mixed by multiple Grammy Award winner Chris Lord-Alge and the legendary, 19-time Grammy Award winner Al Schmitt.

“I really wanted to explore the Vegas 1960s, which is a very specific period,” said Rose. “It was a hard-swinging time with great performers — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis Jr.”

The album features Rose’s renditions of several pop classics such as Diana Ross & the Supremes’ “Reflections,” the Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” and 10cc’s “Things We Do for Love.”

“I do two versions of the 10cc song in my show,” said Rose. “First, there is the LP version which is cheerful and perky. Later, I do a ballad version. The lyrics are very poignant.

“It takes work looking for good songs to cover. I always look for songs that people haven’t covered a lot. And, when you do songs made famous by someone else, you have to give them something unique.”

Rose’s performance on September 14 will be part of the Sellersville Theater’s “13th Annual Members Party.” The event, which also features The Revelations and magician Brian Miller, starts at 5 p.m. with tickets priced at $10.

Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are The Sensational Francis Dunnery Electric Band on September 11, Bridges (an Eagles tribute band) on September 12, the Blasters on September 13 and John Hiatt on September 16.

The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is featuring the comedy troupe Better Than Bacon on September 11 and Chris Bruni with Laura Shay opening on September 12.

On September 13, the Kennett Square venue is presenting “Rising Stars at The Flash Part II” with Brooke Falls, Annabelle Kempf, Torri Melhart, Samantha Sullivan, Megan Flatley and Hope’s Girls.

The Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will host James Maddock with Cariad Harmon on September 12 and Michael Braunfeld with John Francis on September 13.

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (5105 Kennett Pike, Route 52, Wilmington, Delaware, 800-448-3883, http://www.winterthur.org) has another installment of its “Music Along the Bank” series scheduled for September 14 from 3-5:30 p.m. in the Clenny Run area.

The show will feature Betty and the Bullet along with The Boy from Boston. Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic, a blanket and a few lawn chairs — and then sit back and enjoy the sounds of live music along the banks of the Brandywine Creek.

“Fiddler on the Roof,” which is one of the all-time favorite American musicals, opens on September 12 and runs through November 2 at the Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, www.nctstage.org). Tickets, which include a tasty buffet dinner, are $59 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).

The schedule for Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) features Brad Krysan, Chris Nudy & Friends on September 11, Ben Kessler on September 12, Duke Maroon and Overfield on September 13 and an “Open Mic Night” on September 14.

This weekend’s show at the Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) features the Boxcar Lilies from western Massachusetts along with Chester Springs’ Dave Loves Donna.

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, http://www.keswicktheatre.com) is presenting Sig Hansen & Friends of the Northwestern on September 11 and Chris Isaak on September 12.

On September 13, the Keswick hosts the British Invasion Tour which features Chad & Jeremy (“A Summer Song”), Billy J. Kramer (“Bad to Me,” “I’ll Keep You Satisfied”), Mike Pender’s Searchers (“Needles and Pins,” “Sugar and Spice”), Denny Laine (original lead singer of the Moody Blues — “Go Now,” “From the Bottom of My Heart”) and Terry Sylvester of The Hollies (“Bus Stop,” “Carrie Anne,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”).

Cirque du Soleil’s “Varekai” is now at the Wells Fargo Center (Broad Street below Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia) with performances on September 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m., September 13 at 4 and 7:30 p.m. and September 14 at 1:30 and 5 p.m. Ticket prices range from $45-$100 with tickets for children (12 and under) ranging from $36-$81. For complete show and ticket information, visit www.cirquesoleil.com/varekai.

September 14 is also the last day you can see a performance of “Book of Mormon” in Philadelphia. The popular — and very funny — hit musical is finishing its long run at the Forrest Theatre (1114 Walnut Street, Philadelphia 866-276-2947, www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway). Ticket prices ranges from $67-$277.