{"id":14524,"date":"2015-01-08T11:23:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-08T16:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=14524"},"modified":"2015-01-08T11:23:58","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T16:23:58","slug":"on-stage-bands-with-some-serious-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=14524","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Bands with some serious ‘Stones’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Music and comedy options abound in the area this weekend<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"jesse-lundy-band\"<\/a>

The Jesse Lundy Band: Mach 4 is just one of three Rolling Stones tribute bands playing at the Ardmore Music Hall, Saturday.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are a lot of tribute acts performing across America that attempt to recreate both the sound and appearance of the musical act they\u2019re trying to imitate. More than 95 per cent of the time, it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

If a singer has the musical chops to deliver accurate renditions of Elvis Presley\u2019s songs, the chances are slim that he will look like Elvis — especially since Elvis\u2019 career spanned decades and Elvis looked very different at various stages of his life.<\/p>\n

When a tribute band tries to look like its inspiration, it\u2019s usually a dismal failure. One Beatles tribute band that has played area theaters a number of times over the years had a chubby \u201cPaul McCartney\u201d playing bass right-handed. The sight of this alone was enough to send Beatles purists into fits of mocking laughter.<\/p>\n

Smart tribute acts know that fans want to hear the music of their favorite bands presented as real to the original as possible. With that in mind, fans of the Rolling Stones will find plenty to like at the show on January 10 at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The venue will present a triple bill of Stones tribute acts — the Jesse Lundy Band: Mach 4 performing \u201cSome Girls,\u201d Brown Sugar performing \u201cThe Hits & Deep Cuts\u201d and the North Lawrence Midnight Singers performing \u201cExile on Main Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundy, who has played for and recorded with a number of area musiciansfor almost two decades now, explained why he opted to form his own group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve played in bands in Philly since 1996,\u201d said Lundy, during a phone interview Tuesday. \u201cAfter years and years of playing sideman in other people\u2019s bands and being told \u2018turn down,\u2019 \u2018turn down,\u2019 \u2018don\u2019t play this\u2019 — of being told what to play — I wanted to be able to just play loud rock-and-roll.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joni Mitchell sang about looking at love from both sides in her song \u201cBoth Sides Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundy can talk about looking at rock shows from \u201cBoth Sides Now.\u201d He has been working as a concert promoter and publicist in Philadelphia area since 1995. Lundy was talent buyer and publicist at The Point in Bryn Mawr.<\/p>\n

After The Point closed in June of 2005, Point Entertainment has been producing shows at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, concerts at Eagleview Town Center and other special events at numerous venues in the Delaware Valley. Since 2009, Point Entertainment has also been programming the Philadelphia Folk Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving my own band, it\u2019s interesting to see things from a performer\u2019s point of view instead of a promoter\u2019s point of view,\u201d said Lundy. \u201cThe core of my band is a trio with the same rhythm section that we\u2019ve had from the start — Alec Meltzer on drums and Chris Bicksler on bass. We\u2019ve had three or four different singers since we began.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, different Jesse Lundy Band lineups have done different things. The second incarnation was close to Cream or the Jeff Beck Group. With this band, we do the whole \u2018Some Girls\u2019 album.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we started performing this album, we\u2019ve played to larger crowds. We\u2019ve talked about doing original songs but we sell a lot of tickets wherever we go by playing what we\u2019re playing now. We\u2019ve done a few shows with this same three-band package.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrown Sugar is Philadelphia\u2019s only all-black Stones cover band. They\u2019re playing a lot of the Stones\u2019 familiar hits along with what they refer to as \u2018deep cuts.\u2019 The North Lawrence Midnight Singers play the \u2018Exile on Main Street\u2019 album and I play with them on their \u2018Exile\u2019 show.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this weekend\u2019s show, each band will play a 75-minute set with no costumes and no-one pretending to be the Stones. And, no-one is going for a note-for-note copy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for the Stones extravaganza are $10.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s activity at the Ardmore Music Hall starts on January 8 with another tribute act — Splintered Sunlight, a band that has devoted itself to the music of the Grateful Dead. Also on the bill will be Beau Sasser\u2019s Escape Plan featuring members of Max Creek, Ryan Montbleau Band and the Alan Evans Trio.<\/p>\n

The Psychedelic Furs will visit the venue on January 9 for a sold out show. On January 11, Doug Seegers will be the headline act with Michael Braunfeld as the opener.<\/p>\n

\"sharon<\/a>

Sharon Sable<\/p><\/div>\n

Sharon Sable\u2019s career as a singer has taken her on travels through a number of different genres and now she has found her home — singing jazz music with\u00a0E. Shawn Qaissaunee (who is both her\u00a0musical partner and husband).<\/p>\n

The talented duo will present a special late matinee show on January 8 at the\u00a0World Caf\u00e9 Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400,\u00a0www.queen.worldcafelive.com<\/a>). Their concert is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. and will feature free admission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t plan on getting into music but the bug got me early — around age three,\u201d said Sable, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from her home in Wilmington. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved singing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the original \u2018Annie\u2019 movie when I was very young and that got me started with my singing. Ironically, the girl who played Molly (Toni Ann Gisondi) grew up really close to me. We went to the same singing teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sable was born and raised in Pomona, New Jersey and attended Absegami High. Gisondi hails from Scullville, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sang in a few musicals in high school including \u2018Into the Woods\u2019and \u2018Evita\u2019,\u201d said Sable. \u201cWhen I was 16, I went to Atlanta and was in a pop group called Choice. I did a showcase at the Merriam Theater and that\u2019s where they found me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Sable, Choice featured Chrissy Conway and Alicia Moore. Conway went on to join the Christian teen pop band Zoe Girl while Moore rose to stardom as Pink.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded one album as Choice,\u201d said Sable. \u201cThen, right before it was set to be released, they chose not to put it out and decided to just keep Pink. I was actually relieved that it got shelved because I didn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was starting to get into much more authentic music so listening to the Choice album gave me a panic attack. I was listening to artists such as Peter Gabriel, Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, Emmylou Harris and Radiohead. I was drawn to people who found their voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy managers gave me a lot of good advice. They told me to start listening to the singers that the singers I liked listened to. I began listening to Sam Cooke and Billie Holiday because they\u2019re the ones who pioneered the vocalist genre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat opened up a whole new door for me. Next, I was listening to Shirley Horne and Blossom Dearie. They were influenced by Antonio Carlos Jobim so I got familiar with his music. More and more, I was getting into jazz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately for Sable, she was living close to Atlantic City during an era when the casinos had thriving nightclubs with top-flight jazz acts and big name vocalists performing on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look back and realize I was where I should have been when I went over to being a jazz vocalist,\u201d said Sable. \u201cAtlantic City had great musicians in the early days of casinos and lounges. I met a bass player — Andy Lalasin — who I still play with.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a part of a lot of casino house bands and played with Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughn. I got together with him and told him I wanted to sing jazz. He gave me a list of musicians to call<\/p>\n

\u201cNot long after that, I got my first gig in a high-end restaurant in Margate. There was a domino effect on my career after that. It just happened. I had steady Friday-Saturday-Sunday gigs for a couple years. That was the time for me to hone my chops.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years ago, a friend introduced sable to Qaissaunee. Three-and-a-half years ago, they got married. Sable and Qaissaunee each have their own musical careers and they also have their career together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show at the Queen will be a duo gig,\u201d said Sable. \u201cI sing and Shawn plays guitar and sings harmony. Our set changes from show to show but we do have a handful of songs that we like to do in almost all our shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other acts scheduled for the upcoming week on the Queen\u2019s Upstairs Stage are Code Blue on January 8, Smash Palace and Cliff Hillis on January 9 and the Unsung Heroes on January 14.<\/p>\n

The Downstairs Stage will feature New Sweden\u2019s Fifth Birthday Bash along with Levee Drivers and Scantron on January 9 and The Reverend Horton Heat with special guests Dale Watson and Rosie Flores on January 14.<\/p>\n

\"rev.<\/a>

The Rev. Horton Heat<\/p><\/div>\n

The Reverend Horton Heat\u00a0is the stage name of American musician\u00a0Jim Heath.\u00a0The triple bill of The Reverend Horton Heat, Dale Watson and Rosie Flores, which is billed as \u201cThe Baddest of the Bad Tour\u201d, will have two other area shows.<\/p>\n

The rousing and rocking show will also be presented at the Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684,\u00a0http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net<\/a>) on January 15 and Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill Street,\u00a0Philadelphia,\u00a0www.undergroundarts.org<\/a>) on January 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Jim and Rosie — we\u2019re all good friends,\u201d said Watson, during a phone interview Sunday evening from his home in Austin, Texas. \u201cWe\u2019re all old friends and we\u2019re fans of the same music. The Reverend Horton Heat puts good tours together.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing here in Texas — Rosie is from Austin, I\u2019m from Pasadena and Jim is from Dallas — we\u2019ve all know each other for a long time. Me and Jim have toured together and so have me and Rosie. But, we\u2019ve never all toured together on the same show. It\u2019s going to be a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three acts from the Lone Star State play music that is similar and, at the same time, different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Reverend Horton Heat is psychobilly, Dale is rockabilly-soul and I\u2019m honky tonk,\u201d said Flores, during a phone interview Wednesday morning from her home in Austin. \u201cSince this is the \u2018Baddest of the Bad Tour,\u2019 maybe the promoters needed a bad girls and that\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores and Watson also have a connection with Ameripolitan, a music genre that was classified and first recognized by Watson.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came about from frustration caused by not having a genre to call our own,\u201d said Watson. \u201cAmericana is more folk and pop. With country music, it\u2019s gotten so that you can\u2019t tell the difference between Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, real country music is old country music — singers like George Jones and Porter Wagoner. People today have a different meaning for country. People in their 30s only go back to Clint Black or Garth Brooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmeripolitan gives us a blank slate. Its four main branches are Western Swing, Honky Tonk, Rockabilly and Outlaw. Ameripolitan is not the perfect word for it — but it works. Next month, we\u2019ll have the Second Annual Ameripolitan Awards at the Paramount Theatre in Austin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, James Burton (Elvis\u2019 guitarist) is getting an award as \u2018Founder of the Sound.\u2019 Last year, Rosie won the award for Best Honky Tonk Female and Best Rockabilly Female.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores said, \u201cThe fact that I won two awards — it means that a lot of people are listening to me and following me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The feisty singer\/guitarist is still touring in support of her \u201cWorking Girl\u2019s Guitar\u201d album that was released in 2102 on Bloodshot Records.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the albums I\u2019ve recorded, that was the first one where I was the only guitarist — where I did all the picking,\u201d said Flores. \u201cI got to write my first instrumental — which was a surf instrumental. I had a few other originals on that album too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to this tour. I\u2019m excited to be on tour with two guys who make great music and have great reputations. I\u2019ll travel with Dale on his bus and have his band backing me onstage. All I have to do is sound good and look good. I\u2019ll be rocking out on this tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets are $16 in advance and $20 at the door for the Wilmington show, $18 for the Lancaster show and $ in advance and $22for the Philadelphia show (which also has Robert Gordon on the bill).<\/p>\n

\"kingsley<\/a>

Kingsley Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

Another band which almost got lumped into the Americana category before escaping its gravitational pull is Kingsley Flood. The Boston-based band will be in Philadelphia on January 10 for a show at Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 267-639-4528,\u00a0bootandsaddlephilly.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The rocking sextet includes Naseem Khuri on vocals and rhythm guitar, Eva Walsh on violin and vocals, Chris Barrett on trumpet, keyboards, percussion and vocals, George Hall on lead guitar and vocals, Nick Balkin on bass and vocals and Travis Richter on drums and percussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started the band when I was in grad school,\u201d said Khuri, during a phone interview Wednesday from his home in Washington, D.C. (he\u2019s the only band member based outside of the Boston area). \u201cNick (Balkin) was my roommate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe heard me play some of my songs on guitar and said that I should be performing them. So, we decided to play out. He played guitar in bands so I persuaded him to switch to bass. We got a drummer and then added a guy who played violin, mandolin and banjo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t set out to be what we turned out to be — an Americana band. So, we changed the lineup a bit. We\u2019re not really Americana. We\u2019re louder and heavier. We started playing all around Boston and it grew from there. We also busked a lot at the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe five guys in the band have been together for three years — ever since Travis joined. Eva is our newest addition. She replaced Jen\u00e9e Morgan Force who had a baby and wanted to concentrate on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kingsley Flood has released three albums — \u201cDust Windows\u201d in 2010, \u201cBattles\u201d in 2013 and \u201cLive at the Armory\u201d in 2014. The group has also recorded two EPs — \u201cColder Still\u201d in 2012 and \u201cTo the Fire,\u201d which is slated to be released on January 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first album we recorded in Vermont in four days — with very little money,\u201d said Khuri. \u201cWe made \u2018Battles\u2019 a few years later and that was inching more closer and closer to how I envisioned these songs. We made \u2018Live at the Armory\u2019 because people were bugging us for a live album because we get rowdy live.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur music has gone through a natural evolution. I\u2019ve wanted to perfect certain aspects of our sound. I didn\u2019t want a wall of sound. I wanted to feature each person\u2019s identity — hearing each person\u2019s instrument and having the album be bigger than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we have \u2018To the Fire.\u2019 It\u2019s the first chapter. The book is going to be what we do this year. The new EP will be out next week. We\u2019ll have another EP out around May or early June and then a full-length later in the year. People these days have ADD and we\u2019re playing to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it was time to record \u2018To the Fire,\u2019 we retreated to a house just south of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border and worked with Paul Kolderie in the production of the EP. We\u2019re finding our voice musically. It feels more urgent than ever. When we play live, we just want to leave it all onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kingsley Flood will be sharing the bill with the Lawsuits at the concert which lists a start time of 8:30 p.m. with opening act Owl and Wolf. Tickets for the show are $12.<\/p>\n

\"Better-Than-Bacon\"<\/a>The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will present comedy troupe Better Than Bacon on January 8, deejays Anthony Mullica and Josh Kinsey on January 9 and keyboardist\/singer Lori Citro on January 10.<\/p>\n

Burlap and Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427- 4547,\u00a0www.burlapandbean.com<\/a>) will host Connor Garvey and Brett Harris on January 9, Ryan Cohen with Chelsea Allen on January 10 and Caroline Reese & the Drifting Filth along with Gretchen Schultz on January 16.<\/p>\n

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043,\u00a0www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com<\/a>) will present David Wilcox on January 9 and the Sunny Side along with Anna Spackman on January 10.<\/p>\n

Chaplin\u2019s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110,\u00a0http:\/\/chaplinslive.com<\/a>) will have kanagaroo Boy and Emily Neblock on January 9 and a four band bill on January 10 with Stargazer, Rise My King, The Final Hour and Aim 4 Grey.<\/p>\n

The schedule for Melodies Caf\u00e9 (2 East Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, 610-645-5269,\u00a0www.melodiescafe.com<\/a>) includes Cardinal Arms, Mark Thousands, Andrew Meoray and Jim Trainer on January 9 and Without Intention and Bodhan Harik on January 10.<\/p>\n

The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) will host Mike Oldfield\u2019s\u00a0Tubular Bells\u00a0for Two along with Tim Farrell on January 8, Cherry Poppin\u2019 Daddies with Mike Mettalia & Midnight Shift on January 9, The Weight (performing the songs of The Band) on January 10 and Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder on January 11.<\/p>\n

The Grand Opera House\u00a0(818 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5577,\u00a0www.thegrandwilmington.org<\/a>) will present an evening with well-known comedian Paula Poundstone on\u00a0January 10.<\/p>\n

On January 9, the Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684,\u00a0http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net<\/a>) will feature RJD2, Younger Me, NAH and Bruce Banter. Bullet Method and Fell from Zero will play the venue on January 10 and the headliner on January 11 will be Metalachi.<\/p>\n

Also on January 9, the Valley Forge Casino (1160 First Avenue, King Of Prussia, 610-354-8118,\u00a0https:\/\/www.vfcasino.com<\/a>) will present the first \u201cComedy Night at the Valley Forge Casino\u201d for 2015.<\/p>\n

The show, which is scheduled to get underway at 8 p.m., features a pair of talented comedians — Yannis Pappas and Mitchell Walters<\/p>\n

Pappas\u00a0is a Greek-American comedian who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He has been a featured panelist on VH1s \u201cBest Week Ever\u201d and he and his writing have been featured on Comedy Central, BET and MTV.<\/p>\n

Walters has headlined for every major comedy club across America and Canada and opened for Michael Bolton and Neil Sedaka. For three years, he toured America with the late Sam Kinison as one of the \u201cOutlaws of Comedy.\u201d His TV credits include HBO, MTV and NBC\u2019s\u00a0<\/i>The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the comedy twin bill are $30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Music and comedy options abound in the area this weekend By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times There are a lot of tribute acts performing across America that attempt to recreate both the sound and appearance of the musical act they\u2019re trying to imitate. More than 95 per cent of the time, it doesn\u2019t work. If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,4],"tags":[2925,5713,5717,5714,5715,5716],"class_list":["post-14524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-featured","tag-better-than-bacon","tag-jesse-lundy-band-mach-4","tag-kingsley-flood","tag-rolling-stones","tag-sharon-sable","tag-the-rev-horton-heat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14524"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14526,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14524\/revisions\/14526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}