{"id":24900,"date":"2017-07-01T08:43:41","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T12:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=24900"},"modified":"2017-07-01T08:43:44","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T12:43:44","slug":"on-stage-extra-a-music-battle-of-philly-vs-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=24900","title":{"rendered":"On Stage (Extra): A music battle of Philly vs. Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Rosu Lup<\/p><\/div>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s two major cities \u2013 Philadelphia and Pittsburgh \u2013 will both be represented by hometown bands headlining venues.<\/p>\n

Two of the many acts playing Philly on July 1 are Pittsburgh\u2019s Homeless Gospel Choir and Philadelphia\u2019s Rosu Lup.<\/p>\n

Rosu Lup, which is headlining a show on June 1 at Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528), is a musical collaboration between songwriters Jonathan Stewart and Josh Marsh.<\/p>\n

\u201cRosu Lup was originally just a recording project,\u201d said Marsh, during a phone interview Thursday afternoon from his home in Wilmington, Delaware.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur bass player Jonathan Stewart and his cousin Mike McNesby, who was our original guitarist, were living in New Jersey \u2013 in the West Deptford\/Cherry Hill area. I was living in Burlington, Vermont and decided to move down here to pursue music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a Craigslist ad for a singer. I took them up on their offer \u2013 and it worked. I went to New Jersey and played a few songs for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, we wrote a couple songs together. Before long, we had written a small EP. Then, we did a three-song EP in Philadelphia. Mike helped with the first two EPs and then went on his own way.<\/p>\n

\u201cJonathan and I are the main force. We write all the music. In the last two-and-a-half years, we have a pool of friends that we write, record and do live shows with. Jonathan is the driving force of our aesthetic. He\u2019s a great producer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosu Lup represents the more folky and ethereal side of the Philly music scene.<\/p>\n

The band has worked with local legends such as Jonathan Low (The National\/Sufjan Stevens), Brian McTear (The War on Drugs\/Sharon Van Etten), and Lou Rogai (Lewis & Clarke) on the production of the debut album and utilized the talents of drummer Chris Powell (Man Man).<\/p>\n

Rosu Lup\u2019s recently released debut album is titled \u201cIs Anything Real.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were working on the album for about a year-and-a-half,\u201d said Marsh. \u201cWe decided to self-fund it because we didn\u2019t want to go into a lot of debt. At the same time, we didn\u2019t want to sacrifice any quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took our time and did a few songs per session. We released it last March with an album release show at Johnny Brenda\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Anything Real,\u201d which is a collection of lush, well-crafted songs, was almost fully written when the band entered the studio. Stewart and Marsh took the time needed to create an aurally-pleasing album of intelligent and cinematic songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our favorite subject matters is love,\u201d said Marsh. \u201cLove, death, introspection \u2013 is anything real? What is the nature of life and death?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used a lot of cinematic string parts. We love nature and we love organic sounds. We wanted to find a way to have the best of both worlds \u2013 rock music and organic instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Rosu Lup \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/GhRpG4dDPog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Boot & Saddle, which also features The Chairman Dances and a CD Release Party for The Lunar Year, will start at p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Homeless Gospel Choir<\/p><\/div>\n

Like Rosu Lup, Homeless Gospel Choir, which will headline a show on July 1 at Pharmacy (1300 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, www.thepharmacyphilly.org<\/a>), is more a musical project than a full-tilt live Homeless Gospel Choir.<\/p>\n

Derek Zanetti, also known as The Homeless Gospel Choir, is a protest singer, author and artist based out of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

With a mixture of his on-stage humor and real-life vulnerability, Zanetti creates an atmosphere of inclusion and community. He engages with the audience in a way that allows them to know that they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

He has been making angsty, acoustic, punk-fueled protest songs for more than five years. Zanetti\u2019s new record,\u00a0\u201cNormal<\/em>,\u201d was described by Frank Turner as \u201ca generationally defining album for the underground punk scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy third album \u2018Normal\u2019 is coming out in August,\u201d said Zanetti, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already heard the test pressings. It\u2019s coming out on A-F Records. It\u2019s my second record for them. The first was my \u2018I Used To Be So Young\u2019 album in 2014. My first album \u2018Luxury Problems\u2019 was self-released in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Normal\u2019 is a concept album \u2013 a story about a puppet show. The songs are a soundtrack for the show. It\u2019s about a little kid who is looking for hope and belonging and community.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe finds it in universal peace. He ends up with a bunch of losers — people who always get out of bed on the wrong side. There are 10 songs on the album. It\u2019s pretty current.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zanetti welcomed the challenge of making a concept record.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time you put your art out there, it\u2019s a daunting effort,\u201d said Zanetti, who grew up in the Pittsburgh area and graduated from West Mifflin High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want listeners to look at it as a different piece of art \u2013 something that tells a story. Hopefully, it can be an interactive experience for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote all the songs on guitar and had a bucnch of friends come and play the other parts. I made the album at A-F Studio in Pittsburgh and also did some recording at a small studio in Sharpsburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI finished it in February and now it\u2019s time to tour it. For the time being, it\u2019s just me on acoustic guitar. I want people to hear the words and story as cleanly as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll play the songs with a band after it\u2019s been out for a while. For now, it\u2019s acoustic shows on this tour with Early Riser and then I\u2019ll headline some solo shows in Alaska.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Homeless Gospel Choir \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/lyxVOrpgHOI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Pharmacy, which also features Early Riser, Joshua Alvarez and Child Savage, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

In This Moment<\/p><\/div>\n

In This Moment, which brings its \u201cHalf God\/Half Devil Tour\u201d to Freedom Hall (Lancaster County Convention Center, King Street, Lancaster, is a metalcore band that got its start in Los Angeles 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

The powerful metal band was put together by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. \u201cRitual,\u201d the band\u2019s sixth album in 10 years, will be released this month by Atlantic Records in conjunction with Roadrunner Records.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Ritual\u2019 drops on July 21,\u201d said Howorth, during a phone interview Thursday from a tour stop in St. Louis, Missouri. \u201cThis is our second pre-release tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cA month ago, we did a short tour and played two of the new songs. On this tour, we\u2019re doing four or five new ones. When we tour again in the fall, we\u2019ll play even more songs from \u2018Ritual.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In This Moment released its debut album \u201cBeautiful Tragedy<\/em><\/a>\u201d in 2007 followed by \u201cThe Dream<\/em><\/a>\u201d (2008), \u201cA Star-Crossed Wasteland<\/em><\/a>\u2019 (2010), \u201cBlood<\/em><\/a>\u201d (2012), and \u201cBlack Widow<\/em><\/a>\u201d (2014).<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, all the \u2018Beautiful Tragedy\u2019 and \u2018The Dream\u2019 songs have fallen off the table,\u201d said Howorth. \u201cWe tried last tour and a lot of people didn\u2019t know the songs. People more know the newer stuff. It picks up with \u2018Blood.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Right before \u201cBlood,\u201d the band went through a personnel change-up with only Brink and Howorth remaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that happened, our crowds went from 300 to 1000-plus — with people singing all the words,\u201d said Howorth. \u201cWith the new members, we had more creativity. We had nothing to lose. We didn\u2019t worry about what people wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn \u2018Blood,\u2019 we used more keyboards and samples. The previous albums were group efforts. \u2018Blood\u2019 was just Maria, producer Kevin Churko and me doing the songwriting. We\u2019ve done our last four albums with Kevin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Ritual,\u2019 we were working on it five months total. We had a few songs written prior to getting in the studio. Then, we got in and a lot of things changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

This tour will provide the band\u2019s fans with their first opportunity to hear the new tunes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never play songs live until they\u2019ve been recorded,\u201d said Howorth. \u201cMaria and I write separately because we live in different cities. I\u2019m in San Diego and she lives in Albany, New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Ritual,\u2019 most of the songs were written when we were there in the studio. We agonize over every song. On the new album, we had a feeling we wanted to capture before we even started the album. And, it turned out just the way we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for In This Moment — https:\/\/youtu.be\/XqdYHnulCms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Freedom Hall, which also features Vimic and Little Miss Nasty, will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $31.50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times Pennsylvania\u2019s two major cities \u2013 Philadelphia and Pittsburgh \u2013 will both be represented by hometown bands headlining venues. Two of the many acts playing Philly on July 1 are Pittsburgh\u2019s Homeless Gospel Choir and Philadelphia\u2019s Rosu Lup. Rosu Lup, which is headlining a show on June 1 at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,9134,9133,7513],"class_list":["post-24900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-homeless-gospel-choir","tag-in-this-moment","tag-rosu-lup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24900","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=24900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24901,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24900\/revisions\/24901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}