{"id":28966,"date":"2018-06-28T08:33:50","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T12:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=28966"},"modified":"2018-06-28T08:33:56","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T12:33:56","slug":"on-stage-sax-and-brown-return-to-philly-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=28966","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Sax and Brown return to Philly roots"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Scot Sax and Suzie Brown<\/p><\/div>\n

Nashville may be home to Scot Sax and Suzie Brown, but the duo will always have its ties to the Philadelphia area.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia is Sax\u2019s hometown, the place where Brown began her music career and the city where the couple met and first fell in love.<\/p>\n

On June 28, Sax and Brown return to this area for a show at Bourbon and Branch (705 North Second Street, Philadelphia, 215-238-0660, bourbonandbranch<\/a>philly.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cScot just made and released a new record,\u201d said Brown, during a recent phone interview from their home in Nashville. \u201cI just recorded a new album that\u2019s not out yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sax and Brown are a married couple as well as a musical couple and the arrangement has worked out very well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been together since 2010 and got married in 2011,\u201d said Sax. \u201cNow, we live in Nashville and have two little girls \u2013 Josie and Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sax was a veteran musician who had fronted the band Wanderlust and later worked as a songwriter with several publishing deals. He co-wrote Tim McGraw and Faith Hill\u2019s Grammy-winning smash \u201cLike We Never Loved At All\u201d and his song \u201cI Am the Summertime\u201d was featured in the film \u201cAmerican Pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown moved to Philadelphia a while back to get her masters\u2019 degree in cardiology from the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got my pre-med degree from Dartmouth and then went to Harvard for medical school,\u201d said Brown. \u201cI also went to Berklee College of Music for a little while. Then, I came to Penn on a cardiology fellowship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started going to hear music four or five nights a week and met all these great Philadelphia musicians. I decided then that making music made me happier than anything else. I started writing songs in summer 2008 and did my first solo show a few months later. I recorded my first EP in spring 2009.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a long time for the couple to get around to making music together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t involved in any of her records,\u201d said Sax. \u201cCommonly, people start as a musical duo first. We were the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a romantic relationship first. I don\u2019t think we would have gotten together initially just for the music. Then, when Suzie was going on tour, it was a drag not to be with her. We really love each other \u2014 and I really like her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple relocated from Philadelphia to Nashville in 2014 and are excited to return to Sax\u2019s hometown, the place where Brown began her music career and the city where the couple met and first fell in love. In Nashville, Brown practices medicine at Vanderbilt University in addition to making music, Sax makes films and they are heavily involved with raising their two young daughters.<\/p>\n

\u201cNashville is a great place for musicians,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the duo released its first album together \u2014 a tasty collection of songs titled \u201cOur Album Doesn\u2019t Like You Either.\u201d But, their music isn\u2019t always a joint project.<\/p>\n

\u201cScot and I use totally different players,\u201d said Brown. \u201cI think we both just wanted to do our own thing. It\u2019s fun to work on our own.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy next album is three-quarters done. I think it\u2019s an evolution. A lot of the songs were co-written with Nashville songwriters. I\u2019ve grown to love co-writing. It helps me stay creative. I love hearing other people\u2019s ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album I just recorded is a singer-songwriter\/Americana album with a slight touch of pop. But, I\u2019m not in a rush to put it out. I just released an album last year so I\u2019m not in a rush to out another one out \u2013 maybe next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sax\u2019s new album is titled \u201cDrawing from Memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI made the record a few months ago at our home studio,\u201d said Sax, who grew up in Plymouth Meeting and graduated from Plymouth Whitemarsh High. \u201cI had no idea I was making an album. I just wrote songs and recorded them \u2013 mostly by myself. Then, I brought in some of my favorite musicians. After a while, I had a lot of songs done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took the tracks to Southern Ground Studio here in Nashville and mixed them there. All of a sudden, I had a record.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mainly a piano album. Our nanny just got divorced and had no place to put her piano. So, we let her keep it at our home studio. I was writing songs. The piano was just there so I started using it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Scot Sax and Suzie Brown — https:\/\/youtu.be\/MGGcWCNPmfc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Bourbon and Branch, which has Molly Martin as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, two other shows this weekend will feature women who are not only mothers but mothers with multiple kids.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Vickie Shaw<\/p><\/div>\n

On June 29, veteran comedian Vickie Shaw will bring her \u201cA Very Vickie Venture\u201d show to the Rrazz Room (6426 Lower York Road, New Hope, 888-596-1027, www.TheRrazzRoom.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Shaw is a native Texan who infuses her polite, easy-going Southern Style into her comedy \u2013 allowing her to say things no one else can say and get away with it because she says them so nice.<\/p>\n

She is also a lesbian who incorporates that into her act while still maintaining a strong connection with the mainstream.<\/p>\n

Shaw has been making people laugh for almost 20 years. She gets her comedy from her life, with her partner Sargent Patch, their three children and now three grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas,\u201d said Shaw, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from her home in League City, Texas.<\/p>\n

\u2018Growing up, I was always funny. I made people laugh. As I got older, people kept telling me that I should do stand-up. When I was in my 30s, I\u2019d be asking myself \u2013 what do I do with my life? Then, I\u2019d hear the voices saying \u2013 you should do stand-up. So, I stated doing stand-up \u2013 even though it was something I was afraid of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to my first open mike \u2013 and I froze. I don\u2019t know why I went back \u2013 but I did. I went every week. It was my creative time. There\u2019s a good circuit of comedians \u2013 and a lot of support between comedians. They would give recommendations for me to other clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was during that time that I also came out. With comedy, you have to go to your truths. You have to be completely honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw, who has appeared in movies and television, is probably the most accessible to a general audience than any of the other top-rated lesbian comedians performing today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing comedy two years before I came out,\u201d said Shaw. \u201cAll along, it was me telling stories about my life. I felt my comedy wasn\u2019t truthful, so I added LGBTG stuff about myself. Audiences heard stuff they never heard before \u2013 but I never heard a complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw\u2019s resume includes appearances on Comedy Central, four comedy specials on the LOGO Channel, Late In Life Lesbians, and Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.<\/p>\n

Two of the comedy specials on LOGO were \u201cYou Can’t Take the Girl Out of Texas\u201d and \u201cVickie Shaw Live – Sick and Wrong Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw also had a major role in the movie Laughing Matters More\u201d. She also just released her third DVD, \u201cI’m Not Your Role Model<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw is a pioneer in the field of lesbian comedy and knows that gaining acceptance for LGBT comedy still faces obstacles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if the barriers have been broken down,\u201d said Shaw, \u201cComedy is tough on women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Vickie Shaw — https:\/\/youtu.be\/MsJphfIY-lE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Rrazz Room is scheduled for June 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Meghan Cary<\/p><\/div>\n

If Meghan Cary were to get a tattoo, it might read \u201cSing Louder\u201d \u2013 and for good reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cSing Louder\u201d is one of her most popular songs. It was the title track an EP \u2013 \u201cSing Louder \u2013 the Festival EP\u201d in 2015. It is also the title of her new album.<\/p>\n

On June 29, Cary will be performing the song \u2013 and many more of her fans\u2019 favorites \u2013 when she headlines a show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com).<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u201cSing Louder\u201d album has been in the works for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe released the record to folk radio \u2013 which is something I never do,\u201d said Cary, during a phone interview Tuesday evening from her home in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was in November and \u2018Sing Louder\u2019 became a Number One single. The second single \u2013 \u2018Responsbility\u2019 \u2013 got to Number Six.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to send it to mainstream radio in the spring and it\u2019s been doing well. We never really did anything at all with radio before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this record, the groove has evolved. We went back and re-recorded stuff because I didn\u2019t have a deadline. Without a record label, I could do it on my own time at my own pace. That\u2019s one of the benefits of not being signed to a label.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cary and her band Analog Gypsies produce a sound that is a blend of folk, rock, gypsy jazz and jam band. At the core of the band are Meghan Cary and Peter Farrell. The keyboard (Farrell) and guitar (Cary) duo lays down a big musical footprint with cool grooves and tight vocal harmonies.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s sound is filled out by the solid bass work of Jocko MacNelly, the rhythmic melodies of drummer Quint Lange, the bluegrass banjo playing and vocal harmony of Stacy Weathers, and the interesting harp and flute lines of Bob Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were totally immersed with this record,\u201d said Cary. \u201cWe had done a record as an acoustic trio. This time, we wanted to capture a full band flavor with Analog Gypsies. The \u2018Sing Louder Festival\u2019 EP was a trio with Stacy Weather on banjo, Bob Beach on harmonica, flute and vocals and my husband Peter Farrell on keyboards and vocals. The full band has five people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been playing together a long time. We have a signature sound. We went into the studio with a bunch of new songs. It\u2019s the next phase. The subject matter is different \u2013 more universal\u2026speaking to the times. The song \u2018Sing Louder\u2019 is a fan favorite \u2013 and very uplifting. The song that feels like it is the heart of this album is \u2018River Rock.\u2019 It\u2019s more a social statement than a political one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSing Louder\u201d is a foot-tapping, bouncy song that gets fans singing along \u2013 even if they\u2019ve never heard the song before.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key line is \u2013 \u2018if you don\u2019t know the words, sing louder\u2026sing stronger…sing louder, sing stronger for all of the world to hear\u2019,\u201d said Cary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album at Morning Star Studio with producer Glenn Barratt. Glenn\u2019s input on production is amazing. \u00a0We even brought 48 people \u2013 fans and friends \u2013 into the studio to sing on the title track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the time, when Cary spends an evening entertaining her fans, it\u2019s as a singer-songwriter \u2014 a talented guitarist\/vocalist with a pleasant voice and interesting songs.<\/p>\n

Recently, there have been times when Cary has taken the stage in a different role \u2014 when she has entertained audiences as an actress performing a one-woman play she wrote called \u201cOn the Way to the Waterfall!\u201d<\/p>\n

This autobiographical play with music\u00a0was originally created as a short piece for E.A.T.\u2019s One-Woman Standing play festival in NYC in 2013 and was developed into a\u00a0full-length play this past summer by Hypothetical Theatre Company. Two years ago, Cary performed it in the Boulder International Fringe Festival\u00a0and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the both the audience and the critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I lived in New York, I used to help this playwright Tina Howe,\u201d said Cary. \u201cShe heard me playing my music and told me \u2014 you have to write a play. I didn\u2019t know how to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The play she was about to write was based on a personal tragedy.<\/p>\n

While performing in the musical \u201cPump Boys and Dinettes\u201d years ago, Cary met and fell in love with Matthew Black, one of the show\u2019s musicians. Cary performed with Black as his backup singer with occasional solos. The pair became engaged and things were going great. But, Black died suddenly in 1995 and Cary\u2019s life path took another unexpected twist.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic carried me through that time period,\u201d said Cary. \u201cMatthew and I made music together. When he died, I lost everything I had for the future. Music was something that I could keep. I wanted to keep making music. But, I was writing songs with no intention of ever playing them for anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I thought about the play, I knew had already written the story in songs. I had written music as a way to heal through this traumatic experience. The play is about going through the same thing \u2014 getting knocked off-course and ending up somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Cary graduated from Hershey High a few years back, she headed off to Duke University to major in biomedical engineering. But, the path of life goes through many twists and turns and that\u2019s why Cary now wears a guitar instead of a lab coat. She switched majors at Duke and finished with a bachelors’ degree in drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I wanted to be a biomedical engineer,\u201d said Cary. \u201cI looked at Cornell, but it was freezing up there so I chose Duke instead. I was on a pre-med track and then got interested in theater. I finished Duke with a degree in drama with a minor in chemistry. Then, I got my MFA (master\u2019s in fine arts) in acting from Florida State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized back then that I wanted to perform. When I started, I wanted to do regional theater. I also did Off-Broadway shows and I’m a charter member of New York’s Actor’s Shakespeare Company. I love Shakespeare\u2019s work. I love the way he used words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Cary has established herself as a singer, actress, songwriter, and playwright. She is also the mother of two musical kids who have already participated in making music with their family.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a mom of two kids in school \u2013 Clara in seventh grade and Quinn in fourth grade — means I inhabit two entirely different worlds in a given week\u2026or day,\u201d said Cary. \u201cAnd, I was thinking how important it is for me to have both.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no surprise that sometimes trying to figure out the business of music can be pretty anxiety provoking — you know, how to afford to make records, if and how to sell records, and (most important for me) how to get the music out there so people fall in love and want to connect to and be a part of the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, for me, even the creative part of music-making can be less than peaceful at times. I sometimes suffer from writer\u2019s block, lack of inspiration, over self-editing or just plain self-doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve been blessed \u2013 and challenged — with this other side of life that balances it all out. When I\u2019m with the kids and just being and doing whatever it is we\u2019re doing together, the drama that can be a part of the DYI musician\u2019s world seems really inconsequential.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the fact that both of our kids are musical and inspired to make music is really a gift. It means I don\u2019t have to keep the two parts of my life so compartmentalized. Both of them sang on the new album.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s will be the only time to see Cary play with her full band prior to their showcase concert at his summer\u2019s Philadelphia Folk Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be our third time to play the Philly Folk Festival,\u201d said Cary. \u201cWe didn\u2019t play there last year so we\u2019re excited to be going back again. We\u2019ll announce the day and time of our set this Friday when we play at Jamey\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Meghan Cary — https:\/\/youtu.be\/7p56MwK_j3k<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Meghan Cary and Analog Gypsies\u2019 show at Jamey\u2019s, which has Bob Beach as the opener, will start at 8 p.m. on June 29. Tickets are $18.<\/p>\n

Another upcoming show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music will be Rob Balducci Band and Visible at Night featuring Dave Weiner on June 30.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jeffrey Gaines<\/p><\/div>\n

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will have Jeffrey Gaines on June 29, Horizens<\/a> on June 30. On July 4, The Kennett Flash & Anson B. Nixon Park PresentThe Hoppin’ John Orchestra<\/a> at Anson B. Nixon Park.<\/p>\n

Chaplin\u2019s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110,\u00a0http:\/\/chaplinslive.com<\/a>) \u00a0hosts a Post-Hardcore show on June 29 featuring, Catharsis, Breaking Falls and Theory of a Kin.<\/p>\n

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will host Jesse Royal<\/a>, Jah People, and I Yahn I Arkestra<\/a> on June 28 and Raheem DeVaughn<\/a>, Divinity Roxx Trifecta, Aaron Parnell Brown, Hosted by Wes Felton<\/a> on June 30<\/p>\n

The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) presents Ross The Boss<\/a> \u00a0on June 28, Hal Ketchum<\/a> on June 29, Hollywood Nights (Bob Seger Tribute)<\/a> on June 30 and Dan Baird & Homemade Sin<\/a> on July 1.<\/p>\n

The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 202-730-3331, www.thequeenwilmington.com<\/a>) hosts LOS CAFRES \u2013 Sigo Caminando 2018 (USA Tour) \u00a0on June 28, The Naked and Famous on June 29, Ellis Paul and Vance Gilbert on June 29 and Bark at the Moon – A Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath on June 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Nashville may be home to Scot Sax and Suzie Brown, but the duo will always have its ties to the Philadelphia area. Philadelphia is Sax\u2019s hometown, the place where Brown began her music career and the city where the couple met and first fell in love. On June […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,5032,6114,6617,10394],"class_list":["post-28966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-jeffrey-gaines","tag-meghan-cary","tag-scot-sax-and-suzie-brown","tag-vickie-shaw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28966","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=28966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28967,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28966\/revisions\/28967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}