{"id":29739,"date":"2018-09-25T13:54:04","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T17:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=29739"},"modified":"2018-09-25T13:54:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T17:54:07","slug":"on-stage-gina-sicilia-is-happy-to-be-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=29739","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Gina Sicilia is happy to be home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Gina Sicilia<\/p><\/div>\n

Gina Sicilia is happy to be coming home \u2013 if even for just one night.<\/p>\n

Sicilia, a highly-acclaimed blues vocalist who grew up in the Philadelphia area, is coming back to the area on September 26 for a show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400,www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>). She will share the mid-week bill with Paul Thorn.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing back to Philly is always really special,\u201d said Sicilia, during a phone interview Monday afternoon from her home in Nashville, Tennessee. \u201cI miss Philly. I miss the energy of Philly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to this show because I\u2019m opening for Paul Thorn — and I\u2019m playing the Downstairs room at World Caf\u00e9 Live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sicilia is touring in support of her new album \u201cHeard the Lie,\u201d which was recently released via Blue Elan Records.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album came out on August 31,\u201d said Sicilia, who graduated from Council Rock High in Bucks County and followed with a degree in journalism from Temple University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded in Los Angeles in three weeks back in January. Dave Darling was my producer and we recorded it at The Dog House Studio in L.A. We started with pre-production and got it finished in two-and-a-half weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to work with Dave because he\u2019s a great producer \u2013 and a great musician. He has a way of taking material I wrote and turning it into something unique and soulful.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I signed with Blue Elan in April 2016, I went to Los Angeles a lot. Dave has worked with other Blue Elan artists such as Janiva Magness and that\u2019s how I met him.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is Sicilia\u2019s eighth solo album. Some of her earlier albums were recorded with Dave Gross at Fat Rabbit Studio in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. \u201cTug of War,\u201d which was her most recent LP prior to \u201cHeard the Lie,\u201d was recorded at Morning Star Studio in East Norriton, a Philly suburb in Montgomery County.<\/p>\n

Sicilia\u2019s ambition and determination has always set her apart. The decorated blues vocalist penned her first song at age 12 and, after the overwhelmingly positive response to her 2007 debut album,\u00a0\u201cAllow Me to Confess,\u201d started touring all over the world. Today, Sicilia plays more than 150 shows a year.<\/p>\n

Ever since getting a Blues Music Award nomination for Best New Artist in 2008, Sicilia has enjoyed great chart and radio success. \u201cTug of War\u201d reached Number 3 on the Contemporary Blues Album chart and was the Number 1 roots album in Tennessee. \u201cAbandoned\u201d reached Number 2 on the Contemporary Blues Song chart, \u201cHe Called Me Baby\u201d reached Number 1 on the Soul Blues Radio chart, and \u201cI Don\u2019t Want to Be In Love\u201d reached Number 3 on the Contemporary Blues Radio chart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started writing songs for \u2018Heard the Lie\u2019 a few months before I recorded the album,\u201d said Sicilia. \u201cIn December, I went on a writing binge and wrote 25 songs in a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got back from a nine-week tour in the fall and spent the down time 24\/7 listening to music to get ready. I was listening to a lot of doo-wop \u2013 and Bobby Darin. I always go back to that \u2013 to the music from the late 50s\/early 60s. I was also listening to the blues. I never go to newer music for inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having written more than two dozen songs, Sicilia had to pare them down prior to heading into the studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded about 14 songs in L.A.,\u201d said Sicilia. \u201cMost were originals. I co-wrote one with Janiva Magness. Dave Darling wrote one song. And, I recorded one from my label-mate Janey Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were making the album, we definitely looked for the strongest songs. We wanted songs rooted in blues. And, we wanted songs with pop sensibilities \u2013 having good hooks you can sing along with.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe song \u2018Heard the Lie\u2019 is one of the first songs I wrote for the album, so we decided to make it the title track. I wrote it on my bathroom floor. The acoustics are good in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sicilia used a full band to make the album but will present the songs in a more stripped-form in her show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn this tour, I\u2019m out with just a guitar player,\u201d said Sicilia. \u201cDavid Brimer, who is from Florida, will play guitar and I\u2019ll sing. We\u2019re playing all the new album and a couple songs from past albums. The focus is on the new one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Gina Sicilia — https:\/\/youtu.be\/M7I1K9Ipo1k<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Paul Thorn<\/p><\/div>\n

Thorn is also touring in support of a new album \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t Let the Devil Ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Thorn, \u201cThis is the culmination of my whole life in music, coming back to my gospel roots. \u201cMy message on this record is \u2018let\u2019s get together\u2019 – I want to help lighten your load and make you smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorn is the son of a preacher — and a former professional boxer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father was a preacher, so I grew up singing in church,\u201d said Thorn, during a phone interview from his home in Tupelo, Mississippi. \u201cLike Elvis, I went to black churches and white churches growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u2019s church. That was when I learned to sing a mixture of those styles.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t Let the Devil Ride\u2019\u00a0collects soulful songs originally cut by black southern gospel groups and features guests the\u00a0Blind Boys of Alabama, The McCrary Sisters, the\u00a0Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, and\u00a0Bonnie Bishop.<\/p>\n

The album was recorded at three temples of sound — the Sam C. Phillips Recording studio, whose namesake gave another son of Tupelo his start; FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, where Thorn worked as a songwriter for legendary producer Rick Hall early in his career; and Preservation Hall, where horn players from the celebrated jazz venue lent songs a New Orleans vibe.<\/p>\n

The new release marks Thorn\u2019s first shot at recording gospel music after a dozen albums in roots-rock mode. In his own songwriting, Thorn often addresses the foibles of human relationships.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s corner because of his severely split lip.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt bothers me when people hear Roberto Duran\u2019s name and all they remember is \u2018No Mas\u2019 (what Duran said when he was unable to continue his championship fight against Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980),\u201d said Thorn. \u201cHe was a great fighter and he did the right thing at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though 30 years have passed since Thorn\u2019s fight against the champion boxer with the nickname \u201cManos de Piedra\u201d (\u201cHands of Stone\u201d), 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.<\/p>\n

Video link for Paul Thorn — https:\/\/youtu.be\/Aqk4lznvD48<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live, which also features Paul Thorn, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $35.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Gina Sicilia is happy to be coming home \u2013 if even for just one night. Sicilia, a highly-acclaimed blues vocalist who grew up in the Philadelphia area, is coming back to the area on September 26 for a show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,10640,5179],"class_list":["post-29739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-gina-sicilia","tag-paul-thorn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29739","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=29739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29740,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29739\/revisions\/29740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}