{"id":30543,"date":"2018-12-20T09:38:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=30543"},"modified":"2018-12-20T09:38:10","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:38:10","slug":"on-stage-the-grinch-is-ready-to-steal-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=30543","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: The Grinch is ready to steal your heart"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span lang=\"EN\"><strong>By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span><em><span lang=\"EN\">Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8741\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/grinch_hero_910x520.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8741\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8741\" src=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/grinch_hero_910x520-350x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8741\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Grinch<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">It probably would be pretty hard to find anyone in the area who is unfamiliar with a certain holiday story written by Theodor Geisel just over a half-century ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Geisel is better known as Dr. Seuss and the protagonist of his timeless story is the Grinch.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The story of the Grinch has been told in a novel, in a 1966 animated TV film starring Boris Karloff, in a 2000 live-action feature film starring Jim Carrey, and in a 2018 computer-animated film starring Benedict Cumberbatch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">It also is told in a live Broadway show \u2013 \u201cDr. Seuss&#8217; How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The National Tour of the musical has arrived in Philadelphia and will run now through December 29 at the Merriam Theater (250 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-893-1999,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kimmelcenter.org\/\">www.kimmelcenter.org<\/a>) as part of the Kimmel Center\u2019s \u201cBroadway Philadelphia\u201d series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!\u201d is a Dr. Seuss children\u2019s story written in rhymed <a title=\"Verse (poetry)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Verse_(poetry)\">verse<\/a> with illustrations by the author.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who attempts to put an end to Christmas by stealing Christmas-themed items from the homes of the nearby town Whoville on Christmas Eve. The story, which was published as a book by Random House in 1957, criticizes the commercialization of Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cDr. Seuss&#8217; How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN\">broke box office records for two consecutive years on Broadway during its holiday engagements at the St. James and Hilton theatres in New York. Since then, more than 1.2 million theatre-goers across America have been delighted by this heart-warming holiday musical, which The New York Times praised as \u201c100 times better than any bedside story\u201d and the Gannett papers hailed as \u201cA genius of a show! A total delight for both kids and adults.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Dr. Seuss\u2019 How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical\u201d features the hit songs \u201cYou\u2019re A Mean One Mr. Grinch\u201d and \u201cWelcome Christmas\u201d (written by Albert Hague and Dr. Seuss) from the original animated series. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is \u201ctwo sizes too small,\u201d decides to steal Christmas away from the Holiday loving Whos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Max the Dog is played by Jared Starkey. He is a human playing the Grinch\u2019s dog, Max. As such, Starkey wears the reindeer antlers on his head, remains loyal to the Grinch and takes the brunt of his bad moods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThis will be the 14<sup>th<\/sup> year for Grinch and the tour started back in November,\u201d said Starkey, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Schenectady, New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThis is my fist tour with the show. I had actually never seen it before. Auditions were back in September and then we did two weeks of rehearsal in October.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Starkey may have been unfamiliar with the Broadway musical but definitely not with the green guy\u2019s story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cI grew up with the story \u2013 as most people do in America,\u201d said Starkey. \u201cI grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Connecticut, so Christmas is in my blood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Magnificent sets (John Lee Beatty) and costumes (Robert Morgan) inspired by Dr. Seuss\u2019 original illustrations help transport audiences to the whimsical world of Whoville, while the Music and Book of Mel Marvin and Timothy Mason breathe new life into this timeless story of the true meaning of Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The 2018 production is directed by Matt August and choreographed by Bob Richard based on the original choreography by John DeLuca and originally created by three-time Tony Award-winning director, Jack O\u2019Brien.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThe musical is almost identical to the cartoon,\u201d said Starkey, who graduated Magna Cum Laude with his B.A. in Musical Theatre at Western Connecticut State University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe went to the children\u2019s book when we were starting rehearsals. We went page by page and the story is almost exactly as the book.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The story of the Grinch has stayed a family favorite whether as a book, a cartoon, a movie or a musical. Its staying power is obvious ever year when the holiday season arrives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cOne of the reasons it\u2019s so popular is that the Grinch is a relatable character,\u201d said Starkey. \u201cThe show also has the theme of sharing and the true Christmas meaning that we search for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">For Starkey, who was atop-flight soccer player in high school and college, every day now is a dog day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cI play young Max,\u201d said Starkey. \u201cHe\u2019s the Grinch\u2019s dog and he helps him steal Christmas \u2013 reluctantly. The story is narrated by an older version of Max. I grew up with dogs so it\u2019s easy for me to relate to Max.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThis is such a wonderful holiday show. And, it\u2019s got great demographics. Parents come in with their kids and then end up laughing louder than their kids do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Video link for \u201cDr. Seuss&#8217; How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical\u201d &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/stiiMaVn8FA\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/stiiMaVn8FA<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The show at the Merriam Theater is running now through December 29. Ticket prices range from $45-$125.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8742\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Gumbo-Musicfest.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8742\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8742\" src=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Gumbo-Musicfest-350x263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"263\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8742\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Philly Gumbo<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">New Orleans may have File Gumbo but only the Delaware Valley has Philly Gumbo. They are very different, but both are very tasty. And, they both feature a variety of complementary ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">File Gumbo is a traditional New Orleans dish. File (pronounced fee-lay) powder is a seasoning made from the ground, dried leaves of the sassafras tree. It\u2019s an integral part of Creole cooking and is used to thicken and flavor Gumbos and other Creole dishes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Philly Gumbo has a link to New Orleans but it\u2019s all about music rather than food.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Philly Gumbo has been the foremost exponent of the Crescent City\u2019s music in the Philadelphia area and perhaps the only band in the country to effectively mix New Orleans music, rhythm-and-blues, reggae, blues and African music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">On December 22, Philly Gumbo will be rocking the house at Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jameyshouseofmusic.com).\/\">www.jameyshouseofmusic.com).<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The band has been the standard-bearer for New Orleans music on the Philadelphia music scene for more than a quarter century. The current line-up features Randall Grass (keyboards), Pete Eshelman (guitar), Tim Hayes (drums), Bert Harris (bass), Richard Orr (saxophone) and India Rex (vocals).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Four of the six members of Philly Gumbo live in Germantown or Mt. Airy. Of the four original members, Hayes has played with such greats as Wilson Pickett, Little Milton and Johnny Shines; Eshelman, who also leads Zydeco A-Go-Go, was the only American member of Philadelphia reggae band Roots Vibration; Harris was a member of African music ensemble He Kuumba and leads Jazz Planet; and Grass played with the Nigerian pop group Bongoes &amp; The Groovies. Also, Orr has played with Harold Melvin &amp; The Blue Notes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">With a mixed racial line-up and sometimes political lyrics, Philly Gumbo has played most every venue in Philadelphia, opened for such legends as Buddy Guy &amp; Jr. Wells, Dr. John, The Mighty Diamonds, Rick Danko &amp; Levon Helm of The Band, Mutabaruka and others, and often had such noted musicians as Todd Rundgren, David Lindley, Fats Domino guitarist Teddy Royal, avant-jazz sax player Byard Lancaster and others sit in with them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been together for 38 years,\u201d said Grass, during a phone interview Monday afternoon. \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing continuously all that time and are probably one of the longest running bands anywhere \u2014 definitely the longest in Philadelphia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cIt began when Walt Taylor and I played a show in Germantown \u2014 Walt singing and me on keyboards. The first time we played, we knew we had something when we looked up and saw someone dancing on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe saw an ad at Third Street Jazz (record shop) from Tim Hayes, a drummer who was into reggae, blues and New Orleans music. Then, we got Pete Eshelman who was playing in a reggae band called Roots Revolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cAfter that, we picked up a bass player and began doing shows. It\u2019s always been a blend of reggae, R&amp;B, New Orleans music and blues. That was the concept of the band. In 1980, we started playing regularly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe were asked to play a benefit at a club called Bacchanal in Philly. After that, they offered us a regular gig there. From 1981 on, we played there every Saturday for about 10 years. Over the years, we\u2019ve played just about every place there was to play in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Everyone in the lineup has been around for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cRichard has been with us for the last few years,\u201d said Grass. \u201cHe used to sit in with us in the 80s \u2013 back when he was in a band called Siembra. India has been with us since 2011 \u2013 right around our 30<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary. She\u2019s a younger generation singer with a feel for classic soul.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Not surprisingly, the band\u2019s schedule of live shows has been cut back because of other commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThese days, we\u2019re very selective about our gigs,\u201d said Grass. \u201cWe average about one show a month. We play more shows at festivals and special events like the Bucks County bBlues and R&amp;B Picnic and Bethlehem\u2019s Musikfest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWhen we first started playing, people around here didn\u2019t know New Orleans music. If you said New Orleans music, they thought you were talking about Dixieland. They might have been aware of Dr. John and Fats Domino, but they thought of them as rock acts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThanks to the New Orleans Jazz Festival and touring acts from New Orleans, people now know the music. We\u2019ve stayed with our mix of sounds &#8212; but we keep adding songs. Of course, we also play the familiar traditional songs such as \u2018Iko Iko,\u2019 \u2018Hey Pocky Way\u2019 and \u2018Go To The Mardi Gras.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Ironically, despite a 38-year history, Philly Gumbo has recorded just one album &#8212; \u201cCome and Get It\u201d in 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe never had the ambition to record an album,\u201d said Grass. \u201cWe\u2019ve always looked at ourselves as primarily a live band. We made the album a few years ago so that our fans would have something to take home and listen to. Our main focus is always to be the best groove band in Philly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Video link for Philly Gumbo &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?feature=player_detailpage&amp;v=jWQwVOSHdM0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?feature=player_detailpage&amp;v=jWQwVOSHdM0<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Another show at Jamey\u2019s this weekend will feature Kicking Down Doors on December 21.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8743\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/too-many-zooz-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8743\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8743\" src=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/too-many-zooz-1-350x234.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8743\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Many Zooz<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Too Many Zooz, a New York City-based band featuring Leo Pellegrino (baritone saxophone), Matt \u201cDoe\u201d Muirhead (trumpet) and David \u201cKing of Sludge\u201d Parks (percussion), heads back to Philly on December 21 for a show at The Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, <a title=\"Protected by Outlook: http:\/\/www.thefillmorephilly.com\/. Click or tap to follow the link.\" href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefillmorephilly.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C71b4dd8aa2824ca31fae08d5cc4ae52e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636639544401801781&amp;sdata=nsflXZeMICTmiICUVYlVh%2FBNoDM03jJ%2Fk73yjsH1cnY%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.thefillmorephilly.com<\/a><cite>).<\/cite><br \/>\nToo Many Zooz got its start playing on the subway platforms in Manhattan. The only way for the trio to go was \u201cup\u201d \u2013 up into the daylight, on to the stages of clubs and eventually playing backup for\u00a0<a title=\"Protected by Outlook: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beyonc%C3%A9. Click or tap to follow the link.\" href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBeyonc%25C3%25A9&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C71b4dd8aa2824ca31fae08d5cc4ae52e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636639544401645527&amp;sdata=yoZZ23mwlxmkLWB4sqGLXtEDsRApC0a8zNFZs9bu8KI%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0for her televised\u00a0<a title=\"Protected by Outlook: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CMA_Awards. Click or tap to follow the link.\" href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCMA_Awards&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C71b4dd8aa2824ca31fae08d5cc4ae52e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636639544401645527&amp;sdata=l4uoU6whW8abemX2EykQjnHA7nfPR%2B%2F7e0zJOjOiLXQ%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CMA Awards<\/a>\u00a0performance in November 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been playing a lot \u2013 travelling a lot,\u201d said Pellegrino, during a phone interview last week from his home in the East Falls section of Philadelphia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe were in Europe a lot this year. We played a lot of shows over there. We just keep grinding and working \u2013 and keep on touring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Pellegrino and Muirhead met when they were students at the\u00a0Manhattan School of Music. Pellegrino and Parks had played together in Drumadics, a local\u00a0busking band.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">In mid-2013, they formed a trio and began busking together at various stations in the\u00a0New York City Subway. They gained fame when a video of one of their subway performances, recorded by a passer-by at the\u00a0Union Square station, went viral on\u00a0YouTube\u00a0in March 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The trio has released four EPs since 2014, dropped its first full-length\u00a0\u201cSubway Gawdz\u201d in 2016, and has racked up millions of views of its live videos on YouTube. Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s team was impressed with the videos and hired the band to perform on the songs \u201cDaddy Issues\u201d and \u201cFormation\u201d on her album \u201cLemonade,\u201d which was nominated for the Grammy for Album of the Year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Right now, TMZ is riding high having signed a deal with Ministry of Sound. Too Many Zooz\u2019 single \u201cWarriors\u201d racked up major play on Radio One followed by high-profile remixes from the likes of Armand Van Helden and KDA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Then, U.K. sensation Jess Glynne penned lyrics and added vocals to morph the song into \u201cSo Real (Warriors),\u201d which has been generating massive buzz while climbing the European charts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The band recently recorded the conceptual, improvisational song and video for \u201cCar Alarm\u201d in which they use the alarm of a burgled car on a rooftop carpark as a <\/span><span lang=\"EN\">metronome<\/span><span lang=\"EN\"> for the new track. The \u201cCar Alarm\u201d video has racked up more than 500K views in one week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cMatt and I live in Philadelphia now \u2013 so that was a change,\u201d said Pellegrino. \u201cIt really doesn\u2019t matter where we live because we tour so much. Philly is close to New York \u2013 and it\u2019s also a big city.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cI have a lot of people in Philly. I\u2019m from Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh people migrate to Philadelphia. I went to CAPA for high school in Pittsburgh and then to college at Manhattan School of Music. That\u2019s where I met Matt and then David and I met in the subway. Union Square was our favorite \u2013 but we never had an official permit to play there until recently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe released four EPs and then out debut album. We recorded the album last April at Platinum Sound Recording Studios in Manhattan. And did a few tracks at Studio Trilogy in San Francisco.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Too Many Zooz created its style by playing in the subway for people \u2013 as many as 30,000-40,000 people over the course of a few hours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The trio\u2019s discography includes \u201cF NOTE\u201d EP (January 2014), \u201cFanimals\u201d EP (September 2014), \u201cBrasshouse Volume 1: Survival of the Flyest\u201d EP\u00a0(November 2014), \u201cThe Internet\u201d EP (May 2015) and \u201cSubway Gawdz\u201d\u00a0LP (June 2016).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe have a Christmas EP \u2013 \u2018Too Many Zooz Xmas Vol. 1\u2019 &#8212; that we just released,\u201d said Pellegrino. \u201cWe recorded it in Brooklyn back in September. Most of the tracks are traditional holiday songs. We mostly just picked songs that were public domain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe also have a caroling video and we used that song on the EP. It was kind of weird to do Christmas songs in September. But it was cloudy those days so that helped. And, we were cooped up in that room for a few days.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Too Many Zooz describes its music as \u201cbrass house.\u201d It is an amalgamation of New York City music \u2013 jazz, hip hop, funk, rock, R&amp;B, improv and even EDM.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cOur music is a mixture of sounds,\u201d said Pellegrino. \u201cIt is representative of New York City. But we\u2019re not playing the subways too much lately because we\u2019re out on tour a lot \u2013 all the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThe biggest change in our playing is that we have to do more songs. When we first started playing, it was all improvisational. After a while, we learned to play songs that people wanted. Now, it\u2019s a combination of songs and improv.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe have a ton of new music. We\u2019re now trying to figure out how to put it in our set. With our label in the U.K., they put out the remix of \u2018Warriors\u2019 and used singer Jess Glynne. It\u2019s getting played on the radio a lot in the U.K. We\u2019ll be going back there soon for more shows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Video link for Too Many Zooz \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/xV7nHX2RLjQ\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/xV7nHX2RLjQ<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The show at The Foundry, which has Organ Freeman as the opener, will start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $17.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8744\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/tengger-cavalry.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8744\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8744\" src=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/tengger-cavalry-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8744\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tengger Cavalry<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Which band is the top Mongolian nomadic folk metal band in the world?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The answer is easy \u2013 Tengger Cavalry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Which band is the only Mongolian nomadic folk metal band in the world?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Another easy answer \u2013 Tengger Cavalry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cUnique\u201d is an overused and often misused word. It means \u201cone of a kind\u201d not just \u201cunusual.\u201d With that in mind, it is safe to say that Tengger Cavalry is unique.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">On December 22, Tengger Cavalry\u2019s nomadic wandering will bring it to the area for a show at the Lizard Lounge at the Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net\/\">http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Tengger Cavalry &#8212; Nature <a>Ganganbaigal<\/a> (Vocals, Dombra, Production, Composition), Wulijimuren (Morin Khuur), Greg Baker (Bass), Pat Reilly (Guitar), Randy Tesser (Drums) &#8212; is a folk metal band based in New York City that combines elements of the traditional music of Mongolia with heavy metal into a kind of folk metal that billed as \u201cnomadic folk metal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Tengger Cavalry was founded in March 2010 as one-man project by Ganganbaigal. The band name means \u201cthe army of the sky god\u201d in Mongolian\u00a0 and is named after the ancient Mongolian and <a title=\"Turkic peoples\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Turkic_peoples\">Turkic<\/a> deity <a title=\"Tengri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tengri\">Tengri<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cI started the band as a pure music project in the New York metal scene,\u201d said Ganganbaigal, during a phone interview last week from Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe did a lot of jams and then last year we did a European tour.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Tengger Cavalry has released seven albums since 2010 &#8212; \u201cBlood Sacrifice Shaman\u201d (2010), \u201cSunesu Cavalry\u201d (2012), \u201cBlood Sacrifice Shaman\u201d (2015), \u201cCavalry in Thousands\u201d (2016), \u201cAncient Call\u201d (2016), \u201cDie on My Ride\u201d (2017) and \u201cCian Bi\u201d (2018).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe like to have an album come out each year,\u201d said Ganganbaigal. \u201cI like to write a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">As one of the most unique and innovative acts in modern music, Tengger Cavalry blends the nomadic musical traditions, instrumentation and warrior spirit of Central Asia with the aggression and power of heavy metal. The group was put together by Ganganbaigal, who sings using the ancient Mongolian tradition of Khoomei (more commonly known as throat-singing) and plays multiple native instruments, including the Morin Khuur (an ancient fiddle), the Tovshuur (a Mongolian guitar) and the Mongolian flute.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWhen I was younger, I learned throat singing in the Mongolian community,\u201d said Ganganbaigal, whose family is from North Asia. \u201cIt took me seven years to learn and refine it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Tengger Cavalry\u2019s format for the show at The Foundry features two very different sets. Each night of the tour has two individual hour-long sets by the band &#8212; the first featuring World Music, Mongolian folk and light acoustic jazz, and the second featuring heavy nomadic metal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe did two shows at Carnegie Hall that way,\u201d said Ganganbaigal. \u201cIt shows the ultimate parts of the band. Before the audience sees the metal side, they have to see the folk side. The first half of the concert is a mix of jazz, blues, rock and traditional folk music. It\u2019s an acoustic set. We picked songs from all our albums.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThe second set \u2013 the metal set \u2013 features songs from our latest album \u2018Cian Bi.\u2019 Six or seven songs are from that album and the rest are fan favorites \u2013 actually a balance between my favorites and the fans\u2019 favorites. We can tell what they like from iTunes and Spotify.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cWe recorded \u2018Cian Bi\u2019 last November in New York. The idea was there for a long time and ten I made a month to focus on the writing. I\u2019m very pleased with the way it turned out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Video link for Tengger Cavalry \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/xZD7K68aaZo\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/xZD7K68aaZo<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The show at the Lizard Lounge at the Chameleon Club will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Other upcoming shows at the Chameleon Club are \u201cHot Jam Factory-Big Fat Meanies\u201d with 25th Hour, Alastair, Wallace, Trash Juice On December 21 and Jimmie\u2019s Chicken Shack on December 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8745\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/backtrack-kennett-flash.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8745\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8745\" src=\"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/backtrack-kennett-flash-350x274.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"274\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8745\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Backtrack<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org\/\">http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will present \u201cAn A Cappella Holiday Celebration with Backtrack\u201d on December 20, Edgardo Cintron &amp; The Inca Band with \u201cA Tribute to Santana\u201d on December 21, \u201cWe Kids Rock &#8211; Holiday Show\u201d on December 22 (11 a.m.), and Christmas with Vinyl Artifacts &amp; Los Festingos on December 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com<\/a>) will host \u201cOpen Mic Night\u201d om December 21, Brick Nova on December 22 and \u201cAffinity Colabs Story &amp; Poetry Slam\u201d on December 23.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Chaplin\u2019s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/chaplinslive.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/chaplinslive.com<\/a>) will host Kevin Cox, Juliana Danese, The Narrows and Box of Books\u200b on December 21, and Northern Lights and Alex Allegra on December 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ardmoremusic.com\/\">www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will host Marky Ramone\u2019s Blitzkrieg on December 20, Beru Revue Xmas Show with special guest No Good Sister on December 21, Orchard Lounge on December 22, and The Underground Thieves on December 23.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.st94.com\/\">www.st94.com<\/a>) presents Divine Hand Ensemble on December 20, <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Christine Lavin with Crys Matthews on December 21, Annie Haslam \u201cIn The Spirit Of The Holidays\u201d with Anton Roolaart on December 22, Chely Wright with Skip Denenberg on December 23, and Raymond The Amish Comic with \u00a0Mike Eagan on December 26.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The Locks at Sona (4417 Main Street, Manayunk, 484- 273-0481, <a href=\"http:\/\/sonapub.com\/\">sonapub.com<\/a>) will host Mutlu with special guest Eric Scott on December 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 202-730-3331, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thequeenwilmington.com\/\">www.thequeenwilmington.com<\/a>) will have DJ Jazzy Jeff on December 20, Montana Wildaxe on December 21, and Echoes &#8211; The American Pink Floyd on December 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">Rrazz Room (6426 Lower York Road, New Hope, 888-596-1027, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.therrazzroom.com\/\">www.TheRrazzRoom.com<\/a>) hosts Josh Zuckerman \u201cGone With The Music\u201d New CD Release Party on December 21 and Sam Krivda\u2019s Holiday Party on December 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN\">The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org\/\">www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) is presenting \u201cShe Loves Me\u201d now through December 23. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings (doors 6 p.m.\/show, 8 p.m.) and Sunday afternoons (doors, 1 p.m.\/show, 3 p.m.). Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $63 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Entertainment Editor, The Times It probably would be pretty hard to find anyone in the area who is unfamiliar with a certain holiday story written by Theodor Geisel just over a half-century ago. Geisel is better known as Dr. Seuss and the protagonist of his timeless story is the Grinch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[10843,6518,10844,10842,10841,10320],"class_list":["post-30543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-backtrack","tag-featured","tag-philly-gumbo","tag-tengger-cavalry","tag-the-grinch","tag-too-many-zooz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30543","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=30543"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30544,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30543\/revisions\/30544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}