Spring is just days away, and Mark Janas is back! What a great evening we had this past Sunday. Mark was firing away at the piano before we even got started. We had some truly amazing talent sitting in for Mark while he was gone, but, judging by those fingers firing away at the piano, Mark was just as happy to be back as we were to finally have him.
Our gorgeous Co-Host for the evening, Jaye Maynard, dressed to impress -- and fit the Irish holiday -- in her stunning green dress. Jaye, who knew Mark, previously, having done shows together like the crazy Christmas Interruptus and Talk Of The Town, started the evening off crooning "Sunday Afternoon"(with the talented Jon Delfin at the keys) -- the first of her songs by the marvelous Blossom Dearie. Jaye's show Bird Amongst The Blossom is a tribute to the songs of the late Ms. Dearie. With her ease and silky smooth voice, Jaye made us all instant fans, all eagerly awaiting her next song.
Jonathan Prager bravely started the open mic portion of the night with "Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square," followed by Mark Levy performing a brilliant "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago, complete with soft-shoe, kicks, and jazz hands.
We had a mini Barry Levitt segment, with songs from Lou Iacovino ("Don't Go To Strangers" by Arthur Kent and Redd Evans), Shrimani Senay (with a fantastic bluesy arrangement of George Michael's "Faith"), Jacqueline Hashimoto (giving us a deliciously rich and smoky "It Had To Be You"), Sunny Leigh (celebrating the theme with "Spring, Spring, Spring" by Johnny Mercer), and Gary Crawford (with a great "Suddenly It's Spring" by James Van Heusen and Johnny Burke). The brilliant Mr. Levitt wrapped up his section with a swingin' "Pennies From Heaven," scattin' his way into our hearts -- as though he wasn't there to begin with. ;)
Next up, it was our resident handsome, charming, and talented singing server, David Ballard, chirping a gorgeous "I'll Be Here." He is continuing his 2nd year as a lyricist in the BMI Workshop, and he will be performing this Sunday afternoon, March 24th, in Cookie's Corner at the Laurie Beechman Theatre at 3pm. That's right -- you can do the Beechman and the Salon in the same day!
'Twas I, Candice Oden, who followed, singing "A New Life" (with far too much wine in me). I am still doing the workshop at The Alec Baldwin Fellowship at the Singers Forum, performing in Bobby Cronin and Allen Mogol's amazing 'Til Death Do Us Part. I was also lucky enough to do a table read of Bobby's new show The Concrete Jungle, and sing in his international CD release concert for the same musical.
I have now made way for the amazing Sarah Rice, who delivered a traditional [and if I heard her correctly, a dead bride's] song, "She Moved Through The Fair" -- and just as gorgeously as ever. A little trivia for you: Sarah won a 2010 Bistro Award and 2011 MAC Award for Female Vocalist! She will be doing Sondheim Unplugged this Sunday, March 24th, at 54 Below, and, gosh -- I wonder why ... ;) For those of you who don't know, Ms. Rice was the original Johanna in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Yes, she is that amazing.
We had a great Salon Spotlight this week: Dwight Thomas Vaughn singing (and at the piano) with Sean Harkness at the guitar. The pair started with Keith Urban's [and Richard Marx's] "Better Life," which was so much fun, followed by two originals, "Auntie Sheilah In Hilo" and "One More Day." Dwight was nominated for Best Male Debut of 2012 for Trail of Cheers. You must see this pair (joined by the rest of the band) on April 2. Dwight Thomas Vaughn & The Missouri Statesmen will be at the Iridium Night Club.
Classical Corner
What a treat to have Mark back. Mark Janas' Classical Corner is so special -- as is the man, himself. He takes us on a journey that is new to everyone each week, whether you are an expert on the week's topic or not. Mark puts his heart and soul into the piano itself, so that each one of us is changed a little bit every Sunday around 8 or 9pm. He captivates everyone in the room. This week's journey started as they usually do, with little tastes of a few different pieces that have been brought to Mark's mind by the theme, this one starting with a bit of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." This set of four violin concertos has three movements per season. No, we did not hear 12 movements. ;) Next was a taste of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," which was not actually originally titled as such. The spring theme came from Martha Graham and her choreography for the piece. Then came Beethoven's 6th Symphony in F major (first movement). Mark commented that so much classical music is based on a spring theme.
But really ... Mark wanted to play something that he's been working on. ;) A Chopin piece. He loves a ballade, particularly Chopin ballades. They all have a few things in common. First, they, themselves, are a story. They are also always in 6/8. Most have sad themes, sometimes big and ominous -- all of them having recurrent themes. But this piece, he thought, was spring-like, full of optimism. It was Chopin's Ballade in A Flat Major. I have to say, over the course of this Classical Corner, I haven't heard so many "wows" at once in quite some time. Mark's fingers were flying away, making magic, rather than just music.
Second Set
And it begins! Mark's re-introduction of our Co-Host describing "the tastiest, cleanest jazz chords" he'd heard was completely appropriate. Jaye Maynord and Jon Delfin delivered. Jaye explained her love for Blossom Dearie and her work, and the love was truly expressed in her songs. First was "Spring Blossom Dame," followed by "Winchester in Apple Blossom Time," and, finally, "Long Daddy Green," where she got to show off the real meat of her voice.
The gorgeous Tanya Moberly was up next to resume the open mic portion of the night! She didn't let a cold stand in the way of taking us on the journey of her rendition of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most." Tanya has the great ability to make every song her own, usually making you listen to the song as though you've never heard it before. In case you haven't heard the word, she has been nominated for the 2013 MAC Award for Best Female Vocalist! She is also directing Marnie Klar's upcoming show at Don't Tell Mama April 13th, 26th, May 8th, and 21st.
Following Tanya was Jerry Zieselman with "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" from Finian's Rainbow. Jerry is a performer for an amazing organization called VocalEase (as is Jaye) that provides live entertainment for NYC's senior citizens!
Vickie Phillips, who will be at Don't Tell Mama in June, was up next to the stage with "Me And My Shadow," followed by Matthew Martin Ward with "Currier And Ives," a cautionary tale by Dorothy Fields and Sydney Romberg. Matthew just finished the basic tracks for the Hopelessly In Love CD!
Bill Zeffiro surprised us next with a new song of his -- and it's a ballad! Wait -- a romantic ballad! It is incredibly touching and sweet with just enough Bill Zeff sass, and it is entitled "An Oft-Told Tale." Yes, there may be a lady involved, and, as Bill said, "Even if it doesn't work out, at least I got a song out of it!" And a great one, at that.
Dawn Derow graced the stage after Bill, singing her version (and an awesome one) of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You Babe." She has her CD release concert with Sean Harkness on May 23 at the Cutting Room. She can also be seen this Friday at Somethin' Jazz with her band, Iris.
The very talented Eva Kanton, whose solo debut, The Way I Am, will be at the Beechman, followed with "Just To Look At Him" by Brian Lasser and Gary Gardner. After Eva came cabaret all-star Cookie Stark with a fantastic "Broadway Baby." Don't forget about Cookie's Corner on Sunday.
Our final open mic-er was the amazing Eric Michael Gillett. He gave us Ahrens and Flaherty's "I Was Here." And that he was. It is always such a joy and privilege to see/hear him perform, always taking us into his world. He will be at the Beechman in April with We Lost It At The Movies with Tovah Feldshuh and more. Do not miss it!
Jaye closed our evening with "I Like You, You're Nice,"so lovely and charmingly -- I cannot wait for her return.
Next Week
Our [optional] theme is: "Simple Joys," and our Co-Host is MAC & Bistro Award-Winner Stacy Sullivan! She has been nominated for THREE 2013 MAC Awards, and will be at The Carlyle in May with her critically acclaimed It's A Good Day: A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee.
And, our beloved (and incredibly talented) etcetterette Erin Cronican will be back on Sunday! :) See? This is a week you won't want to miss. ;) We hope to see you then!
- Candice Oden
Guest Blogette for The Salon
Need anything? Please email me.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The Salon Wrap-up for March 10, 2013 "Songs That Rock You"
Greetings Saloners! This is your one and only male etceterette (etceteron, etceterer, or whatever you want to call me) Adam Shapiro. I’m thrilled to be blogetting for the first time, while our usual darling Erin Cronican is busy as can be with her company THE SEEING PLACE THEATER, doing two successful productions that feature several members of our Salon family. They are going into their final week of performances, so if you haven’t gone, be sure to check it out.
The crowds came out in droves this week, ready to rock out with our wonderful guest host Steven Ray Watkins (Mark Janas is gigging out of town as the ultimate rock stars are apt to do). And if there was one person who was going to keep the crowd roaring, it was our own Rockstar, fresh off her most recent show Shift Happens at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and winner of “Best New Cabaret Performer” in San Fransisco Carly Ozard! (Crowd Chanting: CARLY! CARLY! CARLY!) Carly has been called the “Freddie Mercury chick”, although she claimed last night to be the “Coming Down with a Cold Chick”, but that didn’t stop her from belting out the Freddy Mercury classic “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. It was the perfect start to the evening.
First up from the crowd was our own rock goddess Bobbie Horowitz, who claimed that her dream growing up in Brooklyn was to write a rock song. She proceeded to sing “Teenage Dreams”, (Horowitz/Spector), which would have been a killer 1950s rock ballad. Bobbie’s recent show Shows Ta Go Ya, the Songs of Bobbie Horowitz will be coming back, hopefully later this year (Dates TBA) and she will be putting together another one of her delightful Cabaret Matinees at the Unity Center sometime in April. Been to both and they are both delightful.
Ruth Carlin took the stage next and said that she had interpreted the theme a little differently, remembering doing most of her singing practice while she rocked her children to sleep. (AAAAAW!) She gave us the beautifully tender “I’ll Be Here With You” by David Friedman and you could just picture her with a child in her arms. It was lovely. Ruth will be launching her new CD at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on April 6th and 18th.
Next up, looking very rock glam in her leather skirt and boots (Joan Jett anybody?) was Natasha Castillo, fresh off her latest show Anything But Ordinary at the Duplex. I was there. She rocked! She sang an arrangement from her show, a medley of “Sing a Song” and “I Got the Music” with Mr. Watkins, who was her musical director for the show, chiming in for some harmonies. A great performance by both.
Our next singer was Sue Horowitz, who I am totally and completely jealous of because she was on last week’s episode of Project Runway and got to walk the catwalk in a gorgeous custom outfit designed just for her. Seriously, download the episode. Her walk was fabulous. Tonight, she sang her original song, “LUV: The Station of Love”, a country/rock song that I thought was some of her best writing work. Carly made a great observation: “We have two Horowitzes who write songs!” To our knowledge, Sue and Bobbie are not related, but they could be. You never know!
Bob Diamond gave us his usual fabulousness with “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby”. It is easy to see why he is a current MAC Award nominee for Male Vocalist. Bob’s next cabaret show Timeless with Donna Elliott and Marcia Roney will be playing The Duplex on April 3rd and 7th at 7PM and if Bob is involved, you know it’s going to be good. I can’t wait to see it!
Parker Scott, in his signature velvet shirt, took the mic next to sing the gorgeous “All The Things You Are”, which he claimed was probably a rock song in its day. Parker’s show No Expectations will have an encore performance on April 14 at 7:30pm in Penthouse 1 of Shetler Studios on 54 St. By the way, both Parker and Bob were accompanied by David Jarvis on piano who is always a delight to see and hear.
Up next was current MAC Award nominee for best Director, Gretchen Reinhagen, who told us she had spent a wonderful weekend with her longtime partner, making plans for their upcoming LEGAL wedding. (YAY!!!) She told us that, while cake tasting, the enormity of everything really hit her and she proceeded to sing “Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor, a gorgeous song that got this bloggette a little choked up. Gretchen has many gigs coming up, so stay tuned.
A newcomer to Salon, Eva Kantor graced us with “The Way I Am”, which is the title song of her upcoming debut solo show, directed by Eric Michael Gillett, and playing the Laurie Beechman on March 29, 30, and April 7, 14, and 21. Eva was a finalist in the 2012 Metrostar competition and if her performance tonight was any indication, you won’t want to miss her show!
Speaking of Eric Michael Gillett, he was next to take the stage and give us the fabulous Duke Ellington piece “Hit Me With a Hot Note”. Man, can that guy sing! In addition to Eva’s show, Eric is also directing The Amanda McBroom Project, which features a cast of 34 of the most talented women in theatre and cabaret. It will be playing the Laurie Beechman on March 15 and 16, so don’t miss it! He is also currently nominated for MAC Awards in both the Director and Major artist categories. (I don’t think he’s busy enough. Anyone have something for him to do?)
The lovely Catherine Overfelt came up next to give us “I Miss The Mountains” from Next to Normal, one of the most rocking shows to hit Broadway in years. She was fabulous and we hope to see more of her.
Raissa Katona Bennet in a FABULOUS sequined vest said she was brave enough to try a rock song that night and showed us her “Dark Side” (Busbee/ Geringas). Ooh Raissa! This is a side of you we haven’t seen…and I LOVE IT! Raissa is a current MAC Award nominee for Major Artist and will be appearing in The Amanda McBroom Project next weekend at the Laurie Beechman.
Next up was the beautiful 16 year old Ruby Rakos (See, when you’re that age, you can announce how old you are from the stage. Those were the days!). Ruby spent two years on Broadway in Billy Elliot. According to her, dancing on a raked stage is, in fact, not the best thing for your orthopedic health, but that didn’t stop her from wowing the crowd with the classic “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart”. That girl has a gorgeous future ahead of her. Keep an eye out.
Leanne Borghesi proceeded to show us how she rocked her way through auditions with the hilarious “As We Stumble Along” from The Drowsy Chaperone, encouraging the crowd to lift their glasses and join her in a toast and to always “keep your eyeball on the highball”. It was fabulous!
The next performer was Adam Shapiro. Oh wait, that’s me! We must be nearing the end of the first set! I sang “One More Minute” by Weird Al Yankovic, who is one of the most rocking people I know. I’ll mention, only because people are prodding me to, that I am also currently a MAC Award nominee for Musical Comedy Perfomer. Honestly, it’s a huge honor and I’m thankful.
After me, our first time etceterette (and next week’s co-host) Jaye Maynard sang “Figure Eight” from Schoolhouse Rock. (Get it, Schoolhouse ROCK! What a great way to interpret the theme). It was a gorgeous rendition and it’s easy to see why she was named pick of the week for the International Review of Music NY and LA. Go Jaye! We can’t wait to see you at the Metropolitan room on March 21 at 9:30 PM!
It was time for our Salon Spotlight, which this week was Broadwayworld Award winning songwriter Scott Evan Davis! (Seriously, could he be more handsome?) Just the night before, Scott celebrated the opening night of his show Picture Perfect, an original revue of Scott’s Music, directed by Lennie Watts with musical direction by David Snyder. Word of mouth is that the show is WONDERFUL. I think I detected a little bit of the post-show glow still emanating from Scott’s face. We were lucky enough to hear three of the songs from the show sung by Erik Sisco and Kim Grogg, two out of the five brilliant singers who make up the show’s cast. (Joshua Dixon, Vicky Modica, and Jamie Hartmann are the others). Erik took the stage first to sing “Just a Word”, a very funny song about a man in the doghouse, who just can’t say the one word that will make everything ok. (Hey, sorry IS the hardest word to say!). Kim ascended the stage and announced “If you’ve ever had a hot flash, this song might rock you.”, before pulling out a red fan and singing “You Make Me Crazy”, a song from a woman on the verge. Rounding out the set, Erik took the stage to sing Scott’s award winning song “If We Say Goodbye” a beautiful song about the possibility of changes in a relationship. The show has two more performances on March 17 and 24 at 7pm at the Duplex. After tonight, I think you should make your reservations as soon as you can. Those seats are NOT going to last long.
And with that, get your lighters ready. It was time for Steven’s Corner!
Considering that Steven Ray Watkins is a rockstar whatever he does, we were all excited to see what he would grace us with. He started his set with the Neil Sedaka hit “Stepping Out”, claiming he never expected to use the words Neil Sedaka and rockstar in the same sentence. He followed it with the beautiful “Voices Carry”, which was a breakthrough song for the group ‘Til Tuesday. It was a gorgeous performance. He closed his set with the reflective Phil Vassar song “Black and Whites”, which glorified the piano as a constant in an uncertain world with so many shades of grey. It was a perfect end to the first half of the evening.
Second Set!
Our rock goddess Carly Ozard took the stage again to kick off the second set with two signature Freddy Mercury pieces, the first being the classic “Somebody to Love”. No matter where you heard that song, be it on the radio, in a movie, or on an album, that song just never gets old and it always inspires you to sing along. (Which everybody did) The second piece was “Love of My Life”, a piece about love ending, which Mercury wrote about his longtime lover Mary Austin. It should be said, by the way, that Carly was singing her face off in spite of her self-professed cold and like a true pro, she said “When you’re sick…you have to do it anyway.” Brava Carly! Rock on!
I don’t have to tell you who took the stage next, but I will tell you because she is currently nominated for MAC awards as female vocalist, and producer of Salon. Give it up for Tanya Moberly!!!! (Crowd roars, screams, throws underwear, etc.) Tanya sang one of the most quintessential 80s rock songs (Ok, it was released in 1979, but still), Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”. The way she was singing it and the way Steven was playing it, it was really as if a whole band was playing. I was headbanging in my mind. Oh, and she is another performer appearing in The Amanda McBroom Project at the Laurie Beechman. Yet ANOTHER reason to go!
I hope nobody needed a drink at that moment, because the next performer was our own man of many talents, including waitering, David Ballard! David sang one of Billy Joel’s most iconic ballads “She’s Got a Way” and really made it something special. Not a surprise really, since David is currently the recipient of the Singer’s Forum Scholarship AND a 2nd year lyricist in the BMI program. The boy has some serious talent. You can see him next in Cookie’s Corner at the Laurie Beechman on March 24 at 3pm.
Dwight Thomas Vaughn came to the stage to give us an original song of his “First Pair of Shoes”. Gorgeous music and lyrics as well as a marvelous performance. Dwight’s last show Trail of Tears was nominated for a Broadwayworld Award and his next show, Dwight Thomas Vaughn and the Missouri Statesmen (Directed by Raissa Katona Bennett) will be performed at the Iridium on April 2nd at 8pm and 10pm. Not to be missed!
Following him was the adorable Robin Westle who claimed “I never wanted to be a rock star, but to be a MOVIE star!” and then proceeded to charm us with “Oh to be a Movie Star” from The Apple Tree. Such a sweet performance! Her next show No Regrets will be at the Laurie Beechman on June 12 and 21. Hopefully we will see more of her before then.
The fantastic Jim Speake took the stage next and sang “I’m a Brass Band” by Cy Coleman, who Jim claimed was a rockstar of a composer. I must say I agree. Jim is also a current MAC nominee in the musical comedy category. (And, for the record, I am honored to be in a category with him. He is truly awesome.)
After Jim was a newcomer to Salon: the beautiful Von Decarlo, who sang a heartbreaking rendition of “Who Knew” by Pink. It was a gorgeous performance that left everybody awestruck. She will be workshopping a one woman show Lasagna, directed by Lennie Watts and musical directed by Steven Ray Watkins, at the Duplex on March 17. We hope we will see her at Salon more often after tonight. She is something really special.
Next up, a performer from the west coast, Steven Slatten. Steven has done many successful shows in San Francisco, but we were happy to have him in New York tonight singing Stevie Wonder’s “Lately”. The man’s voice is SICK! (And if you know rock terminology, you know that I mean it was awesome.) Again, someone we hope to see more of.
Salon regular Joann Sicoli, clad in a great leopard print outfit, sang a marvelous rendition of “He’s Sure to be the Boy I Love”, made famous by Darlene Love and the Crystals. Afterwards, she was delighted to tell us (and we were delighted to hear) that the novel she has been working on has a publisher! YAY! She didn’t tell us more, but I’m sure as time goes on, we will hear more news. Soon, I hope!
Speaking of delight, the next performer was someone that everybody loves: the fabulous Barb Malley, who claimed she often looked to Gretchen Cryer for inspiration. Tonight she inspired us with “Strong Woman Number” from I’m Getting my Act Together and Taking it on the Road. She was wonderful as always. Barb’s next show Out of Order will open later this year and, if my guess is correct, will be a show not to be missed. Barb is awesome!
Another Salon favorite, Marya Zimmet, was up next and told us that, in preparing for tonight, Lennie Watts and Steven Ray Watkins had suggested she look at some Annie Lennox material. I am so glad they did, because her voice is perfect for Annie’s material. She graced us with Lennox’s song “Little Bird” and to say she did it justice would be an understatement. She is working on a show to be done later this year and I know we all look forward to hearing more about it in the future.
Ok, I try not to play favorites because I love everybody, but tonight I have to say that Amy Beth Williams did one of my favorite pieces of the evening. She sang the song “On My Way To You” by Michel Legrand and Marylin and Alan Bergman. She sang it so beautifully that it brought tears to my eyes. (My Aunt sang that song at my parents’ wedding, so it brought back gobs of memories). Amy Beth said she has gigs coming up TBA and, after tonight, I will be watching closely for information. BRAVA!
John Koprowski came up and said “Why not choose the best of the best?” For him and for many, that meant Bob Dylan. John sang the fabulous “All Along the Watchtower” and made the crowd fall in love. John has been doing a lot of work with The Singers Forum and will be appearing in their next open mic night.
Next up was another one of my favorite leggy ladies, Robin Kradles. Nobody knows how to get an audience on her side more than Robin does, let me tell you. Robin sang the Peggy Lee hit “I Love Being Here with You” and when she sang the lyric “I love to hear you say my name”, on cue the crowd called out ROBIN! So much fun! Robin will be appearing at Night of a Thousand Gowns on April 6 to benefit GMHC and GLADD. It promises to be a spectacular night for two spectacular causes.
Carly compared our next performer Sallie Jo Hadley to Disney’s Snow White. THANK YOU! I have been saying that since the first time I heard her sing and I love her for it! Tonight she sang the Petula Clark hit “Downtown”. Her charm is undeniable. I love listening to her and watching her on stage.
Our next performer is someone we all love dearly: Richard Eisenberg, who debuted a new song that he had written called “Choices”. A very thought provoking piece, it had the excellence we have come to expect from Mr. Eisenberg. Richie’s show Smile on my Face is currently nominated for a MAC award for Best Revue. I had the honor to be a part of that show along with Erin Cronican, Stacie Perlman, and Rob Langeder and, at the risk of being biased, I am so proud of our Richie. What a great, talented guy!
Next up, another representative of the west coast, Nick Bayne! (Look how those west coasters flock to see Carly! Get ready New York!) Nick gave us the Jason Robert Brown song “She Cries”, a very hard piece that he made look effortless. Way to go Nick!
Lyricist Tom Toce took the stage next to introduce singer Oakley Boycott and pianist Matthew Martin Ward. Oakley proceeded to sing the song “Bye Bye, Aloha, Yo!”, a song that Tom wrote the lyrics to and recently was featured in his show Hopelessly in Love, the lyrics of Tom Toce, and is NOW nominated for the MAC award for best Song- Special material. Oakley and Matthew hit the song out of the park and did justice to Tom’s superb lyrics.
The next performer was Karen Gross, who sang the Laura Branigan hit “Self Control”. Karen told us she is new in town from Philadelphia, but has been wasting no time, having already appeared at Lincoln Center! Her next show Cabaret Mixtape will play the Metropolitan room on April 13. Be there!
Our final guest singer of the evening was Jonathan Prager, who told us as soon as he hit the mic “You’ll all know this song”. He was right as could be, giving us a rendition of “Time After Time” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. Truly, I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs ever written and Jonathan made me remember that. His next show, My Damage is My Gift, will play in May and June. The title is definitely intriguing, so I think we all look forward to hearing more about it.
I had high hopes that Carly would give us a rock and roll anthem to end the evening and she did not disappoint, giving us the classic Queen anthem “We Are the Champions”, which prompted everybody to sing along (On and on and on and on!) It was the perfect closer for an evening that truly ROCKED!
Next week, the return of Mark Janas! Our special guest co-host will be JAYE MAYNARD! (She etceteretted this week and she’s co-hosting next! We just can’t get enough of this gal!) Jay returns to the Metropolitan Room on March 21 at 7pm with her new show “Bird Amongs the Blossoms. www.jayemaynard.com
Our Salon Spotlight will feature Dwight Thomas Vaughn! ScoBar Entertainment will present Dwight Thomas Vaughn & The Missouri Statesmen at the Iridium on April 2 at 8 and 10 PM
Our optional theme for Sunday, March 17 is “It’s Not Easy Being Green- Songs of Spring”. Come spend your St. Patrick’s Day evening at Salon! We can’t wait to see you there.
- Adam Shapiro
Blogette for The Salon
The crowds came out in droves this week, ready to rock out with our wonderful guest host Steven Ray Watkins (Mark Janas is gigging out of town as the ultimate rock stars are apt to do). And if there was one person who was going to keep the crowd roaring, it was our own Rockstar, fresh off her most recent show Shift Happens at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and winner of “Best New Cabaret Performer” in San Fransisco Carly Ozard! (Crowd Chanting: CARLY! CARLY! CARLY!) Carly has been called the “Freddie Mercury chick”, although she claimed last night to be the “Coming Down with a Cold Chick”, but that didn’t stop her from belting out the Freddy Mercury classic “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. It was the perfect start to the evening.
First up from the crowd was our own rock goddess Bobbie Horowitz, who claimed that her dream growing up in Brooklyn was to write a rock song. She proceeded to sing “Teenage Dreams”, (Horowitz/Spector), which would have been a killer 1950s rock ballad. Bobbie’s recent show Shows Ta Go Ya, the Songs of Bobbie Horowitz will be coming back, hopefully later this year (Dates TBA) and she will be putting together another one of her delightful Cabaret Matinees at the Unity Center sometime in April. Been to both and they are both delightful.
Ruth Carlin took the stage next and said that she had interpreted the theme a little differently, remembering doing most of her singing practice while she rocked her children to sleep. (AAAAAW!) She gave us the beautifully tender “I’ll Be Here With You” by David Friedman and you could just picture her with a child in her arms. It was lovely. Ruth will be launching her new CD at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on April 6th and 18th.
Next up, looking very rock glam in her leather skirt and boots (Joan Jett anybody?) was Natasha Castillo, fresh off her latest show Anything But Ordinary at the Duplex. I was there. She rocked! She sang an arrangement from her show, a medley of “Sing a Song” and “I Got the Music” with Mr. Watkins, who was her musical director for the show, chiming in for some harmonies. A great performance by both.
Our next singer was Sue Horowitz, who I am totally and completely jealous of because she was on last week’s episode of Project Runway and got to walk the catwalk in a gorgeous custom outfit designed just for her. Seriously, download the episode. Her walk was fabulous. Tonight, she sang her original song, “LUV: The Station of Love”, a country/rock song that I thought was some of her best writing work. Carly made a great observation: “We have two Horowitzes who write songs!” To our knowledge, Sue and Bobbie are not related, but they could be. You never know!
Bob Diamond gave us his usual fabulousness with “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby”. It is easy to see why he is a current MAC Award nominee for Male Vocalist. Bob’s next cabaret show Timeless with Donna Elliott and Marcia Roney will be playing The Duplex on April 3rd and 7th at 7PM and if Bob is involved, you know it’s going to be good. I can’t wait to see it!
Parker Scott, in his signature velvet shirt, took the mic next to sing the gorgeous “All The Things You Are”, which he claimed was probably a rock song in its day. Parker’s show No Expectations will have an encore performance on April 14 at 7:30pm in Penthouse 1 of Shetler Studios on 54 St. By the way, both Parker and Bob were accompanied by David Jarvis on piano who is always a delight to see and hear.
Up next was current MAC Award nominee for best Director, Gretchen Reinhagen, who told us she had spent a wonderful weekend with her longtime partner, making plans for their upcoming LEGAL wedding. (YAY!!!) She told us that, while cake tasting, the enormity of everything really hit her and she proceeded to sing “Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor, a gorgeous song that got this bloggette a little choked up. Gretchen has many gigs coming up, so stay tuned.
A newcomer to Salon, Eva Kantor graced us with “The Way I Am”, which is the title song of her upcoming debut solo show, directed by Eric Michael Gillett, and playing the Laurie Beechman on March 29, 30, and April 7, 14, and 21. Eva was a finalist in the 2012 Metrostar competition and if her performance tonight was any indication, you won’t want to miss her show!
Speaking of Eric Michael Gillett, he was next to take the stage and give us the fabulous Duke Ellington piece “Hit Me With a Hot Note”. Man, can that guy sing! In addition to Eva’s show, Eric is also directing The Amanda McBroom Project, which features a cast of 34 of the most talented women in theatre and cabaret. It will be playing the Laurie Beechman on March 15 and 16, so don’t miss it! He is also currently nominated for MAC Awards in both the Director and Major artist categories. (I don’t think he’s busy enough. Anyone have something for him to do?)
The lovely Catherine Overfelt came up next to give us “I Miss The Mountains” from Next to Normal, one of the most rocking shows to hit Broadway in years. She was fabulous and we hope to see more of her.
Raissa Katona Bennet in a FABULOUS sequined vest said she was brave enough to try a rock song that night and showed us her “Dark Side” (Busbee/ Geringas). Ooh Raissa! This is a side of you we haven’t seen…and I LOVE IT! Raissa is a current MAC Award nominee for Major Artist and will be appearing in The Amanda McBroom Project next weekend at the Laurie Beechman.
Next up was the beautiful 16 year old Ruby Rakos (See, when you’re that age, you can announce how old you are from the stage. Those were the days!). Ruby spent two years on Broadway in Billy Elliot. According to her, dancing on a raked stage is, in fact, not the best thing for your orthopedic health, but that didn’t stop her from wowing the crowd with the classic “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart”. That girl has a gorgeous future ahead of her. Keep an eye out.
Leanne Borghesi proceeded to show us how she rocked her way through auditions with the hilarious “As We Stumble Along” from The Drowsy Chaperone, encouraging the crowd to lift their glasses and join her in a toast and to always “keep your eyeball on the highball”. It was fabulous!
The next performer was Adam Shapiro. Oh wait, that’s me! We must be nearing the end of the first set! I sang “One More Minute” by Weird Al Yankovic, who is one of the most rocking people I know. I’ll mention, only because people are prodding me to, that I am also currently a MAC Award nominee for Musical Comedy Perfomer. Honestly, it’s a huge honor and I’m thankful.
After me, our first time etceterette (and next week’s co-host) Jaye Maynard sang “Figure Eight” from Schoolhouse Rock. (Get it, Schoolhouse ROCK! What a great way to interpret the theme). It was a gorgeous rendition and it’s easy to see why she was named pick of the week for the International Review of Music NY and LA. Go Jaye! We can’t wait to see you at the Metropolitan room on March 21 at 9:30 PM!
It was time for our Salon Spotlight, which this week was Broadwayworld Award winning songwriter Scott Evan Davis! (Seriously, could he be more handsome?) Just the night before, Scott celebrated the opening night of his show Picture Perfect, an original revue of Scott’s Music, directed by Lennie Watts with musical direction by David Snyder. Word of mouth is that the show is WONDERFUL. I think I detected a little bit of the post-show glow still emanating from Scott’s face. We were lucky enough to hear three of the songs from the show sung by Erik Sisco and Kim Grogg, two out of the five brilliant singers who make up the show’s cast. (Joshua Dixon, Vicky Modica, and Jamie Hartmann are the others). Erik took the stage first to sing “Just a Word”, a very funny song about a man in the doghouse, who just can’t say the one word that will make everything ok. (Hey, sorry IS the hardest word to say!). Kim ascended the stage and announced “If you’ve ever had a hot flash, this song might rock you.”, before pulling out a red fan and singing “You Make Me Crazy”, a song from a woman on the verge. Rounding out the set, Erik took the stage to sing Scott’s award winning song “If We Say Goodbye” a beautiful song about the possibility of changes in a relationship. The show has two more performances on March 17 and 24 at 7pm at the Duplex. After tonight, I think you should make your reservations as soon as you can. Those seats are NOT going to last long.
And with that, get your lighters ready. It was time for Steven’s Corner!
Considering that Steven Ray Watkins is a rockstar whatever he does, we were all excited to see what he would grace us with. He started his set with the Neil Sedaka hit “Stepping Out”, claiming he never expected to use the words Neil Sedaka and rockstar in the same sentence. He followed it with the beautiful “Voices Carry”, which was a breakthrough song for the group ‘Til Tuesday. It was a gorgeous performance. He closed his set with the reflective Phil Vassar song “Black and Whites”, which glorified the piano as a constant in an uncertain world with so many shades of grey. It was a perfect end to the first half of the evening.
Second Set!
Our rock goddess Carly Ozard took the stage again to kick off the second set with two signature Freddy Mercury pieces, the first being the classic “Somebody to Love”. No matter where you heard that song, be it on the radio, in a movie, or on an album, that song just never gets old and it always inspires you to sing along. (Which everybody did) The second piece was “Love of My Life”, a piece about love ending, which Mercury wrote about his longtime lover Mary Austin. It should be said, by the way, that Carly was singing her face off in spite of her self-professed cold and like a true pro, she said “When you’re sick…you have to do it anyway.” Brava Carly! Rock on!
I don’t have to tell you who took the stage next, but I will tell you because she is currently nominated for MAC awards as female vocalist, and producer of Salon. Give it up for Tanya Moberly!!!! (Crowd roars, screams, throws underwear, etc.) Tanya sang one of the most quintessential 80s rock songs (Ok, it was released in 1979, but still), Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”. The way she was singing it and the way Steven was playing it, it was really as if a whole band was playing. I was headbanging in my mind. Oh, and she is another performer appearing in The Amanda McBroom Project at the Laurie Beechman. Yet ANOTHER reason to go!
I hope nobody needed a drink at that moment, because the next performer was our own man of many talents, including waitering, David Ballard! David sang one of Billy Joel’s most iconic ballads “She’s Got a Way” and really made it something special. Not a surprise really, since David is currently the recipient of the Singer’s Forum Scholarship AND a 2nd year lyricist in the BMI program. The boy has some serious talent. You can see him next in Cookie’s Corner at the Laurie Beechman on March 24 at 3pm.
Dwight Thomas Vaughn came to the stage to give us an original song of his “First Pair of Shoes”. Gorgeous music and lyrics as well as a marvelous performance. Dwight’s last show Trail of Tears was nominated for a Broadwayworld Award and his next show, Dwight Thomas Vaughn and the Missouri Statesmen (Directed by Raissa Katona Bennett) will be performed at the Iridium on April 2nd at 8pm and 10pm. Not to be missed!
Following him was the adorable Robin Westle who claimed “I never wanted to be a rock star, but to be a MOVIE star!” and then proceeded to charm us with “Oh to be a Movie Star” from The Apple Tree. Such a sweet performance! Her next show No Regrets will be at the Laurie Beechman on June 12 and 21. Hopefully we will see more of her before then.
The fantastic Jim Speake took the stage next and sang “I’m a Brass Band” by Cy Coleman, who Jim claimed was a rockstar of a composer. I must say I agree. Jim is also a current MAC nominee in the musical comedy category. (And, for the record, I am honored to be in a category with him. He is truly awesome.)
After Jim was a newcomer to Salon: the beautiful Von Decarlo, who sang a heartbreaking rendition of “Who Knew” by Pink. It was a gorgeous performance that left everybody awestruck. She will be workshopping a one woman show Lasagna, directed by Lennie Watts and musical directed by Steven Ray Watkins, at the Duplex on March 17. We hope we will see her at Salon more often after tonight. She is something really special.
Next up, a performer from the west coast, Steven Slatten. Steven has done many successful shows in San Francisco, but we were happy to have him in New York tonight singing Stevie Wonder’s “Lately”. The man’s voice is SICK! (And if you know rock terminology, you know that I mean it was awesome.) Again, someone we hope to see more of.
Salon regular Joann Sicoli, clad in a great leopard print outfit, sang a marvelous rendition of “He’s Sure to be the Boy I Love”, made famous by Darlene Love and the Crystals. Afterwards, she was delighted to tell us (and we were delighted to hear) that the novel she has been working on has a publisher! YAY! She didn’t tell us more, but I’m sure as time goes on, we will hear more news. Soon, I hope!
Speaking of delight, the next performer was someone that everybody loves: the fabulous Barb Malley, who claimed she often looked to Gretchen Cryer for inspiration. Tonight she inspired us with “Strong Woman Number” from I’m Getting my Act Together and Taking it on the Road. She was wonderful as always. Barb’s next show Out of Order will open later this year and, if my guess is correct, will be a show not to be missed. Barb is awesome!
Another Salon favorite, Marya Zimmet, was up next and told us that, in preparing for tonight, Lennie Watts and Steven Ray Watkins had suggested she look at some Annie Lennox material. I am so glad they did, because her voice is perfect for Annie’s material. She graced us with Lennox’s song “Little Bird” and to say she did it justice would be an understatement. She is working on a show to be done later this year and I know we all look forward to hearing more about it in the future.
Ok, I try not to play favorites because I love everybody, but tonight I have to say that Amy Beth Williams did one of my favorite pieces of the evening. She sang the song “On My Way To You” by Michel Legrand and Marylin and Alan Bergman. She sang it so beautifully that it brought tears to my eyes. (My Aunt sang that song at my parents’ wedding, so it brought back gobs of memories). Amy Beth said she has gigs coming up TBA and, after tonight, I will be watching closely for information. BRAVA!
John Koprowski came up and said “Why not choose the best of the best?” For him and for many, that meant Bob Dylan. John sang the fabulous “All Along the Watchtower” and made the crowd fall in love. John has been doing a lot of work with The Singers Forum and will be appearing in their next open mic night.
Next up was another one of my favorite leggy ladies, Robin Kradles. Nobody knows how to get an audience on her side more than Robin does, let me tell you. Robin sang the Peggy Lee hit “I Love Being Here with You” and when she sang the lyric “I love to hear you say my name”, on cue the crowd called out ROBIN! So much fun! Robin will be appearing at Night of a Thousand Gowns on April 6 to benefit GMHC and GLADD. It promises to be a spectacular night for two spectacular causes.
Carly compared our next performer Sallie Jo Hadley to Disney’s Snow White. THANK YOU! I have been saying that since the first time I heard her sing and I love her for it! Tonight she sang the Petula Clark hit “Downtown”. Her charm is undeniable. I love listening to her and watching her on stage.
Our next performer is someone we all love dearly: Richard Eisenberg, who debuted a new song that he had written called “Choices”. A very thought provoking piece, it had the excellence we have come to expect from Mr. Eisenberg. Richie’s show Smile on my Face is currently nominated for a MAC award for Best Revue. I had the honor to be a part of that show along with Erin Cronican, Stacie Perlman, and Rob Langeder and, at the risk of being biased, I am so proud of our Richie. What a great, talented guy!
Next up, another representative of the west coast, Nick Bayne! (Look how those west coasters flock to see Carly! Get ready New York!) Nick gave us the Jason Robert Brown song “She Cries”, a very hard piece that he made look effortless. Way to go Nick!
Lyricist Tom Toce took the stage next to introduce singer Oakley Boycott and pianist Matthew Martin Ward. Oakley proceeded to sing the song “Bye Bye, Aloha, Yo!”, a song that Tom wrote the lyrics to and recently was featured in his show Hopelessly in Love, the lyrics of Tom Toce, and is NOW nominated for the MAC award for best Song- Special material. Oakley and Matthew hit the song out of the park and did justice to Tom’s superb lyrics.
The next performer was Karen Gross, who sang the Laura Branigan hit “Self Control”. Karen told us she is new in town from Philadelphia, but has been wasting no time, having already appeared at Lincoln Center! Her next show Cabaret Mixtape will play the Metropolitan room on April 13. Be there!
Our final guest singer of the evening was Jonathan Prager, who told us as soon as he hit the mic “You’ll all know this song”. He was right as could be, giving us a rendition of “Time After Time” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne. Truly, I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs ever written and Jonathan made me remember that. His next show, My Damage is My Gift, will play in May and June. The title is definitely intriguing, so I think we all look forward to hearing more about it.
I had high hopes that Carly would give us a rock and roll anthem to end the evening and she did not disappoint, giving us the classic Queen anthem “We Are the Champions”, which prompted everybody to sing along (On and on and on and on!) It was the perfect closer for an evening that truly ROCKED!
Next week, the return of Mark Janas! Our special guest co-host will be JAYE MAYNARD! (She etceteretted this week and she’s co-hosting next! We just can’t get enough of this gal!) Jay returns to the Metropolitan Room on March 21 at 7pm with her new show “Bird Amongs the Blossoms. www.jayemaynard.com
Our Salon Spotlight will feature Dwight Thomas Vaughn! ScoBar Entertainment will present Dwight Thomas Vaughn & The Missouri Statesmen at the Iridium on April 2 at 8 and 10 PM
Our optional theme for Sunday, March 17 is “It’s Not Easy Being Green- Songs of Spring”. Come spend your St. Patrick’s Day evening at Salon! We can’t wait to see you there.
- Adam Shapiro
Blogette for The Salon
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The Salon Wrap-Up for March 3, 2013 "The Folk Rock Movement -- A Celebration of the '60s & '70s!"
Hello, all! It is I, Guest Bloggette Candice Oden, stepping in for the amazing Erin Cronican this week. Apparently, she thinks that starring in a show and directing another one (simultaneously) is an excuse to miss a Salon. ;) We missed you, Erin!
Well, for anyone who missed the Salon this last Sunday, we had an awesome one. We had a small but powerful group, and this week's Salon-ers brought their best work with them, taking us on a trip down Memory Lane with each song.
Since Mark was off gigging out of town (see also "being a genius"), the wonderfully talented Jon Weber stepped in to be our Guest Host. And who was our Co-Host for the evening? The incomparable Lauren Fox! Lauren opened the evening with Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better," immediately showing off her effortless musicality (starting a cappella), and bringing us in with her warmth, setting the tone for a relaxed (and talent-filled) night.
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Ruth Carlin was up next, being our first Salon-er. She wanted to honor James Taylor -- who once performed right in front of her!!! -- singing "Fire And Rain." Her performance was so lovely, telling us the story, and really taking us on a journey. Check out her new album Moon Song. She'll be having her official CD launching show at The Laurie Beechman Theater on April 6th and 18th.
Natasha Castillo followed with Bobby Darin's classic "Simple Song of Freedom." She shared about Bobby Darin's and Tim Harden's fun song-swapping friendship (how one wrote a song and the other would make it famous) AND that just finished her very first cabaret show, Anything But Ordinary, at The Duplex! Congratulations, Natasha!
Zach Wobensmith graced us next with his talent, showing off not only his known musical cleverness (composing, arranging, etc.), but his incredible classical training that he has somehow hidden from all of us! Zach blew us away with a mash-up of a piece from Tchaikovsky's opera Queen Of Spades (yes, he sang in Russian) and the American pop song "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It was a seamless blend of the two pieces, and Zach's glorious pipes did not fail to impress. Great work, Zach. To get more of Wobensmith, catch him in the Joria Studios' upcoming Cranky Cabaret March 23rd-24th.
Up next was the beautiful and wonderfully-voiced Marissa Mulder with Tom Waits' "Ol' 55." Marissa has been busier than ever working on projects, giving radio interviews, and, oh yeah -- being nominated for a 2013 MAC Award for Female Vocalist! Her next show will be Tom ... In His Words (the songs of Tom Waits) at The Metropolitan Room March 27-30th. And who is her musical director? As she has called him, Jon Genius Weber.
Nicholas Levin came up next and, while he did not grace us with one of his fantastic original works, he still made us very happy coming to the piano with "Slice" by John Ondrasik (A.K.A. Five For Fighting) and Greg Wattenberg. In case you haven't had the pleasure of seeing/hearing Nick's work and you want an idea of how talented he is, this guy has been nominated for SIX (you heard me) MAC Awards. Keep up the great work, Nick!
NY cabaret veteran Stephanie Zagoren was now up to the plate with Paul Simon's "Feelin' Groovy," followed by upcoming Salon Co-Host Carly Ozard. Carly was crazy-awesome this week, wowing us with her powerful voice without sacrificing softness and sentiment in her arrangement of "Always On My Mind." We are all so excited to be having Ms. Ozard co-host our next Salon! Before making her way to NYC, Carly was awarded Best New Cabaret Performer in San Francisco -- so I highly recommend that you come see what all the fuss is about. :)
Next came our talented and adored Richard Eisenberg with his original "Now That I Know." Always effortlessly combining sentiment and clever comedy, Richie is such a joy to have every Sunday. He earned himself a well-deserved 2013 MAC Award Nomination for Best Revue with his show Smile On My Face: The Songs of Richard Eisenberg. Congratulations, Rich!
It was now time for the always lovely Marya Zimmet. The talented jazz singer gave us Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" AND news that she is working on a new show! It is still in the conceptual stage, but she gave us a hint: "archetypes" and "goddesses" are swimming around in her creative brain. We can't wait, Marya!
Coming close to the end of the first set, David Ballard (our gorgeously talented singing server) came up with "Happy Together" with Tanya Moberly singing back-ups! David is now in his second year at BMI, and Eric Michael Gillett just accepted him into the Singers Forum AEA EMC Scholarship! Woohoo! Keep it up, David!
And wrapping up the open mic portion for the first half was the endlessly talented Adam Shapiro. As always, Adam put 180% of himself into his work, and moved us all with "Candle On The Water" by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn (from Pete's Dragon). Adam never ceases to amaze us with his beautiful talent, which is probably why he was nominated for a 2013 Mac Award for Best Musical Comedy Performer for his show Guide to the Perfect Breakup: Adam Shapiro Twists the Classics!!!!! Congrats, Adam!!! Adam also shared that he has started a new business to help his fellow artists by producing promo videos for their shows!
And now ... drum roll, please ... it's time for ... Jon's Corner!
Well, well, well ... I have to admit I was new to this Jon Weber fellow. And holy cow, was I (and everyone else in the room -- familiar with him or not) blown away by this man who is dripping with talent. The amazing Jon Weber started his segment with The Beatles' "Carry That Weight, and gave us a real show. Did he let the fact that he "only" had a piano to accompany his vocals limit his performance? No, sir. He performed the song as a full band adding claps, slaps, and vocal guitar solos. And did he do this only for his first song? Of course not. ;) He then gave us an amazing rendition of Louie Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," one of my personal favorite songs, and filled us in that he'd had a bit of experience playing the song before ... for about 80,000 people ... no big deal. ;) His third and final song was another Beatles' gem, "I've Just Seen A Face," with some impromptu back-up vocals by Marya and Tanya. A wonderful set, Jon! I personally can't wait to see more of you.
Second Set!
Our beautiful Co-Host started our second half singing Neil Young's "Birds" SO beautifully, followed by Carole King's "Way Over Yonder," showing us that her voice was simply made for this stuff. To hear what I mean, you have two different opportunities to get how wonderful Lauren Fox is. The first is March 26th, which is the Live CD Release for Love, Lust, Fear & Freedom: The Songs of Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen. The second is April 17th, her show with Jon Weber, Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills & Under the Covers. Both of these will be held at The Metropolitan Room. Lauren ended her set with the closer from Canyon Folkies, Jackson Brown's "Before the Deluge," with some absolutely gorgeous back-up vocals by Jon and Marissa Mulder. Lauren Fox is something to behold, and I cannot wait to watch her success blow up.
It was now time for our amazing Tanya Moberly, producer/singer/anything else she darn well puts her mind to. ;) This Salon, she showed off some of her more earthy notes with "Our Love Is Real" by Carole King. I'm amazed that she has had time to breathe, let alone produce the Salon, lately, as she has been strutting her talent all over the place having done the Bistro Awards the day after the Salon, performing in the Cabaret Hotline Gala this Wed, March 6th at The Laurie Beechman, AND she will be performing in The Amanda McBroom Project this Sat, March 9th, and the next, March 16th. Oh -- did I mention that her most recent show at Don't Tell Mama, Tanya Lorraine Moberly Sings Barbra Joan Streisand, got her nominated for the 2013 MAC Award for Best Female Vocalist??? Yep -- that's our girl! This woman is truly unstoppable. (A little Tanya Moberly on-theme trivia: She and James Taylor share the same birthday!)
Elaine St. George was up next with another Carole King song, and gave us a really nice, original arrangement of "Natural Woman," with minimal accompaniment, telling the story in her own voice (and more effectively, in my opinion, than the usual wailing renditions that are done so often). So lovely, Elaine. Elaine has two pieces of good news -- her Joni Mitchell show, Take Me As I Am, is getting another performance on April 27th, and said show has earned her the 2013 MAC Hanson Award! Congratulations, Elaine -- well deserved.
Parker Scott followed with a great arrangement of "My Funny Valentine" thanks to the combined talents of him and our Guest Host. Parker has earned himself a Bistro Award, and he just sang backup at the Awards on Monday night. Parker's show with Wells Hanley and Rubin Kodheli, No Expectations, is being reprised in April. We can't wait to hear more, Parker!
Bill Zefiro brought Marissa Mulder back up with him to perform a song that Marissa actually commissioned: a song about the "joys" of dating in Manhattan. The song is called "My Kind Of Guy," and is as hilarious as Bill's work gets. Bill has been busier than busy, playing and earning things like 2013 MAC Award Nominations. Hey -- it's just what he does!
Jonathan Prager sang the great "When We Only Have Love" by Jaques Brel before Lauren Fox came back to wrap up the night, charming us with Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock."
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Lauren Fox and Jon Weber for such a great evening!
Next week's Guest Host will be the multiple MAC and Bistro Award-winner Steven Ray Watkins! Steven is nominated for yet another MAC Award for Musical Director this year. His 2012 shows include Lennie Watts, Amy Wolk, Jim Speake, Carly Ozard, our very own Tanya Moberly, and many others. And as mentioned earlier, our Co-Host will be Carly Ozard! Carly is appearing in Stu Hamstra's Cabaret Hotline March Is Cabaret Month Gala on Wed, March 6th. We have a Salon Spotlight this coming Sunday, as well, featuring the very talented, Broadway World Award-winner, songwriter Scott Evan Davis! His musical revue, Picture Perfect, will be at The Duplex on March 9th, 17th, and 24th.
Our optional theme for Sunday, March 10th, is "Songs That Rock You!" We hope to see you there!
- Candice Oden
Blogette for The Salon
Need anything? Please email me.
Well, for anyone who missed the Salon this last Sunday, we had an awesome one. We had a small but powerful group, and this week's Salon-ers brought their best work with them, taking us on a trip down Memory Lane with each song.
Since Mark was off gigging out of town (see also "being a genius"), the wonderfully talented Jon Weber stepped in to be our Guest Host. And who was our Co-Host for the evening? The incomparable Lauren Fox! Lauren opened the evening with Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better," immediately showing off her effortless musicality (starting a cappella), and bringing us in with her warmth, setting the tone for a relaxed (and talent-filled) night.
.jpg)
Ruth Carlin was up next, being our first Salon-er. She wanted to honor James Taylor -- who once performed right in front of her!!! -- singing "Fire And Rain." Her performance was so lovely, telling us the story, and really taking us on a journey. Check out her new album Moon Song. She'll be having her official CD launching show at The Laurie Beechman Theater on April 6th and 18th.
Natasha Castillo followed with Bobby Darin's classic "Simple Song of Freedom." She shared about Bobby Darin's and Tim Harden's fun song-swapping friendship (how one wrote a song and the other would make it famous) AND that just finished her very first cabaret show, Anything But Ordinary, at The Duplex! Congratulations, Natasha!
Zach Wobensmith graced us next with his talent, showing off not only his known musical cleverness (composing, arranging, etc.), but his incredible classical training that he has somehow hidden from all of us! Zach blew us away with a mash-up of a piece from Tchaikovsky's opera Queen Of Spades (yes, he sang in Russian) and the American pop song "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It was a seamless blend of the two pieces, and Zach's glorious pipes did not fail to impress. Great work, Zach. To get more of Wobensmith, catch him in the Joria Studios' upcoming Cranky Cabaret March 23rd-24th.
Up next was the beautiful and wonderfully-voiced Marissa Mulder with Tom Waits' "Ol' 55." Marissa has been busier than ever working on projects, giving radio interviews, and, oh yeah -- being nominated for a 2013 MAC Award for Female Vocalist! Her next show will be Tom ... In His Words (the songs of Tom Waits) at The Metropolitan Room March 27-30th. And who is her musical director? As she has called him, Jon Genius Weber.
Nicholas Levin came up next and, while he did not grace us with one of his fantastic original works, he still made us very happy coming to the piano with "Slice" by John Ondrasik (A.K.A. Five For Fighting) and Greg Wattenberg. In case you haven't had the pleasure of seeing/hearing Nick's work and you want an idea of how talented he is, this guy has been nominated for SIX (you heard me) MAC Awards. Keep up the great work, Nick!
NY cabaret veteran Stephanie Zagoren was now up to the plate with Paul Simon's "Feelin' Groovy," followed by upcoming Salon Co-Host Carly Ozard. Carly was crazy-awesome this week, wowing us with her powerful voice without sacrificing softness and sentiment in her arrangement of "Always On My Mind." We are all so excited to be having Ms. Ozard co-host our next Salon! Before making her way to NYC, Carly was awarded Best New Cabaret Performer in San Francisco -- so I highly recommend that you come see what all the fuss is about. :)
Next came our talented and adored Richard Eisenberg with his original "Now That I Know." Always effortlessly combining sentiment and clever comedy, Richie is such a joy to have every Sunday. He earned himself a well-deserved 2013 MAC Award Nomination for Best Revue with his show Smile On My Face: The Songs of Richard Eisenberg. Congratulations, Rich!
It was now time for the always lovely Marya Zimmet. The talented jazz singer gave us Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" AND news that she is working on a new show! It is still in the conceptual stage, but she gave us a hint: "archetypes" and "goddesses" are swimming around in her creative brain. We can't wait, Marya!
Coming close to the end of the first set, David Ballard (our gorgeously talented singing server) came up with "Happy Together" with Tanya Moberly singing back-ups! David is now in his second year at BMI, and Eric Michael Gillett just accepted him into the Singers Forum AEA EMC Scholarship! Woohoo! Keep it up, David!
And wrapping up the open mic portion for the first half was the endlessly talented Adam Shapiro. As always, Adam put 180% of himself into his work, and moved us all with "Candle On The Water" by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn (from Pete's Dragon). Adam never ceases to amaze us with his beautiful talent, which is probably why he was nominated for a 2013 Mac Award for Best Musical Comedy Performer for his show Guide to the Perfect Breakup: Adam Shapiro Twists the Classics!!!!! Congrats, Adam!!! Adam also shared that he has started a new business to help his fellow artists by producing promo videos for their shows!
And now ... drum roll, please ... it's time for ... Jon's Corner!
Well, well, well ... I have to admit I was new to this Jon Weber fellow. And holy cow, was I (and everyone else in the room -- familiar with him or not) blown away by this man who is dripping with talent. The amazing Jon Weber started his segment with The Beatles' "Carry That Weight, and gave us a real show. Did he let the fact that he "only" had a piano to accompany his vocals limit his performance? No, sir. He performed the song as a full band adding claps, slaps, and vocal guitar solos. And did he do this only for his first song? Of course not. ;) He then gave us an amazing rendition of Louie Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," one of my personal favorite songs, and filled us in that he'd had a bit of experience playing the song before ... for about 80,000 people ... no big deal. ;) His third and final song was another Beatles' gem, "I've Just Seen A Face," with some impromptu back-up vocals by Marya and Tanya. A wonderful set, Jon! I personally can't wait to see more of you.
Second Set!
Our beautiful Co-Host started our second half singing Neil Young's "Birds" SO beautifully, followed by Carole King's "Way Over Yonder," showing us that her voice was simply made for this stuff. To hear what I mean, you have two different opportunities to get how wonderful Lauren Fox is. The first is March 26th, which is the Live CD Release for Love, Lust, Fear & Freedom: The Songs of Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen. The second is April 17th, her show with Jon Weber, Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills & Under the Covers. Both of these will be held at The Metropolitan Room. Lauren ended her set with the closer from Canyon Folkies, Jackson Brown's "Before the Deluge," with some absolutely gorgeous back-up vocals by Jon and Marissa Mulder. Lauren Fox is something to behold, and I cannot wait to watch her success blow up.
It was now time for our amazing Tanya Moberly, producer/singer/anything else she darn well puts her mind to. ;) This Salon, she showed off some of her more earthy notes with "Our Love Is Real" by Carole King. I'm amazed that she has had time to breathe, let alone produce the Salon, lately, as she has been strutting her talent all over the place having done the Bistro Awards the day after the Salon, performing in the Cabaret Hotline Gala this Wed, March 6th at The Laurie Beechman, AND she will be performing in The Amanda McBroom Project this Sat, March 9th, and the next, March 16th. Oh -- did I mention that her most recent show at Don't Tell Mama, Tanya Lorraine Moberly Sings Barbra Joan Streisand, got her nominated for the 2013 MAC Award for Best Female Vocalist??? Yep -- that's our girl! This woman is truly unstoppable. (A little Tanya Moberly on-theme trivia: She and James Taylor share the same birthday!)
Elaine St. George was up next with another Carole King song, and gave us a really nice, original arrangement of "Natural Woman," with minimal accompaniment, telling the story in her own voice (and more effectively, in my opinion, than the usual wailing renditions that are done so often). So lovely, Elaine. Elaine has two pieces of good news -- her Joni Mitchell show, Take Me As I Am, is getting another performance on April 27th, and said show has earned her the 2013 MAC Hanson Award! Congratulations, Elaine -- well deserved.
Parker Scott followed with a great arrangement of "My Funny Valentine" thanks to the combined talents of him and our Guest Host. Parker has earned himself a Bistro Award, and he just sang backup at the Awards on Monday night. Parker's show with Wells Hanley and Rubin Kodheli, No Expectations, is being reprised in April. We can't wait to hear more, Parker!
Bill Zefiro brought Marissa Mulder back up with him to perform a song that Marissa actually commissioned: a song about the "joys" of dating in Manhattan. The song is called "My Kind Of Guy," and is as hilarious as Bill's work gets. Bill has been busier than busy, playing and earning things like 2013 MAC Award Nominations. Hey -- it's just what he does!
Jonathan Prager sang the great "When We Only Have Love" by Jaques Brel before Lauren Fox came back to wrap up the night, charming us with Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock."
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Lauren Fox and Jon Weber for such a great evening!
Next week's Guest Host will be the multiple MAC and Bistro Award-winner Steven Ray Watkins! Steven is nominated for yet another MAC Award for Musical Director this year. His 2012 shows include Lennie Watts, Amy Wolk, Jim Speake, Carly Ozard, our very own Tanya Moberly, and many others. And as mentioned earlier, our Co-Host will be Carly Ozard! Carly is appearing in Stu Hamstra's Cabaret Hotline March Is Cabaret Month Gala on Wed, March 6th. We have a Salon Spotlight this coming Sunday, as well, featuring the very talented, Broadway World Award-winner, songwriter Scott Evan Davis! His musical revue, Picture Perfect, will be at The Duplex on March 9th, 17th, and 24th.
Our optional theme for Sunday, March 10th, is "Songs That Rock You!" We hope to see you there!
- Candice Oden
Blogette for The Salon
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