Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Update from Producer, Tanya Moberly - December 9, 2014

SALON – that unique, MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING, Weekly Open Mic Event, created and hosted by Mark Janas will return to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036
on Sunday, December 14th from 7-10:30PM. (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

The optional theme for the evening is “To Wit – Songs That Are Clever.”

Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.

Our Co-Host will be Multiple MAC & Bistro Award Winner Jeff Harnar! Jeff has performed all over the country and on television, as well as in 21 of The Cabaret Conventions. He recently finished a critically acclaimed run of OUR TIME – SULLIVAN & HARNAR SING SONDHEIM at The Laurie Beechman Theater and his solo recordings “The 1959 Broadway Songbook," "Because of You: Fifties Gold," "Sammy Cahn All the Way" and "Dancing in The Dark" are available on P.S. Classics. For more information: www.jeffharnar.com

Salon continues every Sunday (except December 21st & December 28th)…

December 21st – NO SALON

December 28th – NO SALON


January 4th
Theme: Living In The Moment
Co-Host: Champagne Pam

January 11th
Theme: Life Inside & Out
Co-Host: Richard Skipper
Salon Spotlight: BROADSWAY

January 18th
Theme: Just Go To The Movies
Co-Hosts: Raisssa Katona Bennett & Kenneth Gartman

January 25th
Theme: Optimism vs Pessimism
Co-Host: Kristoffer Lowe


SALON IS NOW OFFERING A VIDEO SERVICE

Stephen Bustmante is our new in-house videographer offering professional, website & YouTube ready video clips for anyone who is interested. The cost is $20 in cash per song – payable in advance at sign-up. If you wish to participate, just let one of The Etceterettes know. This service is completely optional.

Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. There is a $10 cash cover collected at the door and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For more information about Etcetera, Etcetera's delicious menu: www.etcetcnyc.com. A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening begins at 7:00, has a 15-minute break at 8:30 and ends promptly at 10:30. If you would like to sign up to perform, see one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether or not Mark will be playing for you and any upcoming events you'd like to promote. We do not present performers in order of sign-up, however, indicating requests as clearly and as early as possible as far as time restraints are concerned always makes everything much more possible. ALWAYS BRING SEVERAL SONG SELECTIONS to avoid duplication. All types of material, on or off theme are always welcome at Salon. We enthusiastically welcome instrumentalists, poets, playwrights, essayists, comics, illusionists and performance artists. Please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length (including introductions). Please also bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. Please turn off all noise making devices and give performers your undivided attention.

Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!

Thank you to our sponsor Dr. Garrett Bennett!

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, December 14th!


Thanks,
Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer

Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Salon Wrap-Up for December 7, 2014 - "What The Hell"

December 7, 2014
Theme: “What The Hell”

I have to say, it’s so wonderful to walk into Etc Etc restaurant each week to take in a full evening of entertainment by some of the top performers in all of cabaret. I count myself very, very lucky and I think I can speak for our guests tonight by saying this is a valued artistic institution!

Our Co-Hosts tonight were 2-Time MAC Award Winner Marissa Mulder & 5-Time MAC Award Winner Bill Zeffiro! Marissa just appeared in LIVING STANDARDS at Urban Stages on December 5. Bill will be at La Mediterranee – 947 Second Avenue (at 50th St) – every Tuesday from 9-11pm until the end of time. For more information: www.marissamulder.com / www.billzeffiro.com / www.lamediterraneeny.com

Marissa and Bill opened the show with one of the most charming duets on the cabaret circuit (written by Bill himself): “What The Hell (It’s Christmas).” For their mid-show set, Marissa gave us a luscious “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”, followed by a simple, contemplative, “The Very Thought Of You.” For their final set of the evening, Bill first sang his iconic tune, “New York Song,” then he and Marissa closed out the night with a charming and playful, “Me and My Shadow.”

Co-Host Marissa Mulder
Co-Host Bill Zeffiro
Our Salon Spotlight featured BROADWAY FOUR - Michael Osso, Thomas Dieter, Tom Guthrie & Dana Steer (with music director James Horan!) BROADWAY FOUR will be appearing at Stage 72 – 158 West 72nd St, NYC – on December 17th at 9:30pm.

They did 3 beautiful arrangements of pop songs with a Broadway flair (they even got a little bit of Broadway into the mix!) Their set included:

1) Beautiful (Carole King)
2) Grown Up Christmas / Somewhere
3) Josh Groban Medley

For more information about this great group, visit www.broadwayfour.com


Quick Wrap: Classical Corner

Mark started by opening up a thick book of music and got right into playing Bach’s “Partita I Praeludium” in B Flat. He said that initially he thought about doing the whole segment about Bach, but that wasn’t really a "what the hell" theme. He started thinking, “What the hell IS classical music?” which led him to a memory of when he was in school. He and his friends would find out how many random songs they could string together. 

Inspired by this memory, he invited up all of the pianists in the room (Bill, Matthew and James) to have a little pianist play-along. Mark first laid out the rules - Mark said he would choose classical pieces on the fly and connect them in strange ways (maybe throw in some pop music, maybe throw in a few jokes.) At any point, a pianist could cut in and take over the improvisation.

And...Dear Me! There were all kinds of things thrown, including “The Butterfly Etude”, “The Pink Panther Theme”, “And All That Jazz”, “Bewitched Bother & Bewildered”, and many others - culminating in an 8 HAND (4 pianist) version of “New York New York.” What a thrilling display of spontaneity and musicianship!


Roster of singers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click link to visit the performer’s website, when available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.

Bennett Silverstein
Lea McKenna-Garcia
Lisa Yaeger
Matthew Martin Ward (also on piano)
David Ballard
Broadway Four - Michael Osso, Thomas Dieter, Tom Guthrie & Dana Steer (with James Horan on piano)
Angela Leone
Zach Wobensmith (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Abbie Waxman

Special thanks to tonight’s pianists and musicians: Mark Janas, Bill Zeffiro, Matthew Martin Ward, and James Horan.

And thank you to Gill Alexandre on lights and sound, our videographer Steve Bustamante, and our amazing waitstaff (David Ballard and team!) who always handles the demands of a full house with aplomb!


Upcoming shows:

Ongoing: Matthew Martin Ward plays on Mondays at the West End Lounge, 955 West End Ave, NYC.

Ongoing: Bill Zeffiro plays every Tuesday from 9-11pm at La Mediterranee, 947 Second Avenue (at 50th St), NYC.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 (9:30pm) - David Ballard is appearing in a brand new show “True North” (directed by Tanya Moberly) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014 (7pm) - Adam Shapiro is appearing in “Nothing Normal” (directed by Peter Napolitano, with Erin Cronican on vocals) as a part of the Winter Rhythms Festival at Urban Stages, 259 W 30th St, NYC.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014 (9:30pm) - David Ballard is appearing in a brand new show “True North” (directed by Tanya Moberly) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.

Saturday, December 13, 2014 (3pm) - Adam Shapiro is producing and starring in “The Lovers, The Dreamers and Jim: The Music of Jim Henson,” with Special Guest Zach Wobensmith (and others), as a part of the Winter Rhythms Festival at Urban Stages, 259 W 30th St, NYC.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 (9:30pm) - BROADWAY FOUR - Michael Osso, Thomas Dieter, Tom Guthrie & Dana Steer with music director James Horan - will be appearing in their newest show at Stage 72, 158 West 72nd St, NYC.

Sunday, December 28, 2014 - Lisa Yaeger will be appearing in “An Evening with Judy Garland” at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.

Sunday, February 15, 2014 (5:30pm) - Bennett Silverstein is appearing in his Tony Bennett tribute show, “Bennett sings Bennett” at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.

Sunday, February 22, 2014 - Kathleen France and Dawn Derow are bringing back their show, “Revolution” to The Duplex, 61 Christopher Street, NYC.

Sunday, March 15, 2014 - Kathleen France and Dawn Derow are bringing back their show, “Revolution” to The Duplex, 61 Christopher Street, NYC.


Next Week’s Salon

Next week we’ll be back with the theme, “To Wit - Songs That Are Clever.” Your co-host will be Jeff Harnar. We’ll see you then!


Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
(Updates? Changes? Email me.)

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Update from Producer, Tanya Moberly - December 3, 2014

SALON – that unique, MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING, Weekly Open Mic Event, created and hosted by Mark Janas will return to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036
– on Sunday, December 7th from 7-10:30PM. (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

The optional theme for the evening is “What The Hell.”

Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.

Our Co-Hosts will be 2-Time MAC Award Winner Marissa Mulder & 5-Time MAC Award Winner Bill Zeffiro! Marissa will be appearing in LIVING STANDARDS at Urban Stages – 259 West 30th St, NYC 10001 – on December 5 that 7:00 and Bill will be at La Mediterranee – 947 Second Avenue (at 50th St), NYC 10022 – every Tuesday from 9-11pm until the end of time. For more information: www.marissamulder.com / www.billzeffiro.com / www.lamediterraneeny.com

Our Salon Spotlight will feature BROADWAY FOUR - Michael Osso, Thomas Dieter, Tom Guthrie & Dana Steer! BROADWAY FOUR will be appearing at Stage 72 – 158 West 72nd St, NYC 10023 – on December 17th at 9:30pm. For more information: www.broadwayfour.com

Salon continues every Sunday (except December 21st & December 28th)…

December 14th
Theme: To Wit – Songs That Are Clever
Co-Host: Jeff Harnar

December 21st – NO SALON

December 28th – NO SALON


January 4th
Theme: Living In The Moment
Co-Host: Champagne Pam

January 11th
Theme: Life Inside & Out
Co-Host: Richard Skipper
Salon Spotlight: BROADSWAY

January 18th
Theme: Just Go To The Movies
Co-Hosts: Raisssa Katona Bennett & Kenneth Gartman

January 25th
Theme: TBA
Co-Host: Kristoffer Lowe

SALON IS NOW OFFERING A VIDEO SERVICE
Stephen Bustmante is our new in-house videographer offering professional, website & YouTube ready video clips for anyone who is interested. The cost is $20 in cash per song – payable in advance at sign-up. If you wish to participate, just let one of The Etceterettes know. This service is completely optional.

Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. There is a $10 cash cover collected at the door and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For more information about Etcetera, Etcetera's delicious menu: www.etcetcnyc.com. A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening begins at 7:00, has a 15-minute break at 8:30 and ends promptly at 10:30. If you would like to sign up to perform, see one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether or not Mark will be playing for you and any upcoming events you'd like to promote. We do not present performers in order of sign-up, however, indicating requests as clearly and as early as possible as far as time restraints are concerned always makes everything much more possible. ALWAYS BRING SEVERAL SONG SELECTIONS to avoid duplication. All types of material, on or off theme are always welcome at Salon. We enthusiastically welcome instrumentalists, poets, playwrights, essayists, comics, illusionists and performance artists. Please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length (including introductions). Please also bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. Please turn off all noise making devices and give performers your undivided attention.

Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!

Thank you to our sponsor Dr. Garrett Bennett!

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, December 7th!


Thanks,
Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer