Suzanne Vega plays RCC Friday

 Suzanne Vega says her followers fall into several circles.

Many people only know her from the ’80s, from her songs “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner,” the song that begins: 
“I am sitting/
In the morning/
At the diner/
On the corner.”

Other people know her music a little deeper, songs like “The Queen and the Soldier” and “Gypsy.”

Then, says Vega: “There are people who know the whole back catalog, they know every single song, and they come to all the shows and they sing along. They’re also my friend on Facebook and they read all the tweets. That’s a more select circle.”

Members of all circles, whether “Luka” or “Gypsy” or full-fledged Vegan, will be able to catch Vega live on Friday, when ArtsRock brings her to Rockland Community College for an 8 p.m. concert.

“I’m a Facebook fan and I try to post something once or twice a day,” she says. “I tweet once every few days.”

“I really enjoy Facebook,” she says. “I read the posts and I’ve gotten to know new people and see where they’re from, and they come to my concerts. It’s a really cool medium.”

Might it someday find its way into a Suzanne Vega song?

“Oh, I hope not,” she says with an easy laugh. “Because then it’ll move on and I’ll have to sing about some new medium.”

She adds, however, that stringing together140-character tweets might make for an interesting song.

“If you write a bunch of them, then you’ve got a whole bunch of narrative verses. It could be perfect.”

An avid reader of biographies and classic literature, Vega lately has been reading the works of the recently deceased former Czech President Vaclav Havel, including “To the Castle and Back,” which includes memos from presidency and “Letters to Olga,” comprising rather formal letters Havel wrote to his wife from jail. The letters were written in a form of code and “take a little patience, but it’s fascinating.” As for what she’ll play on Friday — when she’ll be joined on stage by her musical director Jerry Leonard — Vega says it will be a mix of old and new, including songs from “Suzanne Vega: Close-Up Vol. 3 — States of Being,” the November release in a four-part retrospective of her catalog.


Also on that CD is a new song from Vega’s play “Carson McCullers Talks About Love,” which she wrote with Duncan Sheik. It ran at Rattlestick Theater in New York last May — with Vega playing McCullers, the writer who had a home in Nyack and is buried there — and will open in the fall in San Francisco, without her. Vega says she plans to bring it back to New York one day, adding that she learned much from the process.

“I learned it takes a while and that doing a musical is different from doing a regular play,” she says. “It was fascinating. I learned that learning the script is not the same as writing the script. I had to learn to run my lines just like any actor would have to.”

She also learned to curse the playwright at times.

“I did. I was like ‘Whose brilliant idea is this? Oh, mine,” she says with a laugh.

She doesn’t remember if she has played in Rockland before, but there’s an easy way to find out.

“I ask the audience,” she says. “And if I have, they’ll say ‘Yes!’ and they’ll know the date.”

Suzanne Vega in Concert
When: 8 p.m. Friday. 
Where: Rockland Community College, Cultural Arts Theater, 145 College Road, Ramapo. 
Tickets: $35-$45. 
Call: 866-811-4111 

Next at ArtsRock: Elliott Forrest hosts a wide-ranging discussion with WNYC radio personalities Brian Lehrer, Brooke Gladstone and John Hockenberry at Tappan Zee High School on March 31. They’ll talk about their lives in radio, journalism, politics, and the election. Part of the proceeds will benefit arts programs at Tappan Zee.

Bossy Frog Band Socko at Lafayette Theatre has them Dancing in the Aisles

BY GEORGE J. DACRE

I bravely took my seat in the second row at the fabulous Lafayette Theatre in Suffern last Thursday morning at 11 a.m., anxiously awaiting my milk and cookies and surrounded by hundreds of very excited kiddies, mommies and daddies, and grandmas and grandpas, as the BossyFrog Band came on stage and performed for 75 minutes.
 
Jeffrey Freidberg and band members Alice and Joe came out with their banjo, violin, guitar and gazoo, started strumming, and from there on out it was pure fun. Bossy Frog came dancing out and the audience went wild...along came Monkey and later Crabby Crab and the kids, from two or three years up, were dancing in the aisles, all around me. I almost got up to dance too!!!
 
Almost 600 were at the theatre for this amazing family performance by the band that performs about 250 shows a year in the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey area. Bossy Frog had the kids and parents and grandparents clapping their hands. Jeffrey, Alice and Joe led them in an exercise party number. Alice later on was to put on a hula hoop, swung it round and round as she played her violin. Then came the "Arms Up and Arms Down" song, the shouting song with Bossy Frog dancing and shouting, leading the audience.
 
There was an "Exercise the Brain" number about the library and later Freidberg brought out his flute and it was "Name That Tune" and the kids knew them all. There also was a tune about beach parties and "The Stop" song and "The Twist." Lots of energy and happiness filled the room and a good time was had by all.
 
And by the way, I got my milk and cookies on the way out as did all the kiddies and I was one of them for one bright 75 minutes at the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern.  Four Out Of Four Stars!!!!

Join Rockland’s Jeffrey Friedberg for a “ribbiting” performance as he leads The Bossy Frog Band at 11 a.m. Thursday. 

This ArtsRock extravaganza features a banjo, a hula-hooping fiddler and a big green frog. There will be dancing in the aisles and, of course, milk ’n’ cookies for the children. $12 advance, $15 day of show. 
Lafayette Theatre, 97 Lafayette Ave. 866-811-4111.

www.artsrock.org.

Suzanne Vega Performs at Rockland Community College 2/3/2012

Tuesday, December 6, 2011; Posted: 12:12 PM - by BWW News Desk 

ArtsRock presents this musical powerhouse who will perform on Friday, February 3, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. at Rockland Community College’s Cultural Arts Theatre in Suffern, NY. Widely recognized as one of the greatest singer/songwriters of her generation, Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. She will be accompanied on stage by guitarist Gerry Leonard.


Since her debut 25 years ago she has sold over 7 million albums and has been nominated for 7 Grammy awards. Her song “Luka” about child abuse was a surprise hit and won MTV’s Best Female Video. She was the first artist on the main stage at the very first Lilith Fair and her voice and song “Tom’s Diner” was used in the refinement of the MP3, earning her the nickname “The Mother of the MP3”.

The intimate evening will include everything from Vega classics such as “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” to her latest songs. Vega’s ability to tell a story through song shines through in her performances so get your tickets early for a memorable, musical event that makes a great early holiday gift.

Date: Friday, February 3, 2012

Time: 8:00 pm

Location: Rockland Community College, Cultural Arts Theatre, 145 College Road, Suffern, NY 10901

Price: $45 Premium Seating/$35 General Admission

The mission of ArtsRock is to provide increased access to professional arts and multi-cultural programs for an underserved, diverse audience, in and around Rockland County. ArtsRock is an affiliate of Friends of the Nyacks, Inc., a 501 (C)(3) New York Not-For-Profit Corporation. For Tickets: www.artsrock.org or call 866-811-4111.

Read more: http://centralnewyork.broadwayworld.com/article/Suzanne-Vega-Performs-at-Rockland-Community-College-232012-20111206#ixzz1fnGkB4Qf

ArtsRock Milk ‘n Cookies Presents The Annual Bossy Frog Band Holiday Show

Monday, December 5, 2011; Posted: 01:12 PM - by BWW News Desk 

Join Rockland’s own Jeffrey Friedberg as he leads The Bossy Frog Band for a fun filled morning on Thursday, December 29 at 11 a.m. at the Lafayette Theatre, 97 Lafayette Avenue in Suffern. This annual musical extravaganza features a banjo, a hula hooping fiddler and a big green frog and is sure to delight the entire family. And there will be ‘extra special surprises’, dancing in the aisles and of course, milk ‘n cookies for all the children!

For more information visit http://bossyfrog.com.

Date: Thursday, December 29, 2011

Time: 11:00 am
Location: The Lafayette Theater, 97 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern, NY

Price: Advance $12; Day of Show $15

The mission of ArtsRock is to provide increased access to professional arts and multi-cultural programs for an underserved, diverse audience, in and around Rockland County.

ArtsRock is an affiliate of Friends of the Nyacks, Inc., a 501 (C)(3) New York Not-For-Profit Corporation.

For Tickets: www.artsrock.org or call 866-811-4111.
For information: info@artsrock.org or call 845-418-ARTS

Read more: http://centralnewyork.broadwayworld.com/article/ArtsRock-Milk-n-Cookies-Presents-The-Annual-Bossy-Frog-Band-Holiday-Show-20111205#ixzz1fhETV0rY

NY Philharmonic Brass To Play Nyack Friday Night
The quintet contains Nyack-resident Joe Alessi, principal trombone player for the New York Philharmonic

By Adam Littman

About 13 years ago, Elliott Forrest was walking with his daughter in Nyack Middle School when something coming out of the cafeteria caught his ears. 

“We were right around the corner and coming from the cafeteria was the most beautiful trombone playing I had ever heard in my life,” said Forrest, director of ArtsRock. 

He walked over with his daughter to see what was going on, and once he turned the corner he saw Joe Alessi playing in the cafeteria for a group of third-grade students. Alessi, of Nyack, is the principal trombone player for the New York Philharmonic. 

“I turn the corner and there’s the first chair trombone player for the New York Philharmonic,” Forrest said. “So I think, ‘Well that’s why I’m hearing this beautiful trombone playing.’”

On Friday, Forrest and ArtsRock are hosting Alessi and the rest of the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet for their Holiday Concert at 7:30 p.m. at The First Reformed Church on South Broadway in Nyack. Along with Alessi, the quintet is made up of Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, Associate Principal Trumpet Matthew Muckey, Principal Horn Philip Myers and Principal Tuba Alan Baer. 

“These are arguably the best five brass players in the entire world, and they’ll be here in Nyack performing,” Forrest said. “This is what makes Nyack great. We have these outstanding artists coming here to play.”

Tickets are $30 the day of the show, and $20 for students. 

“They have a very popular holiday concert,” Forrest said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. They’re going to play a lot of holiday favorites.”

Ivers To Play Pearl River High School, Support Breast Cancer Research

Irish fiddle player Eileen Ivers and friends will host their Christmas show 3 p.m. Sunday.

By Adam Littman

Eileen Ivers didn’t live out her childhood fantasy. 

“My dream of dreams was to work for NASA,” she said. “I went to Iona and got a degree in mathematics.”

But she never made it to NASA. Instead, Iversbecame a world-renown musician, one who is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion that has played with acts like the London Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center. She’s played on soundtracks, with Hall & Oates and for presidents. And during that time, she found that playing music was really what she wanted to do with her life. 

“I never dreamt of a career playing music,” she said. “I’m really blessed to do something I love, and something that touches people.”

Ivers, of West Nyack, moved to Rockland from the Bronx and this Sunday at 3 p.m., she’s playing her first-ever show in Pearl River. The Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul Christmas Show will take place at Pearl River High School. The concert is sponsored by ArtsRock and Rockland County Legislator John Murphy and will raise money for the Brest Buddies Campaign Against Cancer. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at www.ArtsRock.org or 866-811-4111. 

“It’s not just Christmas songs or Irish songs,” Murphy said. “They’re of a world-class stature and can play music from all over the world.”

The Brest Buddies are a group of 12 women who for the past six years have raised money to participate in the New York City Avon Walk For Breast Cancer, a two-day event in nine locations around the country. To enter the walk, each walker has to raise money that goes to breast cancer research. Murphy said that in their six years, the Brest Buddies have raised over $100,000. 

Murphy is expecting more than 500 people Sunday and said he was excited Ivers agreed to perform. He said he’s known her from a while and thinks she’s the best Irish fiddler in the world. 

Ivers said she’s thrilled to be playing Pearl River, adding that the show centers around an Irish Christmas, featuring a five-piece band, two Irish step dancers and the Pearl River High School Glee Club. 

“When we travel with the show, we ask about local choirs that would be interested in the show because it’s nice to involve local communities as well,” Ivers said. 

She said during the show she’s going to speak about some Irish Christmas traditions, including St. Stephen’s Day, which is the day after Christmas. Ivers said growing up her father told her often about St. Stephen’s Day, on which the boys would leave early in the morning to go hunt for a wren, bring one back and dance and sing around. Ivers saidt hat a popular line boys sang was, “Give me a penny to bury the wren." 

“The show is very joyous in its nature. Both my parents are from Ireland, so a lot of Irish traditions myself and my sister grew up with are included in the show,” Ivers said. “We go through some traditions that audience might not be too aware of just to vary it up a little bit.”

The show is also sponsored by ArtsRock

“(ArtsRock is a) group of volunteers made up of people who live in the county who present these professional performing arts shows because we think we should,” according to Elliott Forrest, director of ArtsRock. 

Their season runs from October through May. Upcoming shows include the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet’s Holiday Concert this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at The First Reformed Church in Nyack, The Bossy Frog Band Annual Family Extravaganza Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. at the Lafayette Theater in Suffern and Suzanne Vega Feb. 3 at Rockland Community College. 

“We’re not done programming for the rest of the season,” Forrest said. “We have some surprises.”

Find your Christmas soul: Famed Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band, Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul, will do their Christmas Show on Dec. 4, with traditional Irish songs, tunes and holiday favorites. This program is presented by ArtsRock and is a benefit for Brest Buddies Campaign Against Cancer. For tickets, call 866-811-4111. Information: 845-418-2787. www.artsrock.org. $30. 3 p.m. Pearl River High School, 275 E. Central Ave., Pearl River. 845-620-3800.


For More Information: http://www.lohud.com/article/20111127/ENTERTAINMENT/111270314/Seven-things-do-week-Nov-27-Dec-3

The principal Bass of the New York Philharmonic holiday concert presented by ArtsRock will be Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Reformed Church in Nyack at 18 South Broadway. 
 
Eilen Ivers, her fiddle and the Immigrant Soul band, a Christmas show presented by ArtsRock at Pearl River High School Sunday, December 4 at 3 p.m. artsrock.org.

For More Information: http://www.rocklandcountytimes.com/?p=720