Are You Dave?

Two weeks after the Fuzzy Lemons performed at the Shipyard, I was back—this time with my cohorts in Music Together. Lisa Orinn, Catherine Moon and Anne Jacobs are each wonderful singers and entertainers (and Music Together teachers) in their own right, and when we all get together it can be magical.

Lisa and I have performed together at all sorts of Hoboken venues, with a whole batch of talented Music Together teachers. This particular line-up was a good one: Moon plays guitar and Anne plays mandolin, so in addition to four voices we were able to add lots of instrumentation.

And we had extra instruments standing by—when I broke a string on my guitar, I was able to borrow Catherine’s for a song, while her talented husband Josh quickly slipped a new string on mine. That was awesome. I love having guitar techs around. That’s my big dream for when the Fuzzy Lemons get big—someone to carry my gear and keep it in proper working order.

Dave, Anne, Lisa and Catherine. Photo courtesy of Marco Ambriz.

I think we performed very well. We’d put a lot of effort and intention into our rehearsals before the show, and we had great energy from the big crowd that gathered. Granted, it was laid-back, sunset picnic energy, but there was a lot of it.

Once again Scott Altizio did a great job getting us up and running. Granted, he had an easier time this week, with only four folk singers instead of six Fuzzy Lemons. And we still found ourselves wrestling for the monitors. But overall I think it was a fun night, people had a good time and of course Lisa got good exposure for Music Together. 

We’re getting another group of singers together at the end of September for the fall Arts and Music Festival. So far we haven’t finalized anything, but Music Together songs aren’t very complicated. As long as we can get a couple of rehearsals in, we’ll be fine!

Dave

Hoboken’s “Summer Enchanted Evenings” program brings great music to town all summer long. I’m scheduled to perform in a total of five shows for the town this summer!

Tuesday nights are Family Fun Nights at the Shipyard, the big complex of high-rise apartments on the northeast end of town. Shipyard Park is a little grassy quad overlooking the Hudson River, with a nice fountain in the middle and an open-air stage on the western end.  The Family Fun series has featured all kinds of acts, from Rebecca Frezza to Princes Katie & Racer Steve. Now we’re proud to say that the Fuzzy Lemons have joined those illustrious ranks.

This was our first gig with the town since the May Arts & Music Fest. Since then, Geri has hired a new sound guy, Scott Altizio, who also works at Water Music, Hoboken’s big-deal recording studio. He’s another young hipster, a worthy successor to Scott Wiener, who has since gone on to run a pizza-tour company.

There were the usual delays with set-up—it’s a rough job, unpacking and building a sound system, then setting up and sound-checking a six-piece band, all in about 90 minutes. Scott and his crew did a great job, considering that he was still familiarizing himself with the gear.

While the band waited we mingled with or crowd. The Shipyard shows are great because EVERYONE comes out, the whole quad from the fountain to the stage is covered with picnicking families. Kids are running and shrieking everywhere, with parents making half-hearted attempts to chase them between bites of Uptown Pizza. It’s festive.

I think the show itself went great. On stage we wrestled each other for more mix in the monitors, a common struggle, but as a band we’ve rehearsed often enough that we’re comfortable performing our material even when we’re not 100% happy with the gear. I think that’s a real sign of maturity. In fact I’ve never seen any evidence of “Spinal Tap”-style drama relating to equipment or scenery (but that may change this fall, as we’re starting to talk about getting a big backdrop to take around to shows).

People are starting to come up after shows and ask for CDs. Our home-recording project is in full swing but we have a long ways to go. Our goal is to have a CD ready for the big Tenafly gig in September (on the theory that we can ALWAYS sell CDs in Hoboken, but we may only get one shot to do so at the big JCC up the Hudson). Watch this space for details.

Meanwhile, I’ll be back at the Shipyard in 2 weeks with Music Together, see you then!
Dave