G r o o v e L i l y E – N e w s # 5 0
November 2007
A Mostly Monthly E-Newsletter by and about GrooveLily
Valerie Vigoda: vocals/violin
Brendan Milburn: keys/vocals
Gene Lewin: drums/vocals
“Striking 12″ season is upon us…we just returned from our kickoff weekend in Tacoma, WA, where we had a fantastic 5 shows at the beautiful Broadway Center for the Performing Arts – and are delighted to learn that we get to return to the area again this season. JUST ADDED: “Striking 12″ in concert in Seattle, December 14-15! We look forward to seeing some of our new Washington State friends again next month. Details below, along with interesting YouTube discoveries, “Midsummer” concert photos, NJ “Striking 12″ audition opportunities and more.
1. “Striking 12″ In Seattle: Capitol Hill Arts Center Dec. 14-15
2. “Striking 12″ Complete Tour List, Including New Year’s Eve NYC
3. “Screwed-Up People” T-Shirts Going Fast
4. Fun YouTube Discovery #1: “No Room In Your Bag” A Cappella
5. Fun YouTube Discovery #2: “Phantom Lover” Video
6. “Midsummer” Concert Photos from BroadwayWorld, And Thanks
7. Want To Be In “Striking 12″ In NJ? Edison Playhouse Auditions
8. Department Of Gratitude: Calzone
9. We Recommend: “Crossing Brooklyn” (Music By GL Alum Jenny Giering)
10. Upcoming GrooveLily Shows: There Will Be More In 2008!
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1. “Striking 12″ In Seattle: Capitol Hill Arts Center Dec. 14-15
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We had such a great time in the Pacific Northwest, we can’t wait to return for three shows in December!
Friday & Saturday, December 14 & 15, 2007
“STRIKING 12″ in concert, featuring GrooveLily
Capitol Hill Arts Center
1621 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA
Friday 8:30 PM
Saturday 6:00 & 8:30 PM
www.capitolhillarts.com
206.388.0569
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2. “Striking 12″ Complete Tour List, Including New Year’s Eve NYC
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The show is (once again) slightly different from last year…this season’s concert version includes a new sung overture, and a few other small tweaks.
Our tradition of doing “Striking 12″ on New Year’s Eve continues – this December 31 you can find us at the intimate Zipper Factory in Manhattan, with an early 8 PM show, followed by optional dinner and drinks with us at the fabulous adjoining Zipper Tavern.
Nov 10 Reading, PA
Nov 16-17 St. Louis, MO
Nov 26 Searcy, AR (this one is a GL concert, NOT Striking 12)
Nov 27-29 College Station, TX
Dec 1 Huntingdon, PA
Dec 7 Burlington, VT
Dec 8 Portsmouth, NH
Dec 14-15 Seattle, WA
Dec 27-29 & 31 New York, NY
Tickets are on sale now, and all details are available at www.GrooveLily.com/index2.html
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3. “Screwed-Up People” T-Shirts Going Fast
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Our wonderful Petal Pusher shipping department (Meg and Jim in Silver Spring, MD) is working overtime to fulfill the orders! These T-shirts with our surprise-hit “Striking 12″ motto – “Screwed-Up People Make Great Art” – make great gifts and they are flying off the shelves. Here’s the link to get yours:
www.GrooveLily.com/merchandise
(scroll down to find the shirts)
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4. Fun YouTube Discovery #1: “No Room In Your Bag” A Cappella
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We don’t know this group, but are very glad to see and hear a lovely a cappella arrangement of our song “No Room In Your Bag”! (You’ll notice the lead singer forgets the second verse just like Brendan often does.)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xa
Thanks to Amy Malkoff and Maureen McEachen for sending us this link.
To hear our version of “Bag” (it’s the song about Brendan’s mom, from our “Are We There Yet?” CD), go here:
http://www.myspace.com/groovel
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5. Fun YouTube Discovery #2: “Phantom Lover” Video
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We were surprised and highly amused to discover this wacky video of one of our very oldest songs, “Phantom Lover,” with fascinating ghostly visuals.
http://youtube.com/watch?v
Thanks to Adam Wolf for the heads-up!
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6. “Midsummer” Concert Photos from BroadwayWorld, And Thanks
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We had a great time at our October 14 “Midsummer” CD celebration concert in NYC. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us, and especially our brilliant guest musicians, Andy Parsons on sax and Jesse Nager on vocals. Andy’s wild soloing on “While You Were Sleeping” and Jesse’s glorious singing on “All Shall Be Well” truly brought the house down.
To see a few pix from the show (courtesy of Genevieve Rafter Keddy at BroadwayWorld), go here:
http://www.broadwayworld.com
And here are some photos from PP Adam Wolf:
http://www.flickr.com/photos
To listen to some CD tracks and get your own copy of the disc, “A Little Midsummer Night’s Music,” go here:
http://www.psclassics.com/cd
[Midsummer Night's Dream] is built around the jazz-rock band GrooveLily, and their luscious stylings recall a smooth but hard-driving blend of Roxy Music and Herbie Hancock, quite suitably ornate and theatrical.
– Jonathon Warman, The New York Blade
Much of the familiar dialogue, conveniently written in rhyming couplets, is scored and sung with contemporary GrooveLily melodies so well suited to the words that it’s hard to believe they were written centuries apart.
– William Westhoven, The Daily Record
This Dream is not only embraced by an original score and songs by GrooveLily, a New York-based trio, but is set in motion by them…Their music, sensual, glib, romantic and raucous, delights throughout with its varied and eclectic musical vocabulary traversing rock, blues, Broadway, folk and jazz, even a passing nod to Kurt Weill, but mostly defined by its originality and independence.
– Simon Saltzman, CurtainUp
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7. Want To Be In “Striking 12″ In NJ? Edison Playhouse Auditions
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Among the licensed productions (meaning productions we are not in) of “Striking 12″ this year are shows in: Philadelphia, PA; Cincinnati, OH; Tampa, FL; Seoul, Korea…and now there’s one very close to home, at a lovely small theater in Edison, NJ. If you’ve always wanted to be in the show, now could be your chance!
Edison Valley Playhouse will hold additional auditions for the new musical “Striking 12″. This small cast one-act takes a new look at the end of the year doldrums and how one man meets midnight with the help of others. Not only do the actors sing some great new music, but the band has a big part in telling the story through dialog and song. Looking for men and women in good voice and able to play multiple characters. Also looking for a young girl for the part of the Little Match Girl. The director is Bill Seesselberg.
Also looking for musical director who can not only lead performers but can perform as well. Musicians needed include a drummer who can sing, keyboard, guitar, bass, violin and cello.
Auditions will be held November 3 & 4 from 2-4 PM at the playhouse, 2196 Oak Tree Road, Edison. Performances begin December 14 and will close on New Year’s Eve. For more info contact bill@evplayhouse.com.
Edison Valley Playhouse
2196 Oak Tree Road
Edison, New Jersey 08820
(908) 755-4654
http://evplayhouse.com/
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8. Department Of Gratitude: Calzone
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You may have noticed that Brendan has lately (since the premiere of “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” this past spring) been sporting a gorgeous new red Nord Stage keyboard. It sounds lush and warm and huge, with those fantastic Hammond organ tones that are such a big part of the GrooveLily sound…and thanks to Linda Tilson at Calzone Cases, he is now flying around with the Nord to every gig. Linda previously won our hearts by designing Val’s blue flight cases, in a down-to-the-wire rush job involving driving the cases personally to the Metro North station the day before a flight…and she’s come through again. On our trip to Tacoma last weekend, the stencil read “GROOVELLY” but the case couldn’t have been sturdier…and now we’ve changed the name of the band and we’re good to go.
I mean, they fixed the typo.
Thanks so much to Linda and Calzone for helping to make us flight-worthy, portable and able to sound great on the road!
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9. We Recommend: “Crossing Brooklyn” (Music By GL Alum Jenny Giering)
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Our dear friend Jenny Giering (who sang with us in the early days of the band, went to grad school with Brendan, and released her gorgeous “Look For Me” CD last year with production by Brendan and participation by all the members of GL) has a new show Off-Broadway! She wrote the music, and Laura Harrington wrote book and lyrics. “Crossing Brooklyn” is genuinely heartfelt, moving and at times laugh-out-loud funny; it runs through November 18 at the Connelly Theatre, 220 East 4th St (between Avenues A and B), New York, NY. For tickets, go to: www.transportgroup.org
To check out Jenny’s “Look For Me” CD online, go to:
http://www.jennygiering.com
“Giering’s elusive yet somehow accessible melodies captivate” — TheaterMania
http://www.theatermania.com
“Jenny Giering…finds the right type of music to let characters sing, without resorting to melodrama or mush” – EdgeNewYork
http://www.edgenewyork.com
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10. Upcoming GrooveLily Shows: There Will Be More In 2008!
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Don’t worry, the lack of shows listed for next year does NOT mean the band is breaking up. Far from it – we have so much going on next year (writing deadlines, workshops, readings, potential productions) that we simply haven’t given our booking agents at SMG a chance to book any gigs yet. We will keep you posted as it all falls into line…after this “Striking 12″ season ends on New Year’s Eve, look for our brand new revamped website and lots of exciting news in 2008.
The full list of shows is constantly updated, and all details are available as we receive them, at