{"id":37191,"date":"2017-10-27T16:55:10","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T20:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=37191"},"modified":"2017-10-27T16:55:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T20:55:26","slug":"on-stage-annie-haslam-renassance-back-for-a-very-special-local-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=37191","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Annie Haslam, Renassance back for a very special local show"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Annie Haslam<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s always a special occasion when Annie Haslam performs in the area.<\/p>\n

In recent years, she has made fans\u2019 holiday seasons brighter with special holiday-themed shows.<\/p>\n

Now, she is returning for a very special show at the Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650,\u00a0www.keswicktheatre.com<\/a>) on October 27.<\/p>\n

Haslam, who was born in Bolton, Lancashire, first gained world-wide recognition when she was asked to become the lead singer of Renaissance, a band formed by Keith Relf after he left the Yardbirds.<\/p>\n

While still a member of Renaissance, Haslam recorded her first solo album \u201cAnnie in Wonderland\u201d \u2014 a highly-acclaimed disc that was a collaboration with (and produced by) Roy Wood, a founding member of both The Move and ELO.<\/p>\n

Renaissance\u2019s latest album is \u201cSymphony of Light,\u201d which was released in a slightly different form last year and titled \u201cGrandine il Vento.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s latest project is something different.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Following a successful South American tour, Renaissance featuring Annie Haslam is back in the US Northeast in October and November 2017 debuting its \u201cSymphonic Journey\u201d tour.<\/p>\n

This tour will include four very special concerts featuring a \u201c10-piece Chamber Orchestra\u201d (a handpicked assemblage of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion).<\/p>\n

These performances will be the first time in 40 years that Renaissance will perform on stage with a \u201clive\u201d orchestra and, in addition, 2017 marks the 48th year since the band\u2019s formation and its ninth consecutive year of touring since their reactivation in 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis music is just perfect for an orchestra,\u201d said Haslam, during a phone interview Wednesday from her home in rural Bucks County.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a huge amount of work to put this project together, And, we put it together without management or a record label.<\/p>\n

Haslam will be joined on stage by long time musical associate Rave Tesar on piano along with Tom Brislin on keyboards, Mark Lambert on guitars, Frank Pagano on drums and percussion, and Leo Traversa on bass.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year is my 70th birthday. I\u2019m healthy so I wanted to do something special,\u201d said Haslam. \u201cRave said \u2013 let\u2019s do something with an orchestra.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we got together a 10-piece orchestra featuring musicians from New York and New Jersey. This week, we had two days of rehearsals at a studio in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be wonderful — something we\u2019ve never done before without a conductor. On the Symphonic Journey Tour, we\u2019re doing four shows with the orchestra and two without.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plans have been made for the group to film the October 27 Keswick Theatre show for an upcoming DVD release, which will follow the bands\u2019 2015 \u201cLondon Union Chapel\u201d DVD.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy that the Keswick show is the one we\u2019re recording,\u201d said Haslam. \u201cI started playing shows at the Keswick with my solo project years ago. I\u2019ve also done Christmas shows there. We like playing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to put this altogether via an Indiegogo project. Our thanks go to the fans. They are why this is happening. It also allowed us to get the film company APA Music Pictures to work on the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Renaissance \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/G_bee9nThoQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Keswick will start at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $45-$85.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Davy Knowles<\/p><\/div>\n

Davy Knowles, who will perform at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>) on October 27, is treating fans to songs from his new EP.<\/p>\n

A few months ago, he released a new EP titled \u201c1932.\u201d It features a collection of songs performed exclusively on his cherished 1932 National Guitar which he purchased during his first tour of the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lovely old National Steel guitar from 1932,\u201d said Knowles, during a phone interview Wednesday from a tour stop in Nashville. \u201cIt has such a unique sound that I wanted to do a whole project with it. I bought it 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo make the EP, I went to an \u2018A frame\u2019 in the country \u2013 in rural Illinois. I recorded remotely \u2013 all analog to tape. I brought a two-track reel-to-reel and immersed myself in it. I did the whole EP with that guitar because of its unique sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his current live show, Knowles has a part of the set done acoustically with the 1932 guitar.<\/p>\n

According to Knowles, \u201cI\u2019ve always found my old National guitar to be such an inspiring instrument. It\u2019s always given that \u2018instant mojo\u2019 to every track I\u2019ve used it on in the past. I thought it was high time I did a project purely on this fantastic machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, Knowles launched his monthly Official Bootleg series that can be purchased for $8. The digital downloads are only available through his site, and each EP features six live tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded everything in Grateful Dead tapers fashion,\u201d said Knowles. \u201cI take songs from a month of shows and put them in my website.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowles is a native of the Isle of Man, which is located in the Irish Sea between Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. The island is not part of the United Kingdom or European Union, but is a possession of the British Crown with an independent administration.<\/p>\n

The Isle of Man, also known simply as Mann, is a self-governing crown dependency. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann.<\/p>\n

For the longest time, its sole claim to fame musically was that it was the birthplace of the Gibb Brothers \u2014 better known as the Bee Gees.<\/p>\n

That changed about 10 years ago with the emergence of Back Door Slam \u2014 a young trio that played a scorching style of power-packed blues. The group released its debut album \u201cRoll Away\u201d in the states in 2007.<\/p>\n

The driving force of the now-disbanded group was vocalist\/guitar ace Davy Knowles.<\/p>\n

Early in 2009, Knowles released a statement from the band, stating that they had split up, and the band\u2019s members were going to begin to pursue their own separate careers in music.<\/p>\n

Later that year, he released \u201cComing Up for Air,\u201d his first album on his own, in 2009. He followed with \u201cThe Outsider\u201d album in 2014. His latest album is \u201cThree Miles From Avalon\u201d \u2013 a disc that is billed as a \u201creturn to his roots and the sounds that first ignited his passion for music.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was recorded at Shirk Studio in his adopted hometown of Chicago, the unofficial capital of electric blues \u2013 and it packs a real punch.<\/p>\n

According to Knowles, \u201cI wanted to go back to the basics. The band and myself have racked up a lot of playing time together, and we have really started to gel. I wanted to capture that \u2018live\u2019 feel in the studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite sounding records are certainly older ones, recorded to tape, with minimal fuss or overdubs. I wanted that lovely warm, vintage sound that only tape and glowing tubes can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowles and his band didn\u2019t fool around when it was time to cut the new album.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent three-and-a-half days in the studio,\u201d said Knowles. \u201cWe didn\u2019t do much pre-production but we had all played together for a while. It was my live band. That\u2019s why we sounded like a unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy last album \u2014 \u2018The Outsider\u2019 \u2014 took a long time to record. \u201cThe new album was recorded it all to tape with no overdubs. It was all analog. We recorded all the instruments live and only did overdubbing on some vocals. It returns to the blues rock energy I loved as a kid. We tried to do this as old-fashioned as we could. It was quite liberating \u2013 much more my speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he was still just a child, Knowles was exposed to blues music through his family\u2019s music collection. Over the years, he has become a die-hard blues fan who has fed himself a diet of music by blues artists such as Albert King, Otis Rush and Muddy Waters \u2013 as well as British blues practitioners like Eric Clapton and Rory Gallagher.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a real band playing live in a room,\u201d said Knowles. \u201cIt all just came together in the studio. I wanted to go back and make a record that had that real feel \u2014 and that live intensity. I think the fact that we toured so much really made a difference. It was just about \u2013 let\u2019s laugh, let\u2019s play, let\u2019s enjoy this. This music doesn\u2019t need to be perfect. It just needs to have character.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I love about old recordings. Everything wasn\u2019t into being tuned to perfection. My favorite sounding records are certainly older ones, recorded to tape, with minimal fuss or overdubs. I wanted that lovely warm, vintage sound that only tape and glowing tubes can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Davy Knowles \u2014 https:\/\/youtu.be\/PjIPuLEAke8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live, which has the Greg Sover Band as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Death from Above<\/p><\/div>\n

Death from Above — drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger and bassist Jesse F. Keeler \u2013 had its start in Toronto, Ontario in 2001.<\/p>\n

The band lasted just five years before breaking up and released only one studio album, \u201cYou\u2019re a Woman, I\u2019m a Machine.\u201d In 2011, Grainger and Keeler got back together and released their first album in almost a decade \u2013 \u201cThe Physical World.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, DFA released its third album \u201cOutrage! Is Now\u201d 2017\u00a0via Warner Bros. Records\/Last Gang Records.<\/p>\n

The band is now on the road in support of the new disc. The tour brings them to Philly on October 27 for a show at Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The tour comes on the heels of major festival plays this summer including Festival d’\u00c9t\u00e9, Ottawa Bluesfest, Wayhome, and Osheaga.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started our first conversations about \u2018Outrage! Is Now\u2019 when we were still finishing up \u2018The Physical World\u2019,\u201d said Grainger, during a phone interview last week from his home in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about sonic ideas and what we wanted for the next record and the songs stared happening right away. We started cataloging ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the material was pretty fresh. We listened to old ideas and came up with new ones. This one feels like the freshest we\u2019ve ever made. Once we got the ball roll9ing, it didn\u2019t take long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grainger talked about the band\u2019s split.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a combination of things,\u201d said Grainger. \u201cMost of it was that both of us were miserable on the road. We were still in our 20s and having identity crises \u2013 focusing on who we are. So, we made a change.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I\u2019ve been living in L.A. for five years and Jesse lives iu Toronto. We\u2019re both married with families. We now have separate lives and our life together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t thought about the band for years. Then, after I thought about it, I thought about it fondly. I realized that if we waited any longer, it would be too old. Now, we\u2019ve been a band longer than we were the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s press release states — The merry merchants of muscular death dance discord made a collective decision to embrace their own penchant for perpetual motion while gleefully maintaining the car-wreck intensity of their punkified disco rock. Ultimately, \u201cOutrage! Is Now\u201d confidently kicks off a new chapter for Death From Above.<\/p>\n

According to Grainger, \u201cWe are committed to evolution. This record is the sound of the two us pushing at the walls. We want there to be space, surprises and action. We both wanted to see how far we could take our sound as Death From Above.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe myth of what we should be didn\u2019t exist anymore. There was never a moment where we took a conventional path — either writing or recording. There was always some strange element thrown in. In a way, it\u2019s a very serious record, but dressed in a really fun outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Death From Above \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Sc0f4X9Dp_U<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Union Transfer, which has The Beaches opening, will start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $27.50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times It\u2019s always a special occasion when Annie Haslam performs in the area. In recent years, she has made fans\u2019 holiday seasons brighter with special holiday-themed shows. Now, she is returning for a very special show at the Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650,\u00a0www.keswicktheatre.com) on October 27. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[10557,8729,10558,7426,6291],"class_list":["post-37191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-annie-haslam","tag-davy-knowles","tag-death-from-above","tag-featured","tag-renaissance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37192,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37191\/revisions\/37192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}