{"id":38907,"date":"2018-03-26T08:33:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T12:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=38907"},"modified":"2018-03-26T08:33:39","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T12:33:39","slug":"on-stage-rush-to-release-album-on-west-chester-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=38907","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Rush to release album on West Chester label"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Tom Rush<\/p><\/div>\n

Rush may be the name of a certain veteran singer-songwriter but it is far from a description of how he records and releases albums.<\/p>\n

Tom Rush, one of America\u2019s most revered folksingers, released his first album, \u201cTom Rush at the Unicorn,\u201d in 1962. His most recent album \u201cVoices\u201d will be released on April 27 via West Chester-based Appleseed Records.<\/p>\n

Altogether, Rush has put out 26 albums in 56 years \u2013 and just eight since the turn of the century.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, he is much more active when it comes to live performances. Rush is a consummate performer who always delivers an entertaining show when he takes the stage to perform his songs and choice songs by other artists.<\/p>\n

On March 26, Rush will visit Chester County for a show at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, 610-356-2787, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

He will be performing a number of songs from \u201cVoices,\u201d an album that has its own special niche in Rush\u2019s long discography.<\/p>\n

Over the course of his 50-year-plus career, one of Rush’s defining gifts has been his ear for the faint voices of significant new songs by little-known writers. The New England-based singer-guitarist was among the very first to record future standards by then-fledgling performers Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Jackson Browne on his 1968 album \u201cThe Circle Game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rush brought a later generation of singer-songwriters such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences as part of his tours. James Taylor and country music superstar Garth Brookshave both named him as a major influence.<\/p>\n

Until \u201cVoices,\u201d Rush has been heard only sparingly as a songwriter, with only a few tantalizing handfuls of originals \u2013 about 20 \u2013 spread out over eleven studio albums.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoices\u201d is the first album ever of all-Rush originals \u2013 10 relaxed, warmhearted, amused and sometimes thoughtful songs that perfectly reflect his wry persona.<\/p>\n

\u201cA bunch of songs all of a sudden came out,\u201d said Rush, during a phone interview last week from his home in southern Maine.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur daughter was going away to college, so we were moving from Vermont but didn\u2019t know where. We moved to southern New Hampshire and rented a farmhouse from our friends Bob and Laura about three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a peaceful countryside exterior, but it was in some ways boring. That\u2019s where the songwriting started. I kept getting ideas for songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, songs take a long time for me to write. These songs came rapidly because I didn\u2019t have anything else to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

There might have also been another reason and the veteran singer had a theory.<\/p>\n

According to Rush, \u201cIt might be some musical equivalent of epicormics branching, where a tree that\u2019s stressed or elderly starts putting out shoots in great profusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the reasons, the results were enough to bring smiles to fans\u2019 faces everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wrote on guitar,\u201d said Rush. \u201cEvery song came differently. A lot of times, it\u2019s a phrase \u2013 just a few words that suggest a melody. Sometimes, it starts with a melody. There is no pattern.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy pattern is to write too much. Each song tended to end up too long. You find that out when you take them in front of a live audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was taking audio notes on my cell phone. Once I had enough to go in the studio, I\u2019d set up with a mic going into a computer. Then, I\u2019d send what I had recorded to my producer Jim Rooney.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had all the songs written before I went in the studio with Jim — and then I wrote one more in the sessions. We were wrapping up and I only had 11 songs. Jim said we needed a 12th track. He insisted on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I had to write another in my hotel room and I wrote \u2018If I Never Get Back to Hackensack.\u2019 We recorded the album in May 2017 at The Butcher Shop \u2013 a studio in Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim brought in some really great studio musicians to play on the album \u2013 players who are known as \u2018Rooney\u2019s Irregulars\u2019 including Matt Nakoa on piano, Sam Bush on mandolin and fiddle along with Kathy Mattea and Suzi Ragsdale on background vocals.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been more than a half-century since Rush made people take notice with one particular song — \u201cUrge for Going,\u201d which was written by Joni Mitchell and recorded by Rush in 1968. It quickly became one of Rush\u2019s signature songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrge for Going\u201d is something that seems to happen to Rush when November arrives — especially if the destination is the Delaware Valley.<\/p>\n

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the veteran singer-songwriter established a tradition of performing a series of shows over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the now-defunct Main Point in Bryn Mawr.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always played the Main Point at Thanksgiving,\u201d said Rush. \u201cI probably did that at least six years in a row. The first show would be Thursday night and it was always a groggy show. I did two shows a night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed those days of doing multiple nights. And, the Main Point was a great place to play. Jeannette (Main Point owner Jeanette Campbell) was the patron saint of the Philadelphia folk scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, there are some months when Rush doesn\u2019t play seven shows in 30 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to keep it down to one trip a month,\u201d said Rush.\u00a0 \u201cI might do 50 shows a year altogether — maybe 60 at the most. I still enjoy playing small clubs and also festivals. I like a lot of variety. I\u2019d go crazy having to play the same type of venue all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Tom Rush — https:\/\/youtu.be\/R_MDgmx3WjA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia\u2019s Academy of Music is known for its presentations of classical music, ballet and opera. The dignified vibe of the venerable music hall will be under siege this week with a touring Broadway musical that rocks hard from start to finish.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

School of Rock<\/p><\/div>\n

From March 27-April 1, the Kimmel Center\u2019s \u201cBroadway Philadelphia\u201d series at the Academy of Music (Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org<\/a>) will present the hit musical \u201cSchool of Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April 2013, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced that he had bought the rights to \u201cSchool of Rock\u201d as a stage musical. The show had its world premiere on Broadway in autumn 2015 at the Winter Garden Theatre. The musical has a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.<\/p>\n

The musical features an original score composed by Lloyd Webber in addition to music from the original film. \u201cSchool of Rock\u201d became Lloyd Webber\u2019s first show opening on Broadway before London since \u201cJesus Christ Superstar\u201d in 1971.<\/p>\n

Based on the hit film, this hilarious new musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school.<\/p>\n

There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Finn falls for the school\u2019s beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child within.<\/p>\n

Featuring 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and all the original songs from the movie, this high-octane hit show delivers face-melting guitar riffs and touching romance in equally impressive doses.<\/p>\n

One of the cast members is an actor from the Delaware Valley.<\/p>\n

Liam Fennecken, who is understudy for the role of Dewey Finn and a multiple-role ensemble member, hails from Pipersville in Bucks County.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started the tour back in September,\u201d said Fennecken, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop, in Baltimore, Maryland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just past the six-month mark and we\u2019re scheduled through July 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI auditioned in New York when I was still out on tour with \u2018Once.\u2019 I flew back-and-forth to New York several times and got the job in the middle of July.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had been a while since I had seen the movie. I didn\u2019t want to watch it again when I was auditioning. I tried to avoid doing that. I watched it again after I got the part.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main character was made famous by Jack Black in the movie version. The role is really designed around his type of humor. It fits him really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the stage production, the kids are the stars of the show as much as the adults in the cast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really helpful is that there are 16 very talented kids \u2013 12 onstage all the time,\u201d said Fennecken, an Archbishop Wood alumnus who graduated from Penn State University with a B.A. in theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kids absolutely shred. The show is fresh every night. They are real actual kids who play real actual instruments so it\u2019s impossible to do the same thing every night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a full-scale comedy \u2013 a very funny show. Every other second, there is something crazy happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

People worry about kids today growing up too quickly. These kids are rockers and everybody knows that rockers never really grow up.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences really love this show,\u201d said Fennecken. \u201cI think there is something special about seeing children in front of you enjoying themselves and being really good at what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cSchool of Rock\u201d \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/R8oMhQj2tfQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show will run from March 27-April 1 at the academy of Music. Ticket prices range from $20-$145.<\/p>\n

The Kimmel Center is presenting another special event this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chrissy Metz<\/p><\/div>\n

On March 26, NBC\u2019s \u201cThis Is Us\u201d star Chrissy Metz is coming to the Kimmel Center as part of the \u201cThis Is Me Book Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metz\u2019s new book \u201cThis Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today\u201d will be published on March 27 on Dey Street Books.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Is Us\u201d was a success right out of the blocks as viewers embraced a show that celebrates human connection and the power of family.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons that the critically-acclaimed NBC series became a huge success was because the show\u2019s audience instantly related to the humor, depth, and vibrancy that Metz brought to the role of Kate Pearson.<\/p>\n

Metz plays Kate, a woman struggling with her weight, eating habits, and body image.\u202f ET named her as one of six \u201cbreakout stars you will fall in love with this fall.\u201d\u202f People Magazine named her as one of the \u201cOnes to Watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metz\u2019s visit to the Kimmel will be an evening of honest conversation moderated by NBC10\u2019s Jacqueline London. The conversation will be about life and its lessons — featuring real advice, tough love, and shared moments taken from Metz\u2019s memoir.<\/p>\n

Metz will appear at the Kimmel Center\u2019s Perelman Theater on March 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets, which include a copy of \u201cThis Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today,\u201d start at $40. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org<\/a>, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Rush may be the name of a certain veteran singer-songwriter but it is far from a description of how he records and releases albums. Tom Rush, one of America\u2019s most revered folksingers, released his first album, \u201cTom Rush at the Unicorn,\u201d in 1962. His most recent album \u201cVoices\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[11031,7426,11030,6401],"class_list":["post-38907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-chrissy-metz","tag-featured","tag-schoolof-rick","tag-tom-rush"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38907","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=38907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38908,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38907\/revisions\/38908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}