{"id":48052,"date":"2021-04-08T08:55:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T12:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=48052"},"modified":"2021-04-08T08:55:51","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T12:55:51","slug":"on-stage-belardo-returns-to-her-wilmington-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=48052","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Belardo returns to her Wilmington roots"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Maya Belardo<\/p><\/div>\n

The live entertainment scene over the last seven or eight months has been similar to flowers growing in outdoor gardens.<\/p>\n

Almost nothing has survived over the winter months except for pansies. It\u2019s ironic that the word \u2018pansy\u2019 is used as an insult meaning \u201ca weak man\u2019 when, in reality, the pansy is a strong flower that can be buried in snow and two weeks later be flowering again.<\/p>\n

When winter starts to fade away, the first round of blooming flowers for the new year includes bulb plants such as crocus, hyacinth, tulip and daffodil.<\/p>\n

Over the winter and early spring, the pansies of the local entertainment scene have been the Sellersville Theater and the Philadelphia comedy clubs \u2013 Helium Comedy Club and Punch Line Philly.<\/p>\n

The early blooming \u201cbulbs\u201d in the realm of live entertainment are The Queen, Jamey\u2019s House of Blues and 118 North. <\/p>\n

Last weekend, The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, https:\/\/thequeenwilmington.com<\/a>) sprang to life with a show billed as \u201cOpening Night: Aziza Nailah & Company.\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend, the venue in downtown Wilmington will host a show billed as \u201cA Night of Elegance with Maya Belardo: The Princess of Jazz\u201d on April 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first started singing when I was real little,\u201d said Belardo, during a phone interview Tuesday evening from her home in Wilmington. \u201cI used to walk around with a broom and pretend it was a guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

A major catalyst happened when Belardo was a pre-teen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched the movie \u2018Moulin Rouge!\u2019 and the opening song was \u2018Nature Boy,\u2019\u201d said Belardo. \u201cI was 11 or 12 and I loved that song. I just kept playing it over and over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to YouTube and watch Nat King Cole singing it. I really like Nat King Cole and then got into singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone. I also like Sarah Vaughn a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belardo attended school at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington as a vocal major and has been singing at various cultural events around Wilmington since she was 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom age 13-16, I was in a jazz group at Cab Calloway and really got into the music of Nancy Wilson,\u201d said Belardo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith singers like Ella, Nancy and Nina, at first I was listening more to their voices. It was different to what I was used to hearing in hip hop and R&B. As I get older, I\u2019m listening more to how they phrase things \u2013 how they convey messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having realized her ability to sing jazz after joining the school\u2019s jazz group, \u201cJazz Chords,\u201d Belardo then traveled around singing at various venues and jazz competitions with the group.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Belardo was part of the American High School Honors Performance Choir that performed at New York City\u2019s Carnegie Hall. She relocated to New York after graduating high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to New York with the intention of studying jazz vocals at The New School,\u201d said Belardo. \u201cOnce in Brooklyn, I started to get into the jazz scene there. Experienced singers who heard me suggested that I should forget about school and just go right into the music business.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, Belardo never continued her education at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of going to school, I got a job at Whole Foods and began singing at nights in jazz clubs around the city,\u201d said Belardo, who now also works as a pre-school teacher. \u201cI also took dance classes, vocal classes and acting classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent three years singing in New York from 2016-2019. I moved back to Wilmington right before everything shut down because of COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belardo had already begun to establish a following in Delaware from her performances at area clubs as well as the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival and the Ladybug Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t been able to do many live shows in the last year, but I am grateful for the few I\u2019ve had,\u201d said Belardo. \u201cI did a show in Rockford Park and another with the Delaware Theater Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a set band. Instead, I gather together different musicians for every show. For this show, it\u2019s Ronan Ali on drums, Matt Hoening on piano and Ali Richardson on electric bass. I\u2019m doing two 45-minute sets. There are also two openers \u2013 Toni Trower and The Naked Trumpeter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Maya Belardo — Facebook Live | Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at The Queen on April 9 will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at The Queen are Ladyy on April 17, Best Kept Soul on April 23 and Funkitorium on April 30.<\/p>\n

Many of today\u2019s top comedians got to where they are now by travelling very different routes.<\/p>\n

Leonard Ouzts\u00a0was a nursing major in college. Ali Siddiq spent years in prison prior to rising to the top in the comedy world. Matthew Broussard studied mechanical engineering and mathematics at Rice University.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

TK Kirkland<\/p><\/div>\n

TK Kirkland, who is headlining at the Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom Street, Philadelphia,\u00a0philadelphia.heliumcomedy.com<\/a>) now through April 11, has a resume that falls somewhere in between the above comics.<\/p>\n

Kirkland got a bachelor\u2019s degree from Arizona State University and then an MBA from California State University-Northridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Arizona State and studied special communications,\u201d said Kirkland, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his hotel room in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, I got my master\u2019s degree in business at Cal-State Northridge. I was going to go into pathology.\u201d<\/p>\n

People often confuse the words \u201cfame\u201d and \u201cnotoriety.\u201d \u201cFame\u201d means \u201cwidespread reputation, especially of a favorable character,\u201d while \u201cnotoriety\u201d means \u201cthe state of being\u00a0famous<\/em>\u00a0for something bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u2019s CV features both fame and notoriety.<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u00a0is a well-respected comedian, podcast host, writer, businessman, motivator, and actor with 35-plus years of experience in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

He was the first comedic opening act for a rap concert when he toured with the legendary group NWA. Since then, Kirkland has shared the stage with stellar performers such as Outcast, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Cash Money Millionaires, Ruff Ryders, DMX, 50 Cent, and TuPac.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith comedy, people always told me I was funny,\u201d said Kirkland. \u201cI was ahead of my time Def Comedy Jam was created around my style of comedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a hip-hop artist before I was a comedian \u2013 opening for acts and doing music. I\u2019m a shit-talker and a professional MC. I was able to rock at an 18,000-seater tour with NWA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkland is a prolific writer possessing the natural ability to captivate his audience through laughter and real-life experiences. He collaborated with HBO and starred in \u201cMo\u2019 Funny: Black Comedy in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his college years, Kirkland immersed himself into opportunities that included writing and producing on projects such as BET ComicView, Laffapolooza and MAD Sports. He also started a management company that launched the careers of Jamie Foxx, DL Hughley, and Mike Epps.<\/p>\n

Kirkland later partnered with Tommy Castro and David Clingman to start the Artistry Management Firm. This collaboration allowed TK to work with critically acclaimed actors such as Sandra Bullock, Anthony Michael Hall, and John Leguizamo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve shown that you can become a multi-millionaire from standup comedy,\u201d said Kirkland, who grew up in Jersey City (NJ) and was a track star at Henry Snyder High School prior to moving to Compton, California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a management company that is really successful. I also have a new project called Patron Media, but I can\u2019t really talk about that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u2019s notoriety comes from ill-advised decisions when he was younger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew Keenan Wayans and he introduced me to Eddie Murphy and his brother Charlie,\u201d said Kirkland. \u201cI admired their lifestyle. I was at Eddie\u2019s place on Doheny in Beverly Hills, and I stole his brother\u2019s Rolex watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a young boy \u2013 around 19 \u2013 and I took the watch. It was laying on the counter while Charlie was washing his hair. They knew I was the one who did it. I became infamous for being the watch thief.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because it gave me street cred. It was a curse because I became associated with being a thief.\u201d<\/p>\n

But all\u2019s well that ends well.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 30 years later, I was in a club with Eddie,\u201d said Kirkland. \u201cI looked him in the eye and apologized for disrespecting his house. He looked at me and said \u2013 you still thinking about that?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the story is 30 years old, and people still bring it up. Over time, it got changed to being Eddie\u2019s watch not Charlie\u2019s. I never looked for forgiveness \u2013 just show that you move on from it and make better decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI taught myself lessons \u2013 work hard, stay in your lane, get whatever you want and pay for it, move on\u2026.be a standup citizen. What\u2019s important today is that I\u2019m one of the best comedians in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been three years since I played Philly. This is the first time at Helium \u2013 and they had to add three shows to the five that were originally scheduled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u2019s comedy pulls no punches. There is no room for politically correct routines.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy style of comedy is in-your-face, raw, and political,\u201d said Kirkland. \u201cIt\u2019s social conscience. It\u2019s a blueprint to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for TK Kirkland — https:\/\/youtu.be\/79kfl2Nikdc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Shows at the Helium Comedy Club are scheduled for April 9 at 7:15 and 9:30 p.m., April 10 at 5:00, 7:15 and 9:30 p.m., and April 11 at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets, which are not sold individually because of capacity restrictions and social distancing, are $80 for a two-person table or $160 for a four-person table.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

MicroCorgi<\/p><\/div>\n

Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) has come back to life after being closed for way too long because of pandemic shutdowns.<\/p>\n

On April 9, the small comfortable club in Delaware County will present a show by MicroCorgi.<\/p>\n

MicroCorgi is a trio based in Queens, New York that features pianist Andrew McGowan, guitarist Yuto Kanazawa and drummer Ilya Dynov. The band\u2019s music is an international blend of various styles such as European Jazz, Japanese rock, Afro-beat, and New Orleans brass band music.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne description we use is futuristic space funk,\u201d said Dynov, during a phone interview Monday afternoon from his home in Queens. \u201cIt\u2019s rock, funk, ECM jazz, some New Orleans style, some fusion Afro-beat, jazz organ trio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their unique \u201corgan trio\u201d format has the bass duties handled in turns by McGowan and Kanazawa. The combination of piano, synth bass, guitar, and drums results in a musical relationship akin to that established by Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery.<\/p>\n

Their sound has a minimalist aesthetic reminiscent of Philip Glass, combined with a soulful truth indebted to Black American Music.<\/p>\n

The band members\u2019 backgrounds are as diverse as the group\u2019s sound.<\/p>\n

McGowan\u00a0is a New Orleans born pianist who played with renowned artists such as Jason Marsalis, Wessel Anderson, Sasha Masakowsi, the Stooges Brass Band and The Session. Since moving to New York City in 2016, McGowan has played at major jazz clubs in NYC such as Blue Note, Minton\u2019s, Dizzy\u2019s, Smalls and Fat Cat.<\/p>\n

Kanazawa\u00a0hails from Tokyo Japan. As a bandleader and guitarist, he has recorded seven full albums and six EPs, including his debut album, \u201cEarthwards,\u201d on Interrobang Records.<\/p>\n

He has worked with many renowned musicians including Kurt Elling, Ed Cherry, Don Pate, Randy Jackson, Gregg Errico, Jerry Martini, Kuni Mikami and Lonnie Plaxico. As a composer, Kanazawa won First Place in the Jazz category of\u00a0International Songwriting Competition\u00a0in 2013, also he was nominated as a finalist in\u00a0The John Lennon Songwriting Competition\u00a0in 2015.<\/p>\n

Dynov\u00a0is a New York based internationally acclaimed drummer, vibraphonist and percussionist. He has performed internationally as a drummer, soloist and ensemble musician at clubs and major festivals such as Bohemia Jazz Festival (Czech Republic), Vilnius Mama Jazz Festival (Lithuania), Internationales Jugend-Musikfestival (Germany), and Sfinks Mixed Festival Antwerpen (Belgium).<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s first recorded output was the \u201cMicroCorgi EP,\u201d which was released July 26, 2019. MicroCorgi\u2019s debut album, \u201cMicrocosmos,\u201d was recorded at Virtue and Vice Studios in Brooklyn in January 2020 and released on November 20, 2020.<\/p>\n

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MicroCorgi, which has been together since 2018, has not been able to spend much time touring in support of either disc.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t play many live days over the last year,\u201d said Dynov, a Moscow native who grew up in Belgium and lived for a while in Germany. \u201cThe pandemic year was a writing and creating year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent time recording a new album at Voyager Studio in Brooklyn. It\u2019s all recorded and we\u2019re going to start mixing it this month. We plan to release it in the fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did all the recording in two sessions in July. We also worked on different projects as the rhythm section for some other bands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process for the new album was somewhat different from that on \u201cMicrocosmos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the first album, we played the songs live a lot before we went in to do the recording,\u201d said Dynov. \u201cThe second album has a lot of new songs that were never played live. We just rehearsed the songs one or two times before we recorded them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used a lot of synthesizers for the second album. The first album has a lot of variations. The first album was more acoustic.\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend\u2019s show will be the first time for MicroCorgi to perform at Jamey\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our live show, we have a lot of new sings that haven\u2019t been recorded yet,\u201d said Dynov. \u201cWe\u2019ll also play a couple from the first album and a couple songs from the second one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band already has several songs that are proven crowd favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Avocados Every Day\u2019 is catchy,\u201d said McGowan. \u201cIt\u2019s like an earworm. The song \u2018Corgi\u2019 really rocks out and \u2018Cosmosphere\u2019 is another song we play a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

MicroCorgi is an interesting band with a bright future. This weekend is an opportunity for listeners to get in on the ground floor.<\/p>\n

Video link for MicroCorgi \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/S2XXAewTXoM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music on April 9 will start at 8 p.m. and will also be available via Livestream. Tickets are $15 \u2013 in house or via Livestream.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at Jamey\u2019s are Laura Cheadle Family Band on April 10, The Philly Blues Kings on April 16, Harry Walther Band on April 17, King Solomon Hicks on April 23, Frank Porter on April 24, Jack West on April 30 and Maci Miller on May 1.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Hollis Brown<\/p><\/div>\n

Hollis Brown is not a cover band. But two of its most ambitious projects in recent years have been playing and recording albums by other artists \u2013 Lou Reed\u2019s \u201cLoaded\u201d and the Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201cAftermath.\u201d<\/p>\n

On April 9, Hollis Brown will bring the Stones\u2019 classic \u201cAftermath\u201d LP to life in a show at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Like MicroCorgi, Hollis Brown is a band from Queens \u2013 but that\u2019s where the similarity ends.<\/p>\n

Hollis Brown was founded by singer and guitarist Mike Montali and guitarist Jonathan Bonilla in Queens in 2009. Friends since high school, they collaborated as songwriters before the band was formed.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s name was taken from Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cThe Ballad of Hollis Brown,\u201d a song from his 1964 album, \u201cThe Times They Are A-Changin\u2019\u201d. The quartet\u2019s current lineup also features Andrew Zehnal on drums and Chris Urriola on bass.<\/p>\n

Hollis Brown\u2019s most recent album release is \u201cOzone Park,\u201d which came out on June 7, 2019 on Mascot Records\/Cool Green Recordings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to tour \u2018Ozone Park\u2019 for a while in the states,\u201d said Bonilla, during a phone interview Wednesday night from his upstate New York home in Richmondville in Schoharie County. \u201cWe planned a European tour, but it got cancelled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, Hollis Brown has managed to keep playing live shows during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been playing all through COVID-19,\u201d said Bonilla. \u201cWe started doing backyard shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our Facebook page, we offered to play backyard shows for fans \u2013 socially-distanced backyard shows. We also did outdoor shows at The Falcon in Marlborough, New York. We continued playing there and did a residency of nine or 10 shows when they moved indoors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollis Brown has also been doing some recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just went in the studio with Byron Isaacs producing,\u201d said Bonilla. \u201cWe spent two weeks at Atomic Sound in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn our last album, we went a little alternative rock. The album, we wanted to be more in the style of The Band \u2013 a little more down to earth. I\u2019ve been writing more Americana rock \u2013 more acoustic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollis Brown\u2019s first venture into the world of recording a tribute album came in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded a tribute to the Velvet Underground\u2019s \u2018Loaded\u2019 album because it was the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the album\u2019s release,\u201d said Bonilla. \u201cIt was a Record Store Day release that was limited to 1,000 copies. It got good reviews and started selling. So, we decided to make it a real release.\u201d<\/p>\n

With \u201cAftermath,\u201d Hollis Brown has gone back to an album that first saw the light of day in 1966.<\/p>\n

\u201cFans at our backyard shows suggested that we do \u2018Aftermath,\u2019\u201d said Bonilla. \u201cWe recorded it in the Poconos at Velvet Oak Studio in Pocono Lakes \u2013 the same studio where we recorded \u2018Loaded.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all done. We sent it to Mascot Label Group. The goal is to have it out late summer\/early fall. It\u2019s something un for our fans to listen to until our next original album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollis Brown actually had two different \u201cAftermath\u201d albums from which to choose \u2013 the U.S. release and the U.K release. \u201cAftermath\u201d was released in the United Kingdom on April 15 1966 by\u00a0Decca Records\u00a0and in the United States on July 2 by\u00a0London Records.<\/p>\n

It was the Stones\u2019 fourth British and sixth American studio album. The albums had different covers and the U.K. version had 14 tracks while the American version had 11 songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing the U.S. version,\u201d said Bonilla. \u201cIn the live show, we play the entire album in order front-to-back. We\u2019ll also be playing some originals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Hollis Brown \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/QaM0cmwxk6I<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville on April 9 will start at 8 p.m. and will also be a Livestream event. Tickets are $25 in house and $10 Livestream.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are Son Little on April 10, the Dawn Drapes on April 13, Paul Hammond on April 15 and 16 and David Broza on April 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0 The live entertainment scene over the last seven or eight months has been similar to flowers growing in outdoor gardens. Almost nothing has survived over the winter months except for pansies. It\u2019s ironic that the word \u2018pansy\u2019 is used as an insult meaning \u201ca weak man\u2019 when, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,13747,13744,13746,13745],"class_list":["post-48052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-hollis-brown","tag-maya-belardo","tag-microcorgi","tag-tk-kirkland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48052","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=48052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48053,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48052\/revisions\/48053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}