{"id":48362,"date":"2021-05-27T09:34:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T13:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=48362"},"modified":"2021-05-27T09:34:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T13:34:50","slug":"on-stage-nile-ready-to-rock-at-ardmore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=48362","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Nile ready to rock at Ardmore"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Willie Nile<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNile\u201d and \u201cancient\u201d are words that go together well \u2013 but not always.<\/p>\n

The word \u201cancient\u201d is frequently used to describe the area along the Nile River, which is the longest river in the world at 4,130 miles.<\/p>\n

The word \u201cancient\u201d is often used by younger music fans to describe veteran rockers who are in their 70s.<\/p>\n

Willie Nile, who is 72, is an internationally acclaimed rocker whose career spans 50-plus years \u2013 and he is far from being \u201cancient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVibrant,\u201d \u201chighly energized,\u201d and \u201ctireless\u201d are much more accurate descriptions of Nile, who will be headlining a show on May 29 at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>). <\/p>\n

Nile has been champing at the bit to shake off the effects of the pandemic shutdown of live music. Clubs are re-opening. Masks are off and Nile is ready to rock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in New York and it\u2019s buzzing,\u201d said Nile, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Greenwich Village. \u201cYou still see some masks, but people are out and about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nile has tapped into his own lockdown experience as a source of inspiration for the set of haunting new songs that comprise his emotion-charged new release, \u201cThe Day the Earth Stood Still.\u201d The album was inspired by the sight of Nile\u2019s beloved hometown temporarily turned into a desolate ghost town, thanks to COVID-19 safety precautions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than a year, New York has been like a ghost town,\u201d said Nile, \u201c\u201cI have a storage space near the Holland Tunnel, and normally on a Friday night at rush hour, it can take an hour to move five blocks. Back in April on a Friday at 6 p.m., I was on Varick Street. I looked in both directions and there wasn\u2019t a car in sight. I could have laid down in the middle of the street without anyone noticing. It was like a science fiction movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just played City Winery in New York. They have a new venue on the water. We did two sold-out shows. We couldn\u2019t believe it \u2013 believe that we\u2019re out.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext is the Ardmore Music Hall and I\u2019m really looking forward to it. It\u2019s a great place to play. I did a show there with John Eddie in May 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Saturday night, we\u2019re doing two sets \u2013 8-9 p.m. and 9:30-10:30 p.m. \u2013 and we\u2019re not changing the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nile\u2019s debut album, \u201cWillie Nile,\u201d was released by Arista Records in early 1980 to critical praise. The album immediately created a buzz among critics and quickly drew the attention of other rock stars such as Pete Townshend and The Who, who invited Nile to join them on their 1980 stateside tour.<\/p>\n

Now, more than 40 years later, Nile is still going strong \u2013 and still rocking hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just did an album within the CDC guidelines,\u201d said Nile. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded this album in January 2021. We all wore masks the whole time and did our best to keep things safe.<\/p>\n

In the studio, if someone was singing in a room, we couldn\u2019t go in until an hour after they finished singing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole band, except me, had actually caught COVID on our last gig before the pandemic hit — February 29, 2020 at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. Everyone recovered and, for some reason, I never got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-produced by\u00a0Nile\u00a0and Grammy-winner and longtime collaborator\u00a0Stewart Lerman\u00a0(Elvis Costello\/Patti Smith\/Norah Jones), the album features such timely compositions as \u201cSanctuary,\u201d \u201cExpect Change\u201d \u201cWay of the Heart,\u201d \u201cOff My Medication\u201d and \u201cWhere There\u2019s a Willie There\u2019s a Way,\u201d \u201cBlood on Your Hands,\u201d and \u201cThe Justice Bell\u201d (which was inspired by Nile\u2019s encounter with civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album in New Jersey at the same studio we\u2019ve used several times in the past — Hobo Sound in Weehawken,\u201d said Nile, who plays acoustic and electric guitars and piano.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cut it in January. We spent three days doing the basic tracks and a few days doing overdubbing. We\u2019re hoping for an August release date.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band is getting really good. We\u2019ve got Joe Webber on drums and Johnny Pisano playing <\/strong>bass. Andy Burton does some keyboards and Jimi K. Bones on guitar. Anything they play is pretty much torched. It\u2019s nice to be able to go onstage with players you know and love.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>\u2018The Day the Earth Stood Still\u2019 is not a concept album,\u201d said Nile. \u201cBut it is clearly inspired by New York in the pandemic shutdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Nile, \u201cI’m so proud of this album. It was born of a pandemic nightmare, but I think that it offers hope, and passion, for better days to come. That\u2019s what I need, as a person and an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience at Ardmore Music Hall on Saturday night will be in for a special treat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to play three or four songs from the new album at Ardmore,\u201d said Nile, who has 14 albums to draw from. I\u2019m looking forward to it. It\u2019s going to be a great show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Willie Nile \u2013\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/C6JaDpyl1Bo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Ardmore Music Hall on May 29 will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $49 -$79 (Table seating; sold in pairs).<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the venue are Splintered Sunlight on May 28 and Muscle Tough + lespecial on June 3.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mr. Unloved<\/p><\/div>\n

Mr. Unloved will be the headline act at Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) on May 28.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never heard of him, you have a challenging task trying to figure out what kind of music he will perform at Friday evening\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

The first choice could be wimpy rock delivered by a shoegazing, social misfit strumming on an acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n

The second choice could be psychotic self-flagellating songs by a singer whose parents ignored him as a child and set a pattern that would follow him for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

The real answer is provided by Mr. Unloved himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s devil music,\u201d said Mr. Unloved during a phone interview last week from his home in the East Falls section of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could say that my songs use insensitive, hyperbolic sarcasm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quotes on Mr. Unloved website described him as \u201can underground veteran with a hilarious collection of songs about necrophilia, unfaithful women and voodoo who borrows from the Nighthawks-era Tom Waits\/Screamin’ Jay Hawkins playbook complete with props — producing blazing packets of flash powder from his tacky jacket for especially poignant moments during the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another description called him, \u201ca bluesy lounge act full of wit and devilish charm with comedic lines that often feel so wrong but so right,\u201d while another stated \u201cMr. Unloved is a fire throwing harmonica spitting blues playing magician\/comedian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Unloved posted this quote on his Facebook site \u2013 \u201cDisgusting filth. When I get home from this show, I\u2019m going to take a bath in alcohol.\u201d – My Dad.<\/p>\n

The unconventional artist is ready to emerge from the universal musicians\u2019 pandemic cocoon Friday evening at Jamey\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my first gig in a while,\u201d said Mr. Unloved. \u201cEven before the shutdown, I was injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was walking on uneven surfaces. I also work in the HVAC field. I was checking pneumatic lines at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a long time to recover. I had a hernia and then I tore up my ankle and needed surgery. I tore a spring ligament and a tibial tendon. I couldn\u2019t hold my balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Unloved spent his days as a youth in Montgomery County.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say that I grew up in Flourtown,\u201d said Mr. Unloved. \u201cThat\u2019s because I\u2019m 60 and still haven\u2019t grown up. I got older in Flourtown and graduated from Springfield-Montco High. I bought this crib in East Falls in 1986 and I\u2019m still here.\u201d<\/p>\n

His current music is a complete opposite of his childhood\/teen years favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really into the Monkees as a kid,\u201d said Mr. Unloved. \u201cI really wanted to be Micky Dolenz.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister wanted a piano, so my dad bought us a piano. My sister quit but I kept going. I got into the Vince Guaraldi Trio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played bass in a punk band, but I was also into the Ramsey Lewis Trio and Young-Holt Unlimited. I like the pelvic music \u2013 the rhythm. I play the piano very physically. I play from the pelvis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a band called the Unloved around 1985-1986. I was playing bass and it was pretty much a trio. Then, I went solo and became Mr. Unloved \u2013 sort of like Adam Ant coming out of Adam and the Ants.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a while, Mr. Unloved expanded his performances to another genre.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a lot of poetry \u2013 especially with Pegalina,\u201d said Mr. Unloved. \u201cWe performed together at venues like the Painted Bride. I even went to CBGB\u2019s in New York with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a Fender Rhodes and brought it with me to poetry readings. I started to branch off and do my own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making recordings was not one of those things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never got to the point of putting an album out,\u201d said Mr. Unloved. \u201cI don\u2019t know what format I\u2019d use.<\/p>\n

\u201cI prefer being onstage and playing live. Dirty dive bars are my atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Mr. Unloved \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/N141sKuBoeI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Friday night will start at 8 p.m. and will also be available via Livestream. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Pay-per-view tickets are $15.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

King Solomon Hicks<\/p><\/div>\n

There will be a wholly different vibe at Jamey\u2019s House of Music on May 29 when the headliner is King Solomon Hicks.<\/p>\n

Hicks is a 24-year-old guitarist\/singer\/composer whose specialty is the blues with some jazz thrown in the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI began playing guitar when I was really young,\u201d said Hicks, during a phone interview Tuesday night from his home in New York\u2019s Harlem. \u201cMy mom started me with guitar lessons when I was six.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mother Holly Hicks was his first tutor and taught him the history of African American music.\u00a0He started learning soul music,\u00a0blues, and then\u00a0Jimi Hendrix. He was playing music before he learned to read music.<\/p>\n

His father and mother played music at home constantly. When Hicks was a youngster, his mother took him to local nightspots such as the Lennox Lounge, Saint Nick\u2019s and the Cotton Club, where he witnessed performances that made a significant impact on his outlet and ambitions.<\/p>\n

According to Hicks, \u201cWhen you\u2019re around good musicians, it gives you that spark \u2014 \u2018I want to do what you do. I want to hold my own.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut being around those types of musicians also taught me to not be the fastest guitar player. I wanted to be the one who knew the most riffs and drew on a lot of knowledge so I could play anything, and with anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He attended the Harlem School of Arts and the\u00a0Jazzmobile\u00a0training program. He graduated from Talent Unlimited High School as a music major in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt age 13, I started playing guitar with the\u00a0Cotton Club\u00a0in the big band there,\u201d said Hicks. \u201cI was doing a lot of different gigs all through high school. I started touring Denmark when I was 18. Copenhagen was a big blues town. I also played Germany and Spain and opened for Robert Cray.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hicks has performed at the KISS Kruise V, the\u00a0Joe Bonamassa\u00a0Blues Cruise in 2017, the Festival De Blues De Bejar-Blues Cazorla-San Javier in Spain, in France at the Jazz Marciac, and the Cotton Club in Tokyo. He has performed at music festivals in Spain, Germany, France, Japan, Denmark, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, and United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe KISSKruise was a good experience,\u201d said Hicks. \u201cSo was Joe Bonamassa Blues Alive at Sea Cruise.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy early mentor was Melvin Sparks. I learned a lot about jazz and blues from him. Another main mentor was Junior Mack. When I was 21, I was playing with his band every Tuesday at B.B. King\u2019s in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melvin Sparks, who passed away in 2011, was an American\u00a0soul jazz,\u00a0hard bop\u00a0and\u00a0jazz blues\u00a0guitarist who recorded several albums for\u00a0Prestige Records and Savant Records. He appeared on many recordings with musicians including\u00a0Lou Donaldson,\u00a0Sonny Stitt,\u00a0Leon Spencer\u00a0and\u00a0Johnny Hammond Smith. Junior Mack is a veteran guitarist who played in Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band with Allman Brothers Band drummer Jaimoe.<\/p>\n

Hicks released his debut album, \u201cHARLEM,\u201d on March 13, 2020 on Provogue Records, a Dutch label that label specializes in\u00a0rock\u00a0and\u00a0blues. Provogue\u2019s catalog includes\u00a0Joe Bonamassa,\u00a0Beth Hart,\u00a0Eric Johnson,\u00a0Robert Cray,\u00a0Gov’t Mule,\u00a0Philip Sayce, and\u00a0Warren Haynes.<\/p>\n

\u201cKirk Yano produced the album,\u201d said Hicks. \u201cMy show at Sellersville will be a trio with Kirk on bass, Mike Rodbard on drums and me on guitar. I also did a Livestream show there back in July with Kirk on bass and Mikey Jr. on drums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yano\u00a0is a multiple Grammy-winning recording engineer with several Platinum and Gold RIAA Awards,\u00a0who\u00a0has worked with acts such as Miles Davis, Public Enemy, Phoebe Snow and Savoy Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cHARLEM\u201d features originals such as the roadhouse ready \u201c421 South Main,\u201d the gospel shuffle of \u201cHave Mercy on Me\u201d and the aching instrumental \u201cRiverside Drive\u201d along with classics such as \u201cEvery Day I Sing the Blues\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s Alright.\u201d The LP also features Blood, Sweat & Tears\u2019 \u201cI Love You More Than You Will Ever Know,\u201d Gary Wright\u2019s \u201cLove is Alive\u201d\u00a0and Sonny Boy Williamson\u2019s \u201cHelp Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album over two years at Kirk\u2019s studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn,\u201d said Hicks. \u201cIt\u2019s not a traditional blues album. I have one leg in blues and on the other leg, I\u2019m trying to throw in different genres.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked hard on developing my sound. What keeps me going is when I see people get up and dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for King\u00a0Solomon\u00a0Hicks — https:\/\/youtu.be\/TWOY8ypiJec<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

John Byrne<\/p><\/div>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Saturday night will start at 8 p.m. and will also be available via Livestream. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Pay-per-view tickets are $15.<\/p>\n

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will present two editions of its Rooftop Series this week.<\/p>\n

The venue will host the John Byrne Band on May 29 and Chris Smither on June 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times \u201cNile\u201d and \u201cancient\u201d are words that go together well \u2013 but not always. The word \u201cancient\u201d is frequently used to describe the area along the Nile River, which is the longest river in the world at 4,130 miles. The word \u201cancient\u201d is often used by younger music fans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,12547,13674,13849,9671],"class_list":["post-48362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-john-byrne","tag-king-solomon-hicks","tag-mr-unloved","tag-willie-nile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48362","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=48362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48363,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48362\/revisions\/48363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}