{"id":53968,"date":"2024-04-25T09:19:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53968"},"modified":"2024-04-26T08:59:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T12:59:34","slug":"on-stage-zoe-kos-career-coming-on-like-a-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53968","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Zoe Ko’s career coming on like a storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"

Zoe Ko<\/p><\/div>\n

Zoe Ko\u2019s music career is like a storm brewing in the distance.<\/p>\n

You can feel it in the air. You know it\u2019s coming. And you know that it\u2019s going to be a major event.<\/p>\n

Ko grew up in New York and recently has relocated to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

She has released one EP, \u201cBaby Teeth,\u201d along with a bunch of emotional alt-pop singles and is now on her first full-scale national tour.<\/p>\n

The tour, which also features Games We Play and House Parties, will touch down locally on April 25 at the First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia,\u00a0215-563-3980).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tour is a roller coaster of emotions \u2013 so many highs and lows each day\u201d said Ko, during a phone interview from Washington, D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool. It\u2019s my first long tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tour started in Detroit in mid-March, travelled to the Pacific Northwest with a show in Vancouver and now has wound its way across the country and back to the East Coast.<\/p>\n

Ko grew up in New York and studied at the Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music (a part of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts).<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Queens and went to school in Manhattan at the School of the Future,\u201d said Ko. \u201cThen, I moved to Manhattan. A year ago, I moved to L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird. I grew up in New York and I have a love\/hate relationship with the city. I moved to California because I wanted to experience a new place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ko\u00a0is the latest signing to Big Loud Rock, the alternative\/rock imprint of Big Loud Records and home to genre standouts Blame My Youth, Letdown., HARDY, Jagwar Twin, and Yam Haus, in partnership with Double Down 11.<\/p>\n

In celebration of the announcement, Ko released her new angsty, rock-infused single, \u201cDirt,\u201d which was co-written and produced by Jonny Shorr. It is her first release since last year\u2019s debut EP, \u201cBaby Teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy very first release was \u2018Line\u2019 in May 2022, and I\u2019ve released 11 singles since then,\u201d said Ko. \u201cMy first EP, \u2018Baby Teeth,\u2019 came out last November.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the singles were done with Jonny Shorr. He has his home studio in L.A. Right now, I\u2019m living in Los Feliz on the east side of L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere in L.A., I found myself missing the grit and dirt of New York City. The stereotypes are true in L.A., and I missed the rawness and no bullshit attitude of people in New York. \u00a0I liked the word \u2018dirt\u2019, so I wrote a gritty dance track \u2013 a song like what I used to hear in of my favorite clubs in Manhattan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ko\u2019s songwriting is the result of a smart, talented musician coming of age in NYC and L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually always come up with a concept or some lyric I want to land on. Next is the guitar riff and then build it up with the drums. The topics come from my life although some details may be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ko cited her musical influences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love old No Doubt songs and anything else that Gwen Stefani has done,\u201d said Ko. \u201cI also have been influenced by Olivia Rodrigo, Kesha, Avril Lavigne. I always have attitude and I like women with attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ko showed some of that attitude this week when she released a new single, \u201cEat,\u201d on Wednesday with \u201cDirt\u201d as the B-side. It is a not-so-subtle suggestion to her Angeleno friends that they need to add some New York-style grit and dirt to their cultural diets.<\/p>\n

Video link for Zoe Ko — https:\/\/youtu.be\/89TVkSeOmGQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the First Unitarian Church will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $22.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome From Away\u201d is a hit musical about the people in Newfoundland and their activity after the terrorist attacks in America in 2001. The musical opened in 2017 and has played to packed houses all over North America.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Alan Doyle<\/p><\/div>\n

Prior to the arrival of the musical, very few people in America had any idea what or where Newfoundland was \u2013 unless they were music fans. Those fans were well aware of the Canadian province (actually Newfoundland and Labrador) through the music of Great Big Sea, songwriter\/folk singer Ron Hynes and guitarist\/vocalist Alan Doyle.<\/p>\n

Actually, Doyle was a founding member of Great Big Sea. He left to pursue a solo career and has released a number of well-received albums since.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Doyle released his first solo album,\u00a0\u201cBoy on Bridge.\u201d The title is a nod to Doyle’s credit as the “boy on bridge” in the movie \u201cA Whale for the Killing,\u201d when he was a young boy.<\/p>\n

Doyle, who primarily plays electric and acoustic guitars, is out on the road to support \u201cWelcome Home\u201d\u00a0(out now on Warner Music Canada) on a North American Tour. He has a performance\u00a0scheduled for April 30 at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome Home\u201d\u00a0is his sixth solo release since departing Great Big Sea. The album features marquee co-writers Jimmy Rankin, Donovan Woods, and Hollywood actor Oscar Isaac. The album presents nine original songs that are both typically buoyant and surprisingly intimate, what Doyle refers to as \u201cthe lower and slower: the lower part of my vocal range and the slower songs. I\u2019m letting myself do that for the first time on this record,\u201d which he cut in Montreal with producer-engineer Marcus Paquin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album came out in the middle of February,\u201d said Doyle, during a phone interview Tuesday from his home in St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did about 30 concerts in Canda \u2013 from British Columbia to Halifax. Leg Two is in the U.S. Leg Three will be all over \u2013 U.S., Canada and Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded about 12 songs in June 2023 in Montreal with Marcus Pacquin,\u201d said Doyle, who grew up in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. \u201cWe did it at Studio P.M. It was a beautiful studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout half of the songs were written during COVID and a few came later. There is also \u2018How Did We Get From Saying I Love You,\u2019 which I wrote the song Great Big Sea in 1997. The arrangement on the new album is quite different.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith COVID, I was in St. John\u2019s almost two years in a row. I wrote songs. I wrote a book. I wrote a musical. I produced a couple records, including a 20-song compilation tribute to Ron Hynes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor about a year, we had no COVID in Newfoundland. The first summer was one of greater isolation. I learned really early, it was not only O.K. to write about things in your backyard, it was essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought it was cool to write about people in Petty Harbour. There are only about 500 people in Petty Harbour, but it was very busy with fisheries. It was always very active. Most of the people in Petty Harbour worked in the fisheries and a lot of the others worked in Newfoundland Light and Power\u2019s hydroelectric plant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doyle attended\u00a0Memorial University of Newfoundland\u00a0in\u00a0St. John’s, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. It is also there that he met\u00a0S\u00e9an McCann,\u00a0Bob Hallett\u00a0and\u00a0Darrell Power\u00a0with whom he formed\u00a0Great Big Sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family music tradition began long before I can remember,\u201d said Doyle, who has also been involved with a handful of stage, television and film productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did some songwriting as a teenager, but I didn\u2019t really go in it in a big way until Great Big Sea. In the early 90s, I really became a songwriter. I was influenced by musicians like John Cougar (Mellencamp).\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately for music fans, Doyle opted to be a singer\/songwriter\/guitarist rather than a cod fisherman.<\/p>\n

Video link for Alan Doyle \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/XNJm_e3y798<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville Theater will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $45.<\/p>\n

Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) will host the Matt Waters Band on April 26.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. It will also be available as a pay-per-view at $15.<\/p>\n

On April 27, live entertainment will be provided by the Katie Barbato Band.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s House of Music will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. It will also be available as a pay-per-view at $15.<\/p>\n

Jamey\u2019s features either \u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d or \u201cAnything Goes\u201d on Thursdays featuring the Dave Reiter Trio and occasional guest musicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d will be presented every second and fourth Thursday, and \u201cAnything Goes\u201d every first, third and fifth Thursday.<\/p>\n

Every Sunday, Jamey\u2019s presents \u201cSUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM\u201d featuring the Philly Blues Kings. On the second Sunday each month, the featured act is the Girke-Davis Project which features club owner Jamey Reilly, Roger Girke, Glenn Bickel, Fred Berman and Colgan-Davis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Zoe Ko\u2019s music career is like a storm brewing in the distance. You can feel it in the air. You know it\u2019s coming. And you know that it\u2019s going to be a major event. Ko grew up in New York and recently has relocated to Los Angeles. She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[15601,7426,15600],"class_list":["post-53968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-alan-doyle","tag-featured","tag-zoe-ko"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53968","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=53968"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53971,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53968\/revisions\/53971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}