{"id":54270,"date":"2024-06-27T08:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T12:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=54270"},"modified":"2024-06-27T08:39:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T12:39:01","slug":"on-stage-celebrating-13-years-of-better-than-bacon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=54270","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Celebrating 13 years of Better Than Bacon"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Better Than Bacon<\/p><\/div>\n

The weekend\u2019s attractive line-up of live entertainment starts early this weekend with a local comedy favorite in West Chester, a prog rock band in Kennett Square and an unusual circus in Bensalem.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Better Than Bacon is coming back to Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) on June 27.<\/div>\n
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Better Than Bacon Improv\u00a0is a short form improv comedy troupe based in West Chester. BTB performs short skits and games based on audience suggestions, often inviting audience members on stage.<\/div>\n

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Improv comedy is a one-time only performance without scripts or nets. What audiences experience in one show will never be seen again. The spontaneity of improv makes improvisational comedy one of the most challenging forms of comedy.<\/div>\n
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BTB\u2019s current troupe members hail from all over the Philly suburbs including Malvern, Exton, West Chester, Kennett Square, Wilmington and Phoenixville. The troupe\u2019s artistic backgrounds include improv, acting, stand-up comedy, and music.<\/div>\n
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The cast includes comedians Lauren Henry, Bob Curran, Jack Dibeler, Brett Heller, Lauren Burawski, Sarah Hennessey, Susan Price, Greg Faber, Dan Freed, David James and Kevin O\u2019Connell.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve been together professionally since 2011,\u201d said Henry, during a phone interview Monday from her home in West Chester.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe all live in Chester County except for a few in Swarthmore and Wilmington.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt started with a bunch of us meeting at Chester County Night School in West Chester. We got to be friends, took classes and picked up more people. We decided to start our own troupe and found a director. The committed people stayed.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe had our first gig at Kennett Flash in June 2011. We have regular dates at Uptown, Kennett Flash and Media Arts Council. We play mostly in Chester County and northern and central Delaware. We don\u2019t play Philly because of territorial turf wars.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In a fashion similar to the TV show \u201cWhose Line Is It Anyway?,\u201d the members of the troupe make up every single word and perform every single action completely on-the-spot\u2026and it\u2019s all driven by audience suggestions. Every show is a brand-new experience.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have 15-16 games in a show,\u201d said Henry, who graduated from York College with a degree in radio and television communication. \u201cIt\u2019s like \u2018Whose Line Is It?\u201d We call one of the sketches \u2018the guessing game.\u2019\u201d<\/div>\n
Even though the shows are improv shows, BTB still spends a lot of time and effort rehearsing.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe still rehearse after all these years,\u201d said Henry. \u201cWe get together every week for about two hours. Uptown allows us to practice at their place.<\/div>\n
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\u201cEverything we do in our shows is spontaneous. It\u2019s a very interactive show. Everything we do is based on audience suggestion.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Better Than Bacon \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Y5sem4ZDsl4<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at the Uptown will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.<\/div>\n
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Joe Deninzon began his career as a recording artist with a solo release, \u201cElectric Blue,\u201d in 1998 on Wilbert\u2019s Blues Records. Right from the start, he was a busy musician<\/div>\n
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Now, a quarter of a century later, Deninzon is still very busy \u2013 maybe busier than he\u2019s ever been.<\/div>\n
Deninzon is currently a founding member of the band Stratospheerius and, since May 2023, the violin player for rock legends Kansas.<\/div>\n
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\"\"On June 27, Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius will headline a show at Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, kennettflash.org<\/a><\/u>)<\/div>\n
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Stratospheerius\u00a0is an American\u00a0progressive rock\u00a0band based in New York City. The band is led by electric violinist Joe Deninzon, who also plays the\u00a0mandolin\u00a0and serves as the band\u2019s\u00a0lead vocalist.<\/div>\n
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Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius\u2019 set will feature some of the band\u2019s well-known older material, as well as new music from their upcoming studio album, \u201cImpostor!\u201d <\/b>to be released on 7D Media (City Hall distribution) this October. New songs include \u201cOutrage Olympics\u201d and \u201cVoodoo Vortex,\u201d \u201cStorm Surge,\u201d and the title track, \u201cImpostor!\u201d Old favorites are planned, notably songs from the band\u2019s recent double CD\/DVD-Blu ray box set, \u201cBehind the Curtain (Live at ProgStock)\u201d: \u201cThe Prism,\u201d \u201cGame of Chicken,\u201d \u201cOne Foot in The Next World,\u201d and \u201cBehind the Curtain.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Deninzon\u00a0is the new violinist with legendary rockers Kansas, now on tour celebrating their 50th anniversary. He has played violin for the Who, Bruce Springsteen, 50Cent, Sheryl Crow, and as the concertmaster for Renaissance.<\/div>\n
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Other members of Stratospheerius are drummer Jason Gianni, guitarist Michelangelo Quirinale and bassist Paul Ranieri.<\/div>\n
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The band took a break as Deninzon and bassist Bob Bowen teamed up with guitarist Steve Benson in 2010 as the\u00a0Joe Deninzon Trio\u00a0to record the acoustic jazz album, \u201cExuberance.\u201d In 2011, Deninzon joined the faculty of the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp.<\/div>\n
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Despite numerous personnel changes, Deninzon kept Stratospheerius alive \u2013 and stayed very busy.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI did 38 shows with Kansas since June,\u201d said Deninzon, during a phone interview last year from his home in Old Tappan, New Jersey.<\/div>\n
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Kansas is on a break. I have a few shows with Stratospheerius \u2013 and we\u2019re finishing the next album.<\/div>\n
After creating the SonicVoyageFest Tour, Stratospheerius performed in Chicago\u2019s Progtoberfest 2017, and at ProgStock in 2019, 2020 and 2021.<\/div>\n
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Stratospheerius plays a style of music that defies categorization \u2014 a blend of straight-up rock, jazz, folk, fusion, prog-rock and funk.\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0describes the band\u2019s sound as \u201cpsychojazz trip funk.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Deninzon\u00a0& Stratospheerius released their most recent album, \u201cGuilty of Innocence,\u201d in 2017.<\/div>\n
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\u201cGuilty of Innocence\u201d highlights include a reimagined cover of muse\u2019s \u201cHysteria,\u201d a 12-minute prog epic titled \u201cSoul Food\u201d and \u201cDream Diary Cadenza,\u201d a solo electric violin extravaganza by\u00a0Deninzon.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMaking this album was a long process,\u201d said\u00a0Deninzon. \u201cWe had a new approach. Usually, we\u2019d get 10 or more songs together and book a studio. This time, we did one of two songs at a time and released them as singles.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAnd we revisited stuff from 2014 and tweaked it. It was cost-effective \u2013 a single here and there. Also, it allowed us to make each song the best it could be.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe let it evolve naturally. The only real challenge was to make the album sound cohesive \u2013 and it does. Nowadays, people expect you to come up with new stuff all the time. But, as a musician, you want your music to be good \u2013 and that takes time.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Deninzon, who plays a special seven-string Trident electric violin known as The Viper, has a diverse music background and a long history with his band Stratospheerius.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve had the band for quite a while now \u2014 in a lot of configurations,\u201d said\u00a0Deninzon. \u201cI recorded my first CD when I was in Cleveland. It was called \u2018Electric\/Blue\u2019, and it was a jazz fusion album. Over the years, I wanted to go in a more rock direction.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen I moved to New York, I formed the Joe\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0Band and it later became Stratospheerius. I\u2019ve always loved rock and folk music. Back then, I had two things going \u2014 playing guitar and singing in coffee shops and playing jazz music with my band.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Deninzon had diverse influences.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI looked at artists like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Popper \u2014 bands that were instrumentally great and were fronted by a vocalist,\u201d said\u00a0Deninzon, who was born in St. Petersburg (Russia) and moved to Cleveland when he was a boy and his father landed a position as violinist for the Cleveland Orchestra.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was also influenced by progressive rock bands from the 1970s such as Yes, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m a big rock fan \u2014 always have been. I studied jazz in college, but rock is what I wanted to play. Vocals are important. We have a lot of instrumentals but 70 per cent of our songs feature vocals. With all the different genres, I was finding my way over the years.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cStratospheerius has grown into a progressive rock band \u2014 a progressive rock band with cool vocals,\u201d said Deninzon. \u201cOur stuff has gotten more structured. But I also like the element of freedom. I never play a song the same way twice.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Joe\u00a0Deninzon\u00a0& Stratospheerius \u2013 https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fo\/mer2vzxdw5xsvcawh6aya\/h\/Behind%20the%20Curtain%20Live%20Final%20comp.mov?rlkey=95b7uaiedulnljyepmdwxt012&dl=0<\/a><\/u>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Kennett Flash, which has Tim Motzer as the opening act, will start at 7 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $25<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at Kennett Flash are Sug on June 29 and Buffalo Nicholson June 30.<\/div>\n
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The intriguing new production\u00a0Paranormal\u00a0Cirque\u00a0(https:\/\/paranormalcirque.com<\/a>), which is intended for a mature audience, is touching down at several locations over the next six weeks \u2013 Lancaster (June 20-23), Bensalem (June 27-30), Whitehall (July 4-7), Pottstown (July 18-21 and Dover, Delaware (July 25-28).<\/div>\n
This weekend, the circus will set up at Park City Center, which is located at 142 Park City Center in Lancaster.<\/div>\n
Paranormal\u00a0Cirque\u00a0will expose audiences to a unique creation of combined theatre, circus, and cabaret with a new European style flare.<\/div>\n
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This innovative horror story, which is presented in true circus style under a Big Top tent, features different shades of sexy and an incomparable storyline. Audiences likely will find it difficult to separate reality from illusion at this show as they fall into a parallel world and end up surrounded by monstrous creatures with hidden talents.<\/div>\n
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Currently,\u00a0Paranormal\u00a0Cirque\u00a0has three tours running \u2013 Paranormal\u00a0Cirque, Paranormal\u00a0Cirque II and Paranormal\u00a0Cirque III. The tour visiting our area is Paranormal\u00a0Cirque III<\/div>\n
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Paranormal\u00a0Cirque\u2019s \u201cClown Castle\u201d (also known as the Big Top) presents a mesmerizing effect while hosting a two-hour hypnotizing and enchanted show.<\/div>\n
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A careful casting selection has united the best artists from all over the world.<\/div>\n
Under this Clown Castle, the black and red big top tent, there are aerial acrobats, illusionists, freaks, mysterious creatures and all the elements that make one think of a \u201cnormal\u201d circus \u2013 but this one is not \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/div>\n
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A new show with breathtaking implications always poised between fun and the most uninhibited fear that will transport you to a dark world inhabited by creatures with incredible circus art abilities. A crazy yet fun fusion between circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream \u2026 and when we had nightmares and fantasies.<\/div>\n
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Video link for\u00a0Paranormal\u00a0Cirque\u00a0\u2014 https:\/\/youtu.be\/locxFnh5UR8<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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One of the more interesting shows this weekend should be the concert by the Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha. The quartet, which is based in Kyiv (Kiev), will perform on June 28 as part of the 2024 Concerts Under the Stars series in King of Prussia, which has returned for its 38th season.<\/div>\n
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Presented and produced by Rising Sun Presents, the team behind the Philly suburbs\u2019 premier music venues Ardmore Music Hall\u00a0and 118 North\u00a0in Wayne, the summer-long series will again take place at the scenic Upper\u00a0Merion\u00a0Township Building Park (175 West Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia, www.concertsunderthestarskop.com<\/a>) and will include a mix of ticketed and free concerts.<\/div>\n
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The veteran foursome includes Marko Halanevych (vocal<\/a>, goblet drum<\/a>, tabla<\/a>, didgeridoo<\/a>, harmonica<\/a>, accordion<\/a>, caj\u00f3n<\/a>),\u00a0Olena Tsybulska (vocal<\/a>, percussion instrument<\/a>),Iryna Kovalenko (vocal<\/a>, djembe<\/a>, flute<\/a>, buhay<\/a>, piano<\/a>, ukulele<\/a>) and\u00a0Nina Harenetska (vocal<\/a>, cello<\/a>).\u00a0All of the members are graduates of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The group\u2019s name derives from Ukrainian verbs \u0414\u0430\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0438 and \u0411\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0438, meaning \u201cgive\u201d and \u201ctake.\u201d DakhaBrakha is world-music quartet that blends elements of sound and soul to create what it calls Ukrainian \u201cethnic chaos.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA lot of our songs can be traced back to pre-Christian times,\u201d said Halanevych, during an interview through an interpreter the last time DakhaBrakha played Delaware.<\/div>\n
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\u201cEvery song has a traditional source \u2013 traditional lyrics about nature and harvest and things like that. Some songs get changed from traditional through unusual arrangements and some do not change much at all.\u201d<\/div>\n
DakhaBrakha was created in 2004 at the Kyiv Center of Contemporary Art \u201cDAKH\u201d by the avant-garde theatre director \u2013 Vladyslav Troitskiy. Theatre work has left its mark on the band. In addition to experimenting with Ukrainian folk music, DakhaBrakha has added rhythms from around the world in its music.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s discography includes \u201c\u041d\u0430 \u0434\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0456\u0447\u201d (2005), \u201c\u042f\u0433\u0443\u0434\u043a\u0438\u201d (2007),\u201d\u041d\u0430 \u043c\u0435\u0436\u0456\u201d (2009), \u201cLight<\/a>\u201d\u00a0(2010), \u201c\u0425\u043c\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0432\u0430 project\u201d (2012) and \u201c\u0428\u043b\u044f\u0445\u201d (2016). DakhaBrakha also has three soundtracks to its credit \u2013 \u201cBitter Harvest\u201d (2017 film, <\/a>Canada<\/a>), \u201cMavka. The Forest Song<\/a>\u201d\u00a0(2016, Ukraine<\/a>) and \u201cFargo\u201d (2017, TV series, <\/a>United States<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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Accompanied by\u00a0Indian, Arabic, African, Russian and Australian traditional instrumentation, the Slavic foursome\u2019s powerful and uncompromising vocal range creates a\u00a0trans-national sound rooted in\u00a0Ukrainian culture.<\/div>\n
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DakhaBrakha\u2019s three female vocalists have spent many summers traveling around Ukraine\u2019s villages collecting songs and learning from elder women in remote areas. Like these village tradition-bearers, they have spent years singing together, a fact that resonates in the beautifully close, effortlessly blended sound of their voices.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe core of our music is Ukrainian folk music,\u201d said Halanevych. \u201cAnd, we try to mix in other styles of music \u2013 different styles of folk music. We like different styles of music \u2013 especially world music.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe also like classical 20th-century minimalist music like that of Philip Glass. That style of music had also influenced us a lot. The methods of minimalism helped us with our approach to traditional folk music. But, the main element is always the Ukrainian folk tradition.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for DakhaBrakha \u2014 https:\/\/youtu.be\/1a5ktK5xTkY<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at Upper Merion, which has Native Harrow as the opening act will start at 7 p.m.<\/div>\n
On June 28, the spotlight at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a><\/u>) will be on Johns (not the Philly mutant word \u201cJawns\u201d).<\/div>\n
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The show on Friday night will feature, as the name implies, two Johns \u2013 Johnny Never and John Colgan-Davis, the front man for the Dukes of Destiny. The duo features John Colgan-Davis and Johnny Never.<\/div>\n
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According to Colgan-Davis, \u201cI do want to take this opportunity to remind folks of this Friday night\u2019s appearance of The Two Johns and The Dukes of Destiny at The World Caf\u00e9. I am super-excited about this gig. It is a special night in a special place, and we hope to see you all there.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Dukes of Destiny, who have been treating fans to live performances of top-flight blues and soul music for almost three decades, are back in action with a lineup built around John\u00a0Colgan-Davis\u00a0(harmonica, vocals) and AC Steel (guitar, vocals).<\/div>\n
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In 1985, five young, local musicians got together and began playing old blues songs in a rambling three-story house in Philadelphia. They decided to take the act on the road as The Dukes of Destiny, a name they got from a matchbook cover urging the reader to \u201cBe the Captain of Your Own Destiny.\u201d<\/div>\n
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At first, The Dukes of Destiny played house parties in Germantown, generating interest by word of mouth. A gig at the now-defunct Taker\u2019s Caf\u00e9 in Germantown launched their public career, and 30 years later, they are still playing some of the hottest, most danceable blues and old school soul in the Philadelphia area. Today The Dukes of Destiny reign as Philadelphia\u2019s longest-lived and best loved blues act.<\/div>\n
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There have been changes in the act: guitarists left and came back, bass and sax players moved and or left the band, and sadly, singer and founder Steve Brown died in March of 2000. But the approach and commitment of the band has remained constant for 30 years, resulting in a band with a unique tightness and an original approach to the music.<\/div>\n
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With a mix of powerful original songs and unique arrangements of blues standards, The Dukes of Destiny continue to grow and develop as they share their music through countless live performances and recordings.<\/div>\n
The current line-up also features Hammond organ ace Glenn Bickel, drummer Michael Rourke, and organist Ray Adler.<\/div>\n
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A few years ago, the Dukes\u2019 lineup went through a major change when vocalist Aryl Wolters retired from the band. As a result,\u00a0Colgan-Davis\u00a0had a dual role with the Dukes.<\/div>\n
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\u201cNow that Arlyn is gone, I\u2019m doing the majority of the singing,\u201d said\u00a0Colgan-Davis. \u201cI was singing before Arlyn so now it\u2019s back to the roots.<\/div>\n
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In addition to performing at most of the clubs in the Tri-State area, the Dukes of Destiny have\u00a0performed at the Pocono Blues Festival, the Waterfront Jam at Philadelphia\u2019s Penn\u2019s Landing, the State Street Blues Stroll in Media, the Bucks County R\u2019n\u2019B Picnic, the New Jersey Folk Festival and the Longwood Gardens Summer Concert Series.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor the past few years, we\u2019ve had great years,\u201d said\u00a0Colgan-Davis\u00a0back in 2019. \u201cWe played places we had never played before \u2013 like the Philadelphia Folk Festival. We also played places we really love like The Kennett Flash and the West Grove Friends Meeting.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe played the Phoenixville Blues Festival and the Paoli Blues Festival. We really love playing The Kennett Flash. And we love our Chester County crowd.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Audiences that like to get out of their seats and dance are a big part of the Dukes of Destiny live experience.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe get all kinds of dancers at our shows,\u201d said\u00a0Colgan-Davis. \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing a lot more festivals. We\u2019re back on the festival circuit. I love playing festivals for a couple reasons. You get a whole bunch of people playing together. That takes me back to the 60s and the be-ins back then.<\/div>\n
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\u201cSun Ra had said the message that music is the healing force of the universe, and you feel that at festivals. And kids get to hear real music played by real people. With a band like us that plays off the crowd, a festival show is a real exciting thing.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Colgan-Davis\u2019s introduction to the blues came when he was in high school at Central High in Philadelphia and saw the Stones performing with Howling Wolf on the \u201cShindig\u201d TV show. Howlin\u2019 Wolf, whose real name was Chester Burnett, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player who was one of the premier Chicago bluesmen.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen I saw Howlin\u2019 Wolf on that TV show, I jumped up and said \u2014 this is what I want to do,\u201d said\u00a0Colgan-Davis. \u201cI started playing blues when I was 16. My dad gave me a grab bag for my birthday and a harmonica was in it.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI started listening to blues records a lot \u2014 players like Muddy Waters and James Cotton. I was really into Chicago blues of the 1950s and 1960s when I started. Then, I got into guys like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. One of the first bands I played in was a Philly blues band called Sweet Stavin\u2019 Chain.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Sweet Stavin\u2019 Chain were a white blues group with horns\u00a0led by the late, great Danny Starobin on guitar.<\/div>\n
A while later, the Dukes of Destiny became the main musical vehicle for\u00a0Colgan-Davis.\u00a0At first, they played house parties in Germantown, generating word of mouth interest. A gig at the now-defunct Taker\u2019s Cafe in Germantown launched their public career.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Dukes got together in the mid-1980s,\u201d said\u00a0Colgan-Davis. \u201cSteve Brown started the band, and it began with that gig at Taker\u2019s Caf\u00e9. Steve died of pancreatic cancer in 2000 and I\u2019ve been the leader ever since. Steve has always been in my mind. We did a tribute concert to him a few years ago and we still do some of his favorites in our set.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have a whole range of music in what we can play \u2014 everything from Chicago blues to old-school soul. What\u2019s great about the Dukes is that we\u2019re a band. We use each other\u2019s strengths.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for the Dukes of Destiny \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/j5fM0sugB5w<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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East Coast bluesman Johnny Never has a mission to deliver pure, unadulterated vintage blues to those who already love the blues as well as those who have never heard it. Whether solo or with accompaniment, Never has energized audiences in Northern Maryland, Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey from small bars and restaurants to music halls such as the MAC Concert Series, The Mainstay, the Kennett Flash and Jamie\u2019s House of Music.<\/div>\n
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Never, who has also performed in a variety of music festivals, delivers his take on the blues as a solo performer as well as with a duo and a trio.<\/div>\n
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Often referred to by blues enthusiasts as \u201cthe real deal,\u201d Never pays homage to, but does not mimic, the vast array of original bluesmen that gave birth to the genre more than a century ago. He is known for his covers of artists like Son House, Robert Johnson, and Charlie Patton.<\/div>\n
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His original compositions possess the qualities of the genuine article, delivered through deft finger-style guitar work and a voice that reeks of authenticity.<\/div>\n
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These qualities have earned him recognition by blues and folk music societies from Memphis to Philadelphia. In 2014, Johnny was a quarterfinalist in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.<\/div>\n
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Colgan-Davis, harmonica and vocals, started playing the harmonica in local blues and folk clubs back in the late 1960s while he was still a high school student. He played and recorded with Philadelphia singer-guitarist Jesse Graves and played with Bonnie Raitt when she lived in Philadelphia in the early 1970s.<\/div>\n
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Through Raitt, he had the opportunity to meet and play with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Arthur Crudup, Buddy Guy, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, and others. He has also jammed with James Cotton, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Bill Dicey, and Louisiana Red.<\/div>\n
For a long time, the two Philly area blues aces were aware of each other and their talents. A few years ago, their paths came together.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAbout four years ago, Johnny and I were at the same gig and started talking,\u201d said Colgan-Davis. \u201cWe started hanging out together. Then, I sat in with him at a mini-festival but I can\u2019t remember where. It was somewhere out in the country. He also had a bass player with him \u2013 Dave Young who since has moved to Colorado.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In a prior phone interview, Never said, \u201cJohn is a great harmonica player. I\u2019ve been playing blues for decades and had a parting of ways with my previous harmonica player. I called John up to see what would happen.\u201d<\/div>\n
Colgan-Davis said, \u201cFor the past few years, we\u2019ve been playing as The Two Johns. Our first real show was at Hummingbird on Mars in Wilmington.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI love playing acoustic again. There are things you can do as an acoustic harp player that you can\u2019t do with a loud band.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cJohnny is a very good picker and a great slide player. He\u2019s also a great Piedmont Blues player.\u201d<\/div>\n
Colgan-Davis and the harmonica have a long history together.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWith The Two Johns, we play a couple songs I played in high school \u2013 including Son House\u2019s \u2018Death Letter Blues.\u2019 We play a lot of Piedmont Blues, ragtime and some 1920s jazz \u2018Ain\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019,\u2019 a Fats Waller\u00a0song. We do things I haven\u2019t found a way to do with the Dukes of Destiny.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Never said, \u201cMusic is about feel. When you play with somebody, you need to make sure you can connect with the feel. John\u2019s playing works very well with old blues \u2013\u00a0especially Piedmont style. I play guitar almost exclusively acoustic. Early blues didn\u2019t have electric guitar.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI got attracted to early acoustic blues as a young person. It was a slow evolution. As a teenager, I heard recordings by Charley Patton and Son\u00a0House. It hit me \u2013 and really stuck with me. When I was in my late 30s and early 40s, I really started working at it.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With regard to The Two Johns, you have Never and Colgan-Davis.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With regard to Never, you actually have three Johns \u2013 Johnny Never which is the stage name for John\u00a0Carleton\u00a0and John Dorchester, the artist\u2019s real name.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
John Dorchester is a multi-discipline artist\/creator who grew up in West Chester and attended West Chester Henderson before graduating from Westtown School.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As an adolescent, he had a keen interest in landscape painting and filmmaking \u2014 studying painting with Nantucket artist, Warren Krebs, and filmmaking with Earl Fowler, whose famous brother, Jim, made nature films for Mutual of Omaha\u2019s \u201cWild Kingdom.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Video link for Johnny Never \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/ny2EmfXYMR0<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live will start at 7:30 p.m.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tickets are $25<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The weekend\u2019s attractive line-up of live entertainment starts early this weekend with a local comedy favorite in West Chester, a prog rock band in Kennett Square and an unusual circus in Bensalem. Better Than Bacon is coming back to Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[3897,7426,10877],"class_list":["post-54270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-better-than-bacon","tag-featured","tag-joe-deninzon-stratospheerius"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54270","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=54270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54271,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54270\/revisions\/54271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}