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Contributed by Christopher Zebo
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Rockwood Music Hall Hosts Genre Defying Sounds
By Chris Zebo, Correspondent
It isn’t difficult to catch a free show in the Lower East Side these
days. Perambulate a few blocks along Ludlow Street and you’re
likely to hear live music spilling out of four or five venues.
But, if you haven’t noticed, the sounds pouring over our eardrums are
becoming more and more difficult to classify. As musicians
continue to innovate and amalgamate styles, the boundaries of genres
are dissolving and interlarding.
Sure, experimentation has long been the idée fixe of the Lower East
Side, but where does it end? The music coming out of lower
Manhattan has diversified to such an extent in recent years that “genre
crossing” is inevitably becoming a genre itself.
Like everything else in the melting pot’s entertainment marketplace,
we’re glutted with choices. Nowadays, deciding which group
to see is like choosing an entrée off a trendy dinner menu (“Hmmm…do I
want the rockabilly-salsa-surf-rock fusion or the Americana with a
dollop of delta blues tonight?).
In times like these, do like the gastronomes do: trust your gut and
return to the place that serves consistent fare regardless of changes
in the recipe.
The Rockwood Music Hall is such an establishment. Tucked between
Stanton and East Houston at 196 Allen Street, this unassuming venue
plays host to under-the-radar talent seven nights a week.
Proprietor Ken Rockwood opened the 525-square-foot hall (affectionately
called the “Rockwood Music Box” by admiring performers) in January of
this year.
“The [Rockwood] is a lesson in ergonomics,” says frequent patron, Bryan
Pugh. “They store beer and wine underneath the performers,” he
says, pointing to the stage’s patchwork of lids that cover storage
compartments. “And the chef puts the food together behind the
bar, beside the bartender.”
Don’t let the Rockwood’s size fool you. The place is big on
ambition. For example, the curtains hanging around the pie-slice
stage were a donation from a much larger venue downtown, the Radio City
Music Hall. And don’t be surprised if you happen to rub shoulders
with local star power on any given night. Nora Jones has been
known to stop by and--get this--“accompany” her friend’s performances
on piano.
Word around town is musicians are willing to sacrifice lambs to get
their groups on stage. Why? Because of the venue’s
sound. Before the hall opened, Rockwood arranged for an acclaimed
sound technician to soundproof the space. The exposed brick walls
around the stage were padded strategically to swallow echoes and mute
radical noise, while wooden slats on the ceiling were tapered
geometrically to transmit sound evenly throughout the room. The
result: studio quality
circumambience.
If perfect sound paired with a salmagundi music roster is what you’re
looking for, then this is the place. On any given night, the
aural pastiche Rockwood whips up is likely to pique at least one of
your musical taste buds. In this month alone, Rockwood’s wee
stage has showcased New York’s cocktail pop starlets the Lascivious
Biddies, rising Canadian singer Lily Frost, and Brooklyn’s prolific
Casey Neil. The Washington Post calls the Lascivious Biddies
“Manhattan’s hippest girl group pop-jazz cabaret.” And Casey
Neil’s sound has been described as an alchemy of modern roots rock with
country, punk, and Celtic styles.
But if you want to treat yourself, try to catch returning performers
Kara Suzanne and the Gojo Hearts. They grace the stage at least
once a month, and their sound--Americana, old school country, rock,
folk, 60s pop--is best described as a genre mosaic. Don’t be
surprised if in one song you hear elements of ragtime and high plains
country blended with an interlude suggesting Debussy’s La Mer.
And if the pairings sound discordant, think again. The Gojo
Hearts’ recipe is quite palatable.
“It’s probably the most difficult place to build up a following,” says
Suzanne of New York’s copious free live music scene. “Especially
if you’re unknown. People are nervous to take a chance because so
much live music on the bottom rung is so painful to sit through.
You have to sift through the dirty silt like you're panning for gold.”
In today’s overpopulated Americana/folk scene, polluted with cheap pop
licks and clichéd formalism, Kara Suzanne’s piquant singing and
songwriting cuts through the self-indulgent music scene morass.
Commenting on the Rockwood’s size, Suzanne says size doesn’t
matter. “I love the exchange of energy when I'm up there, “ she
says. “I like to look at one person and sing to them for a bit,
then switch and throw it out to all watching.”
Kara Suzanne and the Gojo Hearts’ debut album is scheduled for release before the end of the year.
For more information about upcoming performances at the Rockwood Music
Hall, view their entertainment schedule at
www.rockwoodmusichall.com.
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