{"id":31583,"date":"2022-04-21T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=31583"},"modified":"2022-04-21T09:00:32","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:00:32","slug":"on-stage-time-for-some-laughs-with-steve-trevino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=31583","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Time for some laughs with Steve Trevi\u00f1o"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"

Steve Trevi\u00f1o<\/p><\/div>\n

These days, we all need something to brighten our day \u2013 something to laugh about.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are several comedy shows on the area schedule that are worth checking out. After all, April is National Humor Month.<\/p>\n

From April 21-23, Steve Trevi\u00f1o\u00a0will bring his \u201cAmerica\u2019s Favorite Husband\u201d tour to Philadelphia for a three-night stand at Punch Line Philly (33 East Laurel Street, Philadelphia,http:\/\/www.punchlinephilly.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that club and I love that town,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o, during a phone interview Monday from his home in New Braunfels, Texas. \u201cThere is history around the corner and casinos across the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

From making friends laugh as a young kid in elementary school to selling out comedy shows across the country as a headlining comedian, Trevi\u00f1o has quickly become one of the country\u2019s hottest comedians and \u201cAmerica\u2019s Favorite Husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are comedians who became comedians because they wanted to be famous,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o. \u201cI don\u2019t care if I\u2019m famous or not. I just want to make people laugh.\u201d <\/p>\n

Trevi\u00f1o landed in the Nielsen Top 20, with his first Showtime comedy special, \u201cGrandpa Joe\u2019s Son,\u201d released a second special, \u201cRelatable,\u201d on Netflix. His latest special, 2019\u2019s \u201c\u2018Til Death,\u201d features Trevi\u00f1o offering up a brutally honest, yet relatable take on the day-to-day joy of marriage, kids, and living life with your best friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was young, my family was always performing and I told jokes to the family,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o. \u201cI\u2019d make comments about the family. In my family, being funny was a badge of honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to be a comedian. I just had to figure out a way to do it. My cousin moved to Dallas and was living next door to the Improv Comedy Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 19, I moved to Dallas to live with him \u2013 next to the Improv. The management there found me hanging out and I started working for them \u2013 bartending, working the door, answering phones, waiting tables. I started performing at open mics and got to the M.C. level pretty quickly. Then, I went from M.C. to feature within a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevi\u00f1o, who lived in South Texas, actually had his start in comedy prior to his move to Dallas.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I went to Dallas, I opened for Carlos Mencia when I was 18,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o. \u201cHe was coming to Corpus Christi. I skipped school to go to the radio station to meet him. He liked me and let me open for him at his show at the Harbor Playhouse. After I moved to Dallas, things went well, and I started touring full-time when I was 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to L.A. I was opening for Carlos. He got a TV show, and I was invited to be a writer for the show. That was in 2004, I wrote for the pilot and the first season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, he has become one of the country\u2019s fastest rising comics and has been viewed more than 175 million times as of 2020 while amassing nearly one million total social media followers. He had sold out shows all over the country and headlined specials for Amazon, NETFLIX, Showtime, and most recently,\u00a0a pandemic comedy special,\u00a0\u201cMy Life In Quarantine.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2005, I became a headliner when I was living in L.A.,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o. \u201cI made The Comedy Store my home. I was in L.A. for 14 years. I lived in West Hollywood and Studio City and Van Nuys. In 2016, I decided to move back to Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of playing 250 shows a year around the world, his career trajectory was interrupted by the pandemic shutdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was probably unemployed for four months,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o. \u201cI used to do six-to-eight shows a week for 40 weeks a year. Last year was cut in half. This year, we\u2019re getting back. Things started to open up in Texas. We opened at 25 per cent capacity and everybody was spread out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevi\u00f1o\u00a0looks to find humor in all walks of life and has an everyman quality that endears him to audiences by fitting right into their families. Among many skills, he can \u201cspeak wife\u201d fluently. He takes pride in the fact he is \u201cnot allowed to make [his] own decisions,\u201d as any good husband should.<\/p>\n

According to Trevi\u00f1o, \u201cMy goal is to make sure that everyday married men can laugh at themselves. Life wasn\u2019t horrible for me. I didn\u2019t have this crazy struggle. I\u2019m just an average married man madly in love with my above average wife\u2014and I want to make her happy. I think that translates to the audience. My narrative is I\u2019m a normal dude trying to be a good spouse and father, just like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevino puts on performances that can go from club stage to network TV and not have to worry about network censors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy show is politics-free and I don\u2019t do religion,\u201d said Trevi\u00f1o. \u201cI just want people to come out and have a good time and laugh at themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s lecture-free. I talk about me and my wife. We even have a podcast we started during quarantine \u2013 a weekly journal of what we\u2019re dealing with personally. I have a six-year-old son and we try to travel as a family as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Steve Trevi\u00f1o — https:\/\/youtu.be\/cLaoACvF9cM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The shows at Punch Line Philly will start at 8 p.m. on Thursday and 7:45 and 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $30.<\/p>\n

On April 21, the\u00a0Candlelight\u00a0Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>) is presenting the April edition of its monthly\u00a0Candlelight\u00a0Comedy\u00a0Club with Matt Jenkins as the feature, Mike Gaffney as the headliner and Shari Franklin as the emcee.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Matt Jenkins<\/p><\/div>\n

Matt Jenkins is known for his clean, quick-witted brand of comedy. Quickly becoming known as one of New York\u2019s strongest clean comics, Jenkins uses his diverse background, in combination with solid joke writing and charisma, to give audiences a relatable as well as memorable experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey but went to high school at a private academy in Piscataway,\u201d said Jenkins, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home in Clifton, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

His school days played a role in his pursuit of a career as a clean comedian. Jenkins is a graduate of Timothy Christian School.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been into clean comedy right from the start,\u201d said Jenkins. \u201cI went to a super religious school, so profanity and vulgarity weren\u2019t natural to me. And, when I went to comedy class, if you were clean, it was a bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins spent a year-and-a-half at a community college as a criminal justice major.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started doing standup when I was in college,\u201d said Jenkins. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realized I wanted to have a career as a comedian. I took a standup class at the Comic Strip Live in the Upper East Side in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter class, I did a lot of open mics to learn the craft. It took five or six years of going out every night.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the open mic stage, you get 20-25 minutes. Then, you move to the middle with 30 minutes and think \u2013 maybe I can get to 45 or 50 minutes. I\u2019m now at all stages at the same time. I enjoy all forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins has been seen on NBC and performed at many comedy festivals across the country. He recently recorded a Dry Bar Comedy special that has more than 200,000 views. He has also worked internationally and performed in China, Switzerland, Ireland and Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work a lot doing corporate shows,\u201d said Jenkins. \u201cI work a lot of fundraisers and also a lot of private stuff. I like working charity shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an act the is funny and clean at the same time, Jenkins will find a welcoming audience at the Candlelight Theatre this week.<\/p>\n

Video link for Matt Jenkins \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/LC73nHFqHo8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Show at the\u00a0Candlelight\u00a0Theater on April 21 will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which include complimentary chicken tenders, iced tea, chips, lemonade and coffee, are $30. There will be a full-service bar open throughout the show.<\/p>\n

Pr<\/a>oof of Vaccination or negative test required.<\/a>\u00a0Masks are required entering and exiting the theatre.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Candlelight\u00a0Theater is in the final stages of its second production run of 2022. The interesting Broadway musical \u201cBig Fish\u201d\u00a0is running now through April 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig Fish,\u201d which opened on Broadway in 2013 and received three 2014 Drama Desk Award nominations, is a\u00a0musical<\/a>\u00a0with music and lyrics by\u00a0Andrew Lippa<\/a>\u00a0and book by\u00a0John August<\/a>. It is based on\u00a0Daniel Wallace<\/a>\u2019s 1998 novel,\u00a0\u201cBig Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions<\/a>,\u201d and the 2003 film\u00a0\u201cBig Fish<\/a>\u201d\u00a0written by John August and directed by\u00a0Tim Burton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig Fish\u201d\u00a0revolves around the relationship between Edward Bloom, a travelling salesman, and his adult son Will, who looks for what is behind his father\u2019s tall stories.<\/p>\n

The story shifts between two timelines.<\/p>\n

In the present-day real world, 60-year-old Edward Bloom faces his mortality while his son, Will, prepares to become a father himself. In the storybook past, Edward ages from a teenager, encountering a Witch, a Giant, a Mermaid, and the love of his life, Sandra.<\/p>\n

Will has grown up with the incredible, larger-than-life stories from kissing a mermaid, to encountering a witch, to befriending a giant and meeting Will\u2019s mother in a circus.<\/p>\n

Will, who is about to have a child of his own, is determined to find the truth behind his father\u2019s epic tales. The stories meet as Will discovers the secret his father never revealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig Fish\u201d is running now through April 24 at the Candlelight Theatre. Tickets, which include dinner, beverages and dessert, are $65.50 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).<\/p>\n

The pandemic had a serious effect on most musicians. Some screeched to a halt for almost two years. \u00a0Some slowed down a lot but still kept going a little.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Suzanne Vega<\/p><\/div>\n

Suzanne Vega, who will be headlining a show at the Colonial Theatre (227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, thecolonialtheatre.com<\/a>) on April 22, had several irons in the fire and kept moving forward.<\/p>\n

Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including \u201cLuka,\u201d \u201cMarlene on the Wall\u201d and \u201cTom\u2019s Diner,\u201d an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit.<\/p>\n

Her albums, including her self-titled debut, follow-up\u00a0\u201cSolitude Standing,\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201c99.9F\u201d\u00a0have sold millions of copies worldwide. Vega was most recently seen in the cast of the Off-Broadway production\u00a0Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, where her performance earned praise from\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0as \u201cbrandy-voiced\u2026a delightful, smoothly sardonic presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vega\u2019s acclaimed one-woman stage show about the life of great 20th-century American writer Carson McCullers,\u00a0\u201cLover, Beloved,\u201d recently premiered at SXSW to critical acclaim from\u00a0Rolling Stone, the\u00a0Austin Chronicle, the\u00a0Austin American-Statesman,\u00a0The Forward\u00a0and more.<\/p>\n

Vega is now touring in support of her new career-spanning album, \u201cAn Evening of New York Songs and Stories\u201d \u2013 an album that received glowing reviews from\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>,\u00a0The Guardian<\/a>,\u00a0Stereogum<\/a>,\u00a0Consequence of Sound<\/a>,\u00a0American Songwriter<\/a>\u00a0and many more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the end of the pandemic so things are starting to come to life,\u201d said Vega, during a phone interview last week from her home in New York City. \u201cThe film was made right before the pandemic shut everything down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vega, having long championed independence and not being too restricted by traditional boundaries, has been fascinated not only by McCullers\u2019 story, but by the intensity and aesthetic of the artist.<\/p>\n

In this experimental blend of film, theater and music, Vega fictionalizes a talk McCullers gave at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, making it two separate talks at two different points in the author\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

During the first, in 1941, she drinks her way through the lecture, revealing messy romances and illnesses. In the second, 25 years later, she confronts her mortality, reminiscing on her novel and play\u00a0The Member of The Wedding, as well as on her twice-failed marriage and romances with members of both sexes — ending on the credo she forged with her husband. The film features music by\u00a0Duncan Sheik.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really interested in short stories when I was a teenager,\u201d said Vega. \u201cBack then, I read a short story called, \u2018Sucker.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSucker\u201d has been called Carson McCullers\u2019 \u201capprentice story.\u201d It was written in the mid-1930s when she was 17. \u201cSucker\u201d was eventually published for the public in 1963.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought \u2013 this person really knows how a kid thinks,\u201d said Vega.<\/p>\n

McCullers was an American who wrote fiction, often described as Southern Gothic, that explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the South.
\nFrom 1935-1937 she divided her time between Columbus and New York and in September 1937 she married an ex-soldier and aspiring writer, Reeves McCullers. They began their married life in Charlotte, North Carolina where Reeves had found some work. There, and in Fayetteville, North Carolina, she wrote her first novel,\u00a0\u201cThe Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,\u201d in the Southern Gothic tradition. Altogether she published eight books.<\/p>\n

McCullers suffered throughout her life from several illnesses and from\u00a0alcoholism. At age of 15 she contracted\u00a0rheumatic fever, which resulted in\u00a0rheumatic heart disease. As a result of the heart damage sustained, McCullers suffered from\u00a0strokes\u00a0that began in her youth.\u00a0She lived the last 20 years of her life in\u00a0Nyack, New York, where she died on September 29, 1967, at the age of 50, after a brain hemorrhage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first read, \u2018Suckers,\u2019 I thought it was contemporary,\u201d said Vega. \u201cThen, I found out that it was written by a woman who died in 1967. I started reading her books.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got an exercise at a Barnard College Musical Theater class to come dressed as a person in the arts field and I chose her. I got a lot of information from her book, \u2018The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Vega\u2019s other \u201crecent\u201d project was the album, \u201cAn Evening of New York Songs and Stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded the album in 2019,\u201d said Vega. \u201cIt was supposed to come out May 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing an off-Broadway play and then got a call the call one day in March telling me to come to the theater and get my stuff.<\/p>\n

We had to lockdown almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album was set to come out that May and we had tours planned. All that got postponed. Then, the album was supposed to drop on September 11, 2020, and it just happened recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did some Livestream shows that fall. We did a few shows last fall \u2013 2021 \u2013but haven\u2019t been able to hit the road since the start of COVID.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut these are the times we\u2019re living in. We have to adapt \u2013 to be aware of what happens and so what we can to make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Suzanne Vega — https:\/\/ok.ru\/video\/48196356804<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show on April 22 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Bees Deluxe<\/p><\/div>\n

On April 22, Bees Deluxe will be making a return appearance at Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,\u00a0www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) \u2013 and making everybody happy\u2026the band\u2019s fans, Jamey and the band itself.<\/p>\n

Fronted by British guitar monster, Conrad Warre, with Carol Band on keyboards, harmonica and vocals. Bees Deluxe is grounded by Jim Gildea on bass and vocals and Paul Giovine on drums.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve played Jamey\u2019s before,\u201d said Warre. \u201cIt\u2019s like dying and going to heaven.<\/p>\n

Band added, \u201cThe people are there for the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bees Deluxe is an anything-but-basic blues band. Hell-bent on a mission to drag the electric-analog blues of 60\u2019s Chicago, the Blue Note catalog and the funk of New Orleans into the 21st century, the band has created a genre-bending sound it describes as \u201cacid blues.\u201d
\nBees Deluxe has won audiences from Maine to the Mississippi with their arresting and highly danceable originals and their innovative interpretation of less-traveled tunes by artists like Etta James, Joe Zawinul, J.B. Lenoir, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Albert Collins and the three Kings.<\/p>\n

The musicians each bring their own experience to the mix. Band was recruited from jazz bands that were playing the Boston circuit, notably Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge. Giovine was discovered by the band playing rock and roll in a slew of punk rock clubs in New England and Gildea was drafted by drummer Giovine after sharing the stage with him at several country-bro festivals. Warre was in a high-school band in London with Paul Kossoff of the band Free.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from London \u2013 from Notting Hill Gate, where the riots were,\u201d said Warre. \u201cI wrote Two-Tone music and toured with The English Beat and Joe Jackson. I moved to New York and played a lot at CBGB\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found Carol playing jazz at Ryles Jazz Club in Boston. I got Paul in the band because he knew who Bernard Purdie was. Jim was a friend of his and they played country blues together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bees Deluxe has played with Ronnie Earl, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Matt Schofield, Roomful of Blues, Walter Trout and David Maxwell. The four-piece band celebrates the music of B.B. King, Robert Cray, Albert King, Tinsley Ellis, Freddie King and others.<\/p>\n

So, the band\u2019s background includes blues, rock, English ska, punk rock, jazz and country rock. Its current sound is all of that \u2013 and none of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur sound is more modern \u2013 more progressive \u2013 more edge,\u201d said Band.<\/p>\n

Warre, who is a British football fan and supporter of the Arsenal Gunners, said, \u201cThe communality is acid rock and blues. So many bands play the same songs the same way every night. When we play, we stretch it out and change it always. Arrangements are made up on the fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bees Deluxe push the limits of the blues, color outside the lines of convention, and do it with impeccable musicality, originality, and a touch of insanity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of music appeals to fans of all ages \u2013 if they get to hear it,\u201d said Warre. \u201cWe\u2019re at our best when people are dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr if they\u2019re hooting and hollering,\u201d added Ware. \u201cWe adjust our music to the audience. If it\u2019s not a dance crowd, we can stretch it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hooting, hollering, stretching it out, dancing, jamming \u2013 expect a little bit of everything from the crowd at Jamey\u2019s on Friday night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Bees Deluxe \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/vcl0t_Ux26g<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show on April 22 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.<\/p>\n

Other shows at Jamey\u2019s this week are \u201cTHURSDAY NIGHT JAZZ JAM\u201d\u00a0featuring the Dave Reiter Trio on April 21, The Billy Price Band on April 23, and \u201cSUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM\u201d featuring the Philly Blues Kings with Maci Miller on April 24.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Roomful of Blues<\/p><\/div>\n

On April 22, Roomful of Blues will return to the area for a show at City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, citywinery.com\/philadelphia<\/a>). Last August, the Rhode Island-based band with a recording career that has lasted longer than 50 years and resulted in more than 20 albums, played at the Sellersville Theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cStuff is starting to come in,\u201d said guitarist\/bandleader Chris\u00a0Vachon, during a phone interview Monday from his New England home. \u201cWe got new management and gigs are trickling in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band has toured worldwide and has treated fans around the world to its unique blend of a variety of music genres including rock and roll, swing, R&B, boogie-woogie, soul and a number of different blues styles.<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues has received five Grammy Award nominations and seven Blues Music Awards, including \u201cBlues Band Of The Year\u201d in 2005. The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as \u201cBest Blues Band\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over the years, more than 50 different musicians have been part of Roomful of Blues\u2019 line-up, including vocalist\/guitarist Duke Robillard, vocalist Lou Ann Barton, keyboardist Junior Brantley and trumpeter Fred Jackson.<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues is currently an eight-piece unit featuring guitarist\/bandleader Chris\u00a0Vachon,\u00a0Rich Lataille (tenor and alto sax player), Alek Razdan (baritone and tenor saxophone), Rusty Scott (piano, Hammond B-3 organ), Carl Gerhard (trumpet), John Turner (bass), Phil Pemberton (vocals) and Chris Anzalone (drums).<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues\u2019 first album was an eponymous release in 1978 and the most recent is the \u201cIn A Roomful Of Blues<\/a>\u201d LP.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur last album was right when the pandemic started,\u201d said Vachon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn A Roomful Of Blues<\/a>,\u201d the band\u2019s sixth\u00a0release on Alligator Records, features 13 wide-ranging songs, including 10\u00a0band-composed originals \u2014 more than on any previous Roomful album. Eight songs were written or co-written by Chris Vachon (including one authored with vocalist Phil Pemberton) plus one each by sax player Alek Razdan and keyboardist Rusty Scott.<\/p>\n

The album features a real variety of music styles \u2014 soaring blues, zydeco twists, late-night ballads, Latin-tinged funk and a touch of vintage, fifth-gear rock \u2018n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album came out on March 13, 2020\u2013 Friday the 13th \u2013 right when COVID hit,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cCOVID was tough on us. Nobody in the band and its family got it but we were pretty much out of it for a year-and-a-half. We couldn\u2019t have any gigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always done a lot of weekend stuff \u2013 mainly because there\u2019s not much going on during the week. Our shows are mostly Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I don\u2019t know how many we do a year. It\u2019s a pretty good amount. Half the guys in the band are from Boston and half are from Rhode Island. It\u2019s also hard to get together because people have families and other responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roomful of Blues is getting back in the groove of live performances this summer. This weekend, the band has a pair of New Jersey shows sandwiched around the Sellersville date followed by a close-to-home show in Norfolk, Connecticut. They finish the month with gigs in Maine and Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re playing half the new album in our current live show,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cWe change it up every night. For example, we\u2019re playing a blues cruise later this year. We have three shows so we can\u2019t play the same stuff over again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always mix it up. We\u2019ve got a lot of stuff from over the years. We\u2019ve got so many albums, it\u2019s hard to just pull one out. We try to keep some variety there with tempos and beats \u2014 trying to mix it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like to do is have a variety of stuff, so people aren\u2019t listening to the same beat repeatedly. It\u2019s more of a journey instead of 10 shuffles in a row. And we do a fair amount of covers \u2014 not familiar stuff but rather mostly obscure stuff that no-one knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

There likely won\u2019t be any covers from the band\u2019s latest album. \u201cIn A Roomful Of Blues<\/a>\u201d is almost completely originals.<\/p>\n

\u201cBob Moulton and I wrote seven songs together and another where we texted back-and-forth,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cI brought the songs we worked on, and the other guys played on it at my studio \u2013 which I just closed down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rest was done in a studio in Connecticut \u2013 Power Station Northeast in Waterford. After that, I mixed it all at my place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not many bands stay together for more than 10-15 years. Very few make it past 25 and passing a 40th anniversary is almost unheard of. Roomful of Blues celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 and its roster has featured more than 55 members in 54 years.<\/p>\n

The current line-up is the most stable. Pemberton has in the band for almost 15 years. Lataille is a founding member and has been in the band since 1970. Chris\u00a0Vachon\u00a0has been around since 1990. The \u201cnew kid on the block\u201d is Razdan who joined between the last two albums.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason for our longevity is the music we like to play,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cWe\u2019ve had our ups and downs. Some years we\u2019ve toured more than others. We currently play about 150 shows a year. The band keeps getting new fans and there are a lot of older people who have been listening to us for years. For young people, their only exposure to us has been at festivals.<\/p>\n

Video for Roomful of Blues \u2014\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/jx4Bd9FOrNc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the show at City Winery will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $20.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the venue are John Waite on April 21, Richard Lloyd on April 22, and Joe Matarese on April 23.<\/p>\n

On April 27, music fans can get a taste of the old and a taste of the new when the Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650,\u00a0www.keswicktheatre.com<\/a>) presents a concert featuring Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and In the Valley Below.<\/p>\n

Formed in just over 10 years ago, In The Valley Below — Jeffrey Jacob Mendel (vocals, guitar) and Angela Gail Mattson (vocals, keyboards) –made their full-length debut with 2014\u2019s critically acclaimed\u00a0album, \u201cThe Belt,\u201d which featured the worldwide hit single, \u201cPeaches.\u201d The track reached the Top 20 on\u00a0Billboard\u2019s \u201cAlternative Songs\u201d chart, prompting high profile TV performances on CBS\u2019\u00a0\u201cThe Late Show With David Letterman\u201d\u00a0and TBS\u2019\u00a0\u201cConan.\u201d<\/p>\n

After three years on the road — including headline tours, festival sets at such global events as Reading\/Leeds, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Pukkelpop, and Rock En Seine — and support runs alongside Cold War Kids, Tricky, and The Airborne Toxic Event, Mendel and Mattson relocated from Los Angeles to Grand Rapids, Michigan.<\/p>\n

Once established in the Midwest, the duo built a full studio in a 100-year-old house. There they crafted their groundbreaking sophomore LP,\u00a0\u201cThe Pink Chateau,\u201d released on Bright Antenna Records in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pink Chateau\u201d also existed as a feature length erotique film hailed by\u00a0Brooklyn Vegan\u00a0as \u201ca dreamlike diorama of interconnected musical vignettes inspired by vintage French erotica and the faded colors of 1970s films.\u201d A multi-media tour followed which saw In The Valley Below presenting\u00a0\u201cThe Pink Chateau\u201d\u00a0in cinemas across America, accompanying their film by performing its score live over wireless headphones.<\/p>\n

The band has also released four EPs — \u201cIn the Valley Below\u201d\u00a0(2011), \u201cMan Girl\u201d (2014), \u201cPeaches Remixes\u201d\u00a0(2014), \u201cElephant\u201d\u00a0(2017) \u2013 and five singles — \u201cPeaches\u201d (2013), \u201cNeverminders\u201d (2014), \u201cBloodhands (Oh My Fever)\u201d (2017), \u201cRise\u201d (2019) and the just-released \u201cLie With Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Lie With Me,\u2019 the song has been bouncing around in our tank of songs for a while,\u201d said Mendel, during a phone interview as the band was en route to Orlando, Florida for Friday night\u2019s tour opener.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d just pull it up now and then. We pulled it up again about a month ago. It was just a matter of us being comfortable with the song.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded it at home in our basement. We built a home studio using ProTools and do all our recording there. We finished recording the single two months ago and mixed it right after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with a studio of their own, the band has only issued two albums.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s been three years since our last album,\u201d said Mendel. \u201cWe\u2019re always writing songs. We definitely have enough material for an album but we\u2019re focusing more on singles. We might start working on an album later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a whole national tour with the movie all around the country. We\u2019d play the album live in the theater and it would go directly into wireless headphones given to the audience. It was a different experience and it worked well.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our shows on this tour, it\u2019s a mixture of songs from \u2018The Belt\u2019 and \u2018The Pink Chateau\u2019 along with some new stuff including \u2018Lie With Me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for In The Valley Below \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/bFJBlhNGeCM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show on April 27 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices range from $35-$65.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the Keswick Theater are Aimee Mann on April 21, Felix Cavaliere and Mickey Dolenz on April 24, and Lindsey Buckingham on April 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times These days, we all need something to brighten our day \u2013 something to laugh about. Fortunately, there are several comedy shows on the area schedule that are worth checking out. After all, April is National Humor Month. From April 21-23, Steve Trevi\u00f1o\u00a0will bring his \u201cAmerica\u2019s Favorite Husband\u201d tour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[10687,3912,11303,11305,10602,11304],"class_list":["post-31583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-bees-deluxe","tag-featured","tag-matt-jenkins","tag-room-full-of-blues","tag-steve-trevino","tag-suzanne-vega"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31584,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31583\/revisions\/31584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}