On Stage: Anna Rose packs a lot into a small package

Also: Navy Gangs hit Philly

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

Anna Rose may be short in stature but she carries a lot of music in her 5-foot body. And, Rose may be young but she carries lifetimes of music and entertainment traditions in her DNA.

Rose’s music combines her powerful vocals with a solid music backing that draws from rock, blues and R&B. The New York-based singer/songwriter/guitarist is currently on tour supporting her new EP “Strays in the Cut,” which was released by Noble Steed Music on June 17.

On July 14, Rose will make a tour stop in Philadelphia to headline this week’s concert in the Pairings on the Parkway series (Sister Cities Park, 18th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, http://www.ccdparks.org/events/pairings-on-the-parkway2016-17).

“Right now, I’m sitting in my office with boxes of vinyl,” said Rose, during a phone interview Tuesday evening. “My office is on the same floor of as my apartment. That makes it a lot easier.

“I was born in Hell’s Kitchen and then my parents moved from Manhattan to upstate New York. After I finished school, I lived in L.A. for five years, Williamsburg for a minute and now I’m in the East Village.

“Before the new EP, I released two albums. My first was ‘Nomad.” Then, I released ‘Behold a Pale Horse’ a couple years ago. I started working on this EP about a year-and-a-half ago and finished six months after I started.

“I recorded it at Applehead Recording, which is located in the Woodstock area. I got to stay there while I was making the record and that was the first timed I had ever done something like that. My producer Kevin Salem and I did all the basic tracking in two days.

“We did six originals, which are the songs on the EP, and two covers. It wasn’t analog but that might be my next undertaking. This time, we ran the digital tracks through tape and back to the computer. We did the overdubs at Kevin’s studio.”

The EP rocks out, shows a serious blues influence and has a smoky vibe. The music is smooth and gritty at the same time. Rode’s vocals are emotional, feisty and sincere and her guitar work is scorching.

“All the songs were written before we went in the studio,” said Rose. “I had about 20 songs. I wasn’t aiming for an EP. I just wanted the best of the best. Then, we decided to make it an EP. The constraints of an EP helped with the focus. Now, I’m writing another EP — a partner EP to this one.

“For me, this record was really about the struggles of feeling apart from society. I’ve always been a nomad and a loner. It was also about getting ready to get married. Getting on the road and playing for fans has always been the most important thing to me.

“Music has always been important to me. I grew up with music. I got my first guitar when I was five and I’ve been singing all my life. My father is a musician and my mother is a dancer.”

Rose’s father is Alan Menken, an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. He is best known for his scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, including “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”

His father was a boogie-woogie piano-playing dentist, and his mother was an actress, dancer and playwright. Rose’s mother is Janis Menken, an acclaimed ballet dancer who is also an actress and a playwright.

“I listened to a lot of the albums my dad listened to when I was growing up so that was an influence,” said Rose. “I also got into the blues. I listened to a lot of the great blues musicians such as Buddy Guy, Son House and Muddy Waters.”

Video link for Anna Rose — https://youtu.be/tZUaOsrFOA8.

This BYOB event at Sister Cities Park features singer-songwriters performing free concerts from 5:30-7:30 p.m. every Thursday now through September 15.  Logan Square Café inside the park will offer a special summer grilling menu.

The schedule for the remainder of the summer features Jeff Campbell, Megan Slankard and Matthew Szlachetka on July 21; Pat McGee and Sangre Luna on July 28; Nalani and Sarina on August 4; Elliven Musiq on August 11; KC Turner and Thunderegg on August 18; Paul Pfau on August 25; Hurricane Hoss on September 1; Matt Cusson on September 8; and John Grecia on September 15.

There will be more rocking music filling the air later in the evening on July 14 when Navy Gangs hits Philly for a show at New Planet (1000 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia).

Navy Gangs, which has its roots in Nebraska, is a rock quartet featuring Matthew Tillwick (vocal, guitar), Noah Kohll (guitar), Wilson Keithline (bass), and Gavin Cordaro (drums). On September 14th, the foursome will introduce their self-titled EP via No Roads Records. 

“The Philly show will be the first date on this tour,” said Kohll, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “We have 10 songs ready for the live show, including the four from the EP. We live in Brooklyn so we’ve been doing shows around the Northeast.

“Me, Gavin and Matt are all from Omaha. We were working jobs at a zoo in Omaha (Henry Doorly Zoo) and we all got one-way bus tickets for New York. We wanted to go to New York to make music and check out the scene on the East Coast.

“We left at different times in August 2015. I moved out first to get everything started — including a place to live. We’re all living together now in Brooklyn. We’ve been friends for eight year. The whole dynamic of the band is based off our friendship.”

The band got its start in the Omaha scene but its roots go way, way back.

“Me and Matt have been in bands together since we first met,” said Kohll. “The music scene in Omaha is very close-knit. There are no separations of genres in the scene. Our music has a garage rock element but we also have influences going back to early Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett, Moby Grape and Skip Spence, and the Byrds.

“We all are multi-instrumentalists. Matt and I — mostly Matt — do the songwriting. We’re going back in the studio in September and there will be more group writing by the band this time.

“When we first got to New York, we moved in with my grandmother Estelle. We made the first EP last winter at my grandmother’s house in New York. We have a four-track reel-to-reel. It sounds like a live recording but it’s all done track-by-track. We recorded all the songs analog to keep it fresh and organic. I think there is a loss of humanity to use computers to make music.

“I’ve heard a lot of people call us a ’90s revival band. I don’t consider us to be a ’90s revival band. I look at us more as a continuation of rock.”

Video link for Navy Gangs — https://youtu.be/UzdSjK8Yg1w.

The show at New Planet, which starts at 8 p.m., also features Beth Israel, Straw Hats,

MINKA, and Staffers. Tickets are $5.

Jason Fraticelli is a talented and versatile artist who wears many musical hats — electric guitarist as a rock musician, acoustic bass player as a jazz musician, founder of a pioneering rock band, south-after recording session man, leader of a 10-piece jazz orchestra and in-demand touring band player.

With so much activity in his life, Fraticelli wanted to find a place to live where things are quiet — a place where he can safely raise a family. Fraticelli chose Chester County.

“I live in Phoenixville,” said Fraticelli, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home. “Actually, it’s just outside Phoenixville. They refer to the area as ‘Valley Forge Mountain.’ It’s a really nice area.”

On July 15, Fraticelli’s busy schedule has him playing in Philly. The Jason Fraticelli Band will headline a show at Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, undergroundarts.org).

July 15 also marks the date when the Jason Fraticelli Band’s new album “Dream Diaries” is being released by Ropeadope Records. The album features influences such as Frank Zappa, Ween, Les Claypool and various 70’s psychedelic rock/jazz bands.

“My dad and my uncle were twin musicians from Puerto Rico,” said Fraticelli. “They were always making music around the house.

“They grew up on the music of the 60’s and 70’s and had huge record collections. I checked out a lot of their albums when I was a kid. They also played so I heard things like Beatles classics being sung by them before I heard the originals. My influences came from that and more influences came from jazz.

“I came into jazz at high school at Pennsbury High (Fairless Hills, Pa.). They had a really rich music program there. I was in the jazz band and we rehearsed every day. I went to college at Bucks County Community College. That’s where I fell in love with upright bass.”

Fraticelli is primarily an upright bassist, and has been immersed in the Philadelphia and New York jazz and original music scene since the early 2000’s. He has been performing at a concert, show, or some kind of gig on average of five nights a week for about the last 15 to 20 years.

He began playing drums at the age of five. When he was 13, he was playing in a trio called Elyisum with his dad and uncle — playing original music and opening up for artists such as Jimmy Cliff.

Eventually Fraicelli went to the New School University in New York to study performance and composition, and shortly after, Jason started touring and recording with an array of musicians and artists such as Matisyahu, Melody Gardot, Cyro Baptista, Billy Martin, Marco Benevento, G Love, Taylor McFerrin, and Mark Guiliana.

In 2012, Fraticelli co-founded the Fresh Cut Orchestra which is a 10-piece electronic jazz group and this became his outlet for more of a compositional approach to his writing. Fresh Cut Orchestra was called the “jazz of tomorrow” by Downbeat magazine.

“I’ve been working on ‘Dream Diaries’ on-and-off for seven or eight years,” said Fraticelli. “I was on the road with Matisyahu for months at a time. When I got off the road, I started working on some of my own stuff and did an EP after a few years.

“I started tracking songs for the album five years ago. Then, I got married, had my son Oscar and started Fresh Cut Orchestra. That took a lot of attention.

“The album has been a long time coming. I can’t tell you how excited I am that it’s finally coming out this Friday.”

Video link for The Jason Fraticelli Band — https://youtu.be/sE568dEt66g

The show at Underground Arts, which also features Cultureal and Jah People, will start at 8 p.m. On July 15, the Jason Fraticelli Band will be performing as a six-piece band and will also have special guest Chris Aschman on trumpet and Steel Drum. Tickets are $15.

Yarn, a North Carolina-based Americana band, had its start in New York City before moving south.

The band — Blake Christiana – Vocals, Guitar ;Trevor MacArthur – Vocals, Guitar; Rod Hohl – Electric Guitar, Vocals; Rick Bugel – Bass; Robert Bonhomme – Drums  — has also found a “home away from home” in Kennett Square and will return there on July 15 for a show at Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org).

 “This will be the third time we’ve played Kennett Flash,” said Christiana, during a phone interview Tuesday morning from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We really enjoy playing there. It’s a great music room.”

Yarn started as a band in 2006 playing a blend of country, bluegrass, country blues and rock. It was music from the hills — made on the crowded avenues of Brooklyn.

“Yarn happened real naturally,” said Christiana. “I had another band at the time — Blake and the Family Dog. I began writing country bluegrass tunes which I didn’t feel were right for the band. We had jams at a club in Greenwich Village called Kenny’s Castaway. Eventually, the guys who kept coming back every week ended up being the guys in the band. We had a Monday night residency there for two years.”

Five studio albums followed — “Yarn” (2007), “Empty Pockets” (2008), “Come On In” (2010), “Almost Home” (2012) and “Shine the Light On” (2013). The band then took to the road, playing more than 170 shows a year and sharing stages with such superstars as Charlie Daniels, Marty Stuart, Allison Krauss, Leon Russell, and The Lumineers. They eventually accumulated a total of 1,000 shows, a half-million miles and performances in 32 states.

“Everything we’ve done has never been contrived,” said Christiana. “We recorded an album last year which we never released. Our original drummer had left and we were working with a new drummer. Ponce Bobby came back, we decided to go into the studio and have fun. I really love the way it turned out. We cut it in a little town in Virginia called Catlett.”

Little is a good description of Catlett. In the 2010 Census, Catlett was listed with 296 residents.

“There is this beautiful, new, half-million dollar studio there,” said Christiana. “We stayed in an apartment right above the studio. We spent five days tracking the basics and ten went back up later to do the overdubs. We also did some guitar overdubs in Brooklyn. We started late July and everything was done by November.”

The album — “This Is the Year” — was released on May 27.

According to Christiana, “We were dealing with real life issues– broken relationships, a sense of having to regroup and put some things — and people — behind us. The new songs became kind of a catharsis. Nothing was contrived.

“We didn’t have to relate to it in the third person. We were living these circumstances, and that gave us the impetus and inspiration to share our sentiments. Ultimately those setbacks and difficulties led to new opportunities and allowed a little light to shine through.”

The drummer situation was a big issue.

“It was rough losing Bobby in the first place,” said Christiana. “Finding the right drummer was a real challenge. Nothing was jiving. His return brought new-found excitement. Everything was clicking. The album felt real natural — real genuine.”

Video link for Yarn — https://youtu.be/lwk26PkQNkE.

The show at show at Kennett Flash, which also features Apache Trails, will start at Tickets are $20 in advance at $23 at the door. Other upcoming Flash shows are Jon DelCollo, Christian Alsis, and Chris Wood on July 14; “Better Than Bacon – The 100th Show!” on July 16; and Billy Penn Burger on July 17.

www.st94.com) , is one of America’s top modern blues artists.

Ellis was born in Georgia and grew up in South Florida. Surprisingly, he didn’t get into blues music by listening to the great American 50s and 60s blues artists from the South such as Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

“I got into the blues by listening to British Invasion bands like the Yardbirds, the Animals, and the Rolling Stones,” said Ellis, during a phone interview last week from his home in Atlanta.

 “Those bands led me to the masers — American blues men like B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.  I got out of college in 1979. I put a band together and travelled around playing shows in the early 80s. Blues has always been an underground music. You have to seek it out.

“Things I liked about the blues — especially hippie blues — you could let it all hang out. Everything about blues music and folk music attracted me. It was all about the music.”

Ellis’ debut solo album on Alligator Records, “Georgia Blue,” was released in 1988. “Red Clay Soul,” which was released on June 3, was his 19^th studio album.

“Red Clay Soul” celebrates Ellis’ legacy built on four decades of performing, recording and song writing. Travelers headed to Florida or other destinations in the Southeastern U.S. encounter red clay embankments as they hit the state of Georgia, and Ellis has chosen to title this new collection Red Clay Soul to celebrate the music of the area.

According to Ellis, “Georgia is where the blues has got soul. From the gospel-inspired Ray Charles, to the R&B of James Brown and Otis Redding, to the rock and roll of Little Richard, to the blues rock of The Allman Brothers Band — all these acts have one thing in common. They all have the sound of Georgia and down here we call that sound red clay soul.”

Ellis’ vision for the future is to continue to release the type of albums that push the boundaries of blues.

“When you’re young, you have to do original music to get established,” said Ellis. “In the long run, it’s best to do original music. I’m always writing songs. In January this year, I realized that I had enough tunes for an album.

“Writing just comes when it comes. Luckily, cell phones have built-in recording capabilities. If I get an idea when I’m out, I can sing into the phone and listen later at home.

“In my lives how, I’m doing a few songs from the new album. I have 19 albums altogether so I have to do songs from them too. This band is a power trio with a lot of guitar. Guitar is king.”

Video Link for Tinsley Ellis — https://youtu.be/Ty2qEVlwBG0.

The show at Sellersville, which also features Mike Esposito, will start at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $21.50 and $29.50.

The Colonial Theatre (Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610- 917-1228, www.thecolonialtheatre.com) will present the “Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular” on July 15.

Video link for Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular — https://youtu.be/6lUx2WBYMSY

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) will host Rofo Audio with Bret Alexander on July 15 and Future Stars Showcase featuring Emma Faith, Julia Zane, Nijah Dupree & Leah Dignam, Jared Landau, Lexi Hamilton and Guam on July 16.

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) will present Old Soul Revival with special guest Grexin

Thursday on July 14, and Splintered Sunlight with special guest Three Fourteen on July 16.

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com) presents Get the Led Out on July 14.

World Café Live at the Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com) will have IVA on July 14, The Bird Dogs present The Everly Brothers Experience on July 15 and Dan Sarkissian on July 16.

World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, philly.worldcafelive.com) has the following acts coming this week — Sangre Luna on July 14, Andy Pratt on July 15, The Iguanas and Philly Gumbo on July 15, Keep It Dark — An Evening of Genesis on July 16, School of Rock AllStars  on July 18, Monsieur Perine on July 18 and Kat Pace on July 19.

Electric Factory (421 North Seventh Street, Philadelphia, 215-627-1332, www.electricfactory.info), will host DAWES and Kathleen Edwards on July 16.