By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times
Mary Fahl
When Mary Fahl performs in concert, there are three possible avenues she might travel. She could take the stage with her band. She could perform a solo show. Or, she could treat her fans to a live presentation of one of her special projects.
On November 4, Fahl will return to the area for a show at Arden Gild Hall (The Highway, Arden, Delaware, ardenconcerts.com) and fans will be treated to two of the three options
“For this show, I’m out with my band,” said Fahl, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from her home in Upper Bucks County.
“I will have my whole band with me and that is unusual for one of my shows in this area. I only do about four band shows each year so this is a pretty special event. This will be fun. I haven’t brought my band down there – not even to Philly.”
“My band is from Syracuse. Mark Doyle, who is my music director, plays guitar and piano. He’s based in Syracuse and I asked him to put a band together for me. We have a drummer, a bass player and a keyboard player. They can all rehearse easily in Syracuse and I go there when I need to rehearse with them.”
The show at Arden has a lot to offer Fahl’s fans.
“I’ll be performing two sets,” said Fahl. “The first set will be my regular set – my stuff, October Project songs, a typical show. The second set will be my version of ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ The only other place we’ve performed this was at the Sellersville Theater.”
Many of Fahl’s fans have been with her ever since her time with October Project which lasted from 1991-1996.
“October Project had a large body of work and I still perform some of those songs in my live show,” said Fahl. “If I don’t do some of those songs, fans get upset. I also like doing interesting covers.”
Fahl has written and performed songs for several major motion pictures, including the lead song (“Going Home”) for the Civil War epic “Gods and Generals.” Her music can also be found on the original soundtrack of the 2003 movie “The Guys.”
In 2011, Fahl recorded her own version of one of rock’s all-time classics — Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” Fahl re-interpreted the songs on an album she titled “From the Dark Side of the Moon.
For many artists, the task of re-inventing songs from an album as iconic as “Dark Side of the Moon” could have been too much of a challenge. Not so for Fahl who crafted a disc that honored its roots but established an identity all its own.
“After making the Sony classical album (“Classics for a New Century”), I wanted to do something that was fun,” said Fahl. “An independent filmmaker I knew wanted to use me in a performance piece. I wanted to do something that I didn’t have the ability to write.
“That’s when I decided to do the ‘Dark Side’ recording. It’s like a classical piece of music. I did not intend to make a cover record. It’s my version and it doesn’t sound at all like Pink Floyd’s version. But, a lot of die-hard Pink Floyd fans have responded well. They like the album — and my live versions of the songs.”
Fahl is a singer, a guitarist and a songwriter. More than anything, Fahl is a performer.
“Performing is my primary form of self-expression,” said Fahl. “When I do a show, I want to take you on a complete journey. I want to transform you.”
Fahl has been delivering transformative shows for years. Once you’ve heard Fahl sing, from that point on when you hear a song by Fahl, you immediately know who is singing.
“I’ve been working on a new record,” said Fahl. “It’s a folky, ambient classical record. It has a lot of ambient guitar, cello and a little me on guitar. I’m also working on a TV project that I can’t talk about yet. I’ve been working ferociously on that. It’s right up my alley.”
Video link for Mary Fahl — https://youtu.be/wc30vWztRYU.
The show at the Arden Gild Hall will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30.
