UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
Chris Zawatsky, Host
Born the in April of 1985 Chris started playing at a semi young age. Thirteen to be exact. In no time at all Chris was performing in small venues across the state. Since then Chris has been featured on NBC’s wbre PA live 76 times and has played alongside Clarence Spady, Zach Deputy, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mark Diomede, Carl Charles, Matt Bennick and many more.
His cutting new-age sounds holds true to his roots in folk, improvisational jam, R&B, funk, jazz fusion, rock, alternative and contemporary. His newest album (Across The Sea) is due to be released in early 2019.
Teddy Young
Born in 1973 and raised in the coal region of Northeast Pennsylvania, band leader Teddy Young is known by his fans as a guitar playing extraordinaire. By age 16 and after a few years playing with cats more than twice his age, Ted was nicknamed “Young Gun,” a name that has stuck and that he continues to use today. This Pittston native got busy learning key riffs and chords after receiving his first guitar when he was just nine years old and at 15, he hit the jam circuit around town. It did not take long to land his first steady gig. Since then, he has been a regular on many known venues and festival stages throughout the region.
Fronting his own band for nearly two decades, Teddy Young and the Aces, with Robert Frog Fenstermaker on bass and Neil Longo on drums, he is no stranger to the regional blues circuit. While making his rounds on the scene, Young has met many of those who inspired him along the way, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healey, Rufus Thomas and Buddy Guy to name a few. In his many years of playing, Young has shared the stage with many notable players, including Bobby Parker, Little Sammy Davis, Slam Allen and many others. He has also opened for such notable acts as Room Full of Blues, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers.
He currently lends more from his own influence to deliver his music. Each show bears witness to his soul and each song flows directly from within. With a new CD in the works, Young enjoys the art of writing and composing original and looks forward to the promises of the coming year.
Robert “Frog” Fenstermaker (performing with Teddy Young!)
Born and raised in Bloomsburg, PA, bass player Robert Fenstermaker is better known by his friends, peers and musical cohorts as Frog. This talented fretless wonder has been laying down the grooves professionally longer than band leader, Teddy Young, has known life. Upon graduating high school in 1972, Frog opted to avoid the path of college and made music his full time profession.
Throughout the seventies he kept busy gigging and playing with different show bands. During much of the eighties he found himself in the studio, laying down radio jingles and lending his talent to others for session work. He admits that during that era he contributed mostly to artists that were known for Christian Country Gospel.
Kenneth Norton
A gritty voice that sounds like those of the grunge era. Kenneth Norton is a musician from Northeast Pennsylvania. His greatest success comes from fronting the band Graces Downfall, a Scranton based band that originated in 2005. Kenneth also lends his “Eddie Vedder” quality vocals to King Jeremy-The Ulitmate Pearl Jam Tribute Band. He has shared stages with great bands such as Seether, 10 Years, Mountain, as well as Trapt. Recently Kenneth has stepped out as a solo musician. He not only plays his own music but he has several hours of cover songs from several eras of Rock N Roll.
Adam McKinley
Adam has spent years, as the frontman for SUZE, crafting a sound that blends the fluidity of jazz with the contagious rhythms of funk and the power of vintage blues rock n roll.
*Grant Farr will also be joining us!*
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
JP Williams, Host
JP Williams (Guitar / Vocalist / Composer) was born in New York City and first started performing acoustic Blues & Folk music at college coffee houses and local nightclubs while in college in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He then returned to NYC where he performed for several years at many famous city nightclubs with other aspiring singer/songwriters and musicians. He continued to write songs and perform after moving once again to Pennsylvania, first as a solo act and now with his own JP Williams Blues Band (Winner – Steamtown Music Awards Best Blues Act 2016). He performs regularly and records his original music with an extraordinary group of talented musicians at nightclubs and festivals. His musical style is derived from the classic blues performers he experienced in his youth such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and John Lee Hooker, a love of the (acoustic) Delta Blues guitar musicians, are combined and mixed with influences of Rock, and Soul music. His latest CD, “Everblue” reflects these influences. It has been featured on several “Best of 2018” Blues lists and charts and is enjoying worldwide radio airplay and recognition
Awards:
Winner “Best Blues Act 2016” Steamtown Music Awards – Scranton Wilkes-Barre
Nominations:
“Best Guitarist 0f 2017” Steamtown Music Awards – Scranton Wilkes-Barre
“Best Blues Act 2018” Steamtown Music Awards – Scranton Wilkes-Barre
CD Releases:
Everblue – Sept. 2018
Stolen Cadillac – Nov. 2017
Smokin’ Hot – Sept. 2017
Mixed Bag – July 2016
Jason P. Yoder
Jason P. Yoder is an American Blues Performing Songwriter. His finger-style guitar technique blends moving rhythms, catchy melodies, and thought provoking lyrics. Jason’s love for the Blues shows in his music, but he does not limit his sound to the traditional. Country, Rock and Jazz influences can be heard peeking through his music as well.
While Jason prefers the acoustic guitar, he is not shy when it comes to playing other instruments. The first instrument Jason learned, other than voice, was the actually the Trumpet. He can be heard on his albums and singles playing the piano, bass guitar, trumpet, mandolin, lead guitar, banjo, percussion, etc.
In his extensive years of study Jason P Yoder has learned with great artists! Roy Book Binder, John Cephas, and John Jacksons are some of the many great artists Jason has studied under. Some of the sounds Jason learned from these great Bluesmen can be heard throughout his music.
Stacia Abernatha
Stacia Abernatha is a singer songwriter from Williamsport, PA. Singing an eclectic array of styles & genres, her passion runs deep in blues/americana, folk & world music. Stacia loves to collaborate and share musical moments with others. She’s performed two consecutive years at The Billtown Blues Festival and has shared the stage with legendary blues artists Tas Cru and The Nighthawks. She’s 3-year alum at The Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop. Stacia placed as a semi-finalist at The International Blues Challenge 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee. She will perform as part of the Billtown Gospel Blues Revue at The Billtown Blues Festival in June. For original music & upcoming shows/collaborations visit www.staciasings.com
Tom Perrone
Born in 1970 and raised in the small town of Old Forge in Northeast Pennsylvania, Tom Perrone Jr. has been a bluesman since he was 13 years old when his parents bought him his first harmonica. After a few years of driving the family crazy with his relentless practicing Tom began entertaining his friends and family with soulful harmonica arrangements he had learned over the years. Tom’s very first band was a blues band in the early 1990’s called Blue Heat. Although the band didn’t last long his desire to play the blues did. Between raising a family and day jobs, Tom’s harmonica career had to take a back seat for a while. As he nears 50 years old Tom can be seen more often on stage at local jams and open mics pursuing his passion for playing the blues. Some of his influences are Sonny Boy Williamson II, Sonny Terry, Little Walter, and the Blues Brothers.
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
Justin Padró, Host
Justin Padró is a musician, writer, educator, sound engineer, DJ, and producer from Brooklyn, NY who has performed throughout Europe, Africa, China, Canada, and the U.S. He is the first-ever recipient of the Louis Armstrong Foundation Jazz Scholars Award, Center for Jazz Studies, Columbia University, New York, the founder of the Latin Jazz Hour radio show at 89.9 WKCR fm NY, has written about music, art and culture, contributing to books such as ‘The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records’ by Ashley Kahn, and was part of the Maybe Mars/D-22 Crew that founded the underground punk movement in Beijing, China.
Padró started his professional career playing timbales at weddings and clubs in Salsa bands at 13 years old in New York City under the tutelage of legendary timbalero Ralph Irizarry (Ray Barretto, Ruben Blades, Israel ‘Cachao’ Lopez, David Byrne, Harry Belafonte, Celia Cruz, Paul Simon, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera). Padró has played with a vast array of legendary artists in various genres including Carlos ‘Patato’ Valdez, Ray Vega, avant garde guitarist Elliot Sharp, 8-string bassist/guitarist Charlie Hunter, David Sanchez, and Coati Mundi of Kid Creole and the Coconuts.
He performed and toured with the award-winning, Smithsonian-recognized & recorded traditional Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba y Plena group Viento de Agua, the HIMALAYAS (led by Kenny Wollesen, drummer for Tom Waits and Bill Frisell), and many others. For a time, Padró was a founding member of the Original Stumblebum Brass Band, which fused New Orleans 2nd line Jazz with New York City Punk playing throughout the Subways and streets of NY in the format of sousaphone, trumpet and snare before leaving for Beijing, China to help run a punk rock venue, D-22, that would spark the foundation of the underground music scene in China (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXVLwNkw84Q). Upon returning to New York, Padró was a fixture in the NYC/Brooklyn DIY music and art scene, performing in, booking, organizing and running sound & lighting for various grass roots events at both underground and established venues.
Here in Scranton Padró has co-founded the monthly dance party ‘Electric City Boogie’, co-curates the visual and audio art for the First Friday event ‘Sound & Vision’, lends his hand as sound engineer, lighting tech, stagehand & rigger at various concerts and events at the Scranton Cultural Center, Montage Mountain/Live Nation stages, and Fringe Festival and plays in a handful of music groups spanning punk, jazz, country, rock and latin genres.
The Justin Padró Jazz TRIO features Justin Padró (drums), Ian O’Hara (double bass) and Nick Driscoll (tenor saxophone):
Ian O’Hara is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger who has performed in groups such as Lewis & Clarke, Coal Town Rounders, The National Reserve, and Bog Swing Group. He studied Classical and Jazz double bass and Jazz harmony with Marywood University faculty member Joe Cole.
Nick Driscoll is a multi-reedist and multi-instrumentalist and director of the WIlkes University Jazz Orchestra and Great Valley Chamber Music Society. Driscoll performs with The Indigo Moon Brass Band, The Doug Smith Ensemble, various traveling Broadway Musical ensembles, NEA grant recipient John Bromberg, Tony Costa and Lorne Clarke among others. He has appeared on WVIA Public Radio and Television in classical, reggae, folk and jazz ensembles. He has also performed with Peter Schickele (PDQ Bach) at Alice Tully Hall in New York City and with the NEPA Philharmonic. Nick graduated with a B.S. in Music Education from Wilkes College and a B.A. from the Manhattan School of Music.
LittleStarRun
LittleStarRun is the musical alias of Pennsylvania born musician and singer-songwriter Rachel Lucille Woodworth. She found her musical voice living abroad and working as an actress and studying international theater at the Theater of Change (Theatro Ton Allagon) in Athens Greece.
She formed the project LittleStarRun in 2010 inspired by the diverse music scene in Athens, a mix of indie rock, electronica, jazz, world music, and traditional greek artists. She attended Musical Praxis Conservatory in Athens and studied guitar and music theory under jazz guitarist and Berklee Alumnus Yiorgos Argyropoulos. In 2016 she returned to the US and released her single “Wilting” which earned her songwriting comparisons to Jenny Lewis, Feist and Beach House with its lush guitars, ethereal vocal layers and candid lyrics. Her music can be classified as indie dream pop rock with psychedelic, shoegaze and folk influences. The live project LittleStarRun has featured a rotating cast of musicians with the current lineup as a duo featuring Woodworth on guitar/vocals and Justin Padro (Justin Padro Jazz Trio) on drums.
LittleStarRun has been called “A modern Joan Baez” (Umano.gr) and recently contributed a track to Brazilian shoegaze indie electronic artist cellardoor’s 2018 collaborative album Seashores and Riversides. She was a member of the band Brian TV and appears on the albums Brian TV Quits and Animal Worship. She is a regular contributor to radio art program Troubadours and Raconteurs on WFTE and Radio Free Brooklyn. She has composed music and performed in theater works in The Scranton Fringe Festival and continues her involvement in theater locally as a composer, writer and performer. She works as a freelance songwriter/vocalist and collaborates with various artists in the US and abroad. She is currently working with Mexican psychedelic rock folk artist Galar on a theatrical piece/music album for release in 2019. Her debut album “The Heist” is due out in 2019.
https://littlestarrun.bandcamp.com/releases
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/littlestarrun/1098334909
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4u7swE85DslAZDTYdEkY5Q
Contact: littlestarrun@gmail.com.
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.
UNDERGROUND MICROPHONE
Jason Brian Merrill of The Secret Reasons, Host
Jason Brian Merrill bandleader from The Secret Reasons, is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from the Northeastern PA region. He is the former guitarist for the Gabby Borges band (featured on her latest album as producer and guitarist), and has fronted several acts over the years, most recently Rare Form. He is currently starting his project, The Secret Reasons, which can be found at www.thesecretreasons.com. He originally hails from Bellmore, NY and still visits there as well as performs back in his hometown area. He started with Clarinet, but he started listening to Nirvana in early 1994 (before the untimely death of Kurt Cobain) and then picked up a guitar in 1996. He is self-taught but has a degree in education and uses his experience with self-teaching to enable students to find their own voice, and own ability to self-teach. His influences range from the aforementioned Nirvana, The Beatles, Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, Gypsy Jazz, and Video Game soundtracks. He has also come to appreciate some 80’s alternative music lately. Jason is a strong believer in connecting through music of all types, and his eclectic style reflects his influences. He has a recording studio in Hawley, PA and works for Songbird Studios in Narrowsburg, and the Black Bear Conservatory of Music in Hawley, PA. He is eager to continue with his solo project and new band, which features Joey Aikens and Steve Kurilla, but as is his custom, will likely have some rotating members such as Mark Woodyatt and Stephen Faubel as well as guest drummers and bassists. He loves putting a new spin on old music, and taking extended solos and jams to see how far he can push his improvisational skills. He plans to do music for the rest of his life, and music is the main part of his income.
Joey Aikens
He didn’t play piano, but 15-year-old Joey Aikens had an ear for perfect pitch. When a family friend gave him a small console piano, he could hear it was out of tune. A hands-on kid who took his electronic toys apart, diagrammed them and put them back together for fun, Aikens went into his dad’s toolbox. He found a hex fitting and locking pliers, which he used as a makeshift tuning lever. After graduating from Mountain View High School in Kingsley, Aikens attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and traveled the country as a working, recording guitarist.
Twenty-five years later, Aikens is one of the few remaining piano tuners in northeast Pennsylvania. As pianos continue to remain a centerpiece of classical and modern music, opinions differ on whether piano tuning is reaching its swan song. Aikens remains true to his”scientific art” and spends most of his time in his thriving piano tuning business. In between finding that perfect pitch, the multi-instrumentalist plays with The Secret Reasons and is currently working on a solo album.
Owen Walsh
Owen Walsh has been performing music in PA and NYS for the past 7 years. He performs across genres, but folk, rock, and blues music is where he feels most at home. He has been in various bands— (Dead Tracks from Honesdale, PA and South Hill Revival from Ithaca, NY). His current group is called O&Co. He recently graduated from Ithaca College after studying journalism and music. Owen is now writing for the local River Reporter newspaper, and will be releasing his first solo EP in the next month. Hear his music on Instagram @music_by_walsh or on SoundCloud at https://m.soundcloud.com/user-598199740.
Robert Tellefsen
Bob was born in Brooklyn and has played with the likes of Bob Dylan and Richie Havens. Known for his Richie Havens style, he can take you back to the days in The Village, while also throwing in some modern touches, such as Dave Mathews.
https://www.reverbnation.com/roberttellefsen
Lighten Up!
Randy and Rose Light have been playing music together from the time that they first met in Athens Ohio over 30 years ago. Both Randy and Rose had experience as street musicians In cities such as Seattle, Austin, and New Orleans, among other places. Rose fingerpicks and strums guitar and has always been enamored with the swing music and vocal stylings of Ella Fitzgerald. Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt influenced Rose deeply, and their music is evident in her repertoire. Randy grew up in a house where his mother was a leader of a Dixieland band and he was exposed to swing and jazz music at an early age. Later Randy played in an electric bluegrass band and spent 10 years playing Americana and Irish fiddle tunes and mandolin (studying with Jethro Burns of Homer and Jethro and Kevin Burke). Playing acoustic and electric guitar, he opened concerts for John Hartford, Leo Kottke, Mickey Gilley, and Bobby Bare.
Randy and Rose got together and started a family while still playing as “Weekend Warriors “ at many night clubs, honky-tonks, social clubs, restaurants , weddings and a plethora of any location that would want music of varying styles.Since moving to the Poconos of Pennsylvania, Lighten Up shifted to playing the blues Playing gigs with local blues experts such as Clarence Spady, Slam Allen and Little Sammy Davis. Randy also plays currently with a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band called Green River.Lighten Up! recently reconfigured with Chip Forelli on bass, who is best known for his professional photography ( chipforelli.com) however he continues as an artist in many ways musically with Bob Tellifson, and Kat n Randy and others. Andy Pace has played percussion with Lighten Up! over the years and with the Hideout Blues Band. Andy played professionally with Gary US bonds and C&C Music Factory and toured with many national artists.
Lighten Up! places a heavy emphasis on tight vocal harmony and arrangements of the “Roots”-oriented blues, swing, rock-a -billy , light-rock , and bluegrass that is likely to be heard from this variety band. Find them on Facebook @lightenuppa
ABOUT UGM:
Underground Microphone is NEPA’s premier LIVE performance series which features our region’s finest talent. Each week we bring you an exclusive up close and personal lineup of poetry, comedy, music and more! Voted 2017’s Best New Event by readers of Electric City, Underground Microphone offers the unique experience that honors the Weekday Warrior! Reward yourself with an evening out downtown or a quick drink and entertainment after work.
Located in the Lower Level, the Raymond Hood Room is transformed into a listening room café where artists and their work are respected and supported. This very special space is named after the architect who designed the Scranton Cultural Center in the 1920s. Hood is widely known for his Art Deco and Neo Gothic design style which is evident throughout the entire building. Nationally recognized works include 30 Rockefeller Plaza, American Radiator Building, Daily News, The Emporis, Tribune Tower and The Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach among others.
Doors open at 6:00 PM and entertainment starts at 7:00 PM!
No Cover – Cash Bar for 21+ – Valid ID required
Exceptional Entertainment — Classic Atmosphere
Artists: For anyone interested in performing: there are no rules. We encourage free form prose, poetry, stand up, improv and original music. It’s the perfect space to test out new material or projects. For information on how you can become involved, contact Maria at marias@sccmt.org or (570) 346-7369 x102.
Guests: Please be reminded that since this is a performance space, we do ask that you keep the conversation to a whisper. We recognize that this is a social setting, and there is ample lobby space for interacting and networking.
Sponsored by United Gilsonite Laboratories and LT Verrastro. Supported by Lackawanna County and the PA Council on the Arts.