"Just Smile" For Clara Lofaro

Clara Lofaro

Let me re- introduce you to Clara Lofaro,
you say you don't know her? Yes you do...
Remember the Super Bowl a couple of years back when the Disney Classic, "When You Wish Upon A Star" was featured in all their ads, that was Clara's great pipes delivering the goods.

There is lots more to this story. Originally from Toronto, by way of Boston's Berklee College of Music, Clara is now in the Big Apple where all the action is.


A six time Toronto Music Award winner for her a previous album "Perfekt World", Clara's new album is self titled "Clara Lofaro". Produced by, Anthony Resta, Robert L. Smith and Harold Stephan.

Her hot new single and video is "Just Smile", as Clara told me this song was written to "spread positive energy through music and a smile". If you are a home town New York City boy like me you have to love the lyrics.
It tells a story of a young girl coming to NYC, Times Square to be exact.

"Riding down into New York City, no sleep, sneaker on, tryin' to look pretty
the Sun is shinin' not a care in the world, can't wait to get there,

Clara

cause I'm a city girl"!

I love it and I'll be at her show at Caffe Vivaldi 
on April, 21st, in Da Apple.

I asked Clara the question I ask everyone, if you were leaving the planet and you could only take one album with you, which would you take?
Without any hesitation she said, Useless Desires, by Patty Griffin.

Can't wait to see her live and I'll have a "smiling" review 4 U.

Clara will bet at Caffe Vivaldi, NYC.. on March 15th & April 21st

Treat yourself to"Just Smile"video...
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyRgt527oL4

Then View Clara's site  claralofaro.com
by Pete Cataldo  follow Pete... www.twitter.com/petecarma

Kalen , "Rabid Girl" by Pete Carma

Kalin Lister "Rabid Girl"

The latest cut from Kalen
is "Rabid Girl".
From my point of view it is the perfect piece for her multi-faceted
skills.
The tune is a "blow the top off" number which I think crosses to all
contemporary genre. A strong back beat, almost a Latin Jazz sound, then  Kalen paints us a picture of what those of us who have lived in Manhattan have all seen before with her brilliant lyrics...
"Delancey liquor store, refuse to serve her more...cops are on the way, she's a regular they say" all this, throw in a funky riff, and some blues just for color and a Big Apple story and you have a great tune by a singer who can smoothly slide from one to the other...that's "Rabid Girl".
Kalen tells me it will be released as a single and a video soon.

listen to it here...http://www.kalenmusic.com/

                                         *****
Kalen is originally from New Hampshire, a grad from Pennsylvania U.
Now of course living in the Garden Spot of the world Brooklyn USA.
                                         *****
Her previous CD, Honky Tonk Hip Hop, rocks too.

Baby Boy, the first cut again shows Kalen's lyrical genius...
"How did you get so close to me...I don't remember giving you a key"...Baby Boy.

Heart And Soul, another cut...is a smooth, bluesy, jazz harmony tune where Kalen lays it all on us,
her range and ability to set a mood win you over on this one.
Some real good what I call,  "young lady blues" which means a talented young artist who can whale the blues like a veteran. She will give you on this tune her "Heart and Soul".

The CD is a showcase of her piano and vocal skills. I highly recommend it.
All songs were written and performed by Kalen. Produced by, Phillip Carroll.

All in all this lady's music is highly contagious, and could lead to addiction...You have been warned!

Kalen's "Rabid Girl" can be downloaded now, ITunes; http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rabid-girl-single/id438294602  paste this link to ITunes.
                                                   kalenmusic.com

follow Pete at;  www.twitter.com/petecarma

Nadia Ackerman, "The Circus Is Back In Town"

Nadia Ackerman     photo; Brad Trent

The lady must know something about the ocean, she made it here from Australia!
Singer songwriter Nadia Ackerman will soon release her new album
"The Ocean Master".

                                       *****

Starting at age 3 when she awoke her mom and dad with "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" her creativity has been evident.

Morning broadcasts in Australia lead to contracts in Asia, then Canada and now we are the lucky ones who have her here in New York.

Along the way she sang at Carnegie Hall and  back up to Sting, Billy Joel and James Taylor, Shirley Bassey and others.

I am excited to see this talented artist who has impressed me with what I have heard so far.
She will be at the Rockwood Music Hall in Greenwich Village on April 18th, 
and I'll be there to bring you a review.


Nadia's previous works including her popular album "The Circus Is Back In Town"
are all available at http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/nadia-ackerman/id148210469.
From which I might add the title tune is great!

                         
                                *****

 I asked Nadia if she could only have one album to take if she were
leaving this planet which would it be, she chose, Hats, by Blue Nile, a group from Scotland.

I also asked if she could perform with any artist living or dead
who would it be, she chose Rickie Lee Jones.

So there is a bit of Nadia and her music. You'll be hearing much more
from her in the future!

Nadia is also the voice of UPS..."logistics" check her out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRAHa_Po0Kg

Check out Nadia's music page listen to her music and join her page...
http://www.nadiaackerman.com/


by; Pete Cataldo     follow Pete   www.twitter.com/petecarma

 

In F, Genghis Barbie ...by Pete Cataldo

Genghis Barbie? I know an oxymoron you say, how can those two fit together? I'll show you how.

You take four beautiful, talented young ladies with twenty six years of conservatory experience, lots of spirit and a love for their work, add four French Horns and New York City to the mix and Wallah... Genghis Barbie!

How many times have you been at a concert or show
or even watching TV, and you see the artists walk out and your first impression is always right, good , bad, boring whatever it is the "first sighting"  sets the mood.

With Genghis Barbie you will feel the excitement right from the jump.Then when you hear their music you will fall in love.

This innovative ensemble consists of; Alana  Vegter (Freedom Barbie), DePaul University, Julliard
Rachel Drehmann (Atilla The Horn), University of Minnesota, Manhattan School of Music
Jacquelyn Adams, (Jungle Barbie), University of North Texas, and the Curtis Institute and last but certainly not least ...
Danielle Kuhlmann (Velvet Barbie), Juilliard School and Rice University.

Here is how they got started and chose the name as told to me by Jungle Barbie;

"Four friends who chose the same profession, realized that for better or worse, they had been chosen to change the face of the French Horn forever. We had all known each other for years through schools (auditions/gigs/teachers/music conservatories) but the idea of forming the greatest pop horn quartet of all time didn't surface until Freedom's bachelorette party. So step one; a band name. Genghis Barbie. Velvet's dad suggested it. A family friend's 5 yr old daughter learned about Genghis Khan in school during her Barbie phase and invented a comic strip called Genghis Barbie. The name was just sitting there.... waiting for us! Thus, Genghis Barbie was born- Velvet Barbie, Freedom Barbie, Jungle Barbie and Atilla the Horn.  We collectively decided stage names, fur and leather were probably all must-haves for four intense chicks who are hell-bent on making something unique happen with traditional instruments"!

"We're fund raising for our first CD (we're at $3500 our of our $5000 goal- pumped!) Our campaign is at www.indiegogo.com/genghis-barbie. One of my favorite things about being in GB : the diverse, quirky fan-base, ranging from retired classical horn players in the sixties and seventies to teenage internet junkies who found us through youtube, facebook or a random write up".

                                                                  *****

 Well they have me "hooked" so you will be hearing a blow by blow account
  of their every move here on this site.

Up coming events for Genghis Barbie;   March 16th, Local 29, NYC
 March 18th - 20th North East Horn Workshop, and San Fransisco in June at the International Horn Symposium.


here is a taste of their great sound; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhx1hbNPmlI

                           follow Pete Cataldo  www.twitter.com/petecarma

             

Jennie Booth, Artist, Activist

Artist; One who is adept at something.
Activist: One who supports or opposes with vigor a
controversial issue.

It always seems to be the artists or musicians who lead the way on "rights" issues.

That is my friend Jennie Booth. Living in New York she is someone I think you should know. She has been a long time
advocate of rights for women, a subject that for all of history
has been largely ignored by those in control (MEN).
In her art and with her voice she has spoken to this issue.

I spoke with her this week and got some great insight from her
and in addition I asked her, if you were leaving the planet and could take only one piece of art, which would it be?
Then I asked if you could live 100 years ago or 100 years from now which would you chose.
Her are her eloquent words...

                                                                *****

I dislike talking about myself. That may not be the best thing in a career field that has become all about who is the loudest and most repetitive advertiser. I don't even want my artwork to directly speak about me. Though you can find me peaking out from between layers of symbols in my work, my paintings are not about ME. I address issues that are not reflective of one cultural viewpoint or one history. Why this abstraction? The big picture encompasses the smallest most obscure picture.

Homosapien Sapiens are not as evolved as we would like to believe. Yes, we've created some pretty fancy technologies and toys, but our ability to use them is paramount to putting a running chainsaw in the hands of a four year old. Harm is done.

Seeing the harm hurts me to the core. I reject the harmers, the harm, but I have not found a way to turn away.

I entered in to visual art as a way to spend hours and hours quietly, productively alone. Each painting is a personal challenge, a puzzle to solve. I hope people who see my work are brought to a place new and yet familiar, puzzling yet understood.

______Q: If you were leaving the planet and could only take one painting with you, which would you take?

My first thought about leaving the planet and taking one painting with me was ---Can I take a book? History of art without the words. Hundreds of color true plates. I would need a trolley cart to carry it. I wouldn't want to pick just one. One would, by nature of its tactile presence, slowly undermine the wealth of art images I carry in my head.

…OK... Van Gogh. Cypresses? Starry Night. The Universe itself on a lush 2d surface.

------Q: If you could choose to live 100 years ago or 100 years from now, which would it be??

I would choose to live 100 years in the future. Implicit in that is the optimism that 100 years in the future would exist. How would it feel to be cognizant in Primordial Stew 2.0? Interesting thought. Resounding quiet. Other galaxies' stars would shine through. I hope a few problems might be solved in 100 years time.

Woman's Rights. You know that 100 years from now question? Where will women be in 100 years? Sometimes my women friends, and a few male friends have a conversation that goes something like this…."Why do men hate women so much?" Cause they've got to hate women in order to carry through all of the mythologies and traditions, unwritten rules and legislation that have ruled Earth since history. There is a continued will to keep women in a category just outside of human. Why?

And many women do go along with it. Befriend your jailer and hope for an extra piece of bread?

The truth is that no problem found on Earth will be solved until women are given equal status as human under law and tradition. Global warming, Hunger, War, Terrorism, you name the impending catastrophe and I will pinpoint its cause to woman's inequality. There is no real effort to solve these problems because to do so would mean a massive redistribution of wealth and power. Who ever does that willingly?

The work pictured above is; "The Universe Gets A View"
Here is Jennie's inspiration for it... 

The Universe in her iconographic form. A woman/girl in a red skirt, the international symbol for "female". The red of her skirt the embodiment of manifest physical life. She stands atop a mountain of hands in the desert. It is a mountain of effort, of work itself, holding her up. And a mountain of reaching...longing. To her left and right are yucca trees. Their seedpods are eyes whose tears of compassion bring life to the desert.

In 2007, I participated in a fantastic artist residency program in Tularosa, New Mexico called Mano Y Mente. It was my first time in the Southwest and I just loved the landscape there. (I am trying to find a way back to that area!) I was fascinated by the broad plains of desert, the incredible skies and the yucca plant, which I learned is much taller that the plant you actually see jutting out of the sands and soil of New Mexico.

We spent time painting and drawing at White Sands National Monument, (with all of its heavy implications) and I learned that as the sands sweep over the area, they slowly bury the plants, but the yucca plants stubbornly reach for the sun and life. Their roots run far beneath the sands bringing structure to the desert and ways for water to be saved. I saw this as an analogy for compassion and forbearance; the will to survive in the face of deserts that intend only to cover and bury. This felt like the struggles of women and to that end the struggles of our natural world to maintain its equilibrium in the face of the sweeping disregard of humanity.

This Universe carries a heart (compassion, love) under her arm and a brain (wisdom, knowledge) on her head. She looks out over the Universe, which is in the end, Herself. 

 

Other OP/ED by: R&B Songstress Arika Kane        

 

 
                  follow me:   Pete Carma 
 

Kristin Hoffmann, Is For "Real"

"Real" is the CD, Kristin Hoffmann the singer songwriter and it's loaded with great tunes.

As I listened to the raw passion of her lyrics blended
with a power in her voice and an excellent interpretation
on the CD, I can't wait to see her at Caffe Vivaldi,
in New York soon.

A student of classical piano, guitar and opera at Juilliard pre- college and NYU, Kristin says the opera training made her voice what it is today and she marries the two in to the contemporary sound she projects so well.

Kristin had previously wrote, produced, engineered and recorded her first CD, "Divided Heart".

Real, The title cut Kristin says is all about being true to yourself.
"I Declare" and "Home" I thought were outstanding tunes.


"Home" is a great piece of poetry put to music so well, that talks of a young artist's struggle to make their way.
....so find the fire that still burns, and find the heart that still yearns... as sung from the heart by Kristin,
makes one think of being in the Big Apple, performing and wondering about your future.

"I Declare" a spiritual song that deals with mistakes, a broken heart and dreams, again well put to music and an emotional interpretation by Kristin. These two were my favorites from "Real".

Kristin says she likes to make her audience look inward and go to places they would not normally go..
guess what, she really can do that to you, well at least she did it to me!

Kristin will be at;   Skipper's Pub, North Port, NY, April 9th at 9 PM
                                Caffe Vivaldi, NYC, April 16th, 9 PM

       listen to the CD, Real...    http://www.kristinhoffmann.com/music.html
       by Pete Cataldo,     follow Pete  www.twitter.com/petecarma

Shayfer James:  Live at The Watermark, Asbury Park, NJ
Audrey Rodgers


It was my absolute pleasure to witness Shayfer James and his band give one of the most riveting performances I've seen in quite some time.  The performance took place at an ocean side venue in Asbury Park, NJ called the Watermark.

I'd heard about their performances from friends in Manhattan, but had never been able to make it up to the city for a performance.  Knowing the album well already, I was overjoyed when I heard they were coming to perform just a few miles from my apartment.

What I witnessed was frankly uncanny.  Shayfer began the set with Tombstone Road, a track from his album 'The Owl & The Elephant'.  The energy on stage was incredibly high, which drew in an audience comprised of Shayfer's fans, but also locals and patrons there to see other performances.  By the end of the first chorus, the entire crowd was moving to the music in some form or another.   Shayfer's vocals sounded better than on the album in my opinion, and that is saying a lot as the album is truly amazing.

His glare and grin seemed to be directed toward everyone at once, like one of those portraits in a haunted house.   Shayfer's performance was, as his bio says, "theatrical but never contrived".  It is obvious that this guy has his feet planted firmly in two dimensions at all times.  Odd but totally captivating.

At first I assumed the energy would be a bit lower than your usual band performance as all the members are seated, but this was not at all the case.  Dante Edmont on Organ, and Melodica had an endearing quirkiness to him, coming off as straight from a Charlie Chaplin movie.  Mr. Jeremy Gillespie played bass in the cool and collected manner I always look for in a bass player, but with a distinct element of brooding.  Dusty Bones' performance on drums made clear why he is referred to as such.  He seemed to rattle and flail like some skeleton in the proverbial closet, with snake like movement accentuating dramatic cymbal flourishes.

Slower songs like Insincerely Yours made up for pace with unbridled passion and stellar performance by all the members while up-tempos boasted bombastic rhythms that kept bodies moving.
I was excited to hear that Shayfer is recording a new album with the live band, though I would have been even more excited for a sneak peek at a new song!  Guess a girl can't everything!

To truly sum it up: this is one of the best under the radar live bands out there, and Shayfer is, and yes I know this sounds extreme, one of the best songwriters of our generation without a doubt.  I have no doubt we'll all be hearing a ton about the new album, and hopefully even the current one "The Owl & The Elephant".

You can learn more at www.shayferjames.com (The art on this site is worth a thorough look, with imagery hidden on every lyric page and all the sub pages.) and www.facebook.com/shayferjamesmusic
                                                                   art by..Sarah Zar

There's a free download on the "Listen" page. Click the gramophone on the upper left corner of www.shayferjames.com to find it!

The Most Popular Unknown Artist On The Planet...Ivete Sangalo

The New York Times said of Ivete Sangalo..
."Only the language keeps her from being the most popular

 female performer internationally".

Born in Juazerio, Bahia on my birthday, May 27th (Gemini)
she has made her mark throughout South America, Spain and Portugal. She has been compared to Shakira or Beyonce,
I don't see that at all. 

Ivete is able to attract all ages of fans with her class and maturity, but yet projects a very young and exciting stage presence.

She has sold 14 million CD's, and has taken her record company, Universal back to the #1 spot since 2007.

Here concerts are a Festa (also the name of one of her platinum albums) and the title song that was #1 in Brazil in 2001.

Her concert in New York's Madison Square Garden in December drew 14,500 fans, the record for a non- English speaking concert, the previous record was a mere 4,500.Considering Ivete plays only venues with a capacity of 20,000 or more outside the United States the 14,500 must have seemed small.

As a teen she played the violin. As she became a vocalist she was signed by Sony Music in Brazil and became their top selling artist when her 2005 album "Supernovas" went triple platinum.
Sony formed a band for her called Banda Eva prior to her going single, and she sold 4 million CD's as it's lead singer.

I tried to get an interview with her in New York in December, all I could get was a spot in a group of  writers to ask questions, that was fine with me.
I can tell you the energy she threw out to her fans from that big venue was thrown back to her with just as much love.
The musicians she had with her worked their butts off, she never stops on stage and as I witnessed you won't have a problem with the language, the Bahia Rhythm will win you over!

I would compare her more to Cher, keep in mind Ivete is twenty years her junior, Ivete like Cher has command of the audience before she hits the stage, reputation and a string of hits and an aura of
professionalism and love for her work, have gained her the affection of millions.
Actually the "audience" is not a proper term, they sing along with every number and are really part of the show.

I hope she comes back to the States again soon, I want to take some friends to see her.

here is a shot of Ivete for you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wj6dzTCo4s

by pete cataldo   follow Pete www.twitter.com/petecarma