Long before the duo graced the Broadway stage, Black Violin’s classically trained aficionados, violist Wil Baptiste and violinist Kev Marcus, stumbled upon orchestra class.
“I wanted to play the saxophone, but they put me in the wrong class,” revealed Baptiste during a recent phone interview. “Kev’s mom enrolled him in a musical program over the summer and violin class was the only one with spots available.”
After meeting in high school, the two Florida-based musicians forged an unmatched chemistry by simply taking what they were given and establishing what pundits are calling “genre-busting” music. Heavily influenced by jazz, bluegrass and funk, but equally adroit in Mozart and Beethoven, Black Violin set out to do something many wouldn’t dare.
“Growing up in hip hop and just so happened to play the violin, we realized that jazz and the blues helped cultivate the urban culture so it was natural for us to fuse it all,” he said.
Their penchant for doing something different has led them to earn the Legend title at the famed Apollo Theatre in New York. By March 2009, only a year after the release of its debut album, Black Violin was on Broadway performing pop covers by Akon, Lady Gaga and The Fugees. Since then, the duo has had the opportunity to work with major leaguers like Aerosmith, Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty. Receiving worldwide acclaim captivating audiences,
Baptiste said he feels as though they’ve come a long way since the debut of their 2008 self-titled album.
“We’ve grown tremendously and touring has played a large part in that process,” he said. “Coming up as two black guys playing the violin in the club it looked insane. Sometimes people were jiving and sometimes they didn’t know what to think, but either way we kept moving and improving.”
At the root of Black Violin’s clover is an undying work ethic. The band played 160 shows alone last year. Touring the country to gain notoriety for their latest project titled “Stereotypes,” the maestros are joined on stage by their longtime leader of ceremonies DJ TK, who plays the role of hype man in addition to supplying the duo with a rhythm and beat.
The final ingredient is Baptiste providing vocals to the show that truly completes the exclusive atmosphere.
Being socially conscious musicians, the duo’s message is deeper than instrumentals, Baptiste explains.
“Nowadays with all the craziness going on, everybody needs a common ground and I feel like we bring that,” he said.
“Something kind of like baseball in the ‘70s in a sense that all races can come together to root for one city or team.”
Baptiste wants people to leave Black Violin shows feeling more optimistic and he encourages fans to interact during the spectacle.
“When you come to a Black Violin concert, we want you to leave all the issues of the world behind and have a great time,” he said. “We encourage the fans to yell out, scream out—whatever you’re feeling just express it.”
Black Violin performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. Tickets are $24 to $38. For more information, call (480) 782-2680 or visit www.chandlercenter.org.
Wil Baptiste wants fans to leave Black Violin shows feeling more optimistic. He also encourages fans to interact during the spectacle. Submitted photo
Quebec’s Timber! to make first Chandler visit
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
A sort of Cirque du Soleil show involving lumberjack equipment, Timber! spells danger.
Founded in St.-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Quebec, Timber! sees the show’s creators using unusual acrobatic apparatus inspired from the forestry resources available on their family’s farms. The group performs aerial acrobatics in a hyperfestive atmosphere.
“Yeah, of course; it’s part of the job,” said acrobat Antoine Carbinier Lépine in his thick French-Canadian accent.
“The circus is boring without the danger. We haven’t had a serious injury doing the show, though—knock on wood.”
Cirque Alfonse’s Timber! is making its first visit to Arizona on Sunday, Jan. 17, when it performs at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
“It’s going to be the first time we’re going to be in the west part of the United States,” he said. “It’ll be fun for us to go there.”
The show is by no means new, however. The troupe has performed around the world.
“We’ve been doing this show for four years and a half now,” he said. “It’s a fun show to perform with all the family and friends who are in the show.”
The members of Timber! created the show in Lépine’s basement
“They have a really nice old barn,” Lépine said “We did three months of creation there, in the small village of St.-
Alphonse-Rodriguez.
“Our first show was in Montreal,” he said. “It was made to show in Quebec. Now it’s all over the world—250 shows now. It’s quite amazing. It was meant to be a small show; it’s still a small show. But it works really well.”
Timber! appears at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, at the Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. Tickets are $28 to $44. For more information, call (480) 782-2680 or visit www. chandlercenter.org.
ON STAGE
Jim Curry: Take Me Home—The Music of John Denver, Saturday, Jan. 9, HCPA. Jim Curry sang John Denver’s parts during the making of the CBS television music “Take Me Home: The John Denver Story.”
Acoustic Eidolon: World Music for the Soul, Sunday, Jan. 10, HCPA. Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire joined forces in 1998 to form Acoustic Eidolon.
Riverdance, Tuesday, Jan. 12 through Sunday, Jan. 17, MAC. The international Irish dance phenomenon is on its 20th anniversary world tour with an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song.
The Abbey Road Band, Thursday, Jan. 14, HCPA. This group is the quintessential Beatles tribute band.
Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, Friday, Jan. 15, HCPA. Ryan Shupe Band’s style evokes images of Dave Matthews Band gone bluegrass.
ON STAGE VENUE INDEX
CCA—Chandler Center for the Arts
250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler Tickets: (480) 782-2680, www.chandlercenter.org
HCPA—Higley Center for the Performing Arts
4132 E. Pecos Rd., Gilbert Tickets: (480) 279-7190 or www.higleyarts.org
Black Violin, Friday, Jan. 15, CCA. Virtuoso musicians Wil B. and Kev Marcus meld highbrow and pop culture through a fusion of classical, jazz, hip hop, blues and R&B.
Peter, Paul and Mary Remembered and Friends, Saturday, Jan. 16, HCPA. Recall memories of “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane,” “Puff,” “If I had a Hammer” and “Stewball.”
Temptations, Saturday, Jan. 16, WHP. One of the most highly influential groups to the evolution of R&B and soul music, The Temptations have four Hot 100 No. 1 singles and 14 R&B No. 1 singles.
Timber! A Production of Cirque Alfonse, Sunday, Jan. 17, CCA. The artists perform incredible feats of aerial acrobatics that are directly inspired by the natural raw materials of the forest and the equipment used on the farm.
MAC—Mesa Arts Center One E. Main St., Mesa Tickets: (480) 644-6500, www.mesaartscenter.com
WHP—Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd., Chandler Tickets: (800) 946-4452 or www.wingilariver.com
Timber! features acrobats performing with forestry equipment. Submitted photo
Shupe and the RubberBand planning new record for 2016
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
“Real music” is making a comeback but Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand have been there all along.
Way before bluegrass was the “it” genre, Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand formed in the mid-1990s in Ogden, Utah, and inked a deal with Capitol Records in 2005 after releasing four studio albums on its own independent record label.
Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand scored a Top 40 hit with “Dream Big” off of its 2005 album of the same name.
The act has carried on, forging through label changes before finally returning to handling its own affairs.
“I think there is definitely a groundswell of this acoustic-based music, especially in rock,” said Shupe, as he drives through Colorado on his way back to Utah from a holiday vacation.
“That’s kind of what we have been doing all along—a hybrid of rock and bluegrass mixed together. It’s good to have a little twist because you don’t want to be like everyone else. We’re acoustic rock with a bluegrass twist to it.”
Shupe chalks up this love of acoustic, authentic bands like Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers.
“I can pin it down to a couple theories,” he said. “It goes through phases. When there’s overproduced music, people want to get back to the roots of real music.
“I also kind of have this theory: I’ve noticed that the media world is so
fragmented than what it used to be. It used to be that record companies could have a pop star and everybody knew who that was—U2, Michael Jackson, whoever. Now it’s so fragmented. You can learn about music from YouTube or TV shows. There’s more space for different kinds of music.”
Shupe and his group of musicians are returning to the Valley to play the Higley Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15. It’s a place at which he’s performed often.
“It’s a really great venue, of course,” he said. “We have a lot of people who know us in Arizona. We try and come down as much as we can. I think I’m really happy to have found a place where we can come back to on a regular basis.”
This year will be busy for Shupe as he and his band are releasing a new CD in 2016.
“We’ve been working really hard on that,” he said. “We’ve been doing a bunch of stuff ramping up for it. We’ve done a couple videos. We’ll do a couple more. We’ve been kind of out promoting that, trying to get some radio play.
“It is tough to get radio play. Every week, they get 50 or 60 CDs and they can only play three of them, then it gets backlogged. I’ve been pretty lucky and
blessed to have continued to get people behind stuff.”
He attributed that to the “Shupe sound.”
“I’m ADD,” he said. “For the past albums, they’ve been like less focused. In some ways it’s good. Some ways it’s hard to categorize. They were like five albums in one—funny, kind of thoughtful singersongwriter-ish, a little bit of bluegrass and kind or rock.
“With this one, I focused a little bit more. I wanted to focus on making a CD
that’s a little more cohesive. I think that’s what this one has accomplished. This album is the most rockin’ album we’ve done so far.”
Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 E. Pecos Rd., Gilbert. Tickets are $23 to $44.80. For more information, call (480) 279-7194 or visit www.higleycenter.org.
Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand are working on a new album for release this year. Submitted photo
Looking at Granzow’s photos evokes a story in one’s mind
An exhibition called “The New Old World—The Photography of Robert Granzow” will be on display 10 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, from Jan. 15 through March 5 at Vision Gallery, 10 E. Chicago St., Chandler. An opening reception will be 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15.
Granzow’s goal with the photographs in the exhibit is to evoke a story in one’s mind. When looking at the artwork, he wants patrons to ask the type of questions that bring their imagination into the scene and develop their own narrative. Scenes in black and white of the streets throughout Europe open a very different and exciting experience for the viewer.
“As an artist, when I convert a digital color photograph to black and white, I call it the new old way of photography. These photographs are my new old way of looking at the new old world, he said.” Granzow’s photographs are of a world that “used to be,” or is called the Old World. Throughout the compositions there are hints of the New World scattered throughout. Some of the faces are changing and the sometimes annoying necessities of the modern world seem to creep into even the oldest parts of Europe, embellishing the stories that have always been there.
“I’ve given the location but no title, because I don’t want you to be influenced by what I think the story in the photographs should be,” he said.
Pace’s ceramic art to be featured
“I’ve chosen black and white for this exhibition, because I feel the subtlety of monochromatic tones suit these images, and in some cases color can detract from the story or the direction a viewer’s eye follows through the scene.”
Info: (480) 782-2695, vision.gallery@ chandleraz.gov or www.visiongallery.org.
“A Plethora of Platters—Ceramic Art by Alvin Pace” will be on display 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Jan. 12 through March 6, at the Chandler Center for the Arts Gallery, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. A reception to meet the artist will be 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. Pace, an Arizona native, has a master of fine arts degree from ASU and was the head of the art department at Chandler High School for more than 30 years. He has been a long-term advocate and supporter of the arts in Chandler, and is a ceramics instructor at Chandler-Gilbert
Community College. His work can be found in the City of Scottsdale Arts Collection, the ASU Ceramic Collection and the Eddie Basha Art Collection. Pace’s work has been described as, “a complete transformation of clay into disks that seem to float ethereally on the wall. His work is inspirational.”
Info: (480) 782-2695, vision. gallery@chandleraz.gov or www. chandlercenter.org.
“The New Old World—The Photography of Robert Granzow” will be on display from Jan. 15 to March 5 at Vision Gallery, 10 E. Chicago St. Submitted photo
Smith set to headline the Great American Barbecue & Beer Festival
The seventh Great American Barbecue & Beer Festival is returning to downtown Chandler, Saturday, March 19, and headlining this year’s entertainment will be Granger Smith, best known for his hit single, “Backroad Song.” More than 60 pit masters from across the country and more than 200 kegs of craft beer from the SanTan Brewing Co. will be featured.
Supporting acts include the Ben Miller Band, Zack Deputy and Georgia Chrome. Doors open at 12 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. The festival will span the entire Dr. A.J. Chandler Park East and West as well as connecting Arizona Avenue, which will be closed from Buffalo Street to Boston Street in downtown Chandler.
Presale general admission tickets are $12 online at www. chandlerbbq.com and are $15 at the gate. Food and beverages are sold separately. Children 12 years of age and younger are admitted for free. All valley Bashas’ locations will have discounted $10 admission ticket available beginning in mid-January.
Granger Smith, best known for his hit single, “Backroad Song,” is headliner of the seventh Great American Barbecue & Beer Festival, Saturday, March 19. Submitted photo
counseling, and adaptive clothing.
A portion of the event proceeds will benefit the Boot Campaign, which provides assistance to wounded military and their families, including job placement, help securing mortgage-free homes, post-traumatic stress disorder
Official sponsors include; Bashas’, Alliance Beverage, Crescent Crown Distributing, Ak-Chin Indian Communities, Downtown Chandler Community Partnership, SanTan Brewing Co., 102.5 KNIX, Discount Cab, BBQ Island, Phoenix New Times , Local First AZ, Yelp, Von Hanson’s Meats & Spirits, and Local Lily.
Free ‘Out to Lunch’
concerts offered in Mesa
Free afternoon concerts are being offered 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Feb. 4 through Feb. 25, in the Wells Fargo Garden performance area on the Shadow Walk at the Mesa Arts Center. Life of the Party Catering will be onsite for each concert offering hot and cold lunch selections, as well as beverages and desserts.
The Mesa Arts Center, owned and operated by the City of Mesa, is home to four theaters, five art galleries in the MCA Museum and 14 art studios. Info: mesaartscenter.com.
Master teaching artist offers free series of music-making workshops for ages 50 and older
Will Clipman, Canyon Records percussionist and multiple Grammy nominee, will present Lifetime Arts’ Creative Aging—Planet of Percussion, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 9 to March 8, at the Downtown Chandler Public Library, 22 S. Delaware St., Chandler. A public performance will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 12.
For those 50 years old or older, the free lecture-demonstration of world music rhythm and poly-rhythm will be followed by participants working with global percussion instruments, mastering individual rhythms and blending them into a group composition.
Registration is required and is limited to 12. Participants must be 50+ and will be expected to attend all sessions. Info: (480) 782-2800, infodesk@chandlerlibrary.org, or http://chandlerlibrary.org.
Creative Aging in America’s Libraries is supported by a National Leadership Grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services in collaboration with Lifetime Arts Inc., AARP Foundation, American Library Association and Westchester Library System.
Gypsy jazz trio performing at library
In the style of Django Reinhardt, ZAZU, a popular Phoenix-based gypsy jazz trio, is bringing its unique style 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, to the Ed Robson Library, 9330 E. Riggs Rd., Sun Lakes.
Performing at locations around the area, including the Musical Instrument Museum’s French festival, ZAZU will perform standards by Reinhardt, Dorado Schmidt and other gypsy jazz artists.
The band will also demonstrate how its unusual rhythm works between bass and rhythm guitar.
Seating is limited. Free tickets can be picked up on the day of the program at the library’s front desk. There is a limit of two tickets per person.
Parking is available in the church lot next to the library. Info: (602) 652-3000, pattydennehy@mcldaz.org or mcldaz.org.
Gold Canyon Arts Council presents quartet with a spicy mix
Fandango, a quartet of classical guitar, flute, violin and cello, is performing 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, at the Gold Canyon United Methodist Church, 6640 S. Kings Ranch Rd., Gold Canyon. From the musical scene of Chicago, Fandago is a combination of two internationally acclaimed duos that make up a spicy mix of Spanish, Balkan, Sephardic and classical sounds.
Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagic and his wife, flutist Eugenia Moliner from Spain, are also the Cavitino Duo, and have performed at the Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival in France and Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts. American violinist Desirée Ruhstrat and her British husband, cellist David Cunliffe, are also members of the Lincoln Trio, winner of the 2008 Masterplayers International Competition in Venice,
Italy. Ruhstrat has won top prize at the Mozart Festival Violin Competition and Cunliffe has been principal cello with the BBC Philharmonic and Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestras.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students when purchased in advance at Canyon Rose Storage, 6405 S. Kings Ranch Rd., Gold Canyon or at the Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce office on the Apache Trail. Adult tickets at the door are $30. Tickets can be ordered online at gcac1.com/cynsnds.html.
The Gold Canyon Arts Council, a nonprofit organization, promotes the performing and visual arts through its Canyon Sounds Artist Series. The council is supported in part by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, WESTAF, the National Endowment for the Arts, local corporations and businesses.
Canyon Records percussionist and multiple Grammy nominee Will Clipman is presenting a free Lifetime Arts’ Creative Aging—Planet of Percussion series. Submitted photo
