Your All-Access Pass to Tarrytown Music Hall: September

The summer may be winding down, but the excitement is still building with top-notch entertainment at Tarrytown Music Hall this fall!

Patch spoke with two of the biggest legends in progressive rock; The Zombies' Rod Argent and The Strawbs' David Cousins. They are touring together and making their debut at The Music Hall on September 18 for one evening to remember!

The Zombies will feature two members, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone and their full live band. They are celebrating their 50th Anniversary and are commemorating it with this tour. First, we'll kick things off with Rod Argent of The Zombies. You might recognize his last name, 'Argent' because he was a member the 70s British rock band of the same name, who were known for their hit, 'Hold Your Head Up.'

The Zombies: Rod Argent

PATCH: How did you and the Strawbs team up and why did you want to tour together?

Rod Argent: To be honest, it's really come about because we share the same American agent! However, we have run across some of The Strawbs from time to time, and they're really nice guys. Also we've all been fans of their music, and we're very much looking forward to touring with them.

P: Is this your debut at Tarrytown Music Hall?

RA: Yes.

P: The Zombies are best remembered for their hits. Time of the Season, She's Not There, and Tell Her No, are still are heavily played on American rock radio and beyond. Do you recall what originally inspired those hits?

RA: One thing I remember about "Time Of The Season" -  a song that I loved, around the time of its writing, was Smokey Robinson's "Tracks Of My Tears". For ages I thought the lyrics were "It's the time of the season to trace the tracks of my tears". When I found out they were really "If you look closer it's easy to trace the tracks of my tears", I felt quite cheated, and found myself writing a song with my own alternative lyrics! "She's Not There" was written in response to the fact that our first recording session was looming - it was actually only the second song I ever wrote! The only inspiration I recall for "Tell Her No" was wanting to use some of the sort of chords (major 9th, to be technical!) that I heard Burt Bacharach using at the time ...

P:Your latest release is titled, Breathe Out, Breathe In. Did you write most of the songs on the album and what is your favorite track?

RA: Yes, I wrote 9 of the 10 songs. My favourite track is "A Moment In Time."

P: Will you also be touring Europe besides the U.S. and is there a project you're doing to commemorate your 50th Anniversary?

RA: We have, and we will be touring extensively this year - Japan, U.K., Holland, Belgium, Israel, Greece -- this is all commemorating 50 years since our first meeting.

P: Besides touring with the Strawbs, are there any other bands that you toured with or would like to tour with have you toured with the Strawbs before?

RA: We toured recently with The Yardbirds - very enjoyable. Also with the late Arthur Lee and Love. Other than that, lots of individual gigs with some great bands, but no combined tours.

P: Since you're touring with the Strawbs, will you be performing each other's hits on stage at The Music Hall?

RA: No

P: Are the American audiences more receptive than the British audiences that you've played for?

RA: Actually audiences everywhere are terrific... it's one of the things that continues to make touring so pleasurable.

P: Your music has been used in several TV shows and covered by other artists such as Neko Case and Nick Cave on She's Not There. What do you think of their cover versions?

RA: I love the Neko Case and Nick Cave's She's Not There. It has a real mood. I also enjoyed the Glee version - I couldn't believe that they managed to reproduce the electric piano solo note for note!

P: Is there anything else you would like to say about your upcoming show at The Music Hall?

RA: People are often amazed at the breadth of material and the number of hits they hear in our shows - depending on time available, of course. You can expect to hear the big Zombies singles, and also other early tracks; around half of Odessey and Oracle, solo hits like my second band, Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" (incidentally written by Chris White, the original bass player for "The Zombies"), and the other "Argent " original hit, "God Gave Rock and Roll To You". Colin's solo hits, like "I Don't Believe In Miracles", and as always, selection of new songs - this time from "Breathe Out, Breathe In". Also, we have a ball playing every night with such fantastic musicians - it's the reason we still do it!

The Strawbs: David Cousins

PATCH: The Strawbs have two albums out now...Strawbs Acoustic Gold and Sandy Denny and Alex Campbell 19 Rupert Street. One is an acoustic greatest hits live on CD and the other is an album featuring all new music?
 
David Cousins: ‘Acoustic Gold’ by Strawbs and ’19 Rupert Street’ by Sandy Denny are new albums released on Witchwood Media, the record company that primarily services Strawbs and associates.
 ‘Acoustic Gold’ is a selective overview of the acoustic material recorded by Strawbs over the past ten years.  It features the current line-up touring with the Zombies—David Cousins, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk, as well as some heritage tracks from the back catalogue.  It includes perennial favourites such as ‘Autumn’ as well as newer songs such as ‘Copenhagen’ which looks back at the time the nascent Strawbs spent recording their first album in 1967 with Sandy Denny in Copenhagen, Denmark.The twelve tracks on ’19 Rupert Street’ are all previously unreleased.  The master tape, also recorded in 1967, was discovered in Denmark by David Cousins who transferred the domestic recording to digital at Abbey Road Studios.  The album gives listeners a chance to hear Sandy as David knew her at the time – bubbly and chatty, and with a voice that could break your heart or pin back your ears in the same moment.

P: The Strawbs have been compared to many progressive rock bands, such as The Moody Blues, Beatles, Yes, Pink Floyd, etc. Has the band ever performed with any of those bands ?
 
DC: We played at festivals with all of the bands except the Beatles, although Dave Lambert was signed as a writer to Apple before he joined Strawbs.  We did a show with Yes in the North of England back in 1970 when Rick Wakeman was a member of Strawbs.  Soon after Yes invited Rick to join them.  The next Yes album ‘Fragile’ catapulted the band to stardom; the next Strawbs album ‘Grave New World’ is the band’s biggest seller in the UK.
 
P:You will be performing together with The Zombies on a huge U.S. tour. Why did you decide to team up with them?
 
DC: Our agent Chris Tuthill of TCI came up with the idea.  I first met Rod Argent when they had just made the first Argent album.  We also played with them on early shows in the USA.  I saw Colin Blunstone with his own band recently at the theatre in my home town, Deal in Kent.  I was very impressed.
 
P: How long has it been since The Strawbs last toured?
 
DC: We are touring all the time.  This year we have toured so far in the UK and Italy.  On our most recent UK festival show we were joined on stage by Rick Wakeman for the first time in thirty years.  After the current US and Canada tour we will be touring the UK in our electric format with a trip to Israel in the middle.
 
P: Is the band working on any projects right now besides the tour?
 
DC: There are discussions in progress about a theatre tour with Rick Wakeman.  I have had the idea of performing ‘Antiques & Curios’ in its entirety but I’ve yet to speak to Rick about it.  
 
P: Is the band's music available on ITunes? and what is your take on digital downloads vs. the old days of vinyl, CDs, tapes, etc and the demise of major labels?
 
DC: The great majority of our tracks are available for download on ITunes and many other platforms.  As an independent label, Witchwood Media was one of the first to embrace digital.  It was very strange at first to see that people didn’t buy whole albums – they were selective with the tracks they wanted.  I still think that our fans prefer a product they can look at, but many young people are getting into Strawbs through their parent’s record collections and prefer to have the songs on their portables.  So long as it’s legal I’m all for it.  I’d love to see the illegal sites closed down.  
 
P: Would The Strawbs and the Zombies ever collaborate on a new album or project together?
 
DC: Ask me after the tour!  It’s a nice thought and both band specialize in harmony vocals.
 
P: What was it like working with record producer Tony Visconti and Rick Wakeman formerly of Yes?
 
DC: Tony Visconti was very inspirational, not only as an audio producer but also as a spiritual guide.  He encouraged me to read ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead’ for example which gave me ideas for ‘Grave New World’.  I saw Tony on London recently – in fact I played guitar for him on a recording of my song ‘Lay Down’ by a young Welsh girl singer he has discovered.  As far as Rick goes, don’t forget he joined Strawbs before Yes.  He is a stunning interpreter of songs, especially on piano.  He and I did a set together at the Strawbs’ 40th Anniversary Celebration which is available on DVD.  It was one of the highlights of my musical career.
   
P: What is next for the band after the tour with The Zombies?
 
DC: We are already planning for next year.  As well as the possibility of theatre shows with Rick Wakeman we will be doing an acoustic package tour.  We already have shows lined up in Canada in October 2012 so it is likely that we will also be doing shows in the USA.  See you then!

MUSIC HALL SCHEDULE:

Keb' Mo' Band (9/13)
A MUSIC HALL/MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS CO-PRESENTATION

Multiple Grammy winning singer-songwriter and guitarist Keb' Mo's music is a living link to the seminal Delta blues that traveled up the Mississippi River and across America before evolving into a universally celebrated art form. His distinctive sound also embraces multiple eras and genres, including pop, rock, folk and jazz.
 
The Led Zeppelin Experience (9/17)
PRESENTED BY MISTY MOUNTAIN PRODUCTIONS

Performed by: Hammer Of The Gods
Considered by many to be “the ultimate Led Zeppelin experience.” Come see the show, hear the music, and discover the story behind the music of the greatest rock band ever in this two and a half-hour multi-media retrospective of Led Zeppelin with selections from every album!

The Zombies 50th Anniversary Tour / Acoustic Strawbs (9/18)
A MUSIC HALL/MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS CO-PRESENTATION

British rock legends, The Zombies, were formed in 1961 by Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone. Their hit singles “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and "Time of the Season" are three of the most famous songs of the '60s. Their album Odessey and Oracle is on Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Albums of All Time. Also in the band is Jim Rodford, bassist for The Kinks.

Special guests, Acoustic Strawbs were also formed in the 1960’s.Their ground-breaking succession of albums such as Hero and Heroine and Ghosts earned them a Progressive Rock label in America, alongside Genesis, Yes, and Jethro Tull.

House Of Dark Shadows (9/23)
TO BENEFIT SLEEPY HOLLOW CEMETERY HISTORIC FUND

House of Dark Shadows unleashes the 175-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins on his unsuspecting family and their neighbors in this 1970s cult classic based on the popular gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.The movie was filmed on location in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. The Lyndhurst estate served as the fictional Collinwood mansion and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s receiving vault appeared as the crypt of Barnabas Collins.

Zebra (9/24)
PRESENTED BY LIQUID ICE ENTERTAINMENT

Zebra galloped out of New Orleans in early 1975 and soon won over the South and East Coast. In 1982 Zebra’s self-titled debut album went gold and was the fastest selling debut album in Atlantic Records’ with songs like “Tell Me What You Want” and “Who’s Behind the Door?”. Zebra celebrated their 35th Anniversary with sold-out theatre performances in New York and New Orleans. The band is looking forward to their 5th studio release sometime in 2011.
 
Cake Boss (9/25)
A MUSIC HALL PRESENTATION

Join celebrity baker Buddy Valastro for an evening of cakes, stories, and fun. In this rare live, interactive event, TLC's Cake Boss will share the stories behind his hit series and his colorful Italian family, answer audience questions, and give a live demonstration of the techniques that have made him one of the most successful and renowned cake artists in the nation.A large screen will show closeups of Buddy's demos.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit The Music Hall website.