In 

two

thousand 

ten

The debt hit

Mega-trillions

Things were 

Still amiss

Nothing going

Nowhere

Everyone 

Was pissed

Common ground
Was shaky

Jesters preached

The Mall

Obama got his

Healthcare

Toyotas got

Recalled

LaBron James

Went Floridian

The House

Went GOP

The Pope got

Hip to condoms

Chilean miners

Freed

BP deep-six

Petro-spew

Bedbugs

By the pound

Palin family

Surfeit

The end of

Lost was found

Big-ash cloud

From Iceland

Vuvuselas

Blared

JetBlue stew

Went bonkers

Korean drama

Flared

Hostage-taking

Tax cuts

Olympic

Bobsled snuff

iPad was

Haute-tech couture

Rangel's pleas

Rebuffed

Betty White

Ubiquitous

Chelsea Clinton

Hitched

Last page for

JD Salinger

Obama's lip

Got stitched

Arizona 

Immigrant fury

Ground-Zero

Muslim funk

Yemen bombs

Went UPS

Security touched

Our junk

WikiLeaks 

Gushed secrets

Governments

Got the shakes

Noseless Afghan

Cover girl

Chile, Haiti

Shaked

Lady Gaga's

Meat frock

Mel Gibson's

Next Tourette's

Decision Points

Derision

More creepy 

Chatroulette

Intriguiging

And fatiguing

A cranky

Twitchy blend

At least, at last,

We now can say:

Two thousand ten.

The end.

Happy Holidays

Paulmark • 2010

Making it good. In New York.

Millbrook Vineyard & Winery

Millbrook, New York
November/December, 2010 issue

By Paul Clark

It’s said that every state in the union is now making wine. And while an Arkansas chardonnay may have its moments, and an Idaho Riesling its special spot in the hearts of some, the high-quality, highly acclaimed wines being made just 90 minutes north at Millbrook Winery in Dutchess County are pleasing more palates in more places than ever... and elevating this Hudson River Valley vineyard ever higher on the short list of New York’s most accomplished wine producers.

The 130-acre Millbrook Vineyards & Winery operates on the same gently curving hills and agreeable soil that once supported a working dairy farm. Purchased in 1981 by John Dyson, the former New York state commerce commissioner responsible for the popular “I ª NY” campaign and who, as state agriculture commissioner, fashioned the passage of the farm winery act that energized the growth of New York wines, Millbrook is the centerpiece of a winery group that stretches from Sonoma to New York to Tuscany. Which, when added together, provides an enticing, competitively priced choice of wines that represent the best of many different grape-growing regions.

“In the Hudson Valley region,” says Stacy Hudson, Millbrook’s marketing director, “growing the kind of grapes that make wines comparable with those from California and France is no easy task. We’re not Napa or other parts of California. We can have cold winters, rainy summers and everything in between. It took a lot of experimenting to find varietals that could make it here in our vineyards. At one time we had 30, and over the years we’ve pared it down to the few that do really well in these conditions, good and bad.”

The few that made it are the four varietals that comprise the core of Millbrook’s estate-bottled wines: Chardonnay (oaked and un-oaked), Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc (“an upper medium-body wine with a lot going on in it”) and an Italian varietal called Tokai Fruilano, “a light, crisp white with great fruit aromas aged in stainless steel. It’s a great summer wine that has developed quite a following of its own. We typically produce a thousand cases a year and sell them all. In fact,” she adds, “we released our ’09 vintage of Tokai in the spring and we’re already sold out.”

Hudson explains that 40 percent of Millbrook’s on-site production is made from grapes grown on the winery’s property. The remaining 60 percent derives from grapes produced and brought in from their large California vineyards, and, for their “true” New York State wines, from grapes grown on-site and in the Finger Lakes area and on Long Island. In all, 12,000 cases of wine are produced per year.

Of course the best way to find out why Millbrook wines have drawn such attention and praise from leading restaurateurs, retailers and wine lovers in New York City and across the state, is to come up to the winery and see for yourself. It’s a great place to visit — “a straight shot up the Taconic,” says Hudson — with or without the kids. A chance to take a break from the everyday, drive through beautiful countryside and enjoy a glass of wine while picnicking (kids can enjoy a glass of grape juice) and take a highly entertaining and enlightening tour through Millbrook’s pristinely trellised grounds and smartly repurposed Dutch-hip dairy barn.

On the barn’s cool and industrious ground level, you’ll see the rows of neatly positioned stainless steel vats and American and French oak barrels that make up the winemaking operations. Above, an inviting and creatively constructed gallery loft lets you stroll and absorb varied displays of original work by painters, photographers and other area artists. At the end of the gallery walkway, there’s a spacious, naturally lighted tasting room for sampling choices of reds, whites and blends. Afterwards, you can pick up a bottle of two of Millbrook wine — any and all of which make great holiday gifts — in the winery store or purchase wines online any time. And to make a gift of Millbrook wine even more personal — for the holidays or any occasion — you can customize bottles with an original label of your own design using photos, type, illustrations or logos. If you prefer, Millbrook can design a label for you. Whatever you decide, the cost is only an additional $20 above the price of a case (12 bottle minimum) which you can fill with your choice of red, white or a mix of both.

So in looking ahead toward the new year, the 2010 wines now being prepared and perfected for release next spring promise to be some of the best Millbrook has ever produced. “This is going to be an amazing vintage coming up,” says Hudson, “off the charts, in terms of earliness and sugars because we had nothing but heat and next to no rain in our vineyards this past summer. Hot weather makes most farmers sad,” she smiles, “but it really makes grapes happy. We’re looking forward to a memorable New York vintage, our 25th in fact, and we’re all really excited about that.”

For more information about wine selections, tours, events, directions and more, go to millbrookwine.com.

The heart of the arts in Rockland

May/June 2010 issue

Rockland Center
for the Arts

Where the art of the big picture
is always on display

By Paul Clark
Writer, Managing Editor


At Rockland Center for the Arts, one good thing always leads to another. The cutting-edge work of artists from Rockland and beyond creates a steady stream of contemporary expression. That, in turn, provides rich and timely prospects for fresh, original exhibits and performances. All of which leads naturally to educational opportunities for everyone of every age to experience the thrill of creativity for themselves.

Maintaining that seamless, ongoing connection between art itself and education for all is the prime directive at RoCA. And it’s reflected in everything it does. Outdoors among the landscapes and trees, the center’s Catherine Konner Sculpture Park provides equal measures of time and space for absorbing the textural emotions of large-scale forms. Indoors, a wall-to-wall vibe of new and compelling colors, shapes, vantage points and rhythms reverberates in galleries and media project spaces. At the same time, the enthusiastic voices of students and teachers in studio/classrooms are proof positive that the power and promise of art is alive and well. And in very good hands.

“It’s all a lot of work and a lot of fun,” says Executive Director Julianne Ramos, who came to RoCA right out of graduate school 25 years ago, and to this day enjoys the combination of art and business that her job entails. “One of the strongest, advantages we have,” she explains, “is that we’re not a museum. We have no permanent collections to store and care for. We’re a contemporary, non-collecting entity with tremendous flexibility to respond quickly to changes and shifts in the art environment — what interests people now, and what’s important to the community.”

Ensuring a smart, even flow of new art for exhibitions and programs is essential to everything RoCA does, and Artistic Director Lynn Stein is the one who makes it happen. An accomplished artist, performer and marketer in her own right, she sets and maintains standards for everything that’s shown, seen and heard.

Over the last 10 years she has expanded RoCA’s energetic repertoire and well-earned reputation for quality to include a spirited variety of live music and dance, as well as digital, video and audio art. She spends a good deal of time traveling to see who and what’s out there, and investigating proposals for potential exhibits and shows. “We want to attract a wide range of artists, nationally and locally, to show a lot of different thinking,” she says, “but it’s also important that what we bring in — wherever it comes from or how good it is — also provides enough substance to form the basis for education.”

Looking forward, Stein is working busily on an imaginative series of exhibits and videos involving new looks at ceramics, sculpture and urban life and structures, and for the first time in over 12 years, live performances of jazz. “We try to move things a little toward the edge, but still keep it interesting and accessible for everyone. We’re not in the business of pushing people’s buttons,” she laughs, “but we do want them to think.”

Instilling the process of artistic thought is important. And a recent exhibit of contemporary photography provided the perfect opportunity for a group of high school students to think through and experience photography for themselves. “The kids toured the exhibit and studied the photos,” explains Daly Flanagan, RoCA’s School Director. “We talked about subjects, composition and all the other things photographers think about.” Then, working in teams, they composed and took pictures of themselves and each other.”

Instructors then put their shots in a public show called The Portrait Project, and invited everyone, including parents, relatives and friends, to see. “For the students,” she says,“ it came full circle. First they were looking at photographs, then they were the photographs. They learned a lot, and it made them all very proud.”

Over the course of a year Flanagan, who is also a teacher specializing in visual arts, painting and printmaking, manages over 30 teachers and 100 courses and workshops in everything from drawing, painting and fine arts, to ceramics, jewelry and creative writing for adults, teens and kids. She also conducts regular seminars and training for art teachers from schools throughout Rockland County.

In the summer months, RoCA’s renowned Summer Camp teaches and encourages the budding creativity of 200 children ages 5 through 12. Amy Alinkofsky, who worked for several years as a counselor and music teacher, is now the Camp Director and takes full advantage of the studios, classrooms and rich artistic atmosphere that the center provides. “I love working with kids,” Alinkofsky says, “and who knows how something they learn here today will affect our perception of the world a few years from now?”

Of course, without adequate funding, none of these exhibits, performances or programs would be possible, especially in today’s tight economy. Peter Dalto, Development Director, is feeling the squeeze and, needless to say, he’s a busy man these days. It’s his job to raise funds through grant writing, community memberships and tuition, individual donors, corporate and private foundation gifts, and government funds. There’s a lot more asking, and a lot more ‘no’s’ these days,” he admits. “But,” he adds assuredly, “we’re holding our own. You just have to state your case and make sure you’re heard in terms of the things that the arts mean to people. We’re a 63-year-old organization. And a lot of successful people out there got their first exposure to art here. If we’re going to get out of the economic turmoil were in right now, as well as other turmoil around the world, it’s going to take a lot of creative thought. And that’s a big part of what goes on RoCA.”

Finding, funding and presenting good art and making it all work on different levels is no simple task. But thanks to the experience and foresight of the donors, directors, board of directors, teachers and staff at Rockland Center for the Arts, they make it work every day, and make it look easy. “We may appear small in the scheme of things,” says Julianne Ramos, “but we’re a flexible, fresh and high-quality multi-arts center with a lot of good people and lot of good things going on for everyone. In that sense,” she smiles, “we’re not small at all.”

For more information about exhibits, performances, classes and more, go to rocklandartcenter.org

Die-hard stoney

March/April issue, 2010

Michael Jamieson
A Spirit Set in Stone

By Paul Clark

Writer, Managing Editor

As a medium, stone packs more permanence per square inch than any other. For of all the media that eons of nature have provided for shelter, protection, strength and expression, stone remains our most enduring thread to the past, and the most sustainable of the present. Stone is eternal. And with Michael Jamieson, master stonemason, sculptor and die-hard “stoney,” the confident beauty of that eternity comes through in every stone he cuts, carves, sculpts and builds with.

To merely say that Jamieson loves stone doesn’t do justice to him, or to stone. At his core, he is a thoughtful, low-key and thoroughly hands-on artist who revels in stone’s many splendored types, looks and textures. And in the grains, hues and patterns that depict its ancient lineages. He hears poetry in the telltale “thunk” stone makes just before it splits, how it acts and reacts to his hews and chisels, and he’s forever awed by however massive, miniscule or in between, no two stones look exactly alike — inside or out.

In the end, he takes immense satisfaction, both personal and artistic, in the way his hand-cut, matched and meticulously fit and finished stonework comes together in a wall, fireplace, home or sculpture. And in how, for 25 years, he’s impressed and delighted homeowners, businesses and others with the visibly striking quality of his work.

His affection for stone began, simply enough, in the ‘80s when an excavator advised him to buy his own backhoe for the property he’d recently purchased in Sloatsburg. “You’re going to need it,” Jamieson recalls being told, “so I did. I started digging and hit rock, and with the sheer amount of rock I drilled, split and took out of there, I started to get into it. One thing led to another,” he laughs, “and here I am.”

His true inspiration, though, began among the stately walls, entrance piers, homes and stairways that lined and defined the winding roads and landscapes of Tuxedo Park. Here, he absorbed the spirit and ethic of the stonemasons who created these classic settings. “It was kind of a religious experience for me working here in the beginning,” he says. “Just seeing all of this old and beautiful work, everywhere I looked — the best of the best in the area was here.” But what still guides and inspires him to this day, is how naturally that craftsmanship mirrors the environment around it. As if, he says, “all it took was to walk around, gather rocks and start building. To me, that’s my favorite part of it. When you take stone from the area and make it look like the house is coming right out of the ground.”

Along the way, Jamieson continued perfecting his craft with stone carving coursework, sculpture studies and by regularly attending professional clinics, lectures and expositions around the country.

Put together, his drive, ethic and eagerness to keep on learning have made him one of the most genuine and respected craftsmen around. A hard working, “regular guy” perfectionist who’s as comfortable building pristine, perfectly positioned steps and fireplaces for normal suburban homes as he is constructing elegant patios, stone walls and entrance piers for big estates. Unless otherwise requested, he steadfastly prefers local stone — limestone, bluestone, sandstone, basalt, quartzite, granite — which is more economical for everyone and readily available from nearby quarries throughout the area, upstate New York and Pennsylvania.

True to his conviction that “you can never have enough stone,” Jamieson also finds and collects vintage architectural stonework, some dating back to 18th and 19th centuries. And he salvages and recycles stone whenever he can. At the same time, he’s often called in to repair and repoint existing stonework of all shapes and forms, and to step in after the fact to rescue work done — or not — by lesser-skilled masons.

When he’s not building, collecting and restoring, he spends as much time as he can at home in his “outdoor studio” working on sculpture. In the last few years, he has steadily produced an impressive array of large, original and carved-to-order pieces which, when possible, he also creates from salvaged and recycled stone. Designed and sculpted for gardens, pathways, patios and other outdoor environments, they include Buddhas, classic and conceptual forms, Easter Island-esque faces, imaginative fountains, and stone planters.

Thus with works in progress on projects big and small, including some of his signature work enhancing Restaurant X & Bully Boy Bar in Congers, Michael Jamieson shows no intention of slowing down, or doing anything else. Except, he says, maybe wind-surfing, which he also approaches with the same die-hard spirit. He intends, he says laughingly, “to keep on going ‘til the body goes out, and the day arrives you start cursing the stone.” But given this extraordinary artist’s love and affinity for stone and all it was, is and will always be, chances are good that’s one day he’ll never see.

For more information about Michael Jamieson and his stonework and sculpture, go to jamiesonstoneworks.com.

Musicians and Music

January-February issue, 2010

By Paul Clark

If you think you've heard all the music there is to hear in the Lower Hudson Valley, chances are good you ain't heard nothing yet. From classic opera to anti-folk, classy jazz to electro-art rock and zydeco, plus instruments designed for your own personal beat, the Lower Hudson Valley is definitely playing your tunes. Here are six of our talented friends and neighbors you'll want to see and hear in this new year...

Jamie Block A universe rekindled

In the decade preceding his 30th birthday, alt-folk/anti-folk singer/songwriter Jamie Block had something a lot musicians wish they had too, but probably never will: an original record deemed "perfect as is" by Capitol Records, and signed and released into the public domain exactly the way he wanted it. The music press was equally dazzled by that 1998 album, Timing is Everything. The same press that had also praised his first album, Lead Me Not into Penn Station, two years before.

For all intents and music-career purposes, this bright, sardonic and intently observant English-major transplant from Chapel Hill was well on his way to claiming a primo chunk of the universe as his own. But by the time he was 30 touring, partying, exhaustion and doubt overtook him. He was, as puts it, "done, forget it, good-bye."

In 2001 he wound up on Wall Street, having being hired by an investment firm that figured if Block could get himself signed to Capitol, he could sing just as convincingly about the value and risk of investing. As it turned out, he sang quite well and in time settled into the life of a financial advisor. Then early one morning a few years later, dressed in a suit and driving to Manhattan, he heard one of his songs on WFUV. As the song ended, DJ Claudia Marshall began talking about the talents of a vanished artist named Jamie Block, and a remarkable album he'd put out a few years earlier. "She literally said, 'Jamie. Phone home,'" he recalls, "and I got out my cell and called."

Before long, he was interviewed on WFUV and, thanks to Marshall, reacquainted with the beauty, faith and approval of a universe he'd convinced himself was lost forever. "Jamie, she said, "you put out a great album and you work on Wall Street. Get over it." He did.

And a year later, while still working on Wall Street, Block released The Last Single Guy, and quickly found himself "welcomed home" by enthusiastic reviews and audiences alike. Today, he's not about to give up his day job, but he is back into music in a way that's less frenetic and more on his terms. The future, he says, is "best left undefined." But for the present, there's another album in the works. Which means for Jamie Block — and his fans — all is right in the universe. Again.

For more about Jamie Block's music and upcoming performances, go to blocknyc.com.

Glint Getting noticed, going places

For Glint, the smart, talented and forward-looking band based in Grand View, 2009 was a very good year. Powered by two hit albums and growing international attention, Glint's well-paced and managed path has propelled them from their first show in Central Park the year before, to a new EP and wildly successful 10-country, 30-show European tour last summer. Now, with an ambitiously planned new year of recording and touring in New York, the U.S. and Europe, 2010 looks to be even better.

Founded by guitarist and vocalist Jase Blankfort and drummer Mateus Tebaldi, this versatile group of musicians has evolved to its present strength by the addition of bassist Dave Johnsen and Alon Leventon on keyboards and synthesizers, along with sound engineer Chip Valentino and live VJ Chris Piazza. All of whom have transmuted Glint from the more acoustic rock of their debut album, Mode to Joy, to the theatrical electro-art-rock-with-a-streak-of-industrial signature that emerged in Sound in Silence, their second album, and took hold in their latest recording, Glint EP.

Glint's steadily rising presence and success are due, in no small part, to their own persistence. "Big labels don't throw a million dollars behind a band any more," says Robert Ryan, director of Rely Records, the band's independent label. "You have to do a lot of the work yourself." And they have. Their ubiquitous, self-generated presence on the web, iTunes and social networks has drawn more and more fans, and sold more and more songs. A recent feature on the iTunes home page resulted in over 200,000 downloads.

During last summer's busy European tour, both he and Jordan continuously cold-called and interviewed on local radio stations and used local promoters to advertise the band's performances everywhere they went. They've also garnered help from notable greats like Michael Brauer, who mixed for Coldplay, and liked Glint's sound and energy so much he mixed Glint EP for free. And also from major promoter Live Nation's Harvey Leeds who now, along with Jordan, co-manages the band. "Our immediate plan, says Jordan, "is performing for some of the best booking agencies in the country, and Harvey happens to be close friends with many of them. So we're well positioned now to do just that."

In the days and months ahead, and ever mindful of Leeds' advice that "you have be known in your own hometown," Glint will be playing at least once a month in the New York area this year, where you can catch them at one the city's major live venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as locally like last December's performance at The Turning Point in Piermont.


In the meantime, the band is busily perfecting a new album while also getting ready for their "first serious U.S. tour" starting in March, when they'll play prominently at the Southwest by Southwest festival in Austin. Then it's back to Europe for appearances at major music festivals and cities this summer.

All of which assures that anywhere you go this year, there's a good chance this majorly "on-their-way" band will be there too.

For more about Glint and their upcoming performances, go to glintonline.com and relyrecords.com.

Anne Tormela Opera for everyone

If your appreciation of opera never progressed past Tommy, or "The Opera" episode of Seinfeld where an overbearing suitor channels Pagliacci to claim Elaine as his own, Anne Tormela would love to broaden your horizons. An accomplished lyric coloratura (a singer who literally "colors" the character of a song with the power and precision of her voice), this talented New City musician, yoga practitioner and fourth-degree black belt, has performed operatic roles all over the world, including perhaps the toughest stage of all, the subway platform beneath Grand Central Station.

For the last several years, her company, Manhattan Lyric Opera, has been changing people's minds about opera by deftly portraying it not as "trained screaming," but for what it really is: often witty, always human stories of the themes and emotions that forever fascinate us all — love, betrayal, jealousy and, sometimes, murder. Her methods are as innovative as they are rewarding.


By condensing full productions to a crisp 90 minutes, and projecting supertitled English lyrics and interior and exterior scenery onto the stage area and background, audiences can comfortably understand and enjoy the performance.

Accompanied by top operatic talent, Tormela has staged performances of Die Flediermaus, The Merry Widow and other classics in theatres and opera houses in Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida. And she regularly performs special repertoires of opera, operetta and Broadway to the delight of audiences in such diverse local venues as libraries, music festivals and restaurants, private homes and specially arranged "Dinner and an Opera" evenings. In doing so, Tormela has succeeded in opening the eyes and ears of more people in more and different places than ever and, in the process, made opera more accessible and meaningful for everyone.

The real joy of opera for Tormela is sharing the beauty and strength of the music. And making the kind of one-to-one connection that only a live performance can generate. "Every song has a spirit," she believes, "and a singer has the responsibility to tell the story each song contains. A singing teacher once told me to mean what you say, and say what you mean. I do. And people respond to that." So when you're ready to move past Pinball Wizard and broaden your horizons in ways you never thought you would, Anne Tormela will take you there gloriously in 90 enchanting and very entertaining moments.

For more about Anne Tormela go to tormela.com. 


For more about her Manhattan Lyric Opera programs and upcoming performances, go to manhattanlyric.com.

Billy Roues Bands of Brothers

Ever since he and his brother first breathed in the lilting lyrics of a live a cappella group singing outside their grandparents' Brooklyn apartment, Billy and Steve Roues, then 9 and 7, knew they wanted to live a life of music. And to this day, they have. A life, in fact, so filled with influences, styles, songs and directions, they write, produce and perform in four different bands just to fit them all in.

Their astutely named UpSouth Twisters, a rockin' zydeco quintet, is a high-speed blenderful of blues, creole and cajun accented with dialects of rockabilly, salsa, Tex-Mex and New York attitude. A raucous, spirit-lifting twist of energies, all brought together by Billy on guitars, mandolin and vocals, Steve "Muddy" Roues on stand-up bass, harp and guitar and the rest of the band on accordion, drums, rub board, timbales, and piano.

The quartet Finn & The Sharks delivers straight-up, room-rattling guitar, sax and bass-blasting American rockabilly. "We got together in the late '70s merging punk with rockabilly," Billy says, "and it just blossomed from there." Today, it's a catchy and distinctive style known to fans everywhere as "100% genuine Sharkabilly." In 1994 Billy and Steve joined up with Big Jim Wheeler, a well-traveled country/western and folk singer from Upstate New York to create a style of deep-voiced originals and covers of country, rockabilly and folk. The crowd-pleasing band that resulted, Big Jim Wheeler & Wheels of Fire, released its first CD in 2003.

Rounding it all out is the band of brothers themselves, The Roues Brothers, a real-deal American roots rock, country, soul and rhythm-and-blues band with a singular style all its own. And to help keep everything going and flowing, Billy operates UpSouth Recordings, his record label, in West Nyack.

Billy estimates that he has probably written 6,000 songs over the years (some better than others, he laughs). But after decades of writing, recording and performing, he believes that a musician's career is measured not by how much money he has — or hasn't — but by the musicians he's played with. Thus far, he has jammed on stage with B.B. King, worked with Johnny Johnson (Chuck Berry’s piano player and bandleader), Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Pete Seeger and many other of his heroes. 


If that's not a life of music lived and played well, what is?

For more about Billy Roues and his upcoming performances, go to myspace.com/billyroues and myspace.com/upsouthrecordings.

Tommy Goodman Paths well taken

By his own description, jazz kicked Tommy Goodman in the stomach when he was 11 or 12 years old. And to this day, he has never stopped reveling in its jolt; an enduring influence that has kept this classically schooled and equally enduring pianist, composer and arranger on a still-evolving path. A journey that has taken him confidently from working keyboards in jazz combos comprised of some the best players of the '40s and '50s like Art Tatum and Louie Bellson (whom he first met and played with in an army band during World War II), to arranging It's a Wonderful World with Louis Armstrong, and other successful orchestral associations with icons like Benny Goodman (no relation), Sammy Davis Jr., Lena Horn and John Denver. Plus, music and dance arrangements for Broadway hits like Cole Porter's Silk Stockings.

Along the way he also applied his considerable verve and experience to compositions that created the musical pulse of popular soap operas and over 800 broadcast commercials. All of which guarantees that if you hadn't heard Tommy Goodman in a jazz club or on stage at some point, you're virtually assured to have heard his tunes for everything from Chrysler and Mabelliene to Hasbro and McDonald's between segments of your favorite TV shows.

For the last ten or so years — a period he laughingly refers to as his "retirement" — the path of this long-time Nyack resident has continued in both familiar and different ways. After decades of playing, touring and commercial work, these recent years have given him time to get back to his two creative passions: classical and jazz piano, both of which he has performed, and in some places still does, in local spots like The Turning Point, LuShane's, Wasabi Grill, The Nyack Center, Reality Bites and Tascha in Nyack. At the same time, Goodman also composed a ballet, and scored The Dybbuk, a chamber opera produced and performed to sell-out crowds at Riverspace.

So for a cool and relaxing afternoon or evening of stylishly performed jazz standards, contemporary favorites and show tunes, be sure to catch Tommy Goodman in the Nyack area. And if you're planning a trip to Florida during the cold winter months, you can also cross paths with him and his jazzy friends at several spots in Sarasota and Venice.

For more about Tommy Goodman's upcoming performances, check the local papers or drop him an email at tommygo@optonline.net.

Bob NcNally "No wrong notes"

Practically everyone has wished they could play music at some point in their lives.

And a lot of people — including Eric Clapton — have taken lessons, only to give up because they thought it was too difficult. Luckily for everyone, Clapton went back to the guitar. But for everyone who has ever wanted to play but never thought they could, Bob NcNally has the answer for all those hopes and wishes: the Strumstick. 

This simple, elegant, three-string instrument that he designed, makes and sells is the ingenious result of NcNally's desire to put music into everyone's hands. The idea developed 25 years ago when, as an experienced maker of "regular" instruments like guitars, banjos and dulcimers — and also a musician, guitar teacher and performer — he found that people are intimidated by instruments.

But with Strumstick, he says, you can finger one string, anywhere on the string, and get a note from a major scale. "There's no wrong notes." Mix that with the two other strings, and you create simple rhythms and patterns which can easily become simple but more complex compositions. "I wanted to make an instrument that you can pick up and see that result right from the beginning," he says, "an instrument that's inexpensive, looks good, sounds good and even be kind of charming to help people overcome the notion that they can't play."

Even some of those who "can play" have discovered the special shape, simplicity and sound of the Strumstick and embraced it wholeheartedly. Jon Anderson, the legendary Yes guitarist and vocalist, saw McNally playing one at a trade show. He tried it, loved it, played together with McNally for a while, and has since created and performed several of his own compositions with it.


Singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman has done the same. And there's also a story going around that Sting saw a Strumstick at Bruce Springsteen's house, played it, loved it and went out and bought one for himself.

Made by hand in McNally's New Jersey workshop from sustainable hardwoods, Strumstick is incredibly lightweight; the standard key-of-G model is just 11 ounces. Other models are available too, including the Strumstick-shaped ukulele and the sleek electric Strumstick. Each comes with instructions and a CD. So if you believe you'll never have what it takes to play an instrument, surprise yourself. Give a Strumstick a try.

For more about Bob McNally and Strumstick, go to strumstick.com.

Artists and Art

November/December issue, 2009

Lynn Stein

Her Art, Her Way

by Paul Clark

There’s something familiar about the art of Lynn Stein. But then again, there isn’t. And in everything she is as an artist — painter, singer and artistic director of Rockland Center for the Arts — that’s exactly the way she wants it.

Her jazzy, figure-and-style-oriented paintings are the colorful reincarnations of the alluring fashion photographs that first enchanted her as a young girl in the ‘60s. A vibrant, vicarious approach that now totally and unashamedly mimics the fun, familiar and frolicky fashion photos she sees on the society page of the Sunday Times, the back of a Kohl’s catalog or in movie ads tucked alongside articles in magazines and other media. (Her colorful re-creation of a vintage publicity shot featuring Yves Montand and Shirley MacLaine captivated the cover of a recent issue of The Hook.)

It was something I always wanted to do but didn’t because of my training in school,” Stein smiles, “I didn’t feel it was ‘valid.’ In those days, you didn’t work with photographs.” But then she saw the art of Gerhard Richter, an “amazing German painter” whose dashing style and exuberant executions instantly validated — and ignited — her desire to color up and personalize the fashion, emotion and persona of the moments frozen in the photos she fancied. “I love clothes, seeing people in clothes and what the clothes say about the people wearing them,” she says. “When I saw Richter’s paintings, I just went crazy! I thought: what difference does it make? That’s what I want to do!”

Stein is also putting a lot of time and energy these days into another art form she has always enjoyed doing her way: singing. Like her paintings, the songs she sings with her new love, the recently formed bass-vocal duo Jon and Lynn, are familiar ‘60s melodic pop and jazz compositions. But each, as she and bassist Jon Burr recreate them, portrays a beat, style and fashion all its own.

Her partner Jon Burr is an accomplished musician she first met 12 years ago while making a CD in New York, and re-connected with through Facebook. Burr has played with legends like Tony Bennett, Eartha Kitt, Barbara Cook, Rita Moreno and others. As a duo, they’re busy performing in and around the New York City area, and recently posted a collection of six new tracks on twt.fm. There’s also a new video — put together by Burr and posted on MySpace — that coolly and cleverly integrates several of her trademark paintings into the production.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she says, “but also scary because it’s not practical to be doing this. We’re both in our 50s and people in their 50s,” she laughs, “do not go around their house making music videos.” Is painting easier than singing? “With art the stakes aren’t as high, I have total control. I get my Yea! moment when the painting is finished. Music is your ego on the line. I have something to say and if you’re not listening,” she grins, “what am I doing up there?”

Stein also has a lot to say at Rockland Center of the Arts, where she began working after moving from the Bronx nine years ago. “At the time,” she explains, “they didn’t have a gallery director, no curator on staff, no one to do the booking of performances.” Today, she’s the Center’s artistic director, a position she developed through hard work over time. “I love my job,” she beams, “I’m so lucky to be working there.”

At RoCA she does everything from developing, coordinating and marketing exhibits of area and regional artists — as well as artists outside the Hudson Valley — to arranging live performances, expanding and improving the scope of youth and adult educational programs, and ensuring that all of the Center’s programs work for everyone.

“My biggest challenge is balancing what’s happening around the country with what’s being done in the region,” she says. “I feel I have a good handle on making the work I do bring in as accessible to the public as possible. I hope I have an impact on the community, and that I make the artists feel good about what they do so that RoCA becomes a goal for artists to have their work shown there.”

To keep new work and talent coming in, she continually goes to shows and exhibits, and follows up on leads from all over the country. She attends and books performances — cellist and Rockland native Eric Friedlander being one of the most recent — and is exploring new media possibilities like an exhibit of iPhone and other phone-cam photos. “With phones, you tend to take pictures of things that you ordinarily wouldn’t. It’s a lot more intimate, and could be really interesting.”

Lynn Stein is happy doing what she wants, just the way she wants it. Right now, she wants to concentrate on the singing, “because even when I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about doing it. I still like to paint, because it does good things for me when I paint. I love my job,” she beams again, “but when I sing, there’s nothing like it. It’s just way-off-the-charts wonderful.”

Visit Lynn Stein’s online gallery at lynnstein.com. Hear her latest recordings at twt.fm/jonandlynn, and see her music video and upcoming performance dates at myspace.com/jonandlynn. For information on RoCA exhibits, performances and programs, visit rocklandartcenter.org.