Night of Rock Draws Wide Range of Performers

Saturday May 4 heralded the seventh annual Night of Rock, a benefit concert for The Center @ 862, formerly known as The Scarsdale Teen Center. Held this year at Rudy's Restaurant and Bar in Hartsdale, the event drew an eclectic group of performers ranging from Scarsdale Middle School eighth graders to high school alumni who have been playing together since their days at SHS in the sixties. Jimmy Fink of 107.1 The Peak hosted the event that included a 50-50 raffle for items ranging from gift cards to signed sports memorabilia.

The evening opened with a performance by Scarsdale High School's very own a cappella club, For Good Measure. Started in 2001 by Jessica Chayes, For Good Measure has performed everywhere from a cappella competitions and sporting events to concerts with groups from schools as prestigious as Yale University. In line with the theme of the night, the group sang songs ranging from "You and I" by Lady Gaga to "Somebody to Love" by Queen, complete with a vocalized version of Brian May's classic guitar solo.

The following act, 20 Questions, a band of six SMS eighth graders, set the tone for the rest of the night. Arguably some of the most talented thirteen year olds on the local scene, the self proclaimed "coolest kids in the world" played an energetic set replete with classic rock and R&B crowd pleasers. Filled with early sixties era rock styled saxophone solos from Zach Kapner and crooning vocals reminiscent of Marvin Gaye by the band's front man, Robert Chappell, 20 Questions set the bar very high for the rest of the night.

Next up was Nordic Fury, the brainchild of lead singer and composer Karel Ullner. This young musician, who has recorded with the likes of Peter Calo of Carly Simon fame, has released an EP titled "You've Seen Nothing Yet!" recorded at New York's prestigious Avatar Studios. Karel and his musicians performed original songs with an energy and comfort on stage not seen in many young performers. The set closed with a cover of nu metal band Korn's 1998 throwback "Freak on a Leash", Ullner nailing Jonathan Davis' lyrical styling, down to the nonsensical, borderline scat, vocal bridge. If the difference between making it in the music industry and failing is sheer dedication and persistence, Karel Ullner is sure to be a household name in just a few years.

Kicking off the adult half of performances was The Offbeats, a collection of musicians who have been playing together on and off since the mid sixties. In their third benefit show for The Center, the band is fronted by Jay Shulman, a cellist for the Long Island Philharmonic, and Thom Pernice, creator of the website scarsdalerocks.com, a site dedicated to documenting the local bands of Scarsdale from their own high school days.

The next band was The Blues Mothers, an aptly named group of women, with the exception of drummer Bill Reeve, that combined elements of blues, folk, jazz, and rock into a truly original sonic experience. With a combination of acoustic guitar, flute, harmonica, a tight rhythm section of bass and drums, and vocal harmonies from the five women who shared the front line of the stage, The Blues Mothers played everything from original compositions to a cover of Van Morrison's "Moondance". The set was teeming with perfect selections for the back and forth soloing of flute and harmonica. Mannes College of Music trained flutist Pam Sklar and Chicago blues harmonist Hope Berkeley seamlessly blended the two instruments, complimenting each other in a way one might not expect from such radically different timbres. The Blues Mothers are starting a weekly gig at Scarsdale Village's Taiim Cellar, located at 11 Boniface Circle, on Wednesday, May 15th.

A last minute addition to the set list came on next. Local rapper Webstar, Alex Weber, a former Scarsdale High School student, was accompanied by DJ Golden Retriever, SHS graduate Connor Bodine. Using beats they made themselves, Webstar provided old school style lyrics that tried to bring fun back into rap. A direct backlash against the "whiny rappers" like Lil' Wayne and Rick Ross, Webstar is "trying to change the face of music." Webstar seemed at ease with his visibly well-rehearsed music and gave one more testament to the way that music drives young people everywhere to create and express themselves in public forum. Nothing can be more powerful than having one's voice heard, and rap, when done in an honest way can provide one of the most intimate environments for that.

The last act of the night was Electrik Buddha, an indo-funk rock fusion of genres heard almost nowhere else. Electrik Buddha sounds something like the love child of Erkin Koray's psych-rock inspiration of the seventies and Ravi Shankar's Indian music. Born out of a collaboration between guitarist Jayesh Gandhi and singer Samyukta Ranganataan, the set featured songs from their eponymous debut album with accompaniment by Naren Budhakar on tabla and midi controlled backing tracks filling in for the otherwise much larger band. With Samyukta's haunting vocals and Jayesh's fiery guitar leads, Electrik Buddha closed the night on a musical note that is heard from no other band.

While the event was billed as a benefit for The Center, it inadvertently became an art forum for a previous generation of local musicians to pass the musical torch to the current generation. During the entire show, it was inspiring to see the youngest members of the crowd, the eighth graders from 20 Questions, staying as late as their parents would let them, hanging around their elders, asking questions, and learning by watching those with decades more experience. Nothing could be more rock and roll than hanging out and watching live music with middle school students.

Evan Scott is a former Scarsdale resident, Purchase College graduate, and freelance writer. He can be reached at evanscott37@gmail.com