Night of Rock Draws Wide Range of Performers
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- Written by Evan Scott
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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
Scarsdale is Tree City USA
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The Village of Scarsdale celebrated Arbor Day and their 30th consecutive designation as a Tree City USA at the Scarsdale Pool on Friday, April 26, 2013. The Village planted a Swamp White Oak, Red Maple and American Basswood to replace fallen trees and provide shade at the Scarsdale Pool. Trees help define the Village's village-in-a-park character, beautify the community and provide many environmental, social and economical benefits.
The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the 
National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. Scarsdale has met the four standards to become a Tree City USA community. Tree City USA communities must have:
1. A tree board or department
2. A tree-care ordinance
3. A community forestry program with annual expenditures of at least $2 per capita
4. An Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
In other tree news, The Board of Architectural Review approved the first "Heritage Tree" designation in the Village of Scarsdale. The Heritage Tree Project is sponsored by the Friends of the Scarsdale Parks, Inc. Known locally as a "Village in a Park," and a Tree City USA, Scarsdale officially moved to a higher level of distinction with the creation of 
the Heritage Tree program. The first tree to be designated is the majestic White Oak (pictured here) located on the front lawn of the Scarsdale Woman's Club headquarters, which achieved landmark status in the National Register in 2008. The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks and the Scarsdale Forum will commemorate this historic occasion and the Heritage oak tree on Sunday, May 19th at 2 pm at the Scarsdale Women's Club, 37 Drake Road. Admission is free. After the ceremony, Cornell Professor Nina Bassuk will lead a discussion on "What to Plant Now." Cornell Cooperative Extension will be in attendance to answer gardening questions. The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks will also be giving away free saplings of either white oak or red twig dogwood.
Uniqlo to Open in Westchester on Friday
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Clothing retailer Uniqlo will open its seventh U.S. store and its first outdoor lifestyle center at Ridge Hill in Yonkers, NY, on Friday, April 19. The 24,000 square foot store will occupy two levels and showcase the complete offering of UNIQLO products, including clothing for men and women and the spring kids collection.
For their grand opening weekend, UNIQLO will have in-store entertainment and activities including:
* Special tote bag gift with a purchase of $50 or more to the first 500 customers each of those days;
* Traditional Japanese Taiko drum performances;
* Free parking validation with purchase; and
* A visit from the "UNIQLO UT Truckshop" and Snoopy on Sunday
There were also be special pricing to celebrate the opening from April 19 through April 28:
* Men's and Women's Premium Linen long-sleeve shirts for $19.90 (reg. $29.90)
* Women's Ultra Stretch Jeans for $29.90 (reg. $39.90)
* Men's Slim Fit Jeans for $29.90 (reg. $39.90)
Register online at www.uniqlo.com/us/100luckycubes for a chance to win 1 of 100 Lucky Cubes which could contain a $1,000 shopping spree and many more prizes from UNIQLO through May 12, 2013. UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co. (FR), a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under six main brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, g.u., Helmut Lang, Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and UNIQLO.
UNIQLO at Westchester's Ridge Hill
Opening day: Friday, April 19, 2013
Address: One Ridge Hill Road, Yonkers, NY 10710
Store Hours
Mon-Sat | 10am - 9:30pm
Sunday | 11am - 7pm
Prom Fashion Update
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Although there are differing opinions about the upcoming prom scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 6th, one thing is certain: the dance is a quintessential high school experience. Even if a student doesn't attend the dance, he or she cannot avoid the mayhem involved with prom fashion.
The last thing a girl wants on prom night is to be wearing the same dress as her friend. To prevent this potential drama, the senior girls traditionally create a group on Facebook where they post the dresses they bought so their classmates know which dresses have already been taken. "There isn't really one specific kind of dress a lot of girls wear because everyone tries to be unique," said Senior Hayley Maybaum, "but a popular style is to have a dress with a sort of tighter top then a flair at the waist." Many students purchase their dresses online from La Femme, or at local stores like BCBG, All Dressed Up, Lord and Taylor and Bloomingdales. As for hair, a common theme in all styles is to include an intricate braid.
It is widely acknowledged that girls are more obsessive about prom than boys. Naturally, boys don't have to worry about the same things girls do regarding hair, makeup, or finding a unique dress. Most boys stick with a tuxedo or a suit. One of the factors a boy needs to consider fashion-wise is how to match a piece of his suit or tuxedo with his date's dress or flowers. Despite all the work from both genders put into the dance, the prom is still celebrated as an important tradition for everyone to enjoy, "Prom is definitely worth it... because I think it's a great time to be together for the last time as a senior class to celebrate our whole Scarsdale youth," said Senior Evan Hendel.
Other students are just happy that prom marks the end of their high school experience, "I'm excited for prom itself, but I'm also excited because it marks the end of senior year," said Senior Jake Tesler,"and I'm very happy to leave, and get out of high school and start the rest of my life."
Planning for prom itself is a lot of work, but Senior Caroline Rodman took on the role as the head of the prom committee. She organized prom to take place at The Surf Club in New Rochelle, a seaside mansion overlooking the Long Island Sound. With the venue set and prom quickly approaching, "the class of 2013 seems to be extremely excited and tickets have been selling rapidly -- it's going to be a great time," announced Rodman.
Putting everything else aside, prom is a time for the senior class to celebrate the hard work leading to their graduation from high school. So whether a girl has an elaborate updo or a simple braid...or whether a boy is wearing a tuxedo or a suit, the seniors deserve to enjoy their last time to be students at Scarsdale High School.
This article was contributed by SHS student Isable Klein
Twins Honor Daughter's Memory At Scarsdale 15K
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Local residents and twins Jessica Anthony and Nikki Rosee competed with a group of their close friends in the 44th Annual Scarsdale 15K race on Sunday, April 7th. Although it's newsworthy that the sisters crossed the finish line holding hands with each other and teammate Julie Sayer and tied first place for women and also the first in their age bracket to cross the finish line, the story only begins there.
Jess and Nikki both grew up in Scarsdale and returned to 10583 to raise their families. After Jessica's daughter Kaitlyn, the oldest of five children, was granted a wish by Hudson Valley Make-A-Wish foundation at age 4 before she died in 2008, Jess and her sister Nikki were inspired to become active volunteers in the foundation. The sisters ran the 2013 Westchester Half Marathon along the Bronx River Parkway to raise money for Make-A-Wish foundation. And thanks to friend and Scarsdale resident Elizabeth DeRobertis, a team was organized for yesterday's Annual Scarsdale 15K race to raise enough funds to send a Wish Family to the annual Wish Ball hosted by the Hudson Valley chapter of Make-A-Wish foundation later this month. The team running in yesterday's local race wore shirts with Kaitlyn's name proudly displayed across their backs in bright purple and pink, Kaitlyn's favorite colors. It was a special way to commemorate Kaitlyn and support a very worthy cause. Winning the trophies was great recognition for the dedication of these sisters. Nikki summed the day up perfectly. "It was really inspirational to run for Kaitlyn."
Kaitlyn was born with Marfan Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects connective tissue. She was diagnosed at age 3 and spent too much of her time seeing doctors. She wore glasses for severe near-sightedness, a back brace, foot orthotics and had serious heart issues. No child should have to face multiple difficulties such as these. When Kaitlyn was granted her wish, she chose to meet the princesses in Disney. For one week of her short life, she was the happiest little girl. It was truly a dream come true. A few short months after her wish was granted, Kaitlyn passed away after complications from heart surgery.
Jess, who lives in Quaker Ridge, has 2 boys and 2 girls; Kaitlyn was her firstborn and would have been 9 this year. Nikki has 2 boys and 2 girls as well 
and lives in Greenacres.
In Jess's words: "There is not an hour that passes that we don't think of our little princess. We have been personally touched by the magic of a wish and know first hand what an amazing organization Make-A-Wish is. What better way to honor our princess's memory than give back and allow another family to have the same magical experience. Running with a team of friends who are willing to donate their time and energy to support such a wonderful cause makes me happy to have my daughter remembered this way. The sun was shining, there was a group of generous people wearing Kaitlyn's name and it was such a fantastic energy that three of us held hands and crossed the finish line to tie for first place. I know we made Kaitlyn proud and she was right there, shining down on us at that moment."
If you would like to contribute to the efforts of Kaitlyn's Team, and support this special foundation, you can help make wishes come true by being part of Hudson Valley's Make-A-Wish foundation's largest fundraising event of the year. Click here to purchase a sponsorship, tickets, Wish tickets and/or a journal ad.
