Great Press On Our House Concert Series

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:53 PM

Hi Mick,
          Jed really is a super performer and we all enjoyed spending an afternoon with him. We even had a Civil War author in the audience who presented Jed with a signed copy of his book.

We anxiously await the completion of your CD and look forward to hosting you as well.

For a small venue we are getting inquiries from musicians all over the globe, as far away as Australia. Unsolicited CDs come in at the rate of 5 per week and musicians have actually shown up unannounced on my doorstep, guitar in hand, asking for an impromtu audition. Some of them, although unknown, have turned out to be quite good.

SOL

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Big Mick
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:30 PM

Rabbi, you and the formidable Fay deserve the accolades on this series of house concerts. As work proceeds on my own CD's, I look forward to accepting your invite to submit for a spot. I trust you found my recommendation on Jed Marum to be a good one.

Congrats on the great review, and keep up the good work.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 06:35 PM

Thank you Judy. I need all the encouragement and good wishes I can get in order to make this work for all of us.

                                              SOL

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: coldjam
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 06:26 PM

Terrific coverage!Hope it helps get you some help. (If I lived near I would volunteer!)Wish you every success with your house concerts.
Judy

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 06:14 PM

Thanks for the encouragement Mary. I hope to get up to Portland to attend one of your's some day in the near future.

                                                   SOL

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:57 AM

Nice review, Sol. And it does capture the spirit of a House Concert. I love to watch people sharing a meal and music with performers they have seen only from the distance of a stage. Such a different feeling.The performers enjoy it too.
Good on you, sir.

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 03:33 PM

Hi Brian,
       We at The Borderline are looking forward to hosting you as well.

Sunday afternoon, March 15th is the big day when we will have Brian Peters, master of the English concertina, performing at our house concert series.

I know it is early but mark your calendars folks. You will not want to miss him.

                                                       SOL

Subject: RE: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Brian Peters
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 02:40 PM

Sounds great, Sol, and congratulations on the coverage. I'm looking forward to it already.

Subject: Great Press On Our House Concert Series
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 02:32 PM

"The Rockland Jewish Reporter" did a feature article this week on the Borderline Folk Music Club. It gives a very positive and accurate picture of what house concerts are all about. Here it is.

Love of folk music draws fans to New City home by Lauren Mikalov

Peace between Palestinians and Israelis may be a far-off dream for most, but this goal was realized last month - in a small way.

What brought diverse groups together in Steve Shapiro's New City house was the live performance of a folk music group named Red Molly. The concert, featuring a well-known comely trio of women singers and musicians, was made possible by the efforts of a couple of local, diehard fans: the Borderline Folk Music Club, a grass-root, volunteer driven, non-profit group.

"Our concerts attract people from all over, including parts of New Jersey," commented Sol Zeller, who co-founded the group with his wife, that meets as often as they can in their friend's spacious home, donated for the purpose. "At the last concert we had Israelis and Palestinians there and they were actually talking to each other.

We also had the fellowship of people representing the right and left wing of the political spectrum."

Zeller, and his wife, Fay, hire professional groups to play before a small audience. Depending upon the band or performer, two, 45-minute sets usually costs anywhere from $300 to $600 (the fee is usually reduced when the musicians learn the setting is a private party in a living room, not a club or an extravagant affair), plus the cost of food service which comes up to $150. Altogether, with the advertising flyers, it costs upwards of $800 for a single show, Zeller noted.


Since they are non-profit, the costs are reimbursed by "admission" donations from people who attend the show (anywhere from 30 to 50 show up for a concert), although sometimes there are out-of-pocket costs as well.

The Borderline Folk Music Club provides the rare chance to see well known folk musicians perform in a very intimate setting, usually on a Sunday afternoon. In fact, the Zellers started the group four years ago mainly because they are Shomer Shabbos and unable to attend some of the best performances held on Friday nights at crowded, local clubs. And, they noted, many of the Bluegrass and folk music shows in Westchester and Bergen counties are held in churches, a venue that they are not allowed to enter "for any reason whatsoever".

"Live music is better than anything," Sol Zeller said. "Even if the performance is not that good, it is better than a recording. The problem, also, in clubs, is that there is the tinkling of the dishes and the interference of people who are attending who are really not that interested in hearing the music. There are waitresses in the way. " Also, Fay Zeller noted, their homegrown concerts are alcohol free, but the cost of suggested admission includes coffee cake and soft drinks. "It's very nice and people do not need the alcohol," she said.

Folk music, which is traditional music sang all over the world, is ever-evolving and is hard to define, the Zellers noted. It is, though, music sang by musicians not seeking the fame and glory of the limelight, but instead, those who seek to forge human relationships and understanding. There are famous folk musicians, to be sure --Simon & Garfunkel, Peter, Paul & Mary, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie --but most, especially those currently headlining at clubs, will not be featured in People magazine any time soon.

Also, since the music usually is somewhat autobiographical, it provides a window into other people's lives and cultures, a facet that is interesting to the Zellers, who are Orthodox Jews. In fact, it was that point that got them into the folk music scene 38 years ago, when they were newly married. Over the years, they traveled to hear folk music in different parts of the country "to areas where they had never seen Jews before" Sol Zeller, now retired from his charter bus service, noted. (He used to bring kosher food in coolers and use a hairdryer to thaw out the food, before microwaves were common).

Fay Zeller noted, "Listening to the music is soothing, generally. It gets me thinking in some instances. Folk music has a message. You can relax and still think."

Now, with their club underway, the Zellers have a goal to provide one concert every other month, up from the current four performances a year. Over the past, performances included those from Geoff Kaufman, of Mystic Seaport, singing songs of the sea, Debra Cowan, who specializes in English ballads, Atwater-Donnelly, American, Irish and traditional folk music, Joe Jencks, singing about labor and justice, Jed Marum, about the Civil War, and Shoregrass, a Bluegrass band.

However, they are in dire need of more volunteers. While they have no shortage of ready listeners, the Zellers admit that they are in somewhat of a chicken-little mode, with very few participating to help bake the bread. They need volunteers to help do the publicity,food service, research possible grants, distribute posters, write a newsletter, and help plan for the future. They would like to hold concerts at annual picnic, hold sing-a-rounds and jams, and host group outings to area folk festivals.

The parties, the Zellers note, grow each time they stage one,bringing new people out of the woodwork each time. "We have 10 regulars and get a lot of new people at each concert, 10 to 15 new faces, our party seems to grow each time now. That also explains something. "They all come together for one reason: They like the music. It is one happy party," Sol Zeller said.

The next performance, featuring "Straight Drive" performing traditional Appalachian Bluegrass is scheduled for Sunday, June 22, at 2 p.m. at the home of Steve Shapiro, 7 Trailside Court, New City. Suggested donation is $20. For more information, call Sol Zeller at 54-4586 or email solz1@optonline. net.