MEDIA ADVISORY/Calendar Listing
The artists and staff mentioned herein are available
for interviews and on-air appearances regarding this event.
Please consult a media contact to arrange scheduling.
BROADSIDE ELECTRIC AND MARGO HENNEBACH TO PERFORM
JUNE 9 AT DEBAUN AUDITORIUM
Hoboken, NJ (18 April 2000) - Progressive folk ensemble Broadside Electric and
dynamic songwriter Margo Hennebach are pleased to announce a concert at 8:00pm
on Friday, June 9th at the DeBaun Auditorium on the campus of Stevens Institute
of Technology.
Tickets are available to the public for $5. Reservations can be made by
contacting the DeBaun box office at +1 (201) 216-8937 or by visiting the DeBaun
web site: .
The concert is part of a series designed to showcase music and theater from
emerging local artists. It is also designed to promote DeBaun as New Jersey's
newest 500-seat, state-of-the-art auditorium with a focus on the performing
arts, the only active theater of its kind in Hudson County.
"DeBaun has in fact been a musical and theatrical showcase for nearly a
century," explains Managing Director David Zimmerman. "Combining the performing
arts with the technical knowledge fostered at Stevens has been a natural fit
since DeBaun began as a lecture hall and part-time campus theater. Eventually,
the auditorium was used almost exclusively in support of the arts at Stevens."
While at Stevens (class of 1990), David was unusually dedicated to theater and
music, so it's no surprise that he returned to lead DeBaun into new territory.
"DeBaun's Emerging Artist Series signals our next phase of evolution. We serve
as an incubator, placing our entire staff and crew at the artist's disposal
from start to finish. Ultimately, their success is everyone's success."
David concludes, "DeBaun takes great pride in presenting talented artists of
uncommon quality, some who otherwise may never reach a large audience. In fact,
while DeBaun has hosted large-scale orchestras, troupes and ensembles, it also
possesses an intimacy acoustic artists and audiences quickly connect with."
Connecticut-based Margo Hennebach couldn't agree more: "It's wonderful to see
that Hoboken finally has a premier acoustic room! We can't wait to play at
DeBaun Auditorium again!"
Hennebach (piano, guitar) developed her craft while living in Hoboken and
backing up several artists on the New York Fast Folk scene. Together with Mark
Saunders (guitars), they combine award winning songs, highly evolved
musicianship, and a playful but commanding presence on stage to make them a
favorite of critics and audiences alike.
Margo and Mark can be heard combining Celtic, gospel, pop and folk influences
in Margo's fourth release on Prime CD, "Big Love," which Sing Out magazine
called "Captivating."
Philadelphia-based Broadside Electric is currently celebrating their tenth
anniversary year of "Folk Music With Teeth." The quintet lovingly researches
material from a wide range of countries and traditions. Then they "drag it all
out back and mercilessly smack it around." The result is an inspired modern
sound with distinctly traditional roots, one that even "gives members of the
usual folk audiences something new to talk about."
Broadside Electric features Ashley D'Andrea (drums, percussion, vocals), Amy Ksir
(flute, tin whistles, oboe, vocals), Tom Rhoads (vocals, guitars, cittern,
dulcimer), Jim Speer (Chapman Stick(r), bass guitar, recorders, crumhorn) and
Helene Zisook (violins, violas, mandolins, vocals). Their fourth release is
appropriately entitled "With Teeth," available on Clever Sheep Records.
For Broadside percussionist Ashley D'Andrea, performing at DeBaun bears extra
significance. Not only is Stevens Tech his alma mater (class of 1990) but Ashley
also performed often at DeBaun long before its present-day renovation.
"In DeBaun, Stevens offered an ideal antidote to day-to-day college life," Ashley
says. "Opportunities abounded in music, acting, directing and everything in-
between. My experiences on stage, in the orchestra pit and behind the scenes at
DeBaun continue to play a valuable role."
Located on 5th and Hudson Streets in Hoboken, DeBaun Auditorium is easily
approached from public transportation such as PATH, train or bus. Automobile
parking is available on the Stevens campus and at nearby public facilities.
Media Contacts:
Sandra Roberts DeBaun Auditorium
http://www.debaun.org/ Stevens Institute of Technology
debaun@stevens-tech.edu Castle Point On Hudson
+1 (201) 216-8960, ext. 2 Hoboken, NJ 07030
Ken Beasley Margo Hennebach
http://www.primecd.com/margo.htm c/o 1 800 PRIME CD
mail@primecd.com 111 East 14th Street, Suite 300
+1 (212) 366-5982 New York, NY 10003
Jim Speer Broadside Electric
http://www.broadside.org/ c/o Clever Sheep Records
info@broadside.org PO Box 331
+1 (610) 649-7994 Ardmore, PA 19003
Chapman Stick is a registered trademark of Stick Enterprises, Inc.
MARGO HENNEBACH
Described as "gritty and glamorous, awesome and accessible," Margo Hennebach
and her partner Mark Saunders blend world folk, pop, rock and Celtic
sensibilities into an exciting folk fusion. Crisscrossing the country with
guitarist/husband Saunders, pianist and guitarist Hennebach has captured the
attention of critics and fans alike with her wide-ranging vocals, award-
winning songwriting and commanding presence.
Hennebach has been a finalist at numerous songwriting competitions, including
Kerrville New Folk (TX), Telluride Troubadour (CO), and Napa Valley (CA).
Conservatory trained as a pianist at Oberlin Conservatory, and earning a
master's degree in Music Therapy from the Guildhall of Music and Drama in
London, England, Hennebach brings a wealth of talent and life experience to her
writing and performing. Her self-titled first album features many songs based
on her experiences as a music therapist with children diagnosed with cancer,
and has given rise to some of her most touching songs. In Michaelean, she
navigates the mysterious boundaries between real life and the countless
supposed realities we create for ourselves, an obsession she attributes to
being adopted.
In Mark Saunders, she's found a perfect partner. A graduate of Hartford
Conservatory in classical guitar and long time Motown R & B player, he weaves
electric and acoustic guitar parts around Margo. He brings oomph and groove to
her material as well as the songs they've co-written. Audiences are struck by
how they perform so one-mindedly, and how easily they move from a signature
heartfelt ballad to uptempo Celtic instrumental.
In 1999, Prime CD has released Comfort & Joy, Margo and Mark's 1998 self-
released Christmas Album. In 1998, Hennebach and Saunders released Big Love,
Margo's third album on 1-800 Prime CD, the stunning follow up to Michaelean
(1996) and Margo Hennebach (1994). Co-produced by Jim Chapdelaine and featuring
artists such as Cliff Eberhardt and Seth Farber, Big Love is an exciting and
sometimes personal collection, which takes a closer look at love in its many
forms.
For more information about Margo and her albums, you can visit her web site at
.
BROADSIDE ELECTRIC
Despite the youth of its membership, Broadside Electric is Philadelphia's
leading and longest-lived electric folk band, celebrating their tenth
anniversary of "Folk Music With Teeth" in 2000. They have earned a solid
reputation for thoroughly original arrangements and painstaking research into
traditional English, Celtic and Eastern European music. A band equally at home
with folk tradition and modern rock innovation, Broadside's unique hybrid sound
successfully blends the music of different countries and cultures with a
striking consistency.
Broadside Electric has been called "Pennsylvania's answer to Steeleye Span,"
"folk music's answer to death metal" and a band that "gives members of the
usual folk audiences something new to talk about." The quintet has captivated
audiences and earned critical praise at dozens of concerts across the
northeast. Recent appearances include the Philadelphia Folk Festival (PA), the
Baltimore Folk Festival (MD), and venues such as Club Passim (MA), The Cherry
Tree (PA) and The Minstrel Coffeehouse (NJ).
The release of Broadside's self-produced first album, Black-edged Visiting Card
(1993), brought them regular airplay on local folk radio shows. The recently
re-released second album, Amplificata (1994), captures the band in a live in-
studio setting. Their third album, More Bad News (1996), adds an even darker
and heavier quality to thirteen songs, and was cited by WXPN folk DJ Gene Shay
among his top five albums of 1996. Their newest release, With Teeth (1999),
finds Broadside Electric in full-tilt progressive folk mode, and the ride never
lets up from the first track to the last. The band promises, "This is the only
record you'll hear that has a Croatian dance, an English music hall song and a
Bob Dylan cover."
Broadside Electric features Ashley D'Andrea (drums, percussion, vocals), Amy Ksir
(flute, tin whistles, oboe, vocals), Tom Rhoads (vocals, guitars, cittern,
dulcimer), Jim Speer (Chapman Stick(r), bass guitar, recorders, crumhorn) and
Helene Zisook (violins, violas, mandolins, vocals).
Publication-quality TIFF photos (150/300 dpi) and high-quality full-length MP3
audio of Broadside Electric are available: .
DEBAUN AUDITORIUM
The Grace E. and Kenneth W. DeBaun Auditorium is part of the Edwin A. Stevens
Building, located on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken,
NJ. Originally called The Old Stone Mill, it was designed by renowned architect
Richard Upjohn and built in 1870. The theater first served as a lecture hall,
then a gymnasium, laboratory and workshop. In 1880 it was home to the founding
ceremony and meetings of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.
Campus theater was established in 1909 when the junior class performed the very
first show, sparking a more general interest in dramatics. March of 1912 saw
the first production of the Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS), "The Professor's
Daughter." The show was conceived and written entirely by students, a trend
that would continue for decades. The Stevens Theater began to realize its full
potential in the 1920s with the addition of a balcony.
By the 1930s the Stevens Theater gained a countrywide reputation for technical
innovation. The fall 1934 production, "The Sound Show," showcased cutting edge
techniques in sound and theater acoustics. The SDS began receiving grants for
further research, leading to the development of the first 3D Stereographic
Sound system, later used for the first 3D movie. Theater technicians attended
performances and incorporated what they learned into their own productions,
even on Broadway. Throughout the 1930s and well into the '50s, the SDS remained
one of the largest experimental theatrical organizations in the country.
Russian writer, playwright and director Yelena Petrovna joined the Stevens
Theater in the 1940s and remained an inspiration to and moderator for the SDS
until her death in 1971. Due, in a great part, to Petrovna's guidance and
Stevens' reputation for technical innovation in theater, Theta Alpha Phi, the
national performing arts honor society, offered Stevens membership in 1960. As
home to the first New Jersey chapter, Stevens is the only technical school to
receive this honor. As time went on, the theater continued to be used by the
SDS and Stevens Glee Club, as a meeting place for various organizations, and as
the site of concerts, productions and events by on- and off-campus groups.
Years of heavy usage took its toll, and the theater was closed for renovations
in 1991. When funding ran out, Kenneth DeBaun ('49) challenged alumni to help
raise the remaining money, a challenge that was met by October 1996. Alumni and
undergraduates worked with Stevens to complete the project and, in October
1998, the Stevens Theater reopened as the Grace and Kenneth DeBaun Auditorium.
The DeBaun Auditorium, currently the only remaining stage theater in the
Hoboken area, continues to expand. A new "black box" backstage area provides
additional performance, rehearsal and meeting space. Since reopening, DeBaun
has hosted many Stevens and Hoboken community events. Theatrical groups, opera
companies, orchestras, soloists and bands avail themselves of DeBaun's location
and resources. In addition, state-of-the-art facilities enable DeBaun to host
conferences and meetings. Managing Director David Zimmerman and his staff are
intent on making the future of DeBaun Auditorium as exciting as it's past.
To learn more about DeBaun, visit .