On Stage: Rewind To Vinyl at The Flash, Oct. 3

Also: West Chester trio Wave Radio, The Addams Family and the blues in Wilmington

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

It’s often been said that “What’s old is new” and it’s true — especially in the music world.

The show on October 3 at The Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is an interesting amalgam of the old and the new — a new band featuring older musicians, a program featuring old songs from the history of rock and a new artist willing to look back and perform songs made popular before she was born.

The name of the show is “Rewind to Vinyl.”  Danielle Cuoco is a talented young singer/songwriter/keyboardist who will be performing a variety of classic rock tunes in the first segment of the show.

Kategory 5, which provides the core of the show, is the new band featuring veteran musicians. The group features Kat Pigliacampi (lead vocals, keyboards), Al Mullins (drums, vocals), Andy Logue (lead guitar, vocals), Chris Lewis (guitar), Kyle Frederick (bass guitar) and John Cassidy (synthesizer).

“This is our debut show,” said Pigliacampi, during a phone interview this week from her home in Unionville. “All of us have played music in the area for decades. Previously, I had done acoustic shows with both Chris and John. I went to Dickenson High with Andy and three of the guys went to high school together at William Penn High. John, Kyle and Al used to be in a band together called 13^thFloor.

“We have a big fan base from our solo work. We’re all in our 40s and 50s and wanted to do the music we loved. We took 70s and 80s songs that aren’t necessarily mainstream and brought them back to life. We’re mixing it up. We’re doing some songs by one-hit wonders like Donny Iris and Andrew Gold. Our goal at The Flash is a nostalgic show.”

Pigliacampi listed some of the bands whose songs Kategory 5 would be playing — a diverse list that includes Abba, Led Zeppelin, Heart, Journey, Dave Mason, REO, the Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, America and the Beatles.

“We’re playing classic rock with an edge,” said Pigliacampi. “Our goal is to play a really good mixture of nostalgia. We are all good singers so we have a lot of four-part and five-part harmonies. Al calls it ear candy.

“We’re looking to do specialty shows rather than be a bar band or a tribute band for just one act. We also are working on original material but not for this show. John is like a musical savant — and a human jukebox. In our show, we’ll have ‘Trivia Time’ where the audience is asked to identify 70s TV shows’ theme songs.”

Cuoco, who is a student at Archmere Academy in Delaware, and Pigliacampi first started working together a long time ago — when both were actors at the Delaware Children’s Theater.

“When I was in second grade, we did ‘Wizard of Oz’ at the Delaware Children’s Theater,” said Cuoco, during a phone interview this week. “I was a munchkin and Kat was the Wicked Witch. She knew of what I’m doing now and asked me to open this show for her band.”

Despite her young age, Cuoco is also a veteran musician with an impressive resume. She has performed The National Anthem for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Long Island Ducks, the Winterthur Point-to-Point and the Cowtown Rodeo.

Cuoco has played at the World Café Live at the Queen and was one of the featured performers at the 2014 Ladybug Music Festival in Wilmington. She was one of the youngest attendees at the 2014 Vocal Summit at the Berklee College of Music.

“The Vocal Summit at Berklee was a great experience,” said Cuoco. “I really learned a lot to help my career there. I started playing piano when I was really young. My grandmother bought me a little piano when I was only two years old. In lower school, my teachers said I had a good ear after they heard me play ‘Happy Birthday’ without ever learning how to play it.

“I’ve been listening to my parents’ music ever since I was very young — Elvis and classic rock like the Who and Pink Floyd. And, I listened to 80s/90s music like No Doubt and Arctic Monkeys. I also enjoy newer acts like Coldplay and Sam Smith. When I was in fourth grade, my friends were listening to Taylor Swift and I was listening to Queen.”

Cuoco’s love of Freddie Mercury and Queen is reflected in her set list for Friday’s show with the inclusion of “Somebody to Love.” The list also includes songs by John Lennon, Elton John, Billy Joel, Michael Murphy, Bonnie Tyler and Elvis.”

“I would have included an original but the show is ‘Rewind to Vinyl’ and I’m not on vinyl,” said Cuoco, who is also a top-flight cross country runner at Archmere (Joe Biden’s alma mater).

“I’ve really pursued piano ever since I started playing. Now, I also play classical piano. One of my vents is playing piano. My favorite sound is going from a chord that is in the scale down a half-step to a chord that is out of the scale.”

The show at The Flash on October 3 starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16 in advance and $20 day of show.

On October 4 at 8 p.m., The Flash will host a twin-bill featuring WaveRadio and Glim Dropper with tickets listed at $12 advance and $16 day of show.

WaveRadio is a West Chester-based trio featuring Colin McGetrick (vocals, guitar), James McLaughlin (keyboards) and Chris Cotter (drums).The band’s eponymous debut album is now available on iTunes.

Earlier this year, WaveRadio took highest honors at the Beta Hi Fi music competition in Philadelphia at World Cafe Live. The trio’s debut HD music video “Out Of Reach,” which was released in 2013, was produced and directed by Mr. Robot Mouse in cooperation with TribeSound Productions in West Chester.

“I had worked as a producer and engineer at TribeSound, which is Chris’ studio, and had done some things with him there,” said McGetrick, during a phone interview this week. “He had invited James to have a jam session there to get ideas for hip-hop rhythm tracks.

“I eventually made my way down to it. Not long after that, we started recording songs together. Our first album is a combination of songs I wrote when I was younger and songs we wrote in the studio. The album was released in October 2012.”

WaveRadio is moving forward with plans for a new disc.

“It’s been a long time between releases,” said McGetrick. “We’ve been writing songs for a new album. We hope to have an EP out first and hopefully that will happen soon. We’re mixing four of the new songs right now and some vocals are being cut. We’re adding little things here and there.

“I never expected to be playing in a trio — especially a guitar-keyboard-drums trio. A lot of the band’s versatility comes from James’ talent for being able to play two things at the same time — bass with his left hand and melodies and harmonies with is right hand.

“It didn’t take us long to develop our sound. They were talented musicians and I had a backlog of songs. The balance came easily. We knew we wanted to be a rock-and-roll band with solid instrumentals — rock with a strong instrumental quality.

“Some of the bands that have influenced us are Muse and the Black Keys. We have a side to us where we can jam and we also have a focus on songwriting. We write together. Sometimes, I bring the songs and we finish them together. Other times, we write songs all together I n the studio.”

WaveRadio and Glim Dropper have something special in store for their fans at Saturday’s show — free stuff. All ticket holders will go home with Glim Dropper’s brand new single and WaveRadio’s latest release.

“They’re friends of ours and we’re looking forward to playing with them at The Flash,” said McGetrick. “The Flash is a great listening room. We each will do our set and then we’ll be combining our bands for a portion of the show.”

The hit musical “The Addams Family,” which is running now through November 2 at the Media Theatre (104 East State Street, Media, 610-891-0100, www.mediatheatre.org), has somewhat of a macabre vibe to it — an unnatural attraction to death and other gruesome things.

In a situation of life imitating art, one of the shows lead characters encounter a life-threatening occurrence — fortunately without a gruesome ending. Jennie Eisenhower, who plays the role of Morticia Addams, was struck by a vehicle on her way to the theater for a pre-show rehearsal not long ago.

“I got hit by a truck the week before we opened and I still have a concussion,” said Eisenhower, during a phone interview Wednesday morning from her home in Philadelphia.

“I was walking across the street on green. A truck didn’t see me and drove into me. I was thrown through the air. But, I don’t remember anything. I was taken to Riddle Hospital in an ambulance.

“I had a clean CT, no brain bleed and no broken bones. I’m getting better and the doctors said I could still do the show. But, I have to watch what I do. I can’t drive. I have to limit my physical activity and avoid bright lights and loud noises. Concussions are really scary. You seem normal but your brain is still healing. I’m just glad to be alive.”

There is an old saying in show business that “The Show Must Go On” and Eisenhower is a testament to that feeling.

“Luckily I had memorized the show so I haven’t been forgetting things,” said Eisenhower, an Equity actor who graduated from Conestoga High in 1996 and has performed in Off-Broadway productions and regional theater. “They just had to modify the show a little. Morticia has taken on a serene, spacey quality.”

One of the most likeable and quirkiest families in the entertainment world is the Addams Family — a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters are Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, Pubert Addams and Thing.

After being introduced in a comic strip in the 1930s, the Addams Family eventually found its way to a television series (with real actors), an animated TV series and movies (with real actors). The ghoulish clan even made it to Broadway. In 2010, “The Addams Family — the Broadway Musical” made its debut on the Great White Way.

“The cast in our show is really talented — especially Jeff Koon, who plays Gomez,” said Eisenhower, who was a theater major at Northwestern University. “This is a really fun show. My main exposure to the show was the movie with Anjelica Huston as Morticia. I also checked out YouTube to watch the TV show and the first movie. But, for me, I don’t like imitating other people.

“All of the members of the Addams family are spooky but Morticia just wants what every mother wants — for her family to be happy. She’s just your average woman except that she dresses provocatively and has a strange sense of humor. And, she loves a good death joke.”

Life is not especially smooth for Morticia in the show.

“One of her main troubles is that her husband is putting her second behind her daughter,” said Eisenhower, who has a direct link to two former American presidents (Dwight Eisenhower is her great-grandfather and Richard Nixon is her grandfather). “The things she wants aren’t that outlandish.

“The most challenging part of the role is that she does dance quite a bit and I’ve been handicapped with my concussion. Her role is written low so it’s an easy role to sing. What I like most about Morticia is her passion. She’s very passionate about everything. She’s very high stakes.”

Tickets for the show are $42 for adults, $35 for seniors and $25 for children. Evening performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Matinees are at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Live theater is also alive in northern Delaware. “Fiddler on the Roof,” which is one of the all-time favorite American musicals, is running now through November 2 at the Candlelight Theater (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, www.nctstage.org). Tickets, which include a tasty buffet dinner, are $59 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).

On October 3, a large helping of blues will be on the menu at the World Café Live at the Queen’s Upstairs Stage (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 302- 994-1400, www.queen.worldcafelive.com).

The meat and potatoes portion will be sets by the Deb Callahan Band and the Roger Girke Blues Organ Trio. The dessert will be a special performance by the two groups performing together after they’ve finished their own sets.

Callahan, who has been a fixture in the Delaware Valley blues/rock scene for well over a decade will be performing with her longtime band which features Tom Walling on drums, Garry Lee on bass and her husband Allen James on guitar.

“Roger and I were on a bill together before and we jammed together then,” said Callahan, during a phone interview Wednesday morning. “I thought it would be fun to play the Queen as a co-bill. I was talking to the Queen and then asked Roger if he wanted to do it. The Queen thought it was a good idea.”

In a phone interview Tuesday evening, Girke said, “Both our bands are pretty well-known regional blues bands. I’ll be playing from 8-9 p.m. with my blues organ trio. From 9:15-10:15, it will be Deb’s band. Then, we’ll come together with both bands at 10:30 for a grand finale. We’ve been working on some songs together and we’ll sing some duets.”

Callahan added, “We’ll do five or six songs in the jam part. I don’t think we’ll do any originals in that segment. We’ll just tap into blues standards. In my set, I’ll probably do about 80 per cent originals.

“I have four CDs and I draw from them all. There will probably be more from my last CD ‘Tell It Like It Is’ and some new stuff that I haven’t recorded yet. I’m working on a new CD. It’s coming along slowly. Allen and I have a three-and-a-half year old son named Elijah and it’s made everything move a little more slower.

“I’ve always liked the blues — the expressiveness of it. I could feel the pain and suffering — and the joy. I like the way it spoke to me. By nature, I have a soulful voice so I gravitated to the blues.”

Callahan originally moved from the Boston area to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work. She stayed in the area and still works as a social worker.

“I work three days a week at a youth center in Center City Philadelphia,” said Callahan. “I do youth counseling. My music is definitely influenced by my work as a social worker. You can hear it in the song ‘Food on the Table,’ which was on my last album.”

Girke’s last album was “Piece of Work,” which was released last year.

“I’ve been working on my sixth CD since March,” said Girke. “I’m using the trio along with some heavyweight session musicians. We’ve already recorded a dozen songs. We have another session coming up in November. We’ll do four or five more and let the best surface.”

The RGB Blues Organ Trio presents a new twist on the Blues/Jazz Philly Organ Trio format and features two of  the area’s best organ trio practitioners – Bill Schilling (organ) and Glenn Ferracone (drums).

“I’ve been playing guitar since 1967 and performing professionally since 1975. This is my first time to play as an organ trio. It was an organic development with drummer Glenn Ferracone. He has worked with a lot of heavyweights in the jazz/blues/organ scene. That connected me with Bill Schilling.

“Bill is an amazing organist. With his left hand, he plays bass and with his right hand everything else. We got together originally and did one gig and then a couple sessions. It was really profound. Everything felt good. It really has a good groove to it.”

Tickets for show are $18. Other upcoming shows on the Upstairs Stage are Vertical Current with Ode to Omni on October 2, the Ebonys with Tracey A. and Stacia Lachole on October 4 and the Black Lillies with Micah on October 7.

The Downstairs Stage will host Joe Trainor and City Theater Company on October 3 and John Hiatt performing solo on October 8 with Billy Rafoul as the opening act.

On October 6, there will be a twin-bill at the Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street
Lancaster, 717-299-9684, http://www.chameleonclub.net) that will have fans of metal music salivating. The show, which starts at 8 p.m. and has an admission fee of $23.50, features Fozzy and Theory of a Dead Man.

Fozzy got its start in Atlanta at the turn of the century but took a number of years to crystallize into the powerful band that it is today.

“Our early days seem like another life,” said Fozzy vocalist Chris Jericho, during a phone interview Wednesday from a tour stop in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “The first two years were part of our evolution. That ended in 2002. It was a fun way to start but no way to move forward.

“Every record we do grows. There’s so much going on all the time. In the last couple years, we kept moving from one level to another level that was higher. It’s really gratifying to see how we’ve grown. I’m not surprised that we’ve endured as a band. It’s never surprising when you’re doing something you love.”

Fozzy’s current lineup features Rich Ward (guitar, vocals), Frank Fontsere (drums), Jeff Rouse (bass), Billy Grey (guitar) and Jericho (vocals).

“Rich, Frank and myself have been together since the start,” said Jericho. “This lineup has been together for a year. Some guys have come and gone but we’ve always maintained our sound as Fozzy.

“We’re known for groove-heavy riffs along with a lot of melodies and harmonies. Having clean vocals has helped us stand out from the pack. We really don’t do very much screaming.

“In the 70s, everybody in the band sang. We hearken back to that. Everybody sings. Sonically, there is so much going on. We have a lot of variety. If you look back at Queen, they had a lot of variety — heavy songs, ballads and even some rockabilly. We’ve adopted that approach. If Metallica and Journey had a bastard child, it would sound like Fozzy.

“With the new album, we just wanted to write 12 great songs. Rich writes most of the songs and I write most of the lyrics. Whatever works best, we’ll do it. I write pretty much around a song title. Sometimes, I’m writing a story. Other times, it starts with imagery and phrases.”

If the name Chris Jericho sounds familiar to you even though you may never have heard of Fozzy, there is a good reason. Jericho is also a professional wrestler who has won more than 30championships in WWE, WCW and ECW competition.

In 2001, he won the WWF Championship by defeating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the same night. He also competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2011 and made it to the sixth round. He is currently wrestling in the WWE.

“I only do wrestling when Fozzy is off the road,” said Jericho. “As always, the band is the main priority.”

The schedule for the Chameleon also features The Devil Makes Three (Oct. 2), Combichrist (Oct. 4), Bayside (Oct. 5), Lacuna Coil (Oct. 7), Cory Brannan (Oct. 7) and Matt Pond (Oct. 8).

The upcoming schedule for Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com) is Bluegrass Jam on October 2, The Lokes and Grand Strangers on October 3 and comedian Chris Smith on October 4.

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) will present Joe Crookston & the Bluebird with Peter Glanville on October 3, Eric Bazilian’s Man Band featuring Harmony Montclair of October 4 and “Rock My Soul” National Brain Tumor Society Benefit on October 5.

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, http://www.keswicktheatre.com) will host the Esperanza Spalding Trio on October 2, “Last Comic Standing” featuring Nikki Carr, Rocky Laporte, Joe Machi, RodMman and Lachlan Patterson on October 3 and Flying Colors featuring Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue and Steve Morse on October 4.

The Grand Opera House (818 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5577, www.thegrandwilmington.org) will present .38 Special on October 3, Habana Sax on October 4, East Meets West Fusion Concert featuring Snehasish Mozumder and The Scott Davidson Trio on October 5 and Ballroom Thieves on October 8.

On September 12, the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) is presenting Turkuaz and Swift Technique on October 2, The E Street Shuffle, A Tribute to The Boss on October 3, Boban and Marko Markovic Orkestra with the West Philadelphia Orchestra on October 4 and “BVTLive! – Dance Party!” on October 7.

The Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will present Matt Duke with Irene Molloy on October 3 and Charlie Parr with Hinton, Bower, and Jones on October 8.