Sally Taylor; Les Lokey; Jet Lag and Polka at MoCA
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., June 6, 1999) --

Sally Taylor: The Genetic Method

Other than the attractive woman portrayed on the cover, a glance at Sally Taylor's debut CD doesn't suggest that it's anything other than yet another vanity production by one of the legions of anonymous singer-songwriters trying to gain the attention of an audience. In fact, the aesthetics of Taylor's package - as well as the album's title, "Tomboy Bride" - have, for better or worse, "low-budget" and "homemade" written all over it.

Thus it comes as something of a surprise when the laser beam drops on the CD and the singer's rich, compelling voice jumps out at a listener, instantly familiar yet somehow hard to place. By the time the smoky bit of piano jazz, "The Good Bye," comes on, you swear someone's playing a trick on you.

You have to dig deep and read the fine print on "Tomboy Pride" to figure out just why Sally Taylor sounds so familiar. In fact, you need a magnifying glass to read the two famous names among the anonymous backup instrumentalists, and one is even spelled incorrectly.

Eventually, however, you put it all together (or, you read the press kit accompanying the CD), and you figure out that the reason Sally Taylor sounds familiar is that she is the spawn of folk-rock royalty. Genetics will out, and in this case, the influence of her parents, Carly Simon and James Taylor, is pretty obvious, as much as Taylor, to her credit, is trying not to trade on their fame.

Dad accompanies her on the last song, and family friends Donald Fagen (his is the name that's misspelled) and Walter Becker - that's Steely Dan to you -- lend a hand with production and instrumental chores on another number. Mostly, however, "Tomboy Bride" is an unassumingly quiet, alternately folky and jazzy effort - although the upbeat "Happy Now" has definite pop-hit possibilities. Taylor's voice is so infectious, this could be the start of something big. Sean Lennon, move over -- Sally Taylor's here. You can see her live tonight, June 10, at the Iron Horse in Northampton at 7, when she'll warm up the crowd for Marshall Crenshaw. Call (413) 584-0610 for more info.

Les Lokey: Anything but

There's a miniature rock festival this Sunday, June 13, at the National Music Foundation's Center Theater, featuring '70s pop-rockers Ambrosia and former Saturday Night Live bandleader G.E. Smith, fronting his new blues band. While those familiar names should be enough to attract at least a small crowd curious to see what these long-forgotten acts are up to, the ringer in the lineup might well be up-and-coming folk-rocker Les Lokey.

On the basis of a couple of CD singles that made their way across this desk a few months ago, Lokey appeared to be another Ani DiFranco wannabe. But on the basis of her brand new CD, "Burned Up and Shining" (Firefly), which just arrived last week - Lokey is showing a whole lot more depth, breadth and originality. From the wacky, Cyndi Lauper-inspired ska of "Landmine" to the rave-inducing, hip-hop groove of "Angels' Envy" to the jazzy, Patti Smith-influenced recitation of the title track to the full-bore, Patti Smith-meets-Chrissie Hynde punk-rock of "Dangerous World," Lokey draws from a diverse emotional and musical palette. Produced by Ambrosia's Joe Puerta, it's a recording that slowly gets under your skin and stays there.

As for Ambrosia, you remember them from such radio hits as the blue-eyed soul gem, "Biggest Part of Me," and the Kurt Vonnegut-inspired progressive-rocker, "Nice, Nice, Very Nice." Sunday's show starts at 6 -- also on the bill are local alternative-rockers N.U.D.E. Tickets are $18.50; call 662-2323 for more information.

Catching up with Jet Lag

It seems only fitting that we're only just getting around now to commenting on "Jet Lag," the multi-media performance piece previewed at Mass MoCA's inaugural weekend two weeks ago, since the show was in large part about the discontinuities of modern-day life. A collaboration between The Builders Association and Diller + Scofidio, the performance integrated live actors, video, sound, computer animation, and, according to the program, architecture and "new media technologies," a catch-all term for stuff ordinary people like you and me don't know about.

The program was stunning in its integrated use of man and machine, echoing its thematic concern with how technology affects people's perceptions of time and reality. Those perceptions were seen being twisted by a variety of methods - by the simple time delay of shortwave radio, by the use of a fake background in video, and by the disorienting effects of repeatedly traveling across time zones and spending inordinate amounts of time in generic spaces such as airplanes and airports.

Context is everything, the work said, and in the context of Mass MoCA itself, the work was suggestive and provocative, if slightly disturbing and anxiety-producing. But what else could - or should -- one expect from a performance called "Jet Lag"? In any case, the piece also marked the public unveiling of the new, state-of-the-art, black-box performing space at MoCA, and like the rest of the vast canvas that is the new laboratory of contemporary art in North Adams, it offers great promise.

Pushing polka at MoCA

The name of the band may be Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push, but the group hosting the first dance party at Mass MoCA in North Adams this Saturday night, June 12, at 7:30, is an affair of the commonwealth and a high-tech one at that. Based in nearby Springfield, the polka band has its own website (http://www.chicagopush.com) and wrote the Official State Polka of Massachusetts ("Say Hello to Someone in Massachusetts"). A nine-time Grammy nominee, Gomulka, 48, has over 100 albums to his credit, and he didn't achieve those feats by repeating himself, either. Gomulka's "Push-style" of polka is the music's vanguard, emphasizing the sound of dual trumpets - that's the "push" -- along with accordion, concertina, bass, drums as well as clarinet and saxophone. While he plays old-style songs in Polish, Gomulka, who has been profiled in the New York Times and Billboard magazine, also writes contemporary polka songs in English, and he even adapts pop hits and classic rock songs to a polka beat. Call 662-2111 for more info.

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[This column originally ran in the Berkshire Eagle on June 10, 1999. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1999. All rights reserved.]