Willie Nile

92 Race Street,Holyoke MA 01040

19 November, 2021

Description

Willie Nile Presented by DSP Shows 16+ Willie Nile Dan Zukergood and the Mostly Happy Band The New York Times called Willie Nile “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in years." For the safety of our artists, venue staff and our community as a whole we will be requiring proof of vaccination for admittance to all shows at Gateway City Arts until further notice. Results from a negative COVID test will NOT be accepted for entry. In addition, masks are required to be worn at all times while at the venue. You may pull your mask down when eating or drinking only. Please bring your vaccination card, or a photo of it, along with a corresponding state or federal ID for entry. We encourage anyone who has yet to be vaccinated to get their shots as soon as possible. General admission seated. Willie Nile While many of us have struggled to salvage a sense of purpose from a year’s worth of isolation, veteran New York rocker Willie Nile has tapped into his own lockdown experience as a source of inspiration for the set of haunting new songs that comprise his emotion-charged new release, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Although the veteran singer-songwriter borrowed its title from the beloved 1951 science-fiction movie classic, the album was actually inspired by the sight of Nile’s beloved hometown temporarily turned into a desolate ghost town, thanks to COVID-19 safety precautions. “It came from seeing the deserted streets of downtown Manhattan, with all the shops and stores boarded up and all these beautiful buildings looking down on everything,” Nile recalls, adding, “I have a storage space near the Holland Tunnel, and normally on a Friday night at rush hour, it can take an hour to move five blocks. But one Friday night last June, while walking home from my storage space and crossing Varick Street, I realized that there wasn’t a car in sight, and that I could have laid down in the middle of the street without anyone noticing. The title The Day the Earth Stood Still hit me, and I carried it around in my head for awhile, and eventually it sparked this set of songs.” The title became the jumping-off point for one of the most powerful and personal albums of Nile’s long and prolific career. Indeed, The Day the Earth Stood Still — his 14th studio effort — features 11 new original compositions that exemplify the artist’s trademark mix of romance, idealism and humor, channeling a true believer’s passionate affirmation of life, love and rock ’n’ roll. Such new Nile originals as “Sanctuary,” “Expect Change” and “Way of the Heart” underline Nile’s abiding passions, while the more out-there “Off My Medication” and “Where There’s a Willie There’s a Way” (co-written by fellow musical veteran Michael Des Barres) display his self-effacing sense of humor. Nile’s hard-wired social conscience drives the heartfelt “Blood on Your Hands,” recorded as a duet with Nile’s West Village neighbor Steve Earle, and the impassioned “The Justice Bell,” inspired by Nile’s encounter with civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis. “I always write about the world around me, and this time around, the world around me was a little crazier than usual,” Nile observes. “These songs were inspired by the pandemic, injustice, politics, love, compassion, joy, sorrow, ignorance, human suffering, man’s inhumanity to man — the usual riddles and mysteries of life, and of course the occasional hell-raising rock ’n’ roll song or two.” Nile recorded The Day the Earth Stood Still with his longtime producer Stewart Lerman (whose other credits range from Elvis Costello to Mumford and Sons) and his longstanding live band. “We recorded this album in January 2021,” Nile notes. “We all wore masks the whole time and did our best to keep things safe. The whole band, except me, had actually caught COVID on our last gig before the pandemic hit, on February 29, 2021, but everyone recovered. I’ve made nine albums with Stewart now, and it’s always magic and always fun. This one was especially inspiring, despite the extra hassle. The basic tracks were recorded fast, and seven or eight of the songs still have the original live vocal.” Willie Nile’s dual passions for life and music has fueled his long-running musical career, which took off after the Buffalo, N.Y. native made his way to New York City in the early 1970s. After establishing himself as a popular performer on the downtown club scene, Nile attained national status with a trio of widely acclaimed major-label albums — Willie Nile, Golden Down and Places I Have Never Been — before going the indie route with a lengthy series of acclaimed independent releases, including Beautiful Wreck of the World, Streets of New York, House of a Thousand Guitars, The Innocent Ones, American Ride, World War Willie, Children of Paradise, New York at Night, the acoustic If I Was a River, and the covers collection Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan. Releasing albums and touring internationally on his own terms has allowed Nile to expand his loyal fan base to encompass much of the planet. His longtime admirers include Bruce Springsteen, with whom Nile has guested onstage on multiple occasions, and Pete Townshend, who personally requested him as the opening act on the Who’s historic 1980 U.S. tour. The list of avowed Nile fans also includes Bono, Lou Reed, Ian Hunter, Graham Parker, Jim Jarmusch, Little Steven, and Lucinda Williams, who once remarked, “Willie Nile is a great artist. If there was any justice in this world, I’d be opening up for him instead of him for me.” Having been forced by circumstance to curtail his touring activities for an uncharacteristically lengthy period, the seasoned road warrior is looking forward to taking The Day the Earth Stood Still on the road and renewing his one-on-one relationship with his fans. “I'm so proud of this album,” Nile asserts. “It was born of a pandemic nightmare, but I think that it offers hope, and passion, for better days to come. That’s what I need, as a person and an artist. And everyone brought their “A” game to the studio. “I still feel as driven and inspired as I’ve ever felt, and I feel like I’m currently doing some of my best work,” Nile states. “I don’t know why the songs are still coming to me like they are. I just try to get them down as best I can. And I’m fortunate to have a great team of people around me to help bring the songs to life. Anybody who’s seen me perform with this band knows that nobody’s phoning it in, and that these guys give everything they’ve got, every show, every song, every night.” Indeed, after more than half a century of music-making, Willie Nile continues to keep the faith. “After all these years I’m still feeling the passion and the power and the pull of rock ’n’ roll as a way out, as a vehicle that can offer salvation and redemption and joy in this crazy-ass world. Here’s to more music and magic on the road ahead!” Dan Zukergood and the Mostly Happy Band Dan’s musical career started off like many other musicians – by being forced by his parents at the age of 9 to learn to play an instrument. He picked piano only because there was a piano in the house and he didn’t really know what else to do. After three years of fighting every night about having to practice said instrument, he was allowed to quit piano as long as he picked up another instrument. To pay his parents back for three years of hell, he selected the drums. Before long, a cheap set of Gretsch drums were set up in his room, directly on top of his parent’s bedroom. Retribution was his. For the rest of junior and senior high school, Dan played drums for rock bands such as The Pistol Crayon, The Darts and Catgut. Yes, it was the 60’s and at least one of these band names came from the Ouija Board. Carrying drums around was a bit much in college, so Dan started to learn to play guitar. He picked it up quickly and was soon playing at the college coffee house and then opening for national acts at the college as part of the infamous Joey Banana and the Bunch. Then reality set in. It was time to plan for the future. Should he choose to be a full-time musician or get a real job and play music on the side? He chose music as his profession. But he needed to figure out what he would do when his band was not on the road. Becoming a substitute teacher seemed like a good idea, as he would not have to make any commitments and could still get paid when he was not on the road. So, he decided to get a teaching degree in Social Studies Education in order to become a great substitute teacher who principals would call first when they needed somebody. This forced Dan to go student teaching and on his second week, the principal called him one morning and said that his cooperating teacher was sick and asked whether he was capable of teaching all the classes that day. Once he offered to pay Dan for this, the gig was on! Dan managed to survive the day and was cleaning up the classroom and closing the windows when he happened to look back at the classroom and had the only epiphany he had ever had in his life – he realized that he was born to be a teacher and that this was what he should be doing with his life. Good call! Forty two years later, Dan is still teaching and loving it more each year. For the past 22 years, Dan has been a professor at Springfield College in the Education Department, helping his students to become extraordinary teachers themselves. And, he has played in bands ever since college. Today, Dan plays with Johnny and the Flashbacks, a Motown/Classic Rock dance band and plays solo gigs doing cover songs and live acoustic karaoke (just like regular karaoke but Dan plays guitar and backs up people who want to sing instead of having the machine do it). For most of his musical career, Dan has particularly enjoyed finding female singers who could knock it out of the park and backing them up on guitar and voice. However, in 2016, he decided that he wanted to create a professionally done cd of his original songs, something he had never done before. He hired one of his favorite guitar players to produce the cd (Jim Henry, who also owns Rubytone Studios) and got help from several of his favorite musicians in the Pioneer Valley to play on the cd. On Nov. 2, 2017, Dan had his cd release party at Signature Sounds Parlor Room in Northampton, MA. It was a sold out show and by all accounts a wonderful evening. Since then, Dan and the Most(ly) Happy Band has sold out The Red Barn and has played at the Iron Horse, opening up for Willie Nile. The cd has received extraordinary reviews and is truly an excellent collection of well written, sung, played and produced songs. Dan’s goal is to create music that moves the listener and hopes to make a difference in their lives in some way. His songs are highly personal and address the ups and downs of life – from the glories of love to the tragedies of depression and suicide. While this was just something Dan wanted to accomplish as a bucket list project, it also awakened something in him that had been on the side burner for much of his life – the idea of playing his own original songs and going out as a singer/songwriter. The time has come. He and the Mostly Happy Band are here and ready to conquer music venues large and small. They guarantee a great night out of fun and entertainment. Dan’s new cd, I Ain’t Dead Yet, will be released in 2019! Listen to the cd, watch the videos and come join them sometime! Willie Nile Dan Zukergood and the Mostly Happy Band