Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the Redhouse stages some of the edgiest theater, films, concerts and gallery exhibitions in Central New York. And they do it right here in downtown Syracuse, at 201 S. West St., at the corner of West Fayette Street, on the outskirts of hip and historic Armory Square.
Since the summer of 2004, shows have sparkled on weekend evenings in the Redhouse’s intimate state-of-the-art theater space. Now downtown denizens can be entertained there on Saturday mornings and Monday evenings as well.
Demo deal
Starting this month, the Redhouse is presenting Saturday Jazz Brunches from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in its café space.
On Mondays, songwriters Joanne Perry and Greg Hoover host an Acoustic Open Mic in the café at 6:30 p.m. This free, family-friendly program offers budding performers an appreciative audience, use of a Bose sound system, a piano, tours of SubCat Recording Studios and – this really could be priceless! – a $15 special for recording a single demo with SubCat.
In February 2011, SubCat relocated from its digs in Skaneateles – where it started cranking out recordings in 2001 – to a brand new, three-studio complex adjacent to the Redhouse, downtown.
“We love original music,” says SubCat co-owner Ron Keck. “Our goal is to make each artist sound the best they possibly can.”
SubCat Studios
One of CNY’s most-respected recording engineers, Keck works together with co-owner Jeremy Johnston, engineer Derek Yackel and media duplicator Jason Eldridge, SubCat has produced tracks for veteran area artists such as Jimmy Cavallo, Joanne Shenandoah and Savoy Brown as well as newer bands like Dead Rose, Absolute Mess, Silent Fury and Young Tate. The studio has also worked with performers from as far away as San Antonio and Sweden with international releases on Interscope, Century Media and Virgin Records.
“Not only do we make the best recordings around,” Keck says, “but we also have a great design and duplication team that can press and package your album right here in the studio.”
Just last month, the SubCat team mentored an enthusiastic group of students in the fine art of setting up sessions, tracking and mixing.
Interactive improv
The Redhouse continues rocking this weekend with Live Comedy Improv, an interactive experience for both teens and adults at 8 p.m. Friday, May 18; $10 or $5 for Redhouse members.
Then at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 19, Westcott Nation residents Hanna Richardson and Phil Flanigan will team up with Ithaca clarinetist Brian Earle for a night of classic American swing music; $15.
And the Treehouse Musicians continue their inaugural season with a concert for all ages at the Redhouse at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20. Titled “Journeys: Music of Travel and Trade,” the free concert features traditional and contemporary fare from around the world, including three new pieces by area composers.
“The Redhouse theater is the perfect space for our eclectic style of chamber music playing,” says Treehouse spokeswoman Alina Plourde, oboist of the genre-bending ensemble. “Intimate and inviting, it enables us to fully engage with the audience, and to make them part of the creative process.”
Eclectic ensemble
Sunday’s Treehouse Musicians concert features musical postcards from Burundi, Puerto Rico, Colombia and England, as well as from various points along the Silk Road and Erie Canal.
In addition to Plourde, the quintet includes husband-and-wife Anita and Eric Gustafson on violin and viola, respectively; cellist Zachary Sweet; and soprano Laura Enslin. They will be joined Sunday by local storyteller Vanessa Johnson and members of the newly formed Imagine Syracuse Young Musicians Project (iSYMP).
The program contains three pieces commissioned by the Treehouse Musicians: “Road Trip,” by Syracuse composer Paola Marquez, drawing on South American and African rhythms; “Eastern Passage,” by Brooklyn-based violist/composer Leanne Darling, celebrating the legacy of the Silk Road; and “Erie Canal Lament,” by Anita Gustafson and arranged by her husband, Eric; 422-4582; treehousemusicians.com.
Jim jumps to TV
Central New York’s voice of reason now has a face.
Long the host of WSYR-AM 570’s afternoon talk show, Jim Reith was unceremoniously fired last Oct. 26 before being replaced by controversial loudmouth Bob Lonsberry. That Rochester radio renegade is so unceasingly offensive it’s as though the inmates have taken over the asylum over at Plum Street.
Anyhow, Reith is back with a new television program aptly titled “The Jim Reith Show,” set to air at 6:30 p.m. weekdays on WCNY-TV Channel 24. Jim and his guests will take phone calls from viewers. Yahoos dial at your own risk.
Welcome back to the airwaves, Jim!
