VILLAGE OF LIVERPOOL – Two local songwriters strongly committed to shaking up the status quo – soul man Isreal Hagan and social activist Colleen Kattau – will perform their original material at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the library’s Carman Community Room, 310 Tulip St. Admission is free.
Colleen Kattau
Kattau straps on her six-string and sings, she does so with purpose and passion. A fervent anti-war activist who teaches Spanish at SUNY Cortland, she has often appeared at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, in support of the movement to close the School of the Americas.
As a bilingual singer and activist, Kattau’s original material often deals with issues ranging from immigration to hydrofracking to women’s rights. On her newest recording – “This Hen’s Gonna Crow” – she pays tribute to both Angela Davis with “Go Ask Angela” and Audrey Shenandoah on “The Root.”
Eleven of the 13 tracks on the record are original Kattau compositions.
The disc’s title track, “This Hen’s Gonna Crow,” is a romping a feminist barn dance, while the closer, “The Calendar for Peace,” promotes the work of the Syracuse Cultural Workers.
Produced at the artist’s own WindLight Studio, the album is Kattau’s eighth since 2003. Its music is ably propelled by agile accompanists such as multi-instrumentalist Rich DePaolo, drummer Bill King and violinist Claire Byrne.
Israel Hagan
Born and raised in Syracuse, Hagan’s initial musical influences were his parents, Sylvester and Bertha Hagan.
“They immersed me in music from birth,” Hagan said.
In third grade, he started singing.
At age 9, he picked up his first guitar soon followed by the electric bass. And he began writing songs at age 14.
Blessed with a four-octave range, Hagan’s singing voice possesses an unforgettable crystalline tone.
As the leader of an R&B quartet called Stroke, Hagan and his band reeled in a total of nine Syracuse Area Music Awards over the years.
Stroke’s best-known songs include “The Real Deal,” “Accept No Substitutes,” “Stay Together” and “Bedroom Funk.”
In 1994 Isreal branched out as a solo performer, just himself and his acoustic guitar entertaining at coffeehouses and festivals across the Empire State. His 2011 CD, “Balance,” features tunes such as “Feeling the Effects,” “Soul Thing,” “Pleasure and Pain” and “I Always Think about You.”
Sunday’s concert – a collaboration of Liverpool Public Library and the Liverpool Is The Place Concert Committee – is made possible thanks to generous support from the NY State Council on the Arts administered by CNY Arts.
Next month the Syracuse songwriters series continues March 9 with veteran tunesmiths Bob Halligan Jr. and Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers; followed by a tribute to local jazz composers performed on April 10 by the Frank Grosso Quartet; lpl.org; 315-457-0310.