A New Singer/Songwriter's Scene in New Paltz

Sometimes when things aren't going the way you would like, you have to take matters into your own hands. That's exactly what Vickie Russell, a local singer/songwriter and new resident of New Paltz has done.

"I'd been living in New Paltz for 4 years", says Russell, a native New Yorker, "and was frustrated with the limited amount of music here. I had to travel at least an hour away to perform anywhere. In October, when the Soleil-Lune Cafe opened in town, I saw a perfect opportunity to start a more sophisticated music scene. I always had to go the city to see good songwriters and I got tired of travelling. I knew that somewhere here there was a wealth of talent hiding in the countryside waiting to perform."

Vickie approached Laura Boodakian, one of the 3 female owners of the new cafe, who was open to the idea of having a songwriter's night at their venue. " I told them I'd do all the booking and press and see what I could get going. I only knew a few musicians here, since people seem very isolated in this area. I called Judy Whitfield, a singer/songwriter from Woodstock who had booked me at the "Women in Music" night at the Tinker Street Cafe. She enthusiastically gave me a wealth of names to call.

At first, only the women were willing to pioneer this new idea, our debut show was all-female: Bar Scott, Judy Whitfield, Sylvia Bullett and myself. It was quite a powerful evening.

Since then, the momentum has been building. In December, Amy Fradon, Tim Moore, Thom Vala and Jay Mankita performed. There was great feedback from the audience and the performers. January featured: John Herald, Paul McMahon, Charles Lyonhart and Ellen Schwartz, (who wrote Pat Benatar's 1980's hit "Get Nervous" as well as some hits for Anne Murray). February was an awe inspiring night featuring: Mindy Jostyn, Patrick Dodge, and Judy Whitfield.

All of the featured songwriters are well-established performers and have impressive track records as writers. Although it is a lot of work between her own recording and touring career, Vickie has enough energy to book, open and host the evenings. She just returned from touring in Germany and is playing at the Soleil-Lune Cafe herself on Sat. March 28 at 9:00 PM. "It's amazing what well-known name acts are coming to me, names of performers that I have been hearing for years around the songwriter's scene. And everyone I speak to is so happy and willing to perform now that the word has gotten out as to what caliber of professionalism we are presenting. We are doing this event once a month. It' a very inspiring and varied musical evening. The styles vary from folk, country, jazz, rock to pop, stripped down to the bare song. I interview the singers about their process of songwriting, how they got started and they each take turns singing songs in a round robin format.

Russell got the idea from a similar format presented at a club she performed at in Nashville called the Bluebird Cafe, and at the Bottom Line in Manhattan. "I figured if they could do it in those clubs, so could I. The talent is here; I just needed to tap into it. I was also hoping to meet more of the songwriting community and bring them together a bit. Living in the country can sometimes make you into a hermit. Since we are doing this every month on Wednesday nights, we all can see more of each other on a regular basis. And this can give up-and-coming local songwriters a place to play and be heard. The audience really listens which is most necessary for this type of a show."

The next Songwriters in the round event will be April 8th, featuring Margo Hennebach, Spider Barbour, Marc Teamaker, and Eric Garrison. The Soleil Lune Cafe is located at 2 S. Chestnut St. in New Paltz on the corner of Rt. 208 S. and Rt. 299. Cover is $5. The phone number is 255-0389.