Spring is here and some gigs are on the books!! Sidestep will open the season with a live stream from the Green Kill Gallery in Kingston NY. Here are the details:
Green Kill Gallery presents Sidestep in a Livestream concert on April 23 at 8 pm that can be
accessed via Green Kill Sessions, the gallery’s YouTube channel.
Sidestep formed in the early seventies; its initial lineup included Ken Lovelett on percussion;
Vincent Pasternak on violin, viola, classical guitar, & vocals; Barbara Truex on guitar, dulcimer, & vocals; and Christopher White as lyricist & sound mixer.
Sidestep’s concert continues Green Kill Gallery’s mission of expanding its network of artists
through ‘Peer-to-peer’ invitations. Lovelett, has performed on Green Kill Livestream concerts
with Gus Mancini (The Sultan of Soul), including Tree YO! with fellow percussionist, Brian
Melick; he invited Mellck to join Truex, Pasternak, and White to perform as Sidestep along with Pete Levin, keyboards and Jordan Jancz, bass.
Sidestep’s aspirations were and remain similar to Green Kill’s with each member of the group
developing and presenting material that might only be performed once, during unique concert events, often joined by other artists. Group improvisations have always been a key element in Sidestep’s practice. Spoken word pieces have often provided a catalyst for improvisations and provide audiences a conceptualpoint of entry to better appreciate them.
Visual artists were frequently invited to participate, creating total environments for some events. During a concert at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Sidestep’s core trio performed on sound sculptures from the museum’s collection created by Harry Bertoia and the Baschet Brothers. An early iteration of Lovelett’s ‘magnum opus’ percussive sound sculpture, TheBellatope was also featured in that concert.
The Weather Station, a recent assemblage of unique percussion instruments created by Lovelett, will serve as the visual and sonic centerpiece for Sidestep’s Green Kill Gallery Livestream performance … so it’s likely to be a stormy evening.
During the group’s most active period, all of the musicians lived in the Danbury CT area. In the late seventies, Lovelett moved to Mt.Tremper, where he operates the Sonart Recording Studio, Sonart Gallery, selling his unique instruments as American Percussion. A number of years later, Pete Levin left Connecticut for Saugerties. Levin is a noted jazz musician, composer, arranger, recording engineer, and useful guy to have around; he has often worked with Sidestep as well as on many other projects with members of the group. Jordan Jancz was also among the wider circle of musicians who participated in various Sidestep performances and recordings. He currently splits time between France and the U.S.. Brian Melick will be joining Sidestep for the first time in this performance. Given the gallery’s mission of presenting spoken word as well as improvisational music, White will punctuate the improvisations with readings inspired by … or meant to inspire … the music of Sidestep. Pasternak now lives in Providence, RI, Truex and White near Portland, Maine.
(Sidestep will also return to Green Kill in July as a trio – stay tuned)
Barb Truex Music 