Music Sessions @ RoCA: Finn and the Sharks

March brings two amazing Music Sessions @ Rockland Center for the Arts.

For the first concert Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m. Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon) joins forces with Jeremy Clyde (of Chad & Jeremy) to star together in an evening of music and memories featuring songs and stories from their 60s heyday as recording artists to Jeremy’s success on stage, television (Downton Abbey) and film (The Iron Lady) and Peter’s Grammy-Winning career as Producer and manager of the likes of James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and more. Tickets are $40 pre-sale and $45 at the door. VIP tickets are $110.

Their respective British Invasion duos were collectively responsible for 30 Billboard chart hits. From the Chad & Jeremy catalog, they bring you “Distant Shores”, “Yesterday’s Gone” “Willow Weep For Me,” “Before and After,” “A Summer Song” and more. From the Peter & Gordon songbook comes “Woman,” “I Go To Pieces,” “I Don’t Want To See You Again,” “Lady Godiva,” “A World Without Love” and more.

Steve Smith of the Los Angeles Daily News sums up the evening: “The duo oozed a refreshing abundance of natural English good humor and charm as they told tale after tale from their fabled careers…their voices blended seamlessly…(they) sound virtually identical even 50 years later.”

Peter will tell stories from his new book, “The Beatles: From A to Zed,” based on his SiriusXM radio show “From Me To You,” on the Beatles Channel; Jeremy regales with tales from Chad & Jeremy’s appearances on Batman and the Dick Van Dyke show, and gives us a taste of his new series of CDs “The Bottom Drawer Sessions.”

Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear the stories behind the lives and music of these two legendary duos from the era that wiped clean and drew again the face of popular culture.

For the second Music Session on March 21 at 7:30 p.m., Finn and the Sharks join RoCA for a high energy concert. Tickets are $20 pre-sale and $25 at the door.

Originally based out of Nyack, Finn & The Sharks held court at The Office on Main Street where their regularly sold out shows were a weekend ritual for area rockers. Playing up and down the East coast, they were a constant presence in the NYC underground scene at CBGB’s, The Peppermint Lounge, The Lonestar Cafe, The Bottom Line and Max’s Kansas City. As one of the first bands in the Punk/New Wave era to launch into the Rockabilly revival, Finn and the Sharks distinguished themselves from their peers in the way they broadened their approach to include strong original songwriting with influences ranging from early Rock’n’Roll to Blues, Soul, Country, New Orleans style R’n’B, Doo Wop and Swing.

The band and each of the band members have played, recorded and written with numerous luminaries of  America’s musical culture including B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, The Belmonts, Luther Allison, Wayne Kramer, Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn, Bob Dylan, Vassar Clements, Pete Seeger, Lenny Kaye, Ben E. King, Chuck Berry and many more too numerous to mention.

The band members are:  James “the Finn” Finnen (lead vocals, standup bass, guitar and baritone sax), Billy Roues (lead guitar, mandolin and vocals), Steven “Muddy” Roues (stand up bass, acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals),  Ed “The Hammerhead” Steinberg (drums and vocals), and Kenny Margolis (piano, organ, accordion and vocals).

With 3 recent albums of both new and previously unreleased material recorded in their early years, the reunited Finn and the Sharks have returned to the stage with a vengeance. Their live shows are legendary for being high energy, heart pumping and roof shaking affairs leaving audiences breathless yet begging for more. They still rock as hard today, not to be missed!

Join Rockland Center for the Arts for these Music Sessions Concerts.  For more information or to purchase tickets contact:  Rockland Center for the Arts, 845-358-0877, [email protected] or visit www.rocklandartcenter.org/events.  Rockland Center for the Arts is located at 27 S Greenbush Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994.

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