- Dan Zales and Friends Contest
Become a member of BestofNJ.com and enter to win a grand prize family 4-pack of tickets to one of 2 performances or a copy of Dan Zanes and Friends latest CD 76 Trombones or their live DVD “The Fine Friends Are Here!”
Concerts by 21st Century Family Band Dan Zanes & Friends are always cause for celebration. On Saturday April 17th the Grammy Award–winner and his “beautifully scruffy, harmonically precise, spirited, and better-than-ever band” will be performing 2 shows at the Bergen Performing Arts Center and you can win tickets!
You can sign up for the contest by becoming a member, signing in, and posting on our contest forum here:
http://bestofnj.com/groups/member-rewards/forum/topic/win-dan-zanes-tickets/
Dan Zanes Bio:
Here are two things you should know right off about Dan Zanes. Two
things that set him apart from the huge and festive field of people who have
in the past few years begun making music for families and people of all
ages in a way that is changing the face of America, or the sound of it at
least. First, he is making homemade family music and encouraging his
friends and neighbors to do the same. Second, he is the guy who is always
interested in singing along with people everywhere, which brings us to his
mission, if you can call it a mission: Zanes is introducing his musical friends
to his neighborhood friends and then showing everybody not just that they
can play together but that they can also feel pretty good while doing so. In
this sense, Zanes is a twenty-first century version of the guy, who in the old
days, used to conduct the town band from the gazebo though in lieu of a
gazebo heʼs playing places like Carnegie Hall and the Melbourne
International Arts Festival where no matter how you say it, good music is
good. He is a ringmaster, introducing new songs and reconnecting people
to songs that have always been there, and still are—itʼs just that people
forgot about them.
Take, for example, Dan Zanes and Friendsʼ Catch That Train!, the 2007 Grammy Award winner for Best Musical Album for Children (co-released with Starbucks/Hear Music). It is the one CD in America today that brings together the Kronos Quartet, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Father Goose, Zanesʼ mother-in-law and the children of South Africaʼs Agape Orphanage to sing Zulu folk songs, an old labor organizing tune, a song about the joys of farming the English countryside, and of course a few train songs—all in an instrumental mix that highlights cuatros and lap steels and does not in any way discourage the use of trombone.
Speaking of trombones, his latest album, 76 Trombones, is a collection of classic Broadway tunes from Sir Paul McCartneyʼs MPL Music Publishing catalog. Joined by Tony Award Winners Carol Channing, Matthew Broderick and Brian Stokes-Mitchell, these timeless songs were stripped down to their ragged essence and re-worked as 21st Century all-ages music, introducing a new generation to the classic Broadway that everyone knows and loves.
Proceeds from 76 Trombones benefit Rosieʼs Broadway Kids, founded in 2003 by Rosie OʼDonnell, an organization
dedicated to providing quality instruction in music and dance at no cost to public schools and students in New York
City.
2009 also saw the arrival of The Fine Friends Are Here!, Dan Zanes and Friendsʼ first live DVD in over four years.
Filmed at the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn, Fine Friends showcases what the bandʼs trademark rollicking concerts are
all about and allows kids and fans alike to participate in the wildly popular and regularly sold out experience. The DVD
set also includes three animated videos and four new, unreleased solo recordings with proceeds going to benefit the
Mario Batali Foundation, striving to ensure all children are well read, well fed and well cared for.
Dan Zanes and Friends Band member bios:
Colin Brooks (drums)
Colin started out playing piano at the age of five. By age seven he was jamming with his father, a self-taught electric guitar player, on the drums. By the age of 14, he was drumming in a punk rock band with some friends in Little Rock, Arkansas called the Numbskulz. After playing around the United States with the Numbskulz and several other Little Rock based bands (Substance, 2 Minutes Hate, Ho-Hum, and The Big Cats), he headed for New York City to join Skeleton Key. After the band toured Europe with Primus, Colin was offered the drum seat with New Zealand singer Bic Runga, joining Runga’s Australian and New Zealand tour. Upon returning to New York he began playing with local singers Serena Jost and Dana Fuchs, while drumming on jingles, and playing in the off Broadway musical Betty Rules. He also joined a Brooklyn-based band called Sea Ray. Sea Ray toured the U.S. and Canada extensively and played many New York area shows. The group disbanded in January of 2005. Colin next went to Montreal to record with The Stills. His drumming can be heard on their album Without Feathers. He has just finished an album with his long-time band in Little Rock, The Big Cats entitled “On Tomorrow”. They are currently working on a follow-up. For on-line information go to maxrecordings.com and searaymusic.com.
Sonia De Los Santos (vocals, guitar & mandolin)
Sonia was born in Monterrey, Mexico. She has received interpretation awards for her compositions on Dos Niñas Mas at the National Festival de la Cancion of the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. In 2000, she joined the rock band Esphera as the lead singer and collaborated in their debut album Re ection (2001). As an actress, Sonia has toured nationally in Mexico with Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler On The Roof playing “Hodl”, “Lucy Harris” in Jekyll & Hyde and “Connie” in A Chorus Line. She was the lead singer in Revolution at the Joyce Theater (NYC) in 2007. Sonia studied musical theater at Circle in the Square Theater School (NYC) and holds a BA in Communications and Mass Media from the Instituto Tecnologico Y De Estudios Superiores De Monterrey.
John Foti (accordion)
Born in West Caldwell, NJ, John’s first musical experience was figuring out the Sesame Street theme song at a young age. Inspired by his father and older sister, he went on to take piano lessons through college—even when some of the kids said it “wasn’t cool” to play piano. John thought it was cool and kept playing. He’s been playing with DZAF for over 2 years and is thrilled to always be learning new songs and instruments, all while being surrounded by such good friends and musicians. You can say hello to John at www.myspace.com/johnfoti.
Saskia Lane (upright bass)
A San Francisco native, Saskia began her classical training on the violin at the ripe old age of 4, and took up the bass the day she turned 11. Her musical path eventually put her on a train bound for New York City where she received her Masters Degree from The Juilliard School. After graduating, Saskia began exploring other genres and now has her hands in jazz, rock, pop, folk, klezmer and hip-hop. This curiosity for all things music is how she met Dan Zanes. They bumped into each other on the streets of Brooklyn and have been jamming away ever since! In addition to playing with Dan and all his friends, Saskia can be heard with her beloved cocktail-pop quartet The Lascivious Biddies. She can also be seen sharing the stage with a wild cast of characters from the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Enya. To read more about Saskia’s music and projects visit www.saskialane.com.
Elena Moon Park (violin)
Hailing from Oak Ridge, TN, Elena began playing the violin and dancing at a young age. She played classical music for
many years, until college drew her attention to traveling to far o places, going on long hiking trips, learning music and dance from other countries, and studying American history. After her adventures, she was anxious to add music back into the mix. Although she moved to NYC primarily to complete a Masters degree in Urban Policy, she was also very excited to meet and play fun, spontaneous music with many different kinds of musicians along the way. Now she is happy to be playing fiddle and trumpet (and some mandolin & ukelele!) with DZAF. Elena lived in the hills of Tennessee and the flatlands of Chicago before proudly calling Brooklyn, NY her home. Her interests include dancing, singing, improvising, picture-taking, attempted songwriting, helping to achieve equitable development in urban America, supporting the arts, and Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Bergen Performing Arts Center
30 North Van Brunt St
Englewood, New Jersey, 07631
Office: (201) 816-8160
Box Office: (201) 227-1030
http://www.bergenpac.org
