Going Out for Summer Sounds
Musical "tributaries’ will flow into Tawasentha

GUILDERLAND — Tom Chapin’s heroes are people like Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie who, he says, wrote and sang real songs for real people — for everyone, old, young, and in between.

Chapin will bring his voice, his guitar, and a dose of reality to Guilderland tonight to perform on the stage at Tawasentha Park.
"The whole purpose of the night is to tell stories, sings songs, and have a good time," Chapin told The Enterprise yesterday.

The free concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m., starts the summer season for the Guilderland Performing Arts Center.

Taking time out of his busy studio schedule because he’s working on a new album called The Turning of the Tide, Chapin said tonight’s performance will be a mixed showed for both adults and children.

His new album will be for adults, he said.
"I feel they are tributaries of the same river," Chapin said about writing albums for both children and adults. Chapin’s first album, called Family Tree, catered to children and became an instant success. His own children were the inspiration for writing that album, Chapin said.
"I did the first one because I didn’t find much music for kids that age," he said, referring to children too old for "preschool" music and not old enough to listen to mainstream radio music. "My kids were that age"Boy, I thought. It would be fun to write a record that we both could enjoy."

No stranger to the area, Chapin told The Enterprise that he played in Schenectady last week and has a show at The Egg in Albany this summer, citing many visits to the area over the years.

Chapin also went to school in Plattsburgh, but grew up with his brothers in Brooklyn, he said. Chapin and his wife, Bonnie, live in downstate New York in Rockland County. Chapin has two daughters, Abigail and Lily, and two stepchildren, Jonathan and Jessica. The girls have been performing in Los Angels as The Chapin Sisters and are managed by their brother Jonathan.
"I started playing when I was 12"I’ve been doing this ever since," said Chapin.

Music runs in the Chapin family. His brother Harry Chapin wrote the well-known Cat’s in the Cradle.
Tom Chapin has performed for more than 30 years for audiences of all ages. Called "one of the greatest personalities in contemporary folk music" by The New York Times, and "the best family artist around" by Billboard magazine, Chapin has produced 18 albums and has received five Grammy Award nominations for best musical album for children.

Chapin has also won three Grammy Awards for best spoken word album for children, Entertainer of the Year by the American Academy of Children’s Entertainment, and numerous other awards for his music.
"The show will have a combination of songs geared for children and some songs geared for adults, but everything is age appropriate for everybody," said GPAC’s publicist Claudia Gottesman.
"They try to balance the performers," said Guilderland’s supervisor, Kenneth Runion. "I think people have a good time at the various events."

The GPAC free concert series is put on by the town of Guilderland and is sponsored by various local businesses and private donators.
"We pay for a portion of it and a portion comes from sponsorship," said Runion. "It’s almost like a community partnership."
The town has been offering free summer concerts for nearly 30 years, according to Runion, who said it started "from the day of Carl Walters."

Walters was the town’s Republican supervisor during the early 1980’s.
"Tom Chapin is our big one," said Gottesman, calling him a "wonderful family performer."

Chapin’s career has taken him to Broadway as a lead and off-Broadway as a musical director. He also hosted ABC’s Make a Wish, and the documentary series, National Geographic Explorer, as well as contributing satiric topical songs to National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Chapin made his big-screen debut with a cameo role in Jonathan Demme’s 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

Now his career takes him to Tawasentha Park in Guilderland.

Playing with Chapin in Tawasentha tonight are fellow musicians John Cobert and Michael Mark.

Concerts to come

The GPAC concerts are free to the public and are performed every Thursday until Aug. 24. The stage is located at Tawasentha Park on Route 146 in Guilderland. Concert-goers are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs to sit on. Handicap parking is available. The following shows are scheduled this summer:
— June 22: The Brian Patneaude Quintet — For GPAC’s "Jazzing it Up!" night, this jazz band formed in 2002, was named "Best Jazz in the Capital District" by Metroland in 2003, 2004, and 2005;
— June 29: The Guilderland Town Band — The town’s very own 100-member band performing for its 37th summer season will put on a "Young People’s Night at the Movies," featuring scores from films like E.T., Harry Potter, The Incredibles, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wizard of Oz, and many Disney favorites. Kathleen Ehlinger is conducting;

— July 6: Skip Parsons’ Riverboat Jazz Band — Bringing back the Big Band sounds, with six or seven musicians typically on stage, this band dedicates itself to the reproduction of early New Orleans- and Chicago-style jazz;

— July 13: Annie & The Hedonists — Heading the Bluegrass Night at GPAC, this band consists of four members covering an electric mix of acoustic folk, blues, bluegrass, gospel, labor ballads, and early jazz;

— July 14-16 and July 21-23: Tom Sawyer: The Broadway Musical — This classic musical tells the tale of Tom and Huck and Becky as teenagers, not young children, and will be performed both weekends. A musical for people of all ages, it includes songs like A Right Fine Day!, I Got Me a Girl, Come on Along!, Gotta Keep Mum, and Trouble Signs. Tickets will be sold for these shows;
— July 20: The Guilderland Town Band — The town band will perform, for a second time, with a concert entitled "A Menagerie of Music." This show will feature a five-year-old prodigy trumpet player, Geoffrey Gallante, who has also been featured on CBS News and Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. Kathleen Ehlinger will be conducting;

— July 27: No Outlet — For GPAC’s Blues Night, this three-member high-energy blues band will take the Tawasentha stage;
— Aug. 3: Burners U.K. — A self-described "high-powered, horn-fueled eight-piece band who know how to ignite a party," will be GPAC’s first August performers. Named "Best Local Cover Band," by the readers of Metroland in 2005, the Burners U.K. is a high-energy rock/pop band that can be enjoyed by people of all ages;
— Aug. 10: The Guilderland Town Band — The town’s band third and final show of the GPAC season will be a "Sing-Along Night." Kathleen Ehlinger will be conducting;
— Aug. 17: Fear of Flying — This band’s act from Saratoga County is being dubbed by GPAC as "High energy music with no boundaries"; and

— Aug. 24: Hair of the Dog — This GPAC season will end with Celtic Night at Tawasentha Park when this popular Irish music band takes the stage. Formed in 1992, Hair of the Dog performs a unique blend of Celtic, rock, folk, and bluegrass music, and also plays at the Altamont fairground’s Irish Festival.