Friday, February 28, 2014

Another New York gem... Lorenzo Laroc and riding the subway

There are many things I dislike about New York; the knife-wielding icy wind, the slush pits at the corner of the cold streets, people who push pregnant women and women-with-children out of the way on their rush to be a step ahead... but there are lots of things I adore. First is that Jade lives there): then the old mixed with ultra-new, the tangible energy, the random conversations with total strangers, the freedom to walk and walk and walk and ride the subway, travelling miles without needed a car... and the music that just happens.

This trip, I came across Lorenzo Laroc, playing his signature five-string electric violin/viola in the subway station below Manhattan's Grand Central. The cavernous environment added depth and echo to the sound of one man and his music. He was playing samples from his album, Under The Covers. I brought a copy home with me.
ALISON TOON: Lorenzo Laroc &emdash; Lorenzo Laroc, electric violinist, performing in subway station in New York

The instrument is unusual, made of plexiglass not wood and beautifully shaped; regular violins have four strings; so do violas, with an overlap in musical range. By combining the two, Lorenzo Laroc has one instrument with a stretch range of notes that he uses to play both a wide range of cover songs (50 Cent to Metheny to Led Zepplin) and also his own compositions.

ALISON TOON: Lorenzo Laroc &emdash; Lorenzo Laroc, electric violinist, performing in subway station in New York
Lorenzo Laroc
Having played violin when still at school (and failed miserably to master third position), found electric violin entrancing the first time I heard an amplified violin (Slade's Jim Lea playing on Coz I Luv You), I still have a yearning to try and play again... maybe. So I was drawn into the crowd who stood and listened to Lorenzo Laroc. Yes, there were people standing and listening in a subway station; not hustling by with a sideways glance at the busker, but stopped-in-their-tracks to listen.That says something about the music. This was New York, Manhattan, and people were standing stock-still.

ALISON TOON: Lorenzo Laroc &emdash; Lorenzo Laroc, electric violinist, performing in subway station in New York

More info on Lorenzo Laroc can be found on his website: http://www.lorenzolaroc.com/ 

Talking of Slade, I found their smiling faces peeping out from a magazine rack in Barnes and Nobles' yesterday. Cover of Vive Le Rock! magazine, glam rock special. (As usual, we are probably a month behind the UK publication date but it was available in Citrus Heights B&N yesterday.)

No comments:

Post a Comment