Author: Staff Report

Banned From Utopia featuring legendary Frank Zappa alumni Ray White, Bobby Martin and Scott Thunes, will be touring North America with The Paul Green Rock Academy this summer starting in July! The We Love Zappa Tour celebrates the music of Frank Zappa from all eras!

Banned From Utopia was formed in 1994 to keep the true spirit of Frank Zappa’s music alive. Covering a variety of Zappa songs, the ensemble lovingly recreates the eclectic virtuoso approach of their former band leader. 

Tour Dates

7/4 – Lyndhurst NJ – Town Square Bandshell
7/5 – Hudson Falls NY – The Strand Theatre
7/6 – Cleveland OH – Beachland Ballroom
7/10 – St. Louis MO – City Winery St. Louis
7/11 – Milwaukee WI – Shank Hall
7/12 – Chicago IL – Martyr’s
7/13 – Ft. Wayne IN – Sweetwater HQ
7/14 – Cincinnati OH – Ludlow Garage
7/16 – Pittsburgh PA – City Winery Pittsburgh
7/17 – Asheville NC – The Grey Eagle
7/19 – Nashville TN – City Winery Nashville
7/20 – Charlotte NC – Visulite Theater
7/21 – Atlanta GA – City Winery Atlanta
7/23 – Lansing WV – Burrito Bar at Breeze Hill
7/25 – Rutherford NJ – Williams Center for the Arts
7/26 – New Haven CT – Toad’s Place
7/27 – Pawtucket RI – Met Café
7/28 – Pawling NY – Daryl’s House
7/30 – Montgomery NY – City Winery Montgomery
8/1 – Westport CT – Westport Library
8/2 – Boston MA – City Winery Boston
8/3 – Brattleboro VT – Stone Church
8/4 – Ardmore PA – Ardmore Music Hall

Banned From Utopia:
Ray White – vocals, guitar     

One of the most powerful and distinctive voices that ever graced a Zappa vocal, Ray White. Ray White’s distinctive, powerful voice was first heard interpreting Zappa’s music in 1976. From that beginning, he became an integral member of Frank’s band through 1984, and can be seen on the DVD recorded the summer of that year in New York, “Does Humor Belong In Music?” A former member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers gospel group, he also brings a solid R&B guitar style to the blend, both as a rhythm player and as a soloist. Looking towards future creative endeavors with Banned From Utopia, Ray is also a gifted writer and lyricist  

Robert Martin – vocals, keyboards, saxophone, French horn

Keyboards, horns, and of course, the voice that always made Frank smile, Robert Martin brings it all. Robert (Bobby) Martin joined Frank Zappa in 1981 and sang and played various instruments on every tour from then on, through the final tour in 1988. In addition to the diverse sonic palette Robert brought to the band with his multi-instrumental skills, Zappa relied heavily on Robert’s unique vocal power and range to enhance the variety of musical styles Frank explored in all his performances. In any moment, Frank might switch from heavy metal to classic Doo Wop, or anything in between, and Robert would be right there.

Scott Thunes – guitar, vocals                      

Scott Thunes played with Zappa’s band from 1981 to 1988, and plays on such albums as “The Man From Utopia”, “Them or Us,” “Broadway the Hard Way,” “You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore,” “Does Humor Belong In Music?,” “The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life,” “Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention,” “Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch,” “Make a Jazz Noise Here,” and “Guitar,” a double-album compilation of Zappa’s live guitar solos. His most prominent bass performance can be heard on Frank Zappa’s “Valley Girl,” which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Robbie Mangano – guitar, vocals        

Robbie has performed with Zappa Tribute band Project/Object, playing bass and guitar with members of Frank Zappa’s band, and embarked on his first tour and first overseas gigs through that ensemble. Soon after he would begin touring with more Zappa alumni in The Grandmothers Of Invention. Most recently he has toured with Sean Lennon & Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.

Jamie Kime – guitar  

Jamie Kime has performed and recorded with Dweezil Zappa’s Zappa Plays Zappa project from 2006 until 2012. More recently, he did a European tour with The Banned From Utopia. Earlier this year, Jamie Kime recorded his very first solo album: “Alleys.” Some standout moments include gigs w/ The Boneshakers (feat. Texas blues/soul legend Malford Milligan), Jewel, the original lineup of a Zappa Plays Zappa – with whom he collected a Grammy Award in 2009, the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the World Premiere of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels Orchestral Suites in 2013, and rock legend Dr. John. The Jamie Kime Group performs on the first Monday of every month at the world-famous Baked Potato in Studio City, CA.

Joel Taylor – drums

Joel Taylor has toured or recorded with artists such as Greg Howe, Brian Bromberg, Mike Garson, Al Di Meola, Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth, Banned From Utopia, and appears on Yanni’s live concert video Tribute.

The Paul Green Rock Academy
The Paul Green Rock Academy (PGRA) is the latest music program from School of Rock founder Paul Green. From the very beginning of his teaching career Paul has taught the music of Frank Zappa, calling it “one stop shopping for musical education.”

While co-headlong the German Zappa festival Zappanale in 2023 Paul and his students got to see Banned From Utopia in action, and vice versa, and an instant bond was formed between the acts.

Watch The Paul Green Rock Academy plays Zappa at Zappanale! https://youtu.be/yRtjUgb-MRc

The students of PGRA are honored to be going on this tour with BFU and will learn so much from the experience, while also thrilling audiences with their own fiery renditions of Zappa classics and deep cuts.

For more information: www.bannedfromutopia.com

The Hyde Collection is delighted to host the Glens Falls Symphony and de Blasiis Chamber Music Series,  welcoming world-renowned virtuoso pianist Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner to the Helen Froehlich  Auditorium stage on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 3 pm. 

Sánchez-Werner began his first college degree at age five and, at 6, began performing regularly with  orchestras. He made Juilliard history at age 14 as the youngest-ever admittee to the College Division. In  2009, he performed solo at the White House for President Obama, and in 2013, for the Presidential  Inauguration concert at the Kennedy Center. At 18, he was honored as the most promising American  pianist of a new generation.  

Twenty-seven-year-old Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner was selected First Prize Winner of the 2022 Concert  Artists Guild International Competition. Named a Gilmore Young Artist, an honor awarded to the most  promising American pianists of the new generation, his multi-faceted artistry has been featured in the  New York Times, CBS, PBS, NPR, CNN International, Mexico News Daily, the Wall Street Journal, and  WDR-Arte. 

Program to include works by: 

• Chopin  

• Beethoven  

• Jesus González Rubio  

• Consuelo Velázquez  

• Stravinsky 

When: Sunday, April 21, 2024, 3-5 pm 

Photo, video, and interview opportunities are available. 

Where: The Hyde Collection, 161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801 

Ticket Information: $21 general/$11 students & 18 and under 

Ticket details 

About Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner: 

A California-born New Yorker, Llewellyn began his first college degree at age five and, at age 6, began  performing regularly with orchestras. Principal teachers have included Ilya Itin, Boris Berman, Yoheved  Kaplinsky, Robert Durso, composition with Lowell Liebermann, and improvisation with Noam Sivan. He  has extensively worked with Robert Levin, Joseph Kalichstein, Wu Han, Gilbert Kalish, Robert  McDonald, and the Brentano, Borromeo, and Shanghai Quartets.

Llewellyn holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Juilliard, where he was awarded the Kovner  Fellowship, won the concerto competition, and was the youngest admittee to each program at ages 14 and  18, respectively. He received an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded  the Charles S. Miller Prize. Llewellyn is a Steinhardt Doctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor at New  York University. He studies with Eduardus Halim. For more information on Mr. Llewellyn Sánchez Werner visit: https://llewellynsanchezwerner.com/ 

About The Hyde Collection: 

The Hyde is one of the Northeast’s exceptional small art museums with distinguished European and  American art collections. The core collection, acquired by Museum founders Charlotte and Louis Hyde,  includes works by such artists as Sandro Botticelli, Tintoretto, El Greco, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens,  Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, and Pablo Picasso  and American artists Thomas Eakins, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, James McNeill Whistler, and  Anna Hyatt Huntington. The Museum’s Modern and Contemporary art collection features works by artists  including Josef Albers, Dorothy Dehner, Sam Gilliam, Adolph Gottlieb, Grace Hartigan, Ellsworth Kelly,  Sol LeWitt, Robert Motherwell, Ben Nicholson, Robert Rauschenberg, and Bridget Riley. Today, The  Hyde offers significant national and international exhibitions and a packed schedule of events that help  visitors experience art in new ways. Visit www.hydecollection.org  

Throughout the years, the Museum has expanded considerably from the historic Hyde home. It includes a  modern museum complex with an auditorium, classroom, five galleries, and a state-of-the-art storage  facility. 

About the de Blasiis Chamber Music Series: 

Founded by sisters Giovannina (Gio) and Virginia (Ginny) de Blasiis, the de Blasiis Chamber Music  Series is one of the oldest in the country bringing the finest performers and programs to the Glens Falls  area. The de Blasiis chamber series hosts concerts throughout the year featuring an eclectic mix of  performers in various musical genres – classical to flamenco and others in between! For more information  on the de Blasiis Chamber Music Series, please contact the Glens Falls Symphony at (518) 793-1348. 

The Folklife Center continues its popular Live! Folklife Concert series with Ukrainian  Village Voices, a New York City-based collective singing in the polyphonic village style,  often focusing on songs of seasonal celebrations. UVV will be performing at 2 sites,  Thursday, April 25 at Crandall Public Library (Glens Falls, NY) and Friday, April 26 at  the Historic Salem Courthouse (Salem, NY). There are no reservations, seating is first  come first served. Doors open at 6:30 for the 7 pm free concerts. 

Ukrainian Village Voices’ repertoire is constantly evolving, frequently focusing on  seasonal celebrations, ritual songs, as well as lyrical music. The group often sings  songs recorded by ethnomusicologists from the oldest dwellers in rural Ukraine. As of  2018, these songs include those they heard themselves while on expeditions to various  villages across Ukraine. UVV pays homage to the ancient spirit of these songs while  also naturally bringing a unique North American feel to the music.  

For nearly a decade, the ensemble has performed for a wide range of audiences in the  New York metropolitan area as well as in Canada and Ukraine. The group also  organizes public vocal workshops led by accomplished singers, musicians, and  scholars in the various folk traditions of Ukraine. UVV released an album on Jalopy  Records, and currently 100% of proceeds from album sales on Bandcamp are being  donated to help Ukrainian refugees. www.ukrainianvillagevoices.com 

“Since their inception, Ukrainian Village Voices has staked a claim as one of the  premier performance ensembles of Ukrainian vocal traditions in the West.” – Dr.  Adriana Helbig, Ethnomusicology, Winter 2020. 

The Folklife Center records the Glens Falls performance with a 3-camera video shoot,  later edited, with portions posted on the Folklife Center’s YouTube page. 

Live! Folklife Concerts are produced by the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library, and funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the  Governor’s office and the New York State Legislature.