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SNUG HARBOR CULTURAL CENTER &
BOTANICAL GARDEN PRESENTS
ISLAND SOUNDS: A 500-YEAR MUSIC MASH UP
Guns N’ Roses, New York Dolls, White Lion, Twisted Sister, and More
Featured in New Staten Island Music Exhibit
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COME SEE THE
BUMBLEFOOT 'SWISS
CHEESE GUITAR' ON DISPLAY |
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical
Garden will launch ISLAND SOUNDS: A 500 Year Music Mash-Up
on May 11, 2012. The 18-month, interactive, multi-media exhibition will be
mounted in the Main Hall (Building C) on the Snug Harbor campus at 1000 Richmond
Terrace and will include memorabilia, instruments, artifacts, photos and videos
from musicians and artists who were born, based or performed on Staten Island
throughout history. Beginning Sunday, May 12, the exhibit will be open Wednesday
through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students
and seniors. Children under 12 are admitted free. The show is scheduled to run
through December 20, 2013.
“We are excited and pleased to present this unique exhibit as a tribute to the
countless artists who have played a role in Staten Island’s rich and varied
musical history,” said Snug Harbor President and CEO Lynn Kelly. “The exhibit
memorializes the contributions of these artists and defines the part they played
and continue to play in our diversified culture. I urge everyone with an
interest in music, pop culture and the history of Staten Island to come and
enjoy the hundreds of unique pieces of memorabilia that make up the ISLAND
SOUNDS exhibition.”
ISLAND SOUNDS features a timeline of Staten Island’s music history that
begins pre-1500, with songs of the Lunaape (Lenape) Indians, and includes Dutch
tavern music of New Amsterdam of the 1600s, 1850 classical opera, 1900
vaudeville, jazz of the 1920s, the Big Band era of 1940, disco and folk music of
the 1970s, and today’s rock and rap.
Inside the Main Hall, the galleries contain rare and historic items from many of
the artists’ personal collections, including:
- Reunion tour costumes from both David Johansen (New York Dolls)
and AJ Pero (Twisted Sister)
- Guitars from Vito Bratta (White Lion),
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
(Guns N’ Roses), Richie Castellano (Blue Oyster Cult), and
Steve Augeri (Journey)
- Living Colour founder Vernon Reid’s 1989 MTV Video Music Award
for Cult of Personality and custom Starr double-neck guitar
- Rare Bruce Springsteen demos, documents, and platinum albums from former
manager/producer Mike Appel
- A unique collection of over two-thousand hotel keys belonging to drummer
Sandy Gennaro (Pat Travers, Cyndi Lauper, The Monkees, Bo Diddley)
- Many other rare photos, gold/platinum albums, and documents
“I grew up just a couple of blocks from Snug Harbor and when I was a kid this
used to be part of my stomping ground,” said David Johansen of the New York
Dolls and Buster Poindexter fame. “It’s so great that Snug Harbor is
so vital again.”
ISLAND SOUNDS also celebrates the 120th Anniversary of Snug Harbor’s
Music Hall. Built in 1892, the Music Hall is the one of the oldest concert halls
in New York City, second only to Carnegie Hall. Designed by Robert W. Gibson in
Greek Revival-style, it has been a popular venue for a wide variety of
vaudeville, theatrical and orchestral performances. In its long history, it has
showcased a diversity of world-famous talents, ranging from Jenny Lind to Tito
Puente, Tony Randall to David Bowie, and more recently Ingrid Michaelson. In
October 2011, Lady Gaga filmed her biopic music video Marry the Night in
the Music Hall and at several other Snug Harbor locations depicted in the
exhibition."I grew up just a couple of blocks from Snug Harbor and
when I was a kid this used to be part of my stomping ground," said David
Johansen of the New York Dolls and Buster Poindexter fame. "It’s so great that
Snug Harbor us so vital again."
Many of the artifacts in ISLAND SOUNDS were graciously provided by
Sailors’ Snug Harbor, Staten Island Historical Society, Staten Island Museum,
SUNY Maritime College, New York Public Library, and various private collections.
Many of the artifacts in
ISLAND SOUNDS were
graciously provided by Sailors’ Snug Harbor, Staten Island Historical Society,
Staten Island Museum & Archives, SUNY Maritime College, New York Public Library,
and various private collections.
For more information about
ISLAND SOUNDS: A 500-Year Music Mash Up, please contact Lynn Kelly at (718)
425-3501. For more information about Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical
Garden and a detailed schedule of events, please visit
www.snug-harbor.org. |
