Fast forward to the height of Levon’s Midnight Rambles, and his [then] band Love Eat Sleep is opening a night at a Ramble where Garth Hudson played.
“I grew up in these hills and I didn’t just know who The Band was, they were my heroes. To sing ‘The Weight’ with Garth, Levon and his band — it was the sparkling highlight of making music.”
Jeremy’s songs intertwine with the Catskills. The audience at his gigs feels like family. The music sets the stage, and the people who come out, feel the love and give it right back. Jeremy’s shows always come with that conversation.
When he is not making music, Jeremy is a carpenter/craftsman. Sometimes I imagine that the walls do talk to him, while he is fixing, restoring and loving-up some of the oldest houses in the area. Those unspoken stories end up being viscerally reiterated in his music.
Eleven years ago, he bought a small cabin in the woods in Chichester. Today you wouldn’t recognize it if you went looking for that same place — his home is a testament to his craftsmanship, and devotion. He and his beloved, Anastacia, have worked hard to create a vessel for their life. The soil is rich and their garden is abundant. Downstairs in the basement is a recording studio which he built with writing partner, and long time bandmate, Adam Widoff. Three of their band Stoney Clove Lane’s albums were recorded there, and much of Jeremy’s solo work as well. As you read this, Jeremy and Anastacia are most likely in the basement, still cleaning up from Hurricane Irene’s devastation.
When the storm evacuated them from their home, songwriter and producer David Baron and his wife Jinhi gave them refuge and my favorite new song was written. They didn’t stop there. Keep your eye out for their collaborations on a new Jeremy Bernstein record (You will hear some of those songs on Sunday).
“Getting to work with David has been amazing, he has pushed me and challenged me in many ways — with my melodic range as well as helped me to really look at the craft of songwriting. It’s resulting in a great collection of songs.
“It’s definitely a spring/summer record. So look for it in the spring of 2013.” Jeremy is humble when he says it, but you can feel the accomplishment in his words, “This is definitely a different project than my last three albums. The different thing about this record is that just about every one of my favorite players is on it.” The album is packed with four different drummers (Robert “chicken” Burke, Ben Perowsky, Joe Magistro, Zach Alford), several bass players (Sara Lee, Byron Isaacs, Andrew Shober), and guitar players (Danny Blume, Mike Merenda, Adam Widoff). And of course David Baron on Keys.
“I feel fortunate to have been able to draw from my vast musical community in this valley. Crafting tunes with new friends and working with people that I have known for so long keeps it all in the family…and the family keeps growing.”
Jeremy also has a music video playing this weekend. Directed by his good friend Antoine Wagner, the video was filmed in some of the area’s most beautiful places — Tannersville, Magic Meadow, Woodstock. Jeremy is excited to share it at the festival, (see below for times) “The song is called ‘Another Sky’ and it just feels so Woodstock to me.”
Whether you are here for the festival, the weekend, or you live here year round — you came here for the mountains. You came here for the fall foliage. You came here for the fresh air, the clean water, the music, the art, and the exchange with the people who form Woodstock, and I promise, if you start your weekend at the Colony and you end it at the Bearsville Theater on Sunday night… along with some treats in between, you will have found Woodstock.
The video of ‘Another Sky’ will be shown as part of a music video segment at Utopia Studios: Friday, October 12 at 9:45 p.m.; And at The Kleinert/James Arts Center on Saturday, October 13 at 10 p.m.
Jeremy Bernstein & Friends will perform to close the Woodstock Film Festival at 9 p.m. Sunday, October 14 at the Bearsville Theater. (It’s Jeremy’s birthday, so come out and celebrate.) For more information, see https://jeremybernsteinmusic.com. Tickets can be had at woodstockfilmfestival.com or at bearsvilletheater.com or by calling 679-4406.
