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Lights at Sagebrush
By Staff Writer

Journey's songs are back in style, and the most authentic tribute band introducing them to a new generation is Lights. Back by popular demand, Lights will be performing a line-up of Journey's power ballads at the Sagebrush Cantina on Friday, September 18.

Lights' lead singer Juan Del Castillo is known for his ability to “sound just like Steve Perry,” expressed one fan who came to the last Lights' night at the cantina, which drew a crowd of 800.”Maybe better,” replied his friend.The band's following continues to grow with thousands of fans following the band's performances around Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Sagebrush Cantina booking manager Dean Delorenzo says that Lights is in the tribute band elite, bringing concert-sized crowds to the restaurant's large outdoor patio. “We do tributes once a month and some bands like Lights draw crowds like the real deal.”
Tribute nights at the Sagebrush Cantina have no cover and all ages may attend. Live music begins at 5:30 pm with Knucklehead. During September, the cantina will be featuring Modela Especial and Negra Modelo beers on draft.

Maree McRae: Urgency
By Staff Writer

Colorado-based singer/songwriter Maree McRae is back and stronger than ever… She knows what it takes to make music that touches the heart with lyrics that reach the soul. It wasn't long after working as lead singer and multi-instrumentalist for Rocky Mountain region's Cadillac Ranch, that Maree McRae decided to go solo. After a successful debut album, and taking a break from her career to tend to her ill son, McRae is back with her highly anticipated sophomore album, "Urgency." After being released nationally on August 3, 2009, her single "Breeze" was #1 most added on radio.

The comeback started when multi-platinum producer, Wyatt East-erling (head of A&R for Atlantic Records) heard McRae's new writing, and gave an opportunity she could not pass up-a chance to record in Nashville. With the help of triple Grammy award-winning engineer, Mark Capps, Maree created a new disc made up of 12 original tracks that stay true to a variety of styles from Americana/Folk Pop to Adult Cont-emporary. The honest album includes an assortment of world-class players including: Bonnie Raitt's longtime guitarist, George Marinelli, Alison Prestwood (Shawn Colvin, Jessica Simpson), John Gardner, (Jewel, Dixie Chicks), Catherine Marx (Alison Krause, Reba, Kelly Clarkson), and many more. In addition, Dan Dugmore (James Taylor, Pointer Sister, Stevie Nicks, Michael McDonald, Linda Ronstadt) adds his classic guitar sound.

McRae self composed all tracks on this sensational project. The variety of moving styles and songs keeps the listener's ear. Each tune stands strong and was written and recorded with permeating emotion. Maree's emotions pour out in her work, and her ability to do so seemingly without effort is a unique gift.

What's interesting to know is that McRae wrote the single and album title, "Urgency," when walking out of the hospital on the day that her son was diagnosed with CVID. It speaks of a sense of "urgency" that there is no time to waste, that life is on a timer ticking away. Because of this universal message she creates in this song, McRae was offered and accepted the role of International Music Ambassador for the Colon Cancer Awareness Foundation.

In addition to this title track, Do It for Love, Speak your Mind, and Let Go, all have deeper meanings. Maree prides herself in having made a sophomore album that is void of "fluff." Every song is a song that she is proud of. However, It's a Shame and Until I met You, are more fun with an easygoing vibe. These more upbeat tracks keep the album balanced with the emotional heavier songs that are laced within.

The last song on the album, Who Knows, is one that McRae holds close to her heart. McRae dedicates this song to her son, Stephen, and speaks of his illness and their journey to today. When she recorded this song she had a picture of her son with her, and it kept her focused on the story she needed to tell the world. Although the song is for her son, Maree wanted to be able to reach out to others who have had similar experiences. It is about illness, and about doing anything for the ones we love, about wanting to put ourselves in their position to stop their suffering. Not only are Maree's lyrics close to her own heart, but have also touched many who have heard her meaningfully passionate songs and related them to their own lives.

Maree McRae's new album "Urgency" can be found via CD Baby online and McRae's successful single "Breeze" can be heard on the radio. Arguably McRae's best work yet, and something that fans of heartfelt soulful tunes should not miss. Please visit her online at:www.mareemcrae.com

“Diary of a Catholic School Dropout” at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre is a Powerful Play
By Debra Graff

“Diary of a Catholic School Dropout,” winner of the 2005 Artistic Achievement Award for Best Play, and written by NAACP and ADA Award Winner, Layon Gray, opened last Sunday at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre in NoHo.

Each month for the past six years, a new group of actresses has brought this play to life. The story is about eight girls in their early twenties, with different backgrounds, who relive their last hour leading up to a horrific event. Directed by Victoria Rabitcheff, the current cast includes Carina Christmas, Christina Dunbar, Courtney Hawkins, Alexander Laverick and Rachel Riley, Maxie Solters, Rochelle Stelter, Slobhan Whitbread, and Raluca Zamfir. This cast marks number 102, making it LA' s longest continuously running play. A movie version is coming soon to the big screen.

Playwrite Gray told me that “Diary” is a personal piece loosely based on a childhood friend who committed suicide, because the pressure of being sexually and mentally abused, drove her to the point where death was the safest place for her. “Diary” has become “a prerequisite for every new female actor to LA. It takes a special actor to be able to relive these characters each week. Everything is revealed in the play, nothing is held back.”

Many of the cast members, who have been through some kind of abuse or neglect, have been helped by being in the play, allowing them to confront and talk about things they've kept secret for years. Even members who have not been through abuse themselves know someone who has and are greatly influenced by the content. Gray said, “I feel proud, to know my words can change a person's life for the best.”

The Whitmore Lindley Theater is the perfect venue for this very intimate abstract play because the space is small, the seats are literally on the stage, and everyone in the audience becomes part of the experience. It's profound for the actors to be able to look right into the eyes of the spectators, while presenting intense emotions. Gray says, “We put the audience on a roller coaster and say hold on. Throughout the play tears flow on and off the stage.” On Sunday, after the cast took their final bows accompanied by extended applause, there was complete silence for a long time, before anyone moved. You could feel the intensity in the room and that every person had been affected in a significant way. With themes of rape, incest, verbal abuse, abandonment, loneliness, and suicide, it's impossible not to be touched by the stories.

Director, Rabitcheff, has enjoyed collaborating with the diverse cast and guiding them in finding their own personal connections with their characters. She believes that even though the play reveals a darker side to the coming of age genre, it has a “very important message behind it that everyone can relate to.” Cast member, Solters, said that many of the “topics brought up in the show are awful and you don't want to think about or talk about them, but they happen, and as an actor, you have to be able to make them real for yourself.” For Laverick, a London trained actress, this is her LA stage debut, and she has enjoyed meeting and becoming friends with the talented women in the cast.

Gray believes that many men have been affected by the play even though it's about a woman's last hour before her demise. “It's the perfect after show dinner conversation, and until we address and deal with the universal problem of abuse, many of our children will continue to suffer.”

This amazing interpretive work is a reminder of the value of breaking the cycle of abuse wherever and whenever we can and by attending such a potent and compelling performance and sharing it with others, we are taking an important step towards that goal.

Limited seats sell out fast so get your tickets today.

$20 at the door/$12 online at www.layongray.ticketleap.com

Sundays at 3pm, Sept. 13th, 20th, and 27th.

Whitmore-Lindley Theatre
11006 Magnolia Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
(818)761-0704

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