The Books will be at MASS MoCA on May 6 and 712:00AM / Monday, May 01, 2006
Because of strong demand, MASS MoCA has added a second performance of The Books, for Sunday, May 7th. Long scheduled as a part of the museum’s spring line-up of Alternative Cabaret performances, the duo’s Saturday, May 6, 8 P.M. performance has nearly sold out, prompting the museum to add a Sunday, May 7, performance at 7 P.M. Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong are rising national music stars and hometown heroes known for their unique blend of sampled and acoustic music.
Their performances at MASS MoCA will also include a video projection lovingly synched to the music, assembled from a growing collection they’ve made of found home movies, outdated instructional videos, and hippie guru lectures.
“We suspected they’d be popular,” said Sue Killam, Managing Director of Performing Arts and Film, “but we had no idea the depth and breadth of their following. As soon as they went on sale, tickets started flying, and we really didn’t advertise outside of the brochure. If you tried to get a ticket for the Saturday performance, give it another shot.”
With three albums under their belts The Books use an acoustic backbone of cello, guitar and vocals. Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong met in 2000 through a friend when they were living in the same New York City apartment building. Coming from vastly different backgrounds, they soon learned they had a shared love of acoustic music and found sound. They experimented and plunked away until, with some urging by Tom Steinle of Tomlab Records, they recorded what would become their debut album, Thought for Food, in 2002.
The Books recorded and released The Lemon of Pink in the fall of 2003 and a year later began recording in an old Victorian home in North Adams, Massachusetts. With the release of Lost and Safe in April 2005, the Books departed from the “folktranica” sound they pioneered in their first two efforts, incorporating a new set of instrumental sounds, including vintage clavinet, as well as homemade electro-acoustic sound sculptures made from drainpipes, filing cabinets, and circular metal plates but still in keeping with their now trademark collaged and organic sound.
The performances are supported in part by a grant from the Artists' Resource Trust, a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Tickets for The Books are $14 in advance or $17 the day of the concert. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org . |
