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Richard Sirota is a man reeling from renewed relevance. After a long drought folk music is flowering once again having changed its name to singer-songwriter. "...and Sirota is one of the finest exponents of the genre. He intertwines the hopeful cynicism and lapsed idealism of his original material with covers of classics by Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Leonard Cohen, Stan Rogers, Jerry Garcia, Peter Paul & Mary and dozens of others while championing the works of the new vanguard like John Gorka, Nancy Griffith, Traci Chapman, Fred Small, Mary Chapin Carpenter and others." (Bethlehem Star) |
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"Rick considers his music to be a give and take process where the song
drags both the performer and the listener out of their shells. They leave one
with the feeling that despite the pain, the insecurity and the suffering we are
not alone. There is almost a Lennonesque feel of universality." (R.
Webster-Pascal Press) A guitarist for the past thirty-three years he began performing at thirteen in his native New York City before moving to the Lehigh Valley at seventeen where his first local appearance was a live performance from the WSAN broadcast booth at the 1971 Greater Allentown Fair. He spent the early and middle seventies touring the regional colleges as a solo folk performer largely covering the artists and songs of the day and becoming a well-known and well-received folk singer. |
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He has also been a bassist for some twenty-very odd years in a number of area bands. In 1975 he helped to put together an original folk-rock-kitchen sink band called Penumbra, which over its ten-year run gained a modest cult following in the Valley. When that band dissolved with the death of co-founder Lawrence Lo Pinto Sirota moved on to other bands, among them: The Bleeding Fuzzies, Ground Zero, Maybe Monday, Cozmic Blue, No Dogs Allowed, Triple Play and Eros Rising. Playing bass, he admits, has been a real joy. Bass has taught me so much, has allowed me to play so many styles of music." He describes himself as a singer-songwriter with grounding in many musical disciplines. He has thrice appeared at Bethlehem's Musikfest, twice at Allentown's Mayfair and often at other festivals and street fairs throughout the region. His music has been featured on radio and television stations across northeastern Pennsylvania including three performances on WVIA's "Homegrown Music" w/George Graham, three spots on WMUH's "Thru The Wireless" and "Live From The Red Door" and has the distinction of being the only local artist Featured on WSAN's "Best of the Roxy", a retrospective of the station's Roxy Theater concert series. Last year he released his premier CD "Stand Your Ground" which he recorded with friend and percussionist Mark Davis. "Music is my purpose, my comfort and my friend." |
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For booking and info:
610.821.0558
ricksir@123mail.net