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, Nanci Griffith, Traci Chapman, Fred Small, Mary Chapin Carpenter and
others." (Bethlehem Star)
"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)
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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.
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.”
For booking and info:
610.821.0558