D2

The Record, Troy, New York

Live & Lively

Thursday, October 11, 2001

Annie and Jonny Rosen of Annie

and the Hedonists met each other in

Milwaukee almost 20 years ago.

“When I saw Annie on the stage, I

fell in love,” says Jonny.

The way they worked with each

other in our interview offers just a

hint at the harmony you can expect

from both their Saturday concert at

Eighth Step in Cohoes and their

debut CD, “Side of the Road.”

When I asked Jonny if his initial

reaction to Annie was love at first

hearing, she coached, “Careful, Jon.”

He immediately recovered.

“The beauty of her voice only

reflects the beauty of her soul.”

“Nice one, Jonny,” she cooed.

Then, he cinched it. “Once I heard

her voice, I knew I had to check out

the person and the being behind that

voice. And I found out the person is

every bit as beautiful as the voice.”

Annie and Jonny are half of a

group that includes a second hus-

band and wife team, Steve and Betsy

Fry. Together for 10 years, their

public performing has taken a back

seat to the raising of children.

“We’ve been practicing for 10 years

in the living room, in the kitchen and

the bathroom,” says Jonny.

That said, it’s a credit to their

talent, that the few public perform-

ances they have done have been in

prestigious venues such as Caffe

Lena, Saratoga’s Victorian Stroll

and Eighth Step.

“Side of The Road” also reflects a

maturity, style and ,joy-de-vivre

uncommon for a group with so little

experience onstage. Their back-

porch sessions and rubbing shoulders

with seasoned musicians such as

Jack Hume in the Pickin’ Singin’

Gatherin’ Society, as well as produc-

er Don Person, has stood them well.

“Side of The Road” is an incredi-

bly eclectic folk album that puts spir-

ited new arrangements of Christine

Mc Vie and Lucinda Williams songs

next to gospel shouts, labor ballads

and and torchy blues-mamma stan-

dards. Both Annie and Jonny have

eclectic musical backgrounds.

“Yeah, we love all different kinds

of music,” says Annie. “I mean, I

love early jazz. I love Motown. I

love bluegrass. I love the torch

songs, like Billie Holiday. There’s

so much great music out there and

so little time. There’s a lot of great

stuff out there.”

“When I was a kid growing up,”

adds Jonny, “my father collected all

the great old jazz, blues and folk

records. He’s got thousands of them

on all the old 78 rpm records. So, I

grew up hearing Ella Fitzgerald

and Louis Armstrong, as well as

people like Woody Guthrie,

Leadbelly and Josh White.”

“I think people love the singing

and harmony and the rhythms, and

Annie’s singing is really something,”

says Jonny as an explanation for their

short but impressive resumé. “And

it’s pretty unique,” chimes in partner

Annie. “Steve Fry is amazing. This

guy plays the trumpet, the piano, the

guitar, the mandolin and all these

instruments really masterly.”

The Frys have an Il-year-old

daughter named Amanda Lynn — a

mandolin, get it?

There is a thread of dry humor

running through their music. It

swings with a wink. Even their name

telegraphs a saucy attitude.

“There’s no specific story (con-

cerning the name),” says Jonny, “but

I think you’re right about the dry

humor. If people want to see the

hedonism, all they have to do is

invite us over for dinner. We like

Italian, and we’re big on desserts.”

“Very big on desserts,” adds

Annie, “chocolate desserts!”

They chose Gentle Wind Records’

Don Person to produce their CD.

“We’ve done a couple of chil-

dren’s CDs through Gentle Wind,

and we did one scholastic, K through

3 I think it was, the alphabet. We did

that and had a cassette and a big flip

chart,” explains Annie.

“It was geared for K through 3,”

says Jonny. “And it was a pretty

creative project. They had hired a

couple to write new words to old

nursery rhymes.

It was done alphabetically, and

then they hired our group to do the-

music. Actually, it also featured on

numbers (our daughter) Hannah

Rosen who’s not a permanent mem-

bers of Annie and the Hedonists.”

The group plans to expand its

performing calendar with the

release of “Side of The Road.”

Jonny, for one, is ready. “Ten

years ago, Steve Fry said to us,

‘Think how much better we’ll

sound in 10 years.’ He was right!”

Nationally renowned dobro and

guitar player Kevin Maul joins

Annie and The Hedonists both on the

CD and at Saturday’s performance at

the Eighth Step at Cohoes Music

Hall, 8 Remsen Street in Cohoes.

Tickets are $12, available by reserva-

tion or advance Visa/Master Card

charge at 434-1703 or online at

www.eighthstep.com.