INTERVIEW: Travis Moser makes Green Room 42 debut with Linda Ronstadt retrospective
Renowned cabaret artist Travis Moser will be diving deep into the songbook of Linda Ronstadt for a special tribute concert at The Green Room 42 in Midtown Manhattan. The June 20 show will feature Moser plus a variety of special guests, including Molly Pope, Cathy Cervenka, Daryl Glenn and Jack Bartholet.
Ronstadt, of course, is the famous singer behind such classics as “You’re No Good,” “It’s So Easy,” “Don’t Know Much” and “Blue Bayou,” among many others. She doesn’t tour anymore because of health reasons, but audience members can check out Moser’s curated evening that pays loving tribute to the artist.
“Basically, I’ve been a longtime devotee of Linda Ronstadt and all the genres she’s covered, so this retrospective is a lot of downtown cabaret concert people doing brand-new arrangements of a lot of her best-known and best-loved songs from throughout her career,” Moser said in a recent phone interview. “[It’s] performed with a full band put together by my musical director, Drew Wutke, and some stories about why we chose the songs, where they came in her career, what albums they were on.”
Moser has been a fan of Ronstadt’s many hit songs ever since he was 12 years old and a dedicated subscriber to the now-defunct Columbia House Music Club. Many music fans will remember clubs such as this one: A sampling of CDs would come to the house for virtually no money at all.
Moser, who was also a young fan of musical theater, received one particular CD in the mail that forever changed his musical tastes.
“When I was younger, I was really obsessed with musical theater and Bobby Short and standards and classic films, so I didn’t know a lot about pop music or rock music or country or anything,” he said. “I just happened to get one of Linda Ronstadt’s albums whenever you could choose your eight or 10 CDs because I liked the cover, and the first album was Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, which is the Aaron Neville ‘Don’t Know Much’ album. She has a really theatrical voice, and so from that album, I got really interested in her music. It helped me branch out to find new types of music, and it got me interested in learning about singer-songwriters. So I’ve been a fan of hers for many years.”
For this tribute show, Moser was first thinking about putting together an evening of Jimmy Webb music. However, he soon realized he could hit two songbooks with one stone. Ronstadt, after all, performed many of Webb’s tunes over the years.
“I felt like why not just do a show of all Linda Ronstadt music, so I can do some of the music that I love about her and also the Jimmy Webb songs,” he said. “I had a chance to go to the opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival documentary about her life, which just premiered a couple weeks ago, which has made me fall even more love with her and her career, and so she’s always someone that has been an influence on me singing-wise and having eclectic taste in styles of music. She’s someone I listen to. Even while I’m preparing for the show, I’ll remember songs. Even though I’m kind of Linda’d-out to a certain extent because of all the rehearsals and whatnot, a song that I’m performing will remind me of something else, and before I know it, I’ll be listening to another album of hers.”
Moser, who has similarly crafted an evening and album that pays tribute to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, was unable to see one of Ronstadt’s full concerts because the performer stopped touring a few years ago. However, he was in the audience when she came to town for the release of her memoir. Moser remembers her taking questions and talking about her music.
“She even did at that time sing a little bit,” he remembers. “I did see her live, but I didn’t get to see one of her full concerts live.”
The venue for the June 20 concert is the up-and-coming Green Room 42, which attracts the talents of many musical artists and Broadway stars. Moser has performed at most of the cabaret venues in New York City, including Feinstein’s/54 Below, Joe’s Pub and the Metropolitan Room, but this will be his debut at The Green Room 42.
“I think it’s a really, really great space,” Moser said. “Besides the Carlyle, I’ve pretty much played every cabaret venue in New York, and the thing I like about Green Room 42 is that it’s a really modern, cool space. And the one really nice thing that’s so rare in the cabaret concert world …Green Room 42 doesn’t have a food or beverage minimum, so you can go and get drinks and food or whatever you want. But you don’t have to.”
He added: “It kind of brings in a younger crowd, an audience that’s willing to explore and maybe see something that they’re not sure if they like or not because they don’t have as much of an investment in it. It’s a really cool space that has a lot of Broadway performers. … It’s a little more accessible for people that want to try new shows, new music, and I love that about it.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Travis Moser’s Just One Look: The Songs of Linda Ronstadt will play Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. at The Green Room 42 in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
