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Music Cafe artists switch up styles

Two veteran acts try something different by playing unplugged, covers.

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By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer 11:41 AM Friday, March 19, 2010

HAMILTON — Music Cafe’s next serving on March 23 will include two veteran acts taking on a slightly different flavor.

One of those is Rick Street, a Cincinnati-based musician who usually performs with backing tracks. Not this time, however.

“For a change, this will be just me sitting down at the piano. Rick Street unplugged,” he said.

Music Cafe lists him as a folk performer, but that’s not entirely correct, he said.

“I would say it’s kind of a fusion of rock and jazz. It’s a combination of things,” he said. He will be playing his original songs next Tuesday.

The musician also has decided to go with a less unique last name than his given one, Tallarigo.

“It was something I developed because it was always being mispronounced or misspelled, so I decided to pick something straightforward,” Street said.

Whatever one chooses to call him, Street said that Music Cafe has been able to change people’s perceptions of music. “It’s converted them, or they’ve looked for a unique way of doing music,” he said.

Also in for a makeover of sorts is the Bromwell-Diehl band. At previous Music Cafes, the trio has performed original songs, and they will again Tuesday. But for this concert, they’ve added some covers of artists such as Roseanne Cash and The Beatles.

“We’d been playing all originals from the beginning, and came back around because great songs deserve to be heard,” said Elaine Diehl, singer and guitarist.

The Beatles covers include “Here Comes the Sun,” which already is largely acoustic. The band also plays the 1964 song “You Can’t Do That,” which had a fairly heavy rock arrangement. It allows the group a chance to put its own stamp on the song, Diehl said.

Also in the group are Paul Bromwell, guitarist and songwriter, and Jan Diehl, who plays bass, flute, sax and clarinet.

Also on the Music Cafe bill are folk singer Mark Cormican, pop singer Keith May, and a fifth act that was undetermined at press time.

Music Cafe starts at  7 p.m. at the Benninghofen Theatre inside the Fitton Center. The event is free.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.