Postmodern Jukebox returns to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on Friday
TROY, N.Y. >> It’s intriguing to realize that one of the most popular groups to honor the musical styles of the past exists mostly because of modern technology.
On Friday, Postmodern Jukebox returns to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. They are the musical group that takes contemporary songs and performs them in the music style of previous decades. They take contemporary songs by the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Arrowsmith and even Justin Bieber to make them sound like jazz, swing or ragtime.
The man behind PMJ is Scott Bradlee, a once struggling jazz musician whowas trying to make a living in NYC. One day, back is 2011, he invited a group of friends to his Astoria, Queens apartment. They dressed in vintage attire and played a popular song he rearranged to sound like a 1940s jazz ballad. He posted it to YouTube and it went crazy.
The following week they did it again with the same results. They still post a new video to YouTube every week. Their hits on YouTube number more than a billion, and they have 3.5-million subscribers. The also promote well on Facebook where they have 1.7-million fans. They are now a “super group”, thanks to technological exposure.
Fun fact: their video of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” was taped on the Troy Music Hall stage during last year’s sold out appearance there. Friday’s show will be their third appearance at the Hall. The first was in 2014, when they first started touring.
PMJ considers itself a “collaborative” of musical artists. There are more than 80 singers and as many musicians who alternate on video shoots and live performances. However, when the group tours they travel with about 18 singers and musicians.
Dani Armstrong has been a member of the collaborative for several years. This is her third tour. In a recent telephone interview, she says she is anxious to return to Troy because the city reminds her of her hometown of Detroit. “It’s so exciting to see old industrial towns coming back to life to remind people what they used to be.”
When it was suggested she might have been speaking of the music offered in her show, she laughed and said that one the joys of performing with PMJ was the way audiences dress in period for the event. “You look out and see spangles and glitter. Women dress as flappers and some guys even wear zoot suits. It is so cool.”
The performers are also dressed in period clothes. This show takes place during the 1920s and is set in a speakeasy. “It’s conducive to a party atmosphere. Though there is a structure to our shows, the term applies in only the loosest sense of its meaning,” she says with a laugh.
Another thing that impresses her about their audience is its diversity of age. “Last week at one show we had a four-year old boy come on stage, the next night we had an elderly grandfather. I love that the young people fall in love with jazz and swing after they hear it. I also love that older members of our audiences are introduced to contemporary songs that might be new to them.”
Ms. Armstrong feels there is another plus performing with PMJ. “It’s such a liberating experience. I feel transported to another era every night. It’s like time travel. We blend the old with the new to cre- ate a great party for the performers and for the audience.”
Postmodern Juke Box, 8 p.m. Troy Music Hall in Troy. For tickets and information call (518) 273- 0038, or go to troymusichall.org