FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 8/18/09
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
304-258-2300 • www.macicehouse.org
For interview call Scooter Scudieri – 304-268-4014

PHOTOS AVAILABLE

REVOLUTIONARY PERFORMANCE ART IN BERKELEY SPRINGS

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- Scooter Scudieri stages his original performance art piece Rattle to Rifle at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia at 7:30pm on three Saturday nights: September 12th, 19th and 26th.   The Morgan Arts Council (MAC) produces the revolutionary musical sermon as the performance centerpiece of its monthlong celebration Bringing Peace Home.

Scudieri,  an award winning musician, artist and activist,  appears in the multi-media concert as Jezum Crow, an eight foot tall preacher of humanity who delivers a powerful and controversial message about religion, politics, love and war.   Performing on stilts in full makeup and costume, Scudieri incorporates giant puppets, paintings, and video projection into a swirling spectacle of political activism built around 19 of his original and thought-provoking songs.   Rattle to Rifle is based on his album of the same name released in 2008.

Both the album and the performance art piece grew from a single song: Mother of God.  “As I performed it,  audience reaction was overwhelming.  I began to move the sentiment in a different direction.  My music has never been mainstream but always ‘catchy’.  I felt the surreal theatrics would help the lyrics and message be better absorbed,”   says Scudieri.   He reports that creating the Rattle to Rifle audiences will see at the Ice House took nearly five years. “I had to learn a lot to do this,” he says.   “How to create giant puppets, shoot and edit video, and play a keyboard among other things.”

Describing the spectacle as a surreal experience that could be seen as Kiss meets John Lennon, Scudieri explains that  “the songs have meaningful and thoughtful lyrics like acoustic rock but it’s really the theatrics that brings it home to people.”   Scudieri aims to move the audience beyond their belief systems, allowing them to connect in a new way.  “The essential premise is that we all want peace, but we just can't agree on what it means.”

The show has evolved since its debut in 2008 in part because the political climate in the country has changed.  “We’re still involved in two wars and there are still fanatics trying to control the dialogue,” says Scudieri, “but it seems easier to connect and bring people together.”    The show has a high emotional volume and its rhythm moves the audience from darkness and despair to hope.   “I have hope in my fellow humans,” says Scudieri.  “Otherwise what are the choices for our children?  Endless war?”   He affirms that the message of the art piece is pure and simple: “love everyone.”

A unique part of MAC’s Back To Our Roots yearlong celebration, Scudieri attended Berkeley Springs High School and now lives in Shepherdstown.  He has become a respected international artist by utilizing the internet as a means of musical communication, all without an agent, manager or record company backing. In his own words, he uses “music as a message of peace and the Internet as a means to connect us all.”The quality of his music is reflected in the awards he has received, including aTelley Award, a 2004 Golden Web Award and a 2008 Independent Music Award for his encore song Jesus and Muhammad (The Kissing Song) which is in the performance. Scudieri was also selected by the Songwriters Hall of Fame as 2003’s Best of the New Writers and opened for Jewel in her 2002-2003 Wild Wild West Tour.

In addition to the performances of Rattle to Rifle at the Ice House, there is the Bringing Peace Home  gallery show as well as other public art performances of music, dance and spoken word.  For a full schedule of MAC events, check online at  www.macicehouse.org

The Rattle to Rifle performances are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia Commission on the Arts and hotel taxes from Morgan County and the town of Bath.  Tickets may be purchased at the door or by calling the Ice House at 304-258-2300.  For more information about Scooter and his efforts on the front lines of the music revolution visit online at www.FirstRockStar.com.