{"id":26899,"date":"2022-11-07T09:06:37","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T14:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=26899"},"modified":"2022-11-07T09:06:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T14:06:40","slug":"on-stage-extra-julia-othmer-returns-to-the-delaware-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=26899","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: Julia Othmer returns to the Delaware Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Julia Othmer<\/p><\/div>\n

In some ways, there are many similarities between Julia Othmer and Andy Reid.<\/p>\n

Both are Kansas City residents and are loved in that city.<\/p>\n

Both are former Philadelphia residents and are still loved in this city.<\/p>\n

Both excel at what they do and have built a legion of fans around the world over the last two decades.<\/p>\n

Reid may be more well-known \u2013 because he is an NFL coach who has won the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

Othmer, meanwhile, has carved out an impressive career as a singer, songwriter and keyboardist.<\/p>\n

In a recent post on her Facebook page, Othmer wrote, \u201cI\u2019ve been on a bit of an adventure over in the U.K., Prague, Sweden and Germany — playing some shows, some festivals,\u00a0writing, working on some collaborative arts projects, exploring my roots, going on adventures. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow I’m back in the States and here\u2019s what’s coming up! For anyone attending the NERFA Music Conference, I have my private showcases there. AND I\u2019m finally playing again in the Philly area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Othmer\u2019s much anticipated return to the Delaware Valley will be a show on November 7 at The Living Room & Cricket Caf\u00e9 (104 Cricket Avenue, Ardmore, livingroomardmore.com<\/a>). The venue is Laura Mann\u2019s latest musical venture.<\/p>\n

Mann is a talented singer-songwriter who has been a staple in the Philly music scene for years. She is also a music venue owner who, in recent years, has had two \u201cLiving Room\u201d venues in Ardmore. They now have been replaced by the brand-new listening room — The Living Room and Cricket Cafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to be coming back to the East Coast,\u201d said Othmer, during a phone interview last week from her home in a Kansas City suburb.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t been there since COVID hit. I decided to do NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance). I decided to look for a show venue and Laura Mann said — come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are three major cities in\u00a0Othmer\u2019s life \u2013 Kansas City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Kansas City is where she was born and raised. Philadelphia was where her career as a singer\/songwriter\/keyboardist came to life. Los Angeles was her home for most of the last decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started doing Livestream shows during COVID when I was in L.A.,\u201d said Othmer. \u201cI did a concert every Saturday night from my front lawn, and we\u2019d Livestream them. I also did daytime streams from the studio for listeners from different time zones. Now, it will be nice to meet new faces from concerts I did during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time Othmer performed locally was when she toured in support of her \u201cSound\u201d album, which was released on April 12, 2019.<\/p>\n

The album was recorded in Los Angeles with composer-producer James \u201cJT\u201d Lundie. It was produced, recorded, engineered, arranged, mixed and mastered by Lundie at Frickin’ Awesome Studios in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The album credits list \u2013 Othmer: vocals, piano, Rhodes, piano, organ, accordion, tambourine, shakers, piano strings, foot stomps and hand claps; Lundie: \u201cAlmost everything else including guitar, slide guitar, bass, charango, ukulele, synthesizers, organ, tambourine, shakers, programming, hand claps and foot stomps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a Kickstarter campaign to get the time and space to make the album I really wanted to make,\u201d said\u00a0Othmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames and I made a promise not to stop until we got what we wanted. It was a garage studio album. James has his own studio, and it\u2019s a great studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundie was Othmer\u2019s one-and-only choice for the job. She pursued the goal relentlessly. And she got the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept banging on his door,\u201d said Othmer. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t leave him alone until he agreed to produce my album. We created the \u2018Sound\u2019 album together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Othmer not only got \u201cthe man,\u201d she got \u201cher man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJames is now my creative partner \u2013 and my husband,\u201d said Othmer.<\/p>\n

Last year, Othmer was one of only six artists chosen to represent the USA for Global Music Match 2021 — a selection of 78 artists from four continents who are collaborating with and sharing one another\u2019s work<\/p>\n

Using music to connect to people and social issues inspires Othmer\u2019s work.\u00a0 Recent projects include \u201cSongs of September,\u201d a 30-day online voter registration drive concert series resulting in \u201cSeeds, Volume 1\u201d, which is a listener-curated collection of her live piano-driven performances of songs of change, protest and hope.\u00a0 \u201cSeeds, Volume 2\u201d was released on the spring equinox – March 20, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames and I wanted to figure out how to make the world a better place,\u201d said Othmer. \u201cSo, we did the voters\u2019 rights project. We released a new song every day the month of September.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first CD Othmer released was \u201cLive at the Tin Angel\u201d CD, which was recorded in October 2002. In 2004,\u00a0Othmer\u00a0was nominated at the Philly Music Awards for \u201cBest Female Entertainer\u201d, \u201cBest Female Vocalist\u201d and \u201cBest Keyboardist\u201d. Her most recent album was \u201cOasis Hotel,\u201d which was released in 2006.<\/p>\n

Tracks from \u201cOasis Motel\u201d have been featured on such shows as \u201cWitches of East End,\u201d \u201cSwitched at Birth,\u201d \u201cThe Lying Game,\u201d \u201cArmy Wives,\u201d \u201cParty of Five,\u201d and \u201cDeGrassi: The Next Generation\u201d and earned her songwriting awards from the Billboard World Song Contest and the International Songwriting Competition.<\/p>\n

After waiting for more than a decade for a new album,\u00a0Othmer\u2019s fans were treated to a stellar new LP release in spring 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 10 songs on \u2018Sounds\u2019 and they come from a variety of eras,\u201d said\u00a0Othmer. \u201cThe album\u2019s 10 songs tell a story. It has an arc.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusically, the songs are very intimate, honest and immediate. The production is lush. We created a lot of soundscapes. The songs are really different. But they hang together well.\u201d<\/p>\n

As good as\u00a0Othmer\u00a0is in the studio, she is even better in stage.\u00a0Othmer\u00a0is known for her energetic live performances \u2013 and her powerful expressive voice.<\/p>\n

Facing the audience while playing her keyboard,\u00a0Othmer\u00a0is a bundle of energy unleashed. She delivers each song with intensity and rarely stays seated for long. When the music starts, she never holds back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of projects going on right now,\u201d said Othmer. \u201cOne is a global project highlighting seven parts of the world \u2013 the music and the language. I also have a new album in the works but it\u2019s not ready. There will be new music in the spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my live set now, I play at least a few songs from the early days. I\u2019m very open to satisfying what my fans want to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Julia\u00a0Othmer\u00a0\u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/1JdpYBMdUVM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at The Living Room & Cricket Caf\u00e9 on November 7 will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at The Living Room & Cricket Caf\u00e9 are Kricket Comedy Night on November 8, \u201cYour Voice, Your Night: Open Mic\u201d hosted by Larry Ahearn on November 9, \u201cJazz Night with Chico Huff & Friends\u201d on November 10, solo show by Eric Bazilian of the Hooters on November 11, and NRBQ on November 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0 In some ways, there are many similarities between Julia Othmer and Andy Reid. Both are Kansas City residents and are loved in that city. Both are former Philadelphia residents and are still loved in this city. Both excel at what they do and have built a legion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4357],"tags":[3162,7379,10782],"class_list":["post-26899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-julia-othmer","tag-the-living-room-cricket-cafe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26900,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26899\/revisions\/26900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}