Episode 8

M57 Straight From Delancey

THE CAST & CREW

Mary Foster Conklin – Vocalist

Tom Dempsey – Guitarist

Yuri Lemeshev – Accordionist

Tobi Elkin – Journalist

John Smith – Actor/ Singer

Laura Foulke – Singer/ Songwriter/ Artist

Richard Stein – Actor/ Comedian

Nyla Lamees – Hosting Brave Women’s segment

Helene Gresser – Comedian/Actor

Katya Lapaeva – Vocalist

With ELLEN KAYE, ETHAN FEIN & THE M57 BAND

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BROWN – Bass
Kory Grossman – Drums
* * *
SETH GOLDMAN & ELLEN KAYE – HOSTS
ETHAN FEIN – MUSICAL DIRECTOR/ ARRANGER/ GUITAR/ BANJO
BILL MOSS – ENGINEER
EDDIE GONZALEZ – PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
ELLE BRIGIDA – PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
MICHAEL SUSKO – SHOW DIRECTOR

Mary Foster Conklin

Her voice is smoky with a tart twist of lemon. Her style has been described as recognizably traditional yet unmistakably contemporary, as she puts her personal stamp on a repertoire that spans over nine decades. She has appeared in theaters, jazz clubs and cabarets in the metropolitan New York area and throughout the United States and Canada. In New York, Conklin’s talents have earned her a place on the stages of The Blue Note, The Iridium Jazz Club, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The Metropolitan Room and the Triad Theater. She can also be seen from time to time singing off various fire escapes as The Lady in the Red Dress with the notorious Renegade Cabaret. Visit Mary’s website at www.maryfosterconklin.com for more info.

Tom Dempsey

Guitarist Tom Dempsey’s reputation in the New York jazz scene for hard swinging sophistication and pure musicality have made him a distinct voice in the New York Jazz Scene. In recent years Tom has performed and/or recorded with a virtual “Who’s Who” of world renowned jazz musicians including: Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Jim Hall, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, Tal Farlow, Buddy Montgomery, George Coleman, Kenny Barron, Roy Haynes, Jack McDuff, Bobby McFerrin, Gerald Wilson, Mel Torme, Richard Wyands, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Dave Brubeck. Read More>

Yuri Lemeshev: Accordionist

Lemeshev was born on the island of Sakhalin, RSFSR, Soviet Union. He emigrated to the United States in 1989, and became well known in New York City’s East Village for his performances in bistros, wearing various hats and wigs. He has shared the stage and/or recorded with Nicole Renaud, Greg Wall, Mary Wooten and Matt Darriau, and worked as a trio called Tridruga with bassist Tony Scherr and guitarist Brad Shepik. In 2001, he joined Gogol Bordello. He also started a duo with theremin player Pamelia Kurstin in 2007.

Tobi Elkin

Tobi Elkin is a journalist, editor and interviewer with deep experience writing about digital marketing and media trends and has interviewed hundreds of marketers and C-level executives for business publications. For the last few years, she’s led reporting and market insights for a research company named eMarketer. As a freelance writer, she’s written on a variety of arts and culture topics for The Lo-Down (based right here in M57’s LES backyard; her latest piece profiled the prolific stylist and costume designer Patricia Field), Narratively, the AP, The Huffington Post, Robb Report, Heeb and The Reeler. She also was the founding editorial director for a startup called First Wives World where she worked for the producers of a Broadway show based on the film “First Wives Club”.

John Smith

Born in Baltimore. raised in Houston has been a full time member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus since 1997. He has performed in over 2,900 performances of over 70 different operas in 6 languages. He began his singing career in a production of Carousel with Houston Grand Opera in 1990. He has also performed with New York City Opera. He has been recording for over a last decade.

Laura Foulke

Laura Foulke wrote, directed and produced her first show at the age of six and has been chewing the scenery ever since. A singer/songwriter living on the Lower East Side, Laura has appeared in a wide variety of New York theaters and musical venues, including the Rodeo Bar, the Mercury Lounge, Arlene’s Grocery, the Angel Orensanz Foundation, the Ludlow Cafe’, and Windows on the World.

Richard Stein

Richard Stein has built his remarkable career on a single tenet: that hair should be free to go its own way. Free to swing straight or curl close, free from curlers and clips, sprays and gels. Free to be as nature intended. It is a credo learned at the hand of his mentor, Sixties icon Vidal Sassoon, and it has garnered for Richard Stein a clientele of the world’s most powerful people. Read More>

Helene Gresser

Helene is a comedian, actress, and writer. Sometimes she writes funny songs. She may also serve you a drink tonight, and possibly some food. She co-created the webisode series “Hey Rude” and has been featured on the Tyra Banks show discussing rude behavior, even though she was so heavily made-up she could barely open her falsie-laden eyelids. Currently she is working on her one-woman, autobiographical comedy show, tentatively titled “SHEEZUS! (Comin’ To Get Ya!)” in which she reads from her very DRAMATIC childhood journals and occasionally breaks out into songs from Jesus Christ Superstar. Helene is also opening her delightfully cozy thrift store, Artistic Thrift, in her Ridgewood, Queens neighborhood, and hopes you come by to listen to ole-timey vinyl records and peruse her vast collection of tchotchkes, thingamajigs, and doo-dads. Originally from Shorewood, Wisconsin, she credits below-zero temperatures and consumption of vast quantities of sausage, cheese, and beer for her family’s bizarre sense of humor. Her brother John is far funnier, but he lives in Milwaukee, so he cannot steal her limelight now, thank Sheezus.