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On the Road in Somers with Scott Urgola

Somers Singer Follows in the Steps of Woody Guthrie

By Rich MonettiPublished 6 years ago Updated 8 months ago 3 min read
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As could be said for most of us, hearing the Beatles for the first time begins a journey into music that never ends. “I decided at 13,” said Scott Urgola, “that I needed an electric guitar.” This as he was transfixed to the TV during the airing of the Beatles Anthology in 1996. Urgola would progress through that phase in high school and college. But the Somers singer/songwriter’s musical arrival didn’t start until introduced to an American legend much further removed from the telegenic electricity of the Beatles.

Five years ago, Urgola saw a Jacob Burns advertisement for the Woody Guthrie biographical film, Bound for Glory. Intrigued, he came away feeling that something was telling him to go check this out. His instinct turned out to be correct.

“I really fell in love,” says the 25-year-old musician.

On the Road with Woody

Afterwards, Urgola jumped into all things Guthrie. He began playing all of Woody’s songs, spent a summer archiving at the Woody Guthrie Center and does Hootenanny every year on Guthrie’s Birthday. But the real leap meant taking an actual walk in Woody’s shoes.

He traveled through 26 states and made acquaintance with Woody Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma. The hospitality made him feel as though he was returning home in the footsteps of Guthrie. “It was something like out of a film,” he said “It just made sense where Guthrie came from.”

But Urgola found that Woody’s quest to find America did not die with him. His journey intersected with a Guthrie contemporary who is still on the same American road. “I got to meet and play with Pete Seeger,” said Urgola. The experience eventually turned into Urgola's first CD.

Urgola Finds His Voice

The title cut, Restoration Lullaby, emerged out of the freedom he felt. In other words, all sense of time seemed to disappear into the vastness of the land and the richness of the people.

Fully immersed, he was compelled to pay his respects to Woody off the coast of Coney Island. The singer's ashes scattered there, the main stanza came to Urgola.

“I'd like to go to Coney Island , shave my head, collect my thoughts and sit on by the water out near Woody and the rocks.”

Finding his voice on paper, musical practice has Urgola sounding similar to another Guthrie protege - Bob Dylan. And he makes no excuses. "I'm trying not," he said, "to not be anything, and I try not to be anything.”

Double negative or not, he explains that the history of music means transforming what has been into something somewhat different and something sort of the same. "The process is almost a form of stealing, but anybody who does it says it's a compliment," reasoned Urgola.

On the Local Scene

Complimenting him and the harmony is his wife Rachel. Their musical collaboration began as classmates at Adelphi University and continues in a pretty casual but fruitful manner. A song may come to him during the day, he'll then vocalize it over the phone, and the result might be on display that very evening at a gig. "She can show up and just pull up the harmony," he said.

Tied to those tunes, Urgola is not afraid to attach a folk singer's social conscious to his sound. But he avoids being preachy or pretentious. "I try not to impose how I feel," he says, and encourages audiences to enjoy the music even if they don't agree with the politics.

For his gigs, the politics flow mostly from the minds of others. Covering the Neil Young's and Bob Dylan's of the world is what is in demand. "I have no problem with that," he says, because the chance to play steady is what matters.

Of course, he looks forward to a venues like Coffee Labs in Tarrytown, where they give him free reign to play originals. The low key vibe also provides an attention span that can't be found in a bar. "It's one of those places where people are talking lightly or just listening, which is the best," he concludes.

If you’d like a sports profile, game coverage at any level and/or photos, please contact me on Facebook at 914 318-0997 or [email protected]

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60s music
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About the Creator

Rich Monetti

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