Lucky 13 on Fox Morning Show, 10/10/08!

The Times/Beacon/Herald
7/1/09
Rising star 'Lucky 13'
making music, and waves
By John Broven
July 02, 2009 | 12:30 PM

During the past year, Lucky 13 has been building up a steady head of musical steam. The group appeared most recently at Huntington Arts Council's Summer Arts Festival on Sunday, with headliner Carrie Rodriguez, the folk-rock singer/songwriter.

Lucky 13 comprises Stony Brook-based Susan DeVita and Marci Geller (piano), with Huntington Station resident Cathy Kreger (guitar). All three sing and write.

Geller said the arts council booking came about after Program Director Mary Pentecost saw the group perform at Huntington's IMAC theater and "really believed in us."

"Over the past year and half," said Pentecost, "I have had the opportunity to see Cathy Kreger perform on three separate occasions; she is truly wonderful. I have heard Marci Geller's and Susan DeVita's work, and so many people have told me how much they enjoy them. Then … the three united for a special celebration … That performance was so great, fun and entertaining that the opportunity to put them in the festival was an immediate thought."

In turn, Geller admires the arts council for staging its annual series of concerts, now in its 44th season: "It's fabulous what they do," she said, they book "national talent while supporting local artists — and it's free."

So how did Lucky 13 start life? It happened last summer when the three members were helping to promote a CD of that name in celebration of the 13th anniversary of Sonic Underground, an independent operation run by Geller and her husband, Gian DiMauro. While harmonizing in the studio of Radio WVKR, Poughkeepsie, the women realized their "three voices were completely different" but there was "a rich blend, full of intuition," said Geller.

Since then Lucky 13 has been performing from Maine to Maryland at theaters and what Geller calls coffeehouses: "Women's groups in halls, churches, libraries and house concerts." According to DeVita, fans have told them several times after gigs that "it really seems as if you're having a good time, with a sense of humor and respect."

"We're still gelling, still experimental," said Kreger, adding that their sound "is based on lush harmonies." The nearest comparison she could make was "a female version of Crosby, Stills & Nash."

Lucky 13 is establishing its reputation by writing its own songs. "We're like a ship with three captains, going in whatever direction," said Geller with a smile. She described her songs as being "introspective"; Kreger's "lean around life's lessons"; and DeVita's reflect her role as a "hopeless romantic."

Kreger explained that "technology is the biggest helper" to promote the group. "The music scene is changing, with the artists speaking directly to the fans."

Geller said there is a "tremendous amount of interest" in the group, which is "blasting out press releases to media outlets" while keeping its growing fan base informed by a website, www.lucky13.fm, blogs, Facebook and newsletters.

DeVita, raised on big bands and the Beatles in Brooklyn, came near to breaking into the big time when she was signed by RCA Records in the 1980s under the highly respected Arif Mardin, who produced many Aretha Franklin hits. Geller's resume includes working in New York's famous Brill Building to gain experience in the music business, and then performing with Mount Sinai's rock-guitar hero Ritchie Blackmore in his Blackmore's Night contemporary renaissance music incarnation. Kreger, with four CDs to her credit, was influenced by her parents' love of folk music, before progressing through bluegrass to '70s rock, including Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton.

Lucky 13 has a fierce determination to succeed. "We feel like we have wings," said Geller, "there's a power."

Copyright 2009

Songs of Their Making: Three Musicians Team Up
9/14/08

“This is the kind of thing that could break the bubble,” said Michael Rothbard, director of the 500-seat IMAC Theater in Huntington, who has booked them for Thursday.

John Platt, who will host them Sept. 14 on his show on WFUV-FM, the public radio station at Fordham University, said their “chemistry is really kind of magical.” 
(To read full article, click HERE)

Glenn Gamboa, 9/11/08

STILL LUCKY. Stony Brook-based label Sonic Underground is celebrating its 13th anniversary with a big show at the IMAC Theater in Huntington at 8 p.m. Thursday. "Lucky 13" - a label compilation that has also become the name of the touring group featuring singer-songwriters Marci Geller, Cathy Kreger and Susan DeVita - features the kind of acoustic blues, jazzy pop and folk ballads that the label has been releasing since 1995 when Geller and her husband and label co-founder Gian DiMauro founded Sonic Underground with the $748 they had left over from their honeymoon

Local Live 9/16/08, Kevin Amorim

LUCKY 13. The L.I.-based Lucky 13 record label is celebrating a baker's dozen years of putting out music when singer-songwriters Marci Geller, Cathy Kreger and Susan DeVita take over IMAC. While you're there, pick up the "Lucky 13" compilation album.
 

"Rounding out the evening were three of Long Island’s premier singers and writers, who have banded together as Lucky 13…Cathy Kreger, Marci Geller, and Susan DeVita. As if they weren’t good enough individually, they have pooled their immense talents in a synergistic blend of harmony. -Hank Stone, Teaching a Stone to Talk Blog

 

Several key music critics on both the East and West Coast have compared the combined works to such timeless artists as Carole King, Laura Nyro, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, and, Annie Lennox.
-Top 40 Charts.com (full article HERE)

"There's no question that the real music lovers, will love this."
- Times Square Gossip (full article HERE)

Sharon Panaro, WVKR 91.3 FM with Cathy, Susan & Marci after their interview.

The thing that strikes me most about this whole project is, first, how much a labor of love it is, and second, how good it is.
-Winchester, The Improper (full review HERE)