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Rochester music interviews
We hit up artists on their way to the ROC
One of Natalie Gelman's favorite places to perform is underground. The indie singer/songwriter/guitarist has been playing in subways — mostly in her hometown of New York City — for years.
"It's a huge part of what I do," says Gelman, 24. "There's nothing more gratifying ... and you have to give 100 percent when you street perform, otherwise New Yorkers could care less."
And for those performances, Gelman — who plays at the Rochester Institute of Technology Saturday, Feb. 6, as part of Freeze Fest — has gotten some interesting items as tips. She keeps an updated list on her Web site, www.nataliegelman.com: "a ball of drugs" (Gelman says she doesn't use drugs so couldn't identify them), "black thermal underwear in a Ziplock freezer bag" and "granola bars" are just a few of them.
But, for all of its rewards, street performing has its challenges. In May, the musician was given a ticket for blocking the flow of traffic and "resisting to identify herself," but she says it was all a misunderstanding. She was rummaging through her things, looking for her ID when the police officer got impatient and wrote a ticket.
The singer hasn't been back to the subway recently because she went on tour shortly after getting the ticket. Plus, "it's been too cold; my cut-off temperature is 40 degrees."
Meanwhile, she's looking forward to her next tour, which includes the RIT stop and shows at other colleges around the country. "College kids are always really open to something new in general," she says. "They're also really fast to say, 'Nope, I'm really not that into it' and be totally honest with you."
While preparing for the tour, Gelman has been writing songs for an upcoming sophomore album (yet untitled) and thinking of ways to promote it. She's even been throwing around the idea of touring the country on a flatbed truck and getting a camera crew to film the tour and stream the footage live to her Web site (www.nataliegelman.com).
The singer is no stranger to wild promotional and touring ideas. In 2006, after the release of her self-titled debut album, Gelman Rollerbladed about 1,500 miles, from Miami to New York City, for an East Coast tour. Along the way, she had to deal with the harsh elements, was chased by angry dogs, was stranded by her tour manager and was hit by cars twice.
But she didn't let anything slow her down, and she made it home in 48 days, having missed only one show. "There were times that were super-hard," she says. "And I was like, 'Just keep putting one blade in front of the other. Keep going forward.'"
