SAKLAD

Larry Saklad covers Alan Mann’s “Christmas On The Block” Local musician Alan Mann was a part of the local scene from the mid-Seventies until his death in October 1987. Along with The Hooters, Tommy Conwell, Robert Hazard, Kenn Kweder and others, Mann was a staple of the scene and in the mid-Eighties released the single “Christmas On The Block” which received a lot of airplay on WMMR. The video for the song (watch below) was also aired on MTV. Larry Saklad was a member of Mann’s Free Arts Band and recently re-recorded the song with Kweder and Kim De Meo to celebrate the 28[30]th anniversary of the release of the song. - Bruce Warren - The Key wxpn

Nothing depicts a community’s holiday spirit like a massive sing-along to a local favorite. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Philadelphians from all over town will gather to sing along to Alan Mann’s 1983 holiday song “Christmas On The Block” which was the first independent music video to air on MTV. Organized by longtime local rocker Kenn Kweder, as well as George Manney, and Mann’s former pianist Larry Saklad, the event will take place at The Legendary Dobbs on South Street. In addition, a camera crew from Attention Films will be at the show to film the performance and interviews for a documentary, and the band will performed backed by projections of archival Alan Mann footage. Get more details here, and look for a download of the song next week when Helen Leicht’s 12 Days of Philly Local Christmas begins. - Katrina Murray - The Key wxpn

9-21-10
LARRY SAKLAD is from Philly. The title of his CD is SAKLAD and has 11 cuts on it, #1 produced by Wayne Hsu.
The songs have a bounce to them. His voice does stand out on it’s own and he makes all the songs he's written his. Larry’s well known in Philly by every band that you can think of… you name it, he knows them.
The songs are simple and nice. The song “WHY THIS FULL MOON” takes you on a journey through mountains and hills. In all aspects, the songs have the same feel to them. MANNS-IN-ME… is definitely different with a feel of Henry Gross. Great intro to the song “LULL’BYE” a slow, mellow song.
In all aspects, I would really love to see Larry with a back-up band behind him, to add some harmonies to his songs and to fill in the blank spaces. The CD is released on KIDGRIN RECORDS.
Check out SAKLAD whenever you have a chance….you’ll definitely find him different, which could be a good thing.
Thanks Larry… enjoy all! - PA Music Scene .com

SAKLAD by Jason Sendaula
Larry Saklad's second solo effort, the self titled Saklad, is the successful culmination of years of honing his craft. Having started on the classical piano at age 6 (he performed at Carnegie Hall when he was 10) Larry has gone from jam bands to his own calming style on full display with this release. His skill as a story teller shines throughout the album. Whimsical at points, the album keeps you through waves of rhythm and poignant messages that manage not to be preachy, something not many artists can accomplish. Well worth the experience as soon as you can. - Origivation Mag, Phila, Pa

SAKLAD by Jason Sendaula
Larry Saklad's second solo effort, the self titled Saklad, is the successful culmination of years of honing his craft. Having started on the classical piano at age 6 (he performed at Carnegie Hall when he was 10) Larry has gone from jam bands to his own calming style on full display with this release. His skill as a story teller shines throughout the album. Whimsical at points, the album keeps you through waves of rhythm and poignant messages that manage not to be preachy, something not many artists can accomplish. Well worth the experience as soon as you can. - Origivation Mag, Phila, Pa

These Days, Larry Saklad is returning his life's focus to music.
"Different Tune"
>>Larry Saklad can look back on a pretty decent music career. He's working to revive it, but it's a new era with new challenges for artists trying to be heard.
By John Loftus, Times Staff Writer
>> Larry Saklad is coming back. In fact, the singer-songwriter, who plays guitar and piano, has been coming back for the past few years, composing, recording and getting himself in front of Philly-area audiences.
>> He's played at open-mike nights and has performed at many spots in the city, like The Fire on Girard Avenue, the Grape Street cafŽ in Manayunk and the Tin Angel on Second Street, and in suburban clubs like John & Peter's in New Hope.
>> In mid-September, he released a new CD, the 11-cut Saklad, which includes Oh, Philadelphia, a song that is a compilation of tunes tied to the city. The CD also has a few songs that Saklad wrote with Kim De Meo, who sometimes performs with him.
>> He describes his music as folk rock and sometimes funky folk.
>> "The songs have a bounce to them," noted a September review of the CD on pamusicscene.com, which also observed that "Larry's well-known in Philly by every band that you can think of."
>> No doubt about that. The former Fox Chase resident played and sang with many area musicians, including local legends Robert Hazard, Alan Mann and Northeast Philly native Essra Mohawk.
>> Then, he didn't perform for more than a decade. A few years ago, Saklad, now in his 50s, retired from his longtime job with the U.S. Postal Service and began refocusing on writing, recording and performing.
>> All of that gives Saklad his own then-and-now perspective on the music business.
>> The assumption when he was younger, Saklad said, was that music would be his full-time career and he'd just need that one song to build his legacy. It wasn't that easy, he'll tell you; it's not that easy now.
>> "The business has completely changed from what it was in the eighties and nineties," he said.
TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
>> Record companies aren't the same. How performers get recognition is different. These days, he said, an artist gets known through the Internet, through social networking sites, through word of mouth. Artists still crave exposure on radio, he said, but much of what plays on radio is preprogrammed, leaving little access for local musicians.
>> "Radio won't permit as much new music out there," Saklad said.
>> And getting airtime is difficult for most musicians, whether you're a new artist or a returning artist, he lamented.
>> Saklad's music has received some play on a few local stations, like the city's WXPN (88.5-FM) and Wilmington's WSTW (93.7-FM). He's convinced that audiences want to hear new music. That's what he wants to hear, too.
>> "I get really frustrated if I don't hear something fresh," Saklad said.
>> He knows there are people who have stopped listening to music. He thinks it's because they aren't hearing anything new.
>> "We used to define our lives by the music we listened to and sang . . . it helped us to find ourselves," Saklad said. "But the radio stations we used to listen to have gotten stale."
>> The consequence, in his view, is that listening to music might not be as uplifting as it used to be in those days when it was a key part of people's lives.
>> But there is a remedy, he says.
>> "(People) should get out and see live music," Saklad said, suggesting that it would regenerate their interest. "Philadelphia has a wealth of great talent . . . the best talent on the East Coast is right here in Philadelphia."
>> Even if the state of music often frustrates him, Saklad doesn't turn away. He's always listening, always playing. Saklad takes his guitar wherever he goes.
>> "I'm really lost if I don't have it," he said. "I have to play."
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
>> Saklad, who wasn't quite 6 when he started to play piano, often gets together with musicians he's known for years. Their volume can get up there.
>> "It does take a toll on your ears," he said.
>> So there are times he craves a little silence. Some of that stems from just listening to his own work.
>> "The business of music is to listen real hard. You have to turn it up loud," Saklad said, explaining the need to hear the nuances of a newly produced music track.
>> He likes to listen to music - especially his own music - in his car. If he records a song, he puts it on a CD and takes the disc to his car for a listen. As a result, he said with a laugh, he has a lot of "one-song CDs floating around."
>> When he's performing, Saklad pays particular attention to how he sounds, because it helps him keep track of venues where the atmosphere or acoustics enhance his music.
>> "In some rooms," he explained, "I feel that I'm fighting with myself."
>> He likes the Tin Angel and he likes Milkboy Coffee in Ardmore.
>> Saklad can adjust his performance at a venue after the first few so - NE Times, Phila, Pa

These Days, Larry Saklad is returning his life's focus to music.
"Different Tune"
>>Larry Saklad can look back on a pretty decent music career. He's working to revive it, but it's a new era with new challenges for artists trying to be heard.
By John Loftus, Times Staff Writer
>> Larry Saklad is coming back. In fact, the singer-songwriter, who plays guitar and piano, has been coming back for the past few years, composing, recording and getting himself in front of Philly-area audiences.
>> He's played at open-mike nights and has performed at many spots in the city, like The Fire on Girard Avenue, the Grape Street cafŽ in Manayunk and the Tin Angel on Second Street, and in suburban clubs like John & Peter's in New Hope.
>> In mid-September, he released a new CD, the 11-cut Saklad, which includes Oh, Philadelphia, a song that is a compilation of tunes tied to the city. The CD also has a few songs that Saklad wrote with Kim De Meo, who sometimes performs with him.
>> He describes his music as folk rock and sometimes funky folk.
>> "The songs have a bounce to them," noted a September review of the CD on pamusicscene.com, which also observed that "Larry's well-known in Philly by every band that you can think of."
>> No doubt about that. The former Fox Chase resident played and sang with many area musicians, including local legends Robert Hazard, Alan Mann and Northeast Philly native Essra Mohawk.
>> Then, he didn't perform for more than a decade. A few years ago, Saklad, now in his 50s, retired from his longtime job with the U.S. Postal Service and began refocusing on writing, recording and performing.
>> All of that gives Saklad his own then-and-now perspective on the music business.
>> The assumption when he was younger, Saklad said, was that music would be his full-time career and he'd just need that one song to build his legacy. It wasn't that easy, he'll tell you; it's not that easy now.
>> "The business has completely changed from what it was in the eighties and nineties," he said.
TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
>> Record companies aren't the same. How performers get recognition is different. These days, he said, an artist gets known through the Internet, through social networking sites, through word of mouth. Artists still crave exposure on radio, he said, but much of what plays on radio is preprogrammed, leaving little access for local musicians.
>> "Radio won't permit as much new music out there," Saklad said.
>> And getting airtime is difficult for most musicians, whether you're a new artist or a returning artist, he lamented.
>> Saklad's music has received some play on a few local stations, like the city's WXPN (88.5-FM) and Wilmington's WSTW (93.7-FM). He's convinced that audiences want to hear new music. That's what he wants to hear, too.
>> "I get really frustrated if I don't hear something fresh," Saklad said.
>> He knows there are people who have stopped listening to music. He thinks it's because they aren't hearing anything new.
>> "We used to define our lives by the music we listened to and sang . . . it helped us to find ourselves," Saklad said. "But the radio stations we used to listen to have gotten stale."
>> The consequence, in his view, is that listening to music might not be as uplifting as it used to be in those days when it was a key part of people's lives.
>> But there is a remedy, he says.
>> "(People) should get out and see live music," Saklad said, suggesting that it would regenerate their interest. "Philadelphia has a wealth of great talent . . . the best talent on the East Coast is right here in Philadelphia."
>> Even if the state of music often frustrates him, Saklad doesn't turn away. He's always listening, always playing. Saklad takes his guitar wherever he goes.
>> "I'm really lost if I don't have it," he said. "I have to play."
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
>> Saklad, who wasn't quite 6 when he started to play piano, often gets together with musicians he's known for years. Their volume can get up there.
>> "It does take a toll on your ears," he said.
>> So there are times he craves a little silence. Some of that stems from just listening to his own work.
>> "The business of music is to listen real hard. You have to turn it up loud," Saklad said, explaining the need to hear the nuances of a newly produced music track.
>> He likes to listen to music - especially his own music - in his car. If he records a song, he puts it on a CD and takes the disc to his car for a listen. As a result, he said with a laugh, he has a lot of "one-song CDs floating around."
>> When he's performing, Saklad pays particular attention to how he sounds, because it helps him keep track of venues where the atmosphere or acoustics enhance his music.
>> "In some rooms," he explained, "I feel that I'm fighting with myself."
>> He likes the Tin Angel and he likes Milkboy Coffee in Ardmore.
>> Saklad can adjust his performance at a venue after the first few so - NE Times, Phila, Pa

Fox Chase’s own Larry Saklad, singer-songwriter @ Art In The Park June 5

On Saturday 6-5 from 1pm to 6pm, Larry Saklad, a longtime resident of Fox Chase/ Rockledge, performs 2 shows during Art In The Park, Lion’s Park – 7900 Oxford Ave (at Loney St). This annual outdoor event with artists, painters, crafts and family activities is presented by Rockledge/ Fox Chase Business Assoc & Moegerle Paints.

Saklad, who is readying a new album for release Sept 14, will perform original songs including his Oh Philadelphia, a song/project compiling local songs to do with Philly, and debut Yet2B ‘06. Currently he performs solo with guitar and occasional back up, plus a few songs with co-writer Kim De Meo, and other guests. His history in the Phila Music Scene spans 30 years, original member on keyboards for Alan Mann, David Rowan, Robert Hazard to name a few.

Visit his myspace.com/lsaklad & reverbnation.com/yet2b for listening and learning more about this prolific musician who began piano age 6 leading to Carnegie Hall age 10, and his return to the public ear: this year’s busiest spring schedule yet. SAKLAD also plays 2 NYC shows 6-12, 26 and The Pennant East, NJ on 6-19 9pm.

June 5 [raindate 6-12] 1pm – 6pm, Art In The Park w/ Larry Saklad
Lion’s Park – 7900 Oxford Ave, Phila. 19111 - Wally Urbanavage, philanet.com (May 25, 2010)

Fox Chase’s own Larry Saklad, singer-songwriter @ Art In The Park June 5

On Saturday 6-5 from 1pm to 6pm, Larry Saklad, a longtime resident of Fox Chase/ Rockledge, performs 2 shows during Art In The Park, Lion’s Park – 7900 Oxford Ave (at Loney St). This annual outdoor event with artists, painters, crafts and family activities is presented by Rockledge/ Fox Chase Business Assoc & Moegerle Paints.

Saklad, who is readying a new album for release Sept 14, will perform original songs including his Oh Philadelphia, a song/project compiling local songs to do with Philly, and debut Yet2B ‘06. Currently he performs solo with guitar and occasional back up, plus a few songs with co-writer Kim De Meo, and other guests. His history in the Phila Music Scene spans 30 years, original member on keyboards for Alan Mann, David Rowan, Robert Hazard to name a few.

Visit his myspace.com/lsaklad & reverbnation.com/yet2b for listening and learning more about this prolific musician who began piano age 6 leading to Carnegie Hall age 10, and his return to the public ear: this year’s busiest spring schedule yet. SAKLAD also plays 2 NYC shows 6-12, 26 and The Pennant East, NJ on 6-19 9pm.

June 5 [raindate 6-12] 1pm – 6pm, Art In The Park w/ Larry Saklad
Lion’s Park – 7900 Oxford Ave, Phila. 19111 - Wally Urbanavage, philanet.com (May 25, 2010)