Current Issue PDF - Roll Magazine

dear readers,ihave a small favor to ask.You see, we spend a whole lot of time over herebeing pretty single-minded about Roll magazine,trying to find out what’s happening around thearea in the realm of arts, community, and lifestyle.We’re pretty sure we have a good handle on what we think could beuseful information for you, if you’re inclined to experience the culturalpossibilities of the Mid-Hudson Valley, and we feel pretty solid about ourfeatures, reviews, and highlights, and how we present the artists, groups,and events in the area in positive illumination.But, we don’t know you very well at all, Roll Reader. I’m fairly certainthat you do exist, as you seem to pick up our magazine with the samevolume and frequency every month (unless someone’s playing a cruelhoax!). I just honestly don’t have a real sense of what happens once thatstack disappears. Though some readers know or recognize me personallyand offer encouragement, comments, and suggestions, I really don’t getmuch feedback in general, good, bad, or indifferent. So…the favor:Could you please take 5-10 minutes, and send an email to us—at events@rollmagazine.com—telling us what you think of Roll?Granted, it’s an informal poll, clearly not designed by experts. I justneed to hear something back from you, Dear Reader, doesn’t have to beanything major. Just what you like, what you don’t like, what you miss,how do we look? Do you read the whole thing? Are the listings useful toyou? (That one is important, we do work awfully hard on them; we try tomake sure everyone is included. Mostly, I hear from those we missed.) Anddo you like the website?It would be easy for us to just plow ahead doing the same old thing, thinkingeverything is cool. But we would prefer trying to improve this magazine,and we could use your help. So, please, think it over, and drop us a line.Meanwhile, as the last of the salt is rained off the roads and the trees burstwith buds and birds….there is music in the air! And we’ve got it. Thoughwe interviewed internationally-known composer George Tsontakis lastNovember, we wanted to get a follow-up on the fruits of his residencywith the Albany Symphony, which led to our learning about the amazingartistry of David Krakauer, King of the Klezmer Clarinet! We also haveWoodstock’s favorite son, Marc Black , with a new CD, weighing in onthe hydrofracking fracas with his timely, “No Fracking Way,” whichoffsets his more whimsical works like, “Ooh, I Love My Coffee.”This month we also feature six diverse artists, who have a group showat actress/comedian/artist Denny Dillon’s The Drawing Room Galleryin Stone Ridge: an ideal place to experience the present and future ofHudson Valley art. Young collegiate actors take on The Who’s Tommy atSUNY New Paltz, and we have an interview with the folks at CatskillMountainkeeper, who have much to say about protecting the water,habitat, and overall life in the region. (Their April 11 anti-fracking rally inAlbany was a big success!) All this plus our peerless listings, highlights, CDreviews, Dollars & Sense, and some cool recipes….there’s your May Roll!So, we do hope you enjoy it. And please, when finished, take a few minutesand drop us a quick note, especially if you appreciate the effort. And ifyou don’t like Roll, well, we do welcome constructive criticism, but pleasedon’t be a hater. There’s enough of that sort of thing in the world already.Wishing you all merriment in May! And thanks again for reading Roll.Cheers,Ross Rice, editor2 | rollmagazine.com