A Celebration of Life for Pete Fornatale, Legendary DJ and Music Historian - The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook featuring AZTEC TWO-STEP & Special Guests May 27, 2012

The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook show featuring Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman of Aztec Two-Step was intended to be performed with the legendary New York DJ Pete Fornatale narrating. Tragically, Pete passed away on April 26th.

In a celebration of Pete’s life and his love of music, the evening’s S&G Songbook concert, along with ATS fan favorites, will also feature special guests and friends of Pete’s (to be announced). Proceeds from this concert will be donated to WhyHunger in Pete’s memory, an organization that was dear to his heart, and which had the honor of having Pete on its advisory board.
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Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman are known for help bringing the folk/rock music of the 1960s into the '70s and beyond and continue to be one of acoustic music's most respected and enduring acts. When they made their Elektra Records debut in 1972, reviewers said they had the “intellectual lyricism” and “ethereal harmonies” of Simon and Garfunkel. So while possessing a rich musical legacy of their own, it makes sense that the critically acclaimed duo would choose to interpret and perform the timeless songs and harmonies of their legendary predecessors.

Performing the Songbook on their own since 2005, Aztec Two-Step joined forces with Pete Fornatale after the 2007 publication of his book, "Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends." Recipient of the 2012 AMEE Award given by The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Pete was one of the architects of progressive FM radio in the 1960s and ‘70s, and had one of the most recognizable voices in rock radio. Pete was a fixture on the New York dial for over four decades, starting his career at WFUV in 1963 and then moving on to WNEW-FM in 1969 and K-Rock in 1989. Back at WFUV, his celebrated long-running program, “Mixed Bag,” aired live on Saturdays in New York and aired nationally on SiriusXM satellite radio.

Aztec's Two-Step's “Living in America” received the New York Music Award for Best Folk Album in 1987 and was named in Billboard’s year-end critic’s poll. Praised in major media outlets such as Rolling Stone, and having appeared on numerous TV and radio shows, they were the subject of a documentary that aired on PBS in 1999. Real Simple, a popular national lifestyle magazine, in 2007 named Aztec Two-Step's self-titled debut one of the top five classic folk albums, joining work by Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Tom Rush and Phil Ochs.

That same year, Rhino Records released “Forever Changing-The Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1973,” a five-CD box set that tells the story of this landmark record label and the music that defined an era and includes Aztec Two-Step’s “The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On The Road).”

In 2008, the duo released “Time It Was -- The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook” on Red Engine Records, a live recording with audience at WFUV’s Studio A. The concert features Aztec Two-Step performing eighteen S&G songs, with Pete’s insightful and anecdotal narrations, often drawing from his personal relationships with Paul & Artie.

Official Website: http://citywinery.com/events/264724