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Friday, August 11, 1995     Page: 4C

Musikfest
   
NAKED BLUE
    live at Bethlehem’s Musikfest
   
5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 15Liederplatz, located at the Sun Inn Courtyard, Main
Street, between Market and Broad
   
Info: (610) 861-0678
   
The `Naked’ truth about Musikfest
   
By ALAN K. STOUT
   
Times Leader Staff Writer
   
It’s big.
   
It’s fun.
   
It’s one of the largest music festivals around.
   
It’s Musikfest, which, for the past 12 years, has turned the town of
Bethlehem, Pa. into a virtual haven and mecca for music fans from throughout
the Northeast.
   
This year, the event runs from Saturday, Aug. 12 through Sunday, Aug. 20,
and offers over 650 performances by national and regional artists ranging from
rock, classical, gospel, Celtic, swing, country, folk, jazz and blues to
Dixieland.
   
One of the artists scheduled to appear at this year’s festival is Naked
Blue, a Baltimore/Washington D.C.-based band whose well-produced, folk
inspired CD is getting a positive buzz. Consisting of Jennifer Ferguson,
vocals; Scott Smith, guitar; Mike Davis, bass; and Ryan Eihl, drums, Naked
Blue has been together for four years. The hard-working band has, according to
Ferguson, “played about every state west of the Mississippi.”
   
The album, titled “Treasure and The Pearl,” was recorded and mixed during a
five-week period at Showplace Studios in Dover, N.J., and offers a dozen-plus
finely crafted songs the group has written over the past several years.
   
Ferguson and Smith, chief songwriters in the band, first met when Smith was
working in a musical equipment store that Ferguson frequented.
   
“We started talking,” says Ferguson. “I would sing some of his material in
the studio for him — songs that he was recording — and he would record some
of my songs. Then, we started writing together.”
   
While the group finds it difficult to categorize its sound, Ferguson often
hears comparisons to Fleetwood Mac; ~”Treasure and The Pearl” is sometimes
compared to Mac’s classic “Rumors” LP.
   
“We call it rock,” says Smith, “but that’s really a broad spectrum.
Sometimes we call it groove rock… groove-oriented rock.”
   
Naming the Beatles as a songwriting influences, Smith says he’s been molded
by “everything I ever heard” in the rock and pop music spectrums.
   
“I was hearing a lot of roots music,” adds Ferguson. “Appalachian mountain
music, old delta blues — my parents were playing a lot of that around the
house.”
   
In addition to receiving strong reviews for the CD, the group has survived
as an original act. Admitting that covers are essential for survival —
especially for new bands — Ferguson says Naked Blue’s show’s has always
consisted mainly of original material.
   
Although “Treasure and The Pearl” offers many folky, softer sounding
numbers, both agree it’s not a pure reflection of the band’s stage show.
   
“You’ve got the energy of an audience,” says Smith.
   
“The live show rocks,” adds Ferguson. “The record is a little bit more laid
back. (Live), the guitars are (more) up front… it’s just a little heavier.
Some of the playing on the record is a little bit restrained to keep it smooth
— while when we’re playing live everybody’s really playing.”