By the 'Light' of Cindy Bullens
Roots-rocker plays Stone Pony in latest of benefit concert series

Friday, November 04, 2005
BY JAY LUSTIG
Star-Ledger Staff

The "Light of Day" series of benefit concerts, organized annually since 2000, has brought many of the same artists back year after year. Rockers like Joe Grushecky and Willie Nile are perennials, and Bruce Springsteen, though never confirmed ahead of time, has jumped onstage each year.

One of this year's most notable new faces is roots-rocker Cindy Bullens, who sang Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind" on the 2003 "Light of Day" compilation album, and got Springsteen's bassist, Garry Tallent, to play on her new album, "Dream #29."

The singer-songwriter-guitarist has other claims to fame, too. She has sung backing vocals for Elton John, and contributed three songs to the No. 1 soundtrack for the 1978 movie, "Grease."

Her sales figures as a solo artist have never matched her talent, but she has built a following, and persevered. Her music became intensely personal after her 11-year-old daughter, Jessie, died of cancer in 1996. But her new album, "Dream #29," is in some ways a return to business as usual.

Bullens, 52, says her 1999 album "Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth" was about the loss of her daughter, then her next one, 2001's "Neverland," was "kind of a transition out of that. But this record is just really about me writing some rock 'n' roll songs."

Bullens will appear at Friday's "Light of Day" concert at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park; other "Light of Day" shows will take place Saturday and Sunday at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville (see sidebar). The shows will raise money for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation and the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association's greater Philadelphia chapter.

Just one musician, guitarist Jorge Otero, will back Bullens on "Light of Day." But she promises a rocking set. "I always rock out -- it's just what I do," she says.

Bullens has a history of attracting high-profile guests to her albums. Bonnie Raitt, Bryan Adams and Lucinda Williams were on "Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth," while the lineup of "Neverland" included Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and John Hiatt.

Elton John plays barrelhouse piano on the title track of "Dream #29," and blues-rocker Delbert McClinton duets on the swampy "This Ain't Love." The biggest surprise, though, is Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who contributes gruff harmony vocals to "7 Days."

"These are my friends," says Bullens. "I don't arbitrarily sit there and say, 'OK, on this record, I'm going to get three guests.' It's an organic thing.

"Both with Elton and Delbert, the songs were recorded as they were, and then it was kind of an afterthought: 'Gee, Delbert would sound great on this' or 'Elton would sound great on that.' It wasn't planned."

This is the first time that Bullens asked John to play on one of her albums, though they have been friends since they worked together in the mid '70s. It's a period that was important to her career in many ways.

"I was very young when I was with Elton, and he taught me a lot about all aspects (of performing). I was musically affected by him, in terms of energy. I loved the energy and the musicality that went into his songwriting, and I learned a lot about a relationship with an audience.

"He always has had a connection with the audience. At the end of the shows, even today, he comes down to the edge of the stage and signs autographs. I've seen his Las Vegas show a couple of times, and he has people come up and dance with him. He doesn't cut himself off from the audiences -- he makes himself available. I think that's really important, and I do the same. I try to make people feel like I'm in their house."

There will also be "Light of Day" shows at the Starland Ballroom, 570 Jernee Mill Road, Sayreville, at 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday's show features Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers, Pete Yorn, the Jesse Malin Band, Willie Nile, Garland Jeffreys & the Coney Island Playboys, JoBonanno & the Godsons of Soul, Boccigalupe & the Bad Boys, Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan, Jennifer Glass, Dawne Allynne and others.

Sunday, a "Writers in the Raw" format will be used, meaning artists will perform acoustically and discuss their songs. Participants will include Grushecky, Yorn, Malin, John Eddie and Jeffrey Gaines on the main stage, and D'Urso, Allynne, Pat Guadagano and Rob Dye on a second stage.

Tickets are $75-$150 for Saturday, $50-$150 for Sunday. Call (732) 238-5500 or visit www.starlandballroom.com.

Light of Day (named after a Bruce Springsteen song) has raised $400,000 for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation and other charities in its first five years, according to organizer Bob Benjamin. The series started with single nights at the Stone Pony in 2000 and the Tradewinds in Sea Bright in 2001 and 2002, then returned to the Pony for two nights, in 2003, and three nights, last year.

Each year, Springsteen has made an unbilled guest appearance with Grushecky, a longtime friend and occasional collaborator. Since Springsteen has concerts in Florida, Friday and Sunday, his only possible appearance this year would be on Saturday.

This year, for the first time, there will also be Light of Day shows outside the Garden State -- Nov. 22 in Rome and Dec. 12 in West Hollywood, California. More information is available at the Web site, www.lightofday.org.