Laura
04-24-2009, 09:28 AM
http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/124040162133530.xml&coll=1
Do you know 'If I Were a Carpenter'?
The Saw Lady's muscular musicianship draws appreciative crowds at ferry terminals
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
By MAURA YATES
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Yo-Yo Ma once famously chased his 1733 Montagnana cello after leaving it in the back of a taxi.
For Natalia (The Saw Lady) Paruz, replacing her instrument is as simple as taking a trip to Home Depot.
Ms. Paruz, who makes her living by playing the musical carpentry saw with a plastic bow, dazzled tourists and commuters alike with an unusual performance earlier this month at the St. George Ferry Terminal. She's scheduled to perform again on Monday at Manhattan's Whitehall terminal from 3 to 7 p.m., as part of the MTA's Arts for Transit Music Under New York program.
Originally trained as a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Ms. Paruz picked up her knack for musical saw playing years ago, after suffering a career-ending injury when she was hit by a cab. To cheer her up, her family took her on a vacation to Austria, the setting of her favorite film, "The Sound of Music."
Mesmerized by his performance at a local show for tourists, she asked an Austrian saw player for lessons afterward, but he refused and told her the only way to master a saw is by trial and error.
After all, she said, "You don't go to Juilliard and major in musical saw. You go home, pick up a saw, and figure it out."
She did just that, and has been playing for about 15 years now, busking at subway stations throughout the city, and at both the Whitehall and St. George ferry terminals, along with performing with orchestras and making the rounds of television and radio shows, including "A Prairie Home Companion."
The Saw Lady held court on a recent Friday in the St. George terminal waiting room, where a crowd of tourists and commuters alike crowded around to listen as she played along to the theme from "Star Trek," as well as original music composed by her husband, Scott Munson, from an iPod strapped to her thigh. Among the tunes in her eclectic repertoire are "Amazing Grace," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." She also has a Christmas album.
Musical saws are purchased at the hardware store, just like any other, but don't try to cut wood with them. They need to be kept rust-free for the best sound quality. Ms. Paruz's saws are smooth on both sides; she had to file off the teeth after police watching her play classified her instrument as a weapon.
The Saw Lady's instrument of choice is a 30-inch saw made in France, to which she attached a wooden handle at the tip. The handle allows her to bend it easily to expand the range of notes to about three octaves.
Bending the steel gives the saw an ethereal, haunting sound, surprisingly similar to a woman's soprano voice.
Ms. Paruz, who also plays the English hand bells and pitched cowbells, totes her saws around in a padded rifle case when she's busking.
"I really love doing it," she said. "I got hooked. It's very relaxing but it's very physical; you're bending steel. It's a workout."
Kelly Palacios of Long Island brought her sons on their first ferry ride Friday, and was pleasantly surprised to hear the Saw Lady while waiting for the boat back to Manhattan. You just never know what you might see in New York, she had been trying to tell her sons, just before they happened upon Ms. Paruz playing the theme to "Titanic" on the musical saw.
"I think that's fantastic," Ms. Palacios said.
On tap this week at St. George as part of Music Under New York are Latin, blues and jazz guitarist Jason Green, who will perform Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., and violinist Marian Pidvirny, who will play from noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday.
To learn more about Ms. Paruz, visit www.sawlady.com.
Do you know 'If I Were a Carpenter'?
The Saw Lady's muscular musicianship draws appreciative crowds at ferry terminals
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
By MAURA YATES
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Yo-Yo Ma once famously chased his 1733 Montagnana cello after leaving it in the back of a taxi.
For Natalia (The Saw Lady) Paruz, replacing her instrument is as simple as taking a trip to Home Depot.
Ms. Paruz, who makes her living by playing the musical carpentry saw with a plastic bow, dazzled tourists and commuters alike with an unusual performance earlier this month at the St. George Ferry Terminal. She's scheduled to perform again on Monday at Manhattan's Whitehall terminal from 3 to 7 p.m., as part of the MTA's Arts for Transit Music Under New York program.
Originally trained as a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Ms. Paruz picked up her knack for musical saw playing years ago, after suffering a career-ending injury when she was hit by a cab. To cheer her up, her family took her on a vacation to Austria, the setting of her favorite film, "The Sound of Music."
Mesmerized by his performance at a local show for tourists, she asked an Austrian saw player for lessons afterward, but he refused and told her the only way to master a saw is by trial and error.
After all, she said, "You don't go to Juilliard and major in musical saw. You go home, pick up a saw, and figure it out."
She did just that, and has been playing for about 15 years now, busking at subway stations throughout the city, and at both the Whitehall and St. George ferry terminals, along with performing with orchestras and making the rounds of television and radio shows, including "A Prairie Home Companion."
The Saw Lady held court on a recent Friday in the St. George terminal waiting room, where a crowd of tourists and commuters alike crowded around to listen as she played along to the theme from "Star Trek," as well as original music composed by her husband, Scott Munson, from an iPod strapped to her thigh. Among the tunes in her eclectic repertoire are "Amazing Grace," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." She also has a Christmas album.
Musical saws are purchased at the hardware store, just like any other, but don't try to cut wood with them. They need to be kept rust-free for the best sound quality. Ms. Paruz's saws are smooth on both sides; she had to file off the teeth after police watching her play classified her instrument as a weapon.
The Saw Lady's instrument of choice is a 30-inch saw made in France, to which she attached a wooden handle at the tip. The handle allows her to bend it easily to expand the range of notes to about three octaves.
Bending the steel gives the saw an ethereal, haunting sound, surprisingly similar to a woman's soprano voice.
Ms. Paruz, who also plays the English hand bells and pitched cowbells, totes her saws around in a padded rifle case when she's busking.
"I really love doing it," she said. "I got hooked. It's very relaxing but it's very physical; you're bending steel. It's a workout."
Kelly Palacios of Long Island brought her sons on their first ferry ride Friday, and was pleasantly surprised to hear the Saw Lady while waiting for the boat back to Manhattan. You just never know what you might see in New York, she had been trying to tell her sons, just before they happened upon Ms. Paruz playing the theme to "Titanic" on the musical saw.
"I think that's fantastic," Ms. Palacios said.
On tap this week at St. George as part of Music Under New York are Latin, blues and jazz guitarist Jason Green, who will perform Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., and violinist Marian Pidvirny, who will play from noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday.
To learn more about Ms. Paruz, visit www.sawlady.com.