Urban Garage…
Each evening starts with an open mic for kids to bring in prepared songs. This is often followed by Liz, Seth or a guest mentor giving constructive feedback regarding performance, songwriting or technique. During the second hour, charts are handed out, and Liz mixes and matches kids on various instruments and vocal parts, leading them through the experience of performing as a group. The kids learn mic technique, dynamics, soloing skills, chart reading, hand cues, and most importantly, listening and responding to each other in a musical setting. While many hours of organization and musical preparation go into every event, much of the teaching is spontaneous, with each song and every combination of players presenting new challenges. Mentors may coach performances from the stage, lead discussions following songs, demonstrate musical sections, or even join the band. It’s an electric and supportive atmosphere as the kids exalt in performing with and for each other.
Our Mission
Urban Garage encourages young people to bring music into their lives not only as entertainment and a form of expression, but as a communal experience.
While goals include teaching musical skills and training kids in performance, the simple experience of sharing music is at the fore. Urban Garage strives to demonstrate the capacity of music to bridge barriers of gender, age, race, religion and language, and encourages kids to use their creativity as a means of communication as they move forward through their lives.
Our Story
Singer/songwriter Liz Queler has years of experience teaching guitar, voice and songwriting. A native New Yorker, she envisioned a cool space where teens could connect over a shared passion, and have the opportunity to work with and learn from top New York pros.
She launched Urban Garage in March 2016, and recruited her husband, pianist and conductor Seth Farber, along with a rotating group of guest mentors boasting credits from Stevie Wonder to Sheryl Crow. With some seed money from a private sponsor, they opened the doors and started inviting musical teens to participate in what can best be described as a playing and performance lab. The home base is the legendary Bitter End (NYC), which provides a lit stage and backline (piano, drums, amps and a PA). The evenings are free, open for participation to any teen, and anyone can attend as an audience member. The program has grown steadily, now averaging 20 kids per session, often in front of a full house. There is no required attendance, so each event is unique, improvised and directed according to who shows up and their particular skill set.
Our Founders
About Liz Queler
Hailed by Billboard Magazine as a “singer’s singer” Liz has performed on esteemed stages from Carnegie Hall to The Newport Folk Festival. Daughter of renowned opera conductor Eve Queler, Liz plays both guitar and mandolin, and has released five critically acclaimed CD’s of original folk/rock as well as a CD of jazz standards. A three-time Grammy nominee for her work with children’s artist Brady Rymer, Liz has shared the stage with folk icons including Richie Havens, Janis Ian and Peter Yarrow. Her most recent CD “The Edna Project,” a collaboration with her pianist/husband Seth Farber, set 21 poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay to music. This song cycle inspired Liz to write the theater piece Still Will Be Heard which was commissioned and produced by Peak Performances at Montclair State University (NJ). A finalist for the Woman in Arts & Media Collaboration Award, The Montclair Times declared it “A powerful work of art.” Liz’s follow up CD, a setting of Millay’s epic poem “Renascence” debuted at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in 2015.
Liz has composed for TV and worked extensively as a studio singer including national jingles, film scores and TV specials. She teaches guitar, voice and songwriting, and performs with the New York Mandolin Orchestra.
About Seth Farber
As music director for the late, great folk/blues legend Odetta, Seth spent a decade touring, arranging, producing and playing piano in concert on her last three recordings, two of which garnered Grammy nominations. In his spare time he was assistant conductor and keyboardist for the six-year run of the Broadway musical “Hairspray.” He has played and conducted numerous Broadway shows including: “Ain’t Too Proud”, “Beautiful”, “On Your Feet”, “A Bronx Tale”, “Smokey Joe’s Café”, “Fosse”, “Hair”, “Catch Me If You Can”, “Shrek”, “Promises, Promises”, “Elf”, and “9 to 5”.
Raised in New York City by musician parents, Seth began his career in the blues and rock clubs on Bleecker Street, ultimately landing a position as musical director for Willy “Mink” DeVille, with whom he logged over 30 European tours. He has recorded and performed with numerous other artists including Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi, Gregg Allman, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Joan Osborne, Roseanne Cash, Jill Sobule, Chip Taylor, and Cliff Eberhardt.
A composer in his own right, Seth’s music has been used extensively by many networks including HBO, PBS, VH1, Biography, MTV, Bravo, Comedy Central and Animal Planet. His critically acclaimed release, “Late One Night” is a solo piano CD which nods in the direction of Dr. John and Professor Longhair. Farber blends New Orleans blues, jazz and ragtime into a soulful gumbo which Dirty Linen called “nothing short of excellent.”
Urban Garage has been made possible through the generous support of The Madison Square Garden Corp., Billboard Magazine, The Lower Manhattan Community Council, as well as private donations. If you would like to support Urban Garage with a tax deductible contribution on our donation page, Through Venmo @Urban-Garage, or contact us directly urbangaragenyc@gmail.com