The Casino File
For South Jersey-based crooner Greg Farnese, it’s the second time that’s the charm.
In 2018, Farnese (pronounced far-NAY-zee) released his debut CD, “Set in Motion” on the Camden-based Victor label. By his own account, it wasn’t a particularly strong effort.
“I think I bit off more than I could chew on that,” he admitted during a recent chat in advance of his Oct. 30 return to the lounge at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (he’s also there Dec. 5).
“I don’t think I was really ready for that material because I was just kind of starting out. But whenever I listen to it, I cringe because I just didn’t like the way I sounded. It was my first record. I didn’t know what I was doing, you know?”
Eight years later, things have changed dramatically; Farnese is clearly and unabashedly proud of his “Oh No, I’m in Love Again” CD, which was recently released by Imani Records. While the eight-song collection includes the title track that he co-wrote with lyricist Alan Gardner (a second original by the team, “A Little Bit of Love” is also included) and a version of “Dream” by “Great American Song Book” composer Johnny Mercer, what sets Farnese and the album apart from the pack is his conversion of modern-rock songs into sophisticated jazz pieces. These include “Wonderwall” by Oasis, Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. According to Farnese, there is a method to what on the surface seems to be some out-there musical madness.
“If you remember when Elvis Presley died, impersonators came out of the woodwork,” he offered. “There were thousands of them. And when [Frank] Sinatra died, there were thousands of those guys too. I didn’t want to lump myself in with all of those people — how can I separate myself from the ‘Sinatra guy?’
“So, I started finding my own style and working with a voice coach and learning delivery and phrasing and trying to really make it unique in my own way. But I also wanted to take songs that I like — rock ‘n’ roll songs, grunge songs — and try to find a jazz style to them. And I started doing that; I started thinking, what would Cole Porter do with a Green Day song? And I think I’ve accomplished that. I think I’m finding my own way as an artist and as a singer by doing that.”
There’s another, quite logical, reason why Farnese, who performs tomorrow at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, serves up more-recent material in a more-vintage manner.
“The other reason why I really like to do that is because unfortunately, the people that grew up with Cole Porter and George Gershwin are [dead].” He added that younger folks have responded to this generation-straddling game plan with great enthusiasm.
“I’ve had [younger] people come up to me after a show and go, ‘What was that song about the skin? That’s a good song,’” he said, referring to the Cole Porter standard, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” “And I’m like, ‘That song is 90 years old!’
“I love using [the more contemporary songs] to attract a young crowd and get them interested in classic pop songs.”
Singing isn’t Farnese’s only dive into the show business pool. First of all, it’s the family business: His father, Aldo, was an actor and, more importantly as far as Delaware Valley Baby Boomers are concerned, the host of “Dickory Doc,” a daily cartoon show that aired in the late 1960s on Philly’s long-dark WKBS-TV, Ch. 48. It featured Farnese Senior as a toymaker in a North Pole workshop.
And Farnese spent a dozen years in Los Angeles doing theater and warming up studio audiences on such programs as “Double Dare” and “Finders Keepers,” game shows that aired on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel.
But it’s important to note that Farnese doesn’t have to sing for his supper, as it were. His “day job” is being a cameraman for the Phillies games broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia; he provides slow-motion replays from his perch in left field in front of the Ghost Energy Deck restaurant.
While video is his job, music is his passion. As such, he’s looking to ride his considerable talents as far as they will take him. But ultimately, he noted, financial rewards are not his primary motivation.
”It’s not about the money,” he insisted. “Not at all. It’s really about connecting with an audience.
“I’ll never forget my very first gig. It was at a nursing home, and I was so nervous about being good; I didn’t want to suck. But it was all about me.
“And then I sang my first song and two ladies in the front started crying. They were in tears because the song I was singing reminded them of when they were young. And I was like, that’s what it’s about. It’s about lifting spirits; lifting spirits and souls.
“It’s really about that.”
Chic New Year’s bash at the Rock
Those looking to boogie their way into 2027 should note that tickets are now on sale for the Hard Rock New Year’s Eve bash starring the Nile Rodgers-led 1970s disco titans Chic, whose hits include “Le Freak,” “Good Times” and “Everybody Dance.”
Also on the bill are Bell Biv Devoe and Ja Rule.
For tickets, go to Second time’s the charm for singer Greg Farnese
The Casino File By Chuck Darrow
For South Jersey-based crooner Greg Farnese, it’s the second time that’s the charm.
In 2018, Farnese (pronounced far-NAY-zee) released his debut CD, “Set in Motion” on the Camden-based Victor label. By his own account, it wasn’t a particularly strong effort.
“I think I bit off more than I could chew on that,” he admitted during a recent chat in advance of his Oct. 30 return to the lounge at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (he’s also there Dec. 5).
“I don’t think I was really ready for that material because I was just kind of starting out. But whenever I listen to it, I cringe because I just didn’t like the way I sounded. It was my first record. I didn’t know what I was doing, you know?”
Eight years later, things have changed dramatically; Farnese is clearly and unabashedly proud of his “Oh No, I’m in Love Again” CD, which was recently released by Imani Records. While the eight-song collection includes the title track that he co-wrote with lyricist Alan Gardner (a second original by the team, “A Little Bit of Love” is also included) and a version of “Dream” by “Great American Song Book” composer Johnny Mercer, what sets Farnese and the album apart from the pack is his conversion of modern-rock songs into sophisticated jazz pieces. These include “Wonderwall” by Oasis, Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. According to Farnese, there is a method to what on the surface seems to be some out-there musical madness.
“If you remember when Elvis Presley died, impersonators came out of the woodwork,” he offered. “There were thousands of them. And when [Frank] Sinatra died, there were thousands of those guys too. I didn’t want to lump myself in with all of those people — how can I separate myself from the ‘Sinatra guy?’
“So, I started finding my own style and working with a voice coach and learning delivery and phrasing and trying to really make it unique in my own way. But I also wanted to take songs that I like — rock ‘n’ roll songs, grunge songs — and try to find a jazz style to them. And I started doing that; I started thinking, what would Cole Porter do with a Green Day song? And I think I’ve accomplished that. I think I’m finding my own way as an artist and as a singer by doing that.”
There’s another, quite logical, reason why Farnese, who performs tomorrow at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, serves up more-recent material in a more-vintage manner.
“The other reason why I really like to do that is because unfortunately, the people that grew up with Cole Porter and George Gershwin are [dead].” He added that younger folks have responded to this generation-straddling game plan with great enthusiasm.
“I’ve had [younger] people come up to me after a show and go, ‘What was that song about the skin? That’s a good song,’” he said, referring to the Cole Porter standard, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” “And I’m like, ‘That song is 90 years old!’
“I love using [the more contemporary songs] to attract a young crowd and get them interested in classic pop songs.”
Singing isn’t Farnese’s only dive into the show business pool. First of all, it’s the family business: His father, Aldo, was an actor and, more importantly as far as Delaware Valley Baby Boomers are concerned, the host of “Dickory Doc,” a daily cartoon show that aired in the late 1960s on Philly’s long-dark WKBS-TV, Ch. 48. It featured Farnese Senior as a toymaker in a North Pole workshop.
And Farnese spent a dozen years in Los Angeles doing theater and warming up studio audiences on such programs as “Double Dare” and “Finders Keepers,” game shows that aired on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel.
But it’s important to note that Farnese doesn’t have to sing for his supper, as it were. His “day job” is being a cameraman for the Phillies games broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia; he provides slow-motion replays from his perch in left field in front of the Ghost Energy Deck restaurant.
While video is his job, music is his passion. As such, he’s looking to ride his considerable talents as far as they will take him. But ultimately, he noted, financial rewards are not his primary motivation.
”It’s not about the money,” he insisted. “Not at all. It’s really about connecting with an audience.
“I’ll never forget my very first gig. It was at a nursing home, and I was so nervous about being good; I didn’t want to suck. But it was all about me.
“And then I sang my first song and two ladies in the front started crying. They were in tears because the song I was singing reminded them of when they were young. And I was like, that’s what it’s about. It’s about lifting spirits; lifting spirits and souls.
“It’s really about that.”
Chic New Year’s bash at the Rock
Those looking to boogie their way into 2027 should note that tickets are now on sale for the Hard Rock New Year’s Eve bash starring the Nile Rodgers-led 1970s disco titans Chic, whose hits include “Le Freak,” “Good Times” and “Everybody Dance.”
Also on the bill are Bell Biv Devoe and Ja Rule.
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.Second time’s the charm for singer Greg Farnese
The Casino File By Chuck Darrow
For South Jersey-based crooner Greg Farnese, it’s the second time that’s the charm.
In 2018, Farnese (pronounced far-NAY-zee) released his debut CD, “Set in Motion” on the Camden-based Victor label. By his own account, it wasn’t a particularly strong effort.
“I think I bit off more than I could chew on that,” he admitted during a recent chat in advance of his Oct. 30 return to the lounge at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (he’s also there Dec. 5).
“I don’t think I was really ready for that material because I was just kind of starting out. But whenever I listen to it, I cringe because I just didn’t like the way I sounded. It was my first record. I didn’t know what I was doing, you know?”
Eight years later, things have changed dramatically; Farnese is clearly and unabashedly proud of his “Oh No, I’m in Love Again” CD, which was recently released by Imani Records. While the eight-song collection includes the title track that he co-wrote with lyricist Alan Gardner (a second original by the team, “A Little Bit of Love” is also included) and a version of “Dream” by “Great American Song Book” composer Johnny Mercer, what sets Farnese and the album apart from the pack is his conversion of modern-rock songs into sophisticated jazz pieces. These include “Wonderwall” by Oasis, Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. According to Farnese, there is a method to what on the surface seems to be some out-there musical madness.
“If you remember when Elvis Presley died, impersonators came out of the woodwork,” he offered. “There were thousands of them. And when [Frank] Sinatra died, there were thousands of those guys too. I didn’t want to lump myself in with all of those people — how can I separate myself from the ‘Sinatra guy?’
“So, I started finding my own style and working with a voice coach and learning delivery and phrasing and trying to really make it unique in my own way. But I also wanted to take songs that I like — rock ‘n’ roll songs, grunge songs — and try to find a jazz style to them. And I started doing that; I started thinking, what would Cole Porter do with a Green Day song? And I think I’ve accomplished that. I think I’m finding my own way as an artist and as a singer by doing that.”
There’s another, quite logical, reason why Farnese, who performs tomorrow at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, serves up more-recent material in a more-vintage manner.
“The other reason why I really like to do that is because unfortunately, the people that grew up with Cole Porter and George Gershwin are [dead].” He added that younger folks have responded to this generation-straddling game plan with great enthusiasm.
“I’ve had [younger] people come up to me after a show and go, ‘What was that song about the skin? That’s a good song,’” he said, referring to the Cole Porter standard, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” “And I’m like, ‘That song is 90 years old!’
“I love using [the more contemporary songs] to attract a young crowd and get them interested in classic pop songs.”
Singing isn’t Farnese’s only dive into the show business pool. First of all, it’s the family business: His father, Aldo, was an actor and, more importantly as far as Delaware Valley Baby Boomers are concerned, the host of “Dickory Doc,” a daily cartoon show that aired in the late 1960s on Philly’s long-dark WKBS-TV, Ch. 48. It featured Farnese Senior as a toymaker in a North Pole workshop.
And Farnese spent a dozen years in Los Angeles doing theater and warming up studio audiences on such programs as “Double Dare” and “Finders Keepers,” game shows that aired on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel.
But it’s important to note that Farnese doesn’t have to sing for his supper, as it were. His “day job” is being a cameraman for the Phillies games broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia; he provides slow-motion replays from his perch in left field in front of the Ghost Energy Deck restaurant.
While video is his job, music is his passion. As such, he’s looking to ride his considerable talents as far as they will take him. But ultimately, he noted, financial rewards are not his primary motivation.
”It’s not about the money,” he insisted. “Not at all. It’s really about connecting with an audience.
“I’ll never forget my very first gig. It was at a nursing home, and I was so nervous about being good; I didn’t want to suck. But it was all about me.
“And then I sang my first song and two ladies in the front started crying. They were in tears because the song I was singing reminded them of when they were young. And I was like, that’s what it’s about. It’s about lifting spirits; lifting spirits and souls.
“It’s really about that.”
Chic New Year’s bash at the Rock
Those looking to boogie their way into 2027 should note that tickets are now on sale for the Hard Rock New Year’s Eve bash starring the Nile Rodgers-led 1970s disco titans Chic, whose hits include “Le Freak,” “Good Times” and “Everybody Dance.”
Also on the bill are Bell Biv Devoe and Ja Rule.
For tickets, go to Second time’s the charm for singer Greg Farnese
The Casino File By Chuck Darrow
For South Jersey-based crooner Greg Farnese, it’s the second time that’s the charm.
In 2018, Farnese (pronounced far-NAY-zee) released his debut CD, “Set in Motion” on the Camden-based Victor label. By his own account, it wasn’t a particularly strong effort.
“I think I bit off more than I could chew on that,” he admitted during a recent chat in advance of his Oct. 30 return to the lounge at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (he’s also there Dec. 5).
“I don’t think I was really ready for that material because I was just kind of starting out. But whenever I listen to it, I cringe because I just didn’t like the way I sounded. It was my first record. I didn’t know what I was doing, you know?”
Eight years later, things have changed dramatically; Farnese is clearly and unabashedly proud of his “Oh No, I’m in Love Again” CD, which was recently released by Imani Records. While the eight-song collection includes the title track that he co-wrote with lyricist Alan Gardner (a second original by the team, “A Little Bit of Love” is also included) and a version of “Dream” by “Great American Song Book” composer Johnny Mercer, what sets Farnese and the album apart from the pack is his conversion of modern-rock songs into sophisticated jazz pieces. These include “Wonderwall” by Oasis, Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. According to Farnese, there is a method to what on the surface seems to be some out-there musical madness.
“If you remember when Elvis Presley died, impersonators came out of the woodwork,” he offered. “There were thousands of them. And when [Frank] Sinatra died, there were thousands of those guys too. I didn’t want to lump myself in with all of those people — how can I separate myself from the ‘Sinatra guy?’
“So, I started finding my own style and working with a voice coach and learning delivery and phrasing and trying to really make it unique in my own way. But I also wanted to take songs that I like — rock ‘n’ roll songs, grunge songs — and try to find a jazz style to them. And I started doing that; I started thinking, what would Cole Porter do with a Green Day song? And I think I’ve accomplished that. I think I’m finding my own way as an artist and as a singer by doing that.”
There’s another, quite logical, reason why Farnese, who performs tomorrow at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, serves up more-recent material in a more-vintage manner.
“The other reason why I really like to do that is because unfortunately, the people that grew up with Cole Porter and George Gershwin are [dead].” He added that younger folks have responded to this generation-straddling game plan with great enthusiasm.
“I’ve had [younger] people come up to me after a show and go, ‘What was that song about the skin? That’s a good song,’” he said, referring to the Cole Porter standard, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” “And I’m like, ‘That song is 90 years old!’
“I love using [the more contemporary songs] to attract a young crowd and get them interested in classic pop songs.”
Singing isn’t Farnese’s only dive into the show business pool. First of all, it’s the family business: His father, Aldo, was an actor and, more importantly as far as Delaware Valley Baby Boomers are concerned, the host of “Dickory Doc,” a daily cartoon show that aired in the late 1960s on Philly’s long-dark WKBS-TV, Ch. 48. It featured Farnese Senior as a toymaker in a North Pole workshop.
And Farnese spent a dozen years in Los Angeles doing theater and warming up studio audiences on such programs as “Double Dare” and “Finders Keepers,” game shows that aired on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel.
But it’s important to note that Farnese doesn’t have to sing for his supper, as it were. His “day job” is being a cameraman for the Phillies games broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia; he provides slow-motion replays from his perch in left field in front of the Ghost Energy Deck restaurant.
While video is his job, music is his passion. As such, he’s looking to ride his considerable talents as far as they will take him. But ultimately, he noted, financial rewards are not his primary motivation.
”It’s not about the money,” he insisted. “Not at all. It’s really about connecting with an audience.
“I’ll never forget my very first gig. It was at a nursing home, and I was so nervous about being good; I didn’t want to suck. But it was all about me.
“And then I sang my first song and two ladies in the front started crying. They were in tears because the song I was singing reminded them of when they were young. And I was like, that’s what it’s about. It’s about lifting spirits; lifting spirits and souls.
“It’s really about that.”
Chic New Year’s bash at the Rock
Those looking to boogie their way into 2027 should note that tickets are now on sale for the Hard Rock New Year’s Eve bash starring the Nile Rodgers-led 1970s disco titans Chic, whose hits include “Le Freak,” “Good Times” and “Everybody Dance.”
Also on the bill are Bell Biv Devoe and Ja Rule.
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.Second time’s the charm for singer Greg Farnese
The Casino File By Chuck Darrow
For South Jersey-based crooner Greg Farnese, it’s the second time that’s the charm.
In 2018, Farnese (pronounced far-NAY-zee) released his debut CD, “Set in Motion” on the Camden-based Victor label. By his own account, it wasn’t a particularly strong effort.
“I think I bit off more than I could chew on that,” he admitted during a recent chat in advance of his Oct. 30 return to the lounge at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (he’s also there Dec. 5).
“I don’t think I was really ready for that material because I was just kind of starting out. But whenever I listen to it, I cringe because I just didn’t like the way I sounded. It was my first record. I didn’t know what I was doing, you know?”
Eight years later, things have changed dramatically; Farnese is clearly and unabashedly proud of his “Oh No, I’m in Love Again” CD, which was recently released by Imani Records. While the eight-song collection includes the title track that he co-wrote with lyricist Alan Gardner (a second original by the team, “A Little Bit of Love” is also included) and a version of “Dream” by “Great American Song Book” composer Johnny Mercer, what sets Farnese and the album apart from the pack is his conversion of modern-rock songs into sophisticated jazz pieces. These include “Wonderwall” by Oasis, Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. According to Farnese, there is a method to what on the surface seems to be some out-there musical madness.
“If you remember when Elvis Presley died, impersonators came out of the woodwork,” he offered. “There were thousands of them. And when [Frank] Sinatra died, there were thousands of those guys too. I didn’t want to lump myself in with all of those people — how can I separate myself from the ‘Sinatra guy?’
“So, I started finding my own style and working with a voice coach and learning delivery and phrasing and trying to really make it unique in my own way. But I also wanted to take songs that I like — rock ‘n’ roll songs, grunge songs — and try to find a jazz style to them. And I started doing that; I started thinking, what would Cole Porter do with a Green Day song? And I think I’ve accomplished that. I think I’m finding my own way as an artist and as a singer by doing that.”
There’s another, quite logical, reason why Farnese, who performs tomorrow at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, serves up more-recent material in a more-vintage manner.
“The other reason why I really like to do that is because unfortunately, the people that grew up with Cole Porter and George Gershwin are [dead].” He added that younger folks have responded to this generation-straddling game plan with great enthusiasm.
“I’ve had [younger] people come up to me after a show and go, ‘What was that song about the skin? That’s a good song,’” he said, referring to the Cole Porter standard, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” “And I’m like, ‘That song is 90 years old!’
“I love using [the more contemporary songs] to attract a young crowd and get them interested in classic pop songs.”
Singing isn’t Farnese’s only dive into the show business pool. First of all, it’s the family business: His father, Aldo, was an actor and, more importantly as far as Delaware Valley Baby Boomers are concerned, the host of “Dickory Doc,” a daily cartoon show that aired in the late 1960s on Philly’s long-dark WKBS-TV, Ch. 48. It featured Farnese Senior as a toymaker in a North Pole workshop.
And Farnese spent a dozen years in Los Angeles doing theater and warming up studio audiences on such programs as “Double Dare” and “Finders Keepers,” game shows that aired on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel.
But it’s important to note that Farnese doesn’t have to sing for his supper, as it were. His “day job” is being a cameraman for the Phillies games broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia; he provides slow-motion replays from his perch in left field in front of the Ghost Energy Deck restaurant.
While video is his job, music is his passion. As such, he’s looking to ride his considerable talents as far as they will take him. But ultimately, he noted, financial rewards are not his primary motivation.
”It’s not about the money,” he insisted. “Not at all. It’s really about connecting with an audience.
“I’ll never forget my very first gig. It was at a nursing home, and I was so nervous about being good; I didn’t want to suck. But it was all about me.
“And then I sang my first song and two ladies in the front started crying. They were in tears because the song I was singing reminded them of when they were young. And I was like, that’s what it’s about. It’s about lifting spirits; lifting spirits and souls.
“It’s really about that.”
Chic New Year’s bash at the Rock
Those looking to boogie their way into 2027 should note that tickets are now on sale for the Hard Rock New Year’s Eve bash starring the Nile Rodgers-led 1970s disco titans Chic, whose hits include “Le Freak,” “Good Times” and “Everybody Dance.”
Also on the bill are Bell Biv Devoe and Ja Rule.
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
