New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Rock-It Science Festival) - With the buzz growing on the Rock-It Festival set for March 3 at the Highline Ballroom-New Yorker wrote: "A slew of A-list musicians...join a number of leading scientists...all of whom also like to rock out."-the leads of the critically acclaimed upcoming Broadway smash hit musical ROCK OF AGES have come aboard to perform a few songs for the benefit to fund research and create awareness for Sensory Processing Disorders.
Constantine Maroulis - the "American Idol" 4th season finalist who headlined the Idol's sold-out Live Summer Tour with that year's winner Carrie Underwood and has also appeared in Broadway's The Wedding Singer and RENT - is reprising his well-received Off Broadway role as "Drew" in the Broadway version of ROCK OF AGES. He is joined by two of Broadway's best rockers, Amy Spanger (The Wedding Singer and Kiss Me Kate), and James Spanger (Broadway's Saturday Night Fever). ROCK OF AGES is an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of the '80s, some of which Constantine and Spanger will be performing at the Rock-It Science Festival. Previously, the New York Post noted, "ROCK OF AGES does for '80s rock what 'Mamma Mia!' did for ABBA."
Following an extremely successful off Broadway run and the sale of the film rights to New Line Cinema, ROCK OF AGES will open on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 W. 47th Street) with previews beginning on Tuesday, March 17, 2009.
Constantine, Carpinello and Spanger join a unique lineup conceived by Dr. Joseph LeDoux, a professor of neuroscience at New York University who not only has pioneered study of the brain's mechanisms for emotion and memory and is the author of The Emotional Brain and The Synaptic Self, but is also guitarist and lead vocalists of rock band The Amygdaloids, who will be performing at Rock-It Science. The full-line up includes seasoned musicians such as singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright; Patti Smith guitarist and record producer Lenny Kaye; acclaimed musician and co-leader of the legendary dBs Peter Holsapple; acclaimed songwriter and former Dream Syndicate member Steve Wynn; rocker Dee Snider; Grammy-nominated songwriter and international recording artist Gary Lucas; American folk-rock duo The Kennedys, jazz/cabaret performer Pamela Luss; and Stuart Chatwood, previously the bassist and keyboard player for platinum rock band The Tea Party.
Exclusive to the Rock-It Science Festival bill are these top scientists and academics including LeDoux, of the rock band Amygdaloids (which also include other NYU scientists: neuroscientist Daniela Schiller, PhD candidate Nina Galbraith Curley, and Environmental Sciences professor and author Tyler Volk.), David Sulzer (a.k.a. Dave Soldier) who has worked with David Byrne, John Cale and Kurt Vonnegut along with co-leading musical groups that include The Spinozas and the Kropotkins; Daniel Levitin, a cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, and author (This Is Your Brain On Music, The World In Six Songs) who has performed with Mel Torme, Blue Oyster Cult and David Byrne and evolutionary geneticist Pardis Sabeti, who leads the Boston band Thousand Days. Australian Go-Go dancer and variety show star Anna Copa Cabanna will emcee.
