It's been nearly 25 years since Eddie Skuller's first band passed an audition night at the legendary club CBGB's in NY. Eddie first achieved not just notice but acclaim in the long-shot role of indie-rock singer-songwriter before turning a re-inventive eye toward the great American saloon songbook (and stirring unlikely folk and rock favorites into its style). Skuller is a resident of Glen Ridge.

Eddie's move toward "saloon crooner" has caught the ears of three potentially interested jazz labels coming to his showcase gig at the Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street, NYC on Tuesday January 24 at 7p.m. (There is no admission fee).

The move may be familiar, but in Skuller's hands is neither gimmick nor gambit; these melancholy melodies are ones in which the moody composer saw a distinctly kindred spirit, or specter. Skuller re-creates lounge classics with an original and unerring intuition for the songs' depths and dark corners. The Village Voice has called Eddie the "best macabre standards-crooner without a washed-up rock career to make it necessary."

The Living Room, once a regular spot for Norah Jones, was named Best Accoustic Music Venue 1998 by New York Press. The New York Post calls it "downtown's unpretentious new songwriter showcase space...The space feels so intimate that the performers who get up on its tiny stage could just as easily be playing for their cats at home. Perhaps because of its relaxed vibe, the Living Room is a prime setting for new artists to try out different poses before hitting the bigger stages."

Tuesday January 24, 2006, 7 p.m.
The Living Room
154 Ludlow Street, NYC
212.533.7235
(between of Stanton and Rivington)
NO COVER CHARGE

January 22, 2006