Not every girl can say that rocker Sheryl Crow bought her first pair of leather pants.
TIMES HERALD-RECORD
By Sandy Tomcho
Not every girl can say that rocker Sheryl Crow bought her first pair of leather pants.
“She did! It was my first really good pair of leather pants,” Lorenza Ponce said. “The first ones that were made by a really good maker, fit perfectly. She was buying us clothes for the tour and said to me, ‘You need a pair of leather pants.’ She’s really, really sweet. Sheryl Crow is an amazing human being.”
“I’m doing the solo thing right now. I just finished working with Carly Simon and I scheduled some shows for myself,” said Ponce, who plays the Bearsville Theater Friday night. “I’ve been trying to put myself and my band first for a little while for the first time in my life.”
A rock ‘n’ roller, Ponce got her start as a new-age artist. Early on, she began studying classical violin and by high school was a soloist in the Maryland Youth Symphony. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music and Syracuse University.
Her first solo album (with vocals), “Imago,” was released in 1997 and was followed by “Mystic Fiddler” in 2001, “Song of Songs” in 2002 and the recently released “Soul Shifter.” Between the release of her first album and now, Ponce has performed or recorded with Neil Young, Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Stevie Nicks, Cyndi Lauper, Silverchair and Deborah Harry of Blondie.
She was the violinist and violist for the recent Bon Jovi “Lost Highway” tour, is a member of Jon Bon Jovi’s solo acoustic group and also toured with John Tesh, Ben Folds and Japanese superstar Kitaro.
She wanted to make “Soul Shifter” because she’s a fan of rock ‘n’ roll and, now that she’s made it, she’s ready to play it.
“I feel so strongly about this new record. I absolutely love it and that’s something I’ve never been able to say before,” Ponce said. “I think it’s music that people can relate to, which is also something I’ve never been able to say before.”
One of the motivators behind this album was the leather-loving Crow. Ponce met Crow when the artist was recording the theme song for the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” and ran into her later on when she was working on “The Globe Sessions.” It was during that time she broke the cardinal rule.
“I gave her one of my records. Something said to me ‘Do it.’ She told me she wanted to take violin on the road with her and it was perfect. We really hit it off,” Ponce said. “She was the one that pulled the rock girl out because that’s what was really in my heart.”
