By Robert Brune
ARKVILLE — The Catskills has a storied history of attracting incredibly gifted entertainers. As the
years go on, this area has continued to attract musicians settling down here in our mountain
villages since the beginning of modern civilization. Sue’s Garage is a four-year endeavor of the
best of the sixties and seventies popular rock n’ roll music that sparked an exciting evening of fun at
the Union Grove Distillery in Arkville.
Suzanne Pastor who is a dear friend and committed supporter of the band that bears her name
explains the origins, “When they committed to perform in September 2020 at a political
fundraiser in my backyard, they asked me if they may practice together in my garage, which is
quite roomy. The original group consisted of other members, all friends, all residents, all great
musicians.” Over the past four years, the band has experienced several iterations by losing a
beloved keyboardist who passed away and going through several drummers. The current group
consists of Scott Blum on drums and percussion as an award-winning performer and TV, radio,
theater, opera and studio session percussionist. Dorothy Blum is an accomplished percussionist
performing with bands in Florida as well as being an educator with the Association of Florida
Teaching Artists teaching drumming and watercolors. Tim, lead guitar; Maggie, violin; dan, bass
guitar, and the rockin’ Tom Fetterman and Bonnie MacSaveny, vocals. Dan Kruger the bassist and vocals is from north New Jersey who performed rock, blues, country, R&B bands throughout the seventies and
eighties for many years fits in perfectly. Maggie who used to work in the banking industry
provides the magic of her violin skills with flowing bridges between verses and sweet elegance
woven into their songs, along with magnificent solos that wowed the crowd. Tim Mukherjee who performs spectacularly on guitar has a PHD in music from Harvard University. Tom and Bonnie who share most of the vocals both have an extensive background on and off Broadway performing. The Union Grove Distillery audience members enjoyed fabulous covers from the likes of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’, the Barrett Strong classic ‘Money (That’s All I Want)’, Jethro Tull’s ‘Locomotive Breath’ with a rippin’ violin, and Bonnie’s incredible singing with Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Somebody to Love’ just to name a few from this amazing evening of timeless classics performed so magnificently.
Sue Pastor shares a bit more about the chemistry of the group, “Our bonded friendship among
everyone is further solidified after every practice when they bring it inside to dinner or lunch or
after-practice snacks which gives everyone an opportunity to meet-and-confer about the music,
the strengths/weaknesses, and friendly chatter about practically everything, not always
exclusively music. This is one of the best parts of our relationship because we learn and laugh
and have great moments together. Often not only the band is at this table, but other friends/fans
join the party as well. We all agree we are a lucky group who found not only a
beautiful place to live but to enjoy an amazing circle of friends, which gets bigger and bigger
when music fans join up at gigs and at our after-practice ‘table talk’. This community is full of
great folks!”
The group may be taking a break from performing until next spring, but it will be
worth the wait to catch this spectacular group in 2025, keeping an eye out with the Mountain
Eagle for their return.
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