Traverse City Record-Eagle

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  • Jason Elsenheimer and Nick Foresman perform Old Friends, a reenactment of a Simon and Garfunkel concert. Special to the Record-Eagle

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November 30, 2012

Simon & Garfunkel tribute tonight

BY KATE MILEWSKI kmilewski@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — There's something about Simon and Garfunkel that brings people together. For musicians and childhood best friends Jason Elsenheimer and Nick Foresman, the all-American duo is part of what made them longtime friends and inspired them to perform Old Friends, a reenactment of Simon and Garfunkel's 1981 reunion concert in Central Park.

"Jason and I have been singing the songs for 27, 28 years," Foresman said. "We were huge fans growing up.

"It was Jason's idea one night. He said 'Why don't we put together a tribute band?'"

The idea blossomed and now, the group (including a full seven-piece band with horn section) will be performing at 8 p.m. today at InsideOut Gallery in Traverse City.

Foresman and Elsenheimer play every song from the Central Park performance in order, singing the lyrics just as they were sung that night in New York more than 30 years ago. They even dress like the duo.

Getting things exactly right for the show took a lot of work and research.

"We had to get the lyrics for how they do it in the concert because they do things differently than on the album," Foresman said. "We had to sing the proper words, proper to how they did it in the song with the proper instrumentation."

To get that part right, they brought in musical director Al Jankowski to draw up charts so all the musicians were on the same page.

"If you take it for just a show, it's going to be good," Foresman said. "It's upbeat, uplifting and familiar. That's the great thing about Simon and Garfunkel music, it's kind of woven into America's tapestry."

Tickets are available in advance at InsideOut Gallery, Marshall Music and Oryana Food Cooperative as well as online at mynorthtickets.com or oldfriends-sgtribute.com, where a promo video for the performance is also available. Prices are $15 in advance or $18 at the door. For information, call 929-3254.

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