PUTNEY — Ada Dyer, vocalist for The Unlawful Assembly, has lived in Manhattan since 1981. She's currently on break from a world tour with Bruce Springsteen, where she sings in his E Street Band.
She joined Springsteen in January and began touring in February. Her favorite two places to visit so far were Amsterdam and Spain.
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Victoria Chertok: Thanks for finding time to chat during your busy musical touring life! What is it like to tour with Springsteen?
Ada Dyer: What can I say? Bruce is a legend, and I'm very excited to be working with him. I couldn't ask for a better artist to work with at this point in my life. This is just perfection. I'm so grateful.
V.C.: I heard you spent your childhood in Chicago?
A.D.: I grew up on the South Side of Chicago. All of my early training was in the Pentecostal church.
One of my early influences was Mahalia Jackson. I remember listening to her and getting chills. I didn't know singing could have a physical effect on the body. I was like wow, wow, wow. I want to know how to do that, too.
V.C.: Who were some of your early musical influences?
A.D.: Aretha [Franklin] - everybody was influenced by Aretha, and Stevie Wonder. Chaka Khan.
I did a few tours with Chaka Khan. She would do a lot of spot dates. The one that I remember the most was when we went to South Africa. I appreciated very much going to the motherland. And I played with Roberta Flack.
V.C.: What is your favorite genre to sing today?
A.D.: That's a hard one. Today, if I was doing my own thing, I'd want to go back to the Jazz standards. Songs that are not heard often anymore, like one my favorites, "At Last."
V.C.: The repertoire of The Unlawful Assembly is "taking you back to the church." What has it been like?
A.D.: I'm a huge fan of Walter [Parks]. He's taking me back home; he's taking me back to the church. What is not to love about that!
He's doing a revamp on all these old gospel standards that I grew up listening to. He does them so well. I love his vocal range; it's impressive!
I'm having the best time, and I was missing this. So that is what I told him. I appreciate his knowledge. He's not just singing the songs. He knows the stories. He knows what he's talking about.
Victoria Chertok covers arts and entertainment in Vermont for The Commons. She is a classically trained harpist and received a B.A. in music at Bucknell University.
This The Arts item by Victoria Chertok was written for The Commons.