Don’t Stop Believin’

As long as Jefe stays hot, rock ’n’ roll will never die.

Photograph by Luigi Ciuffetelli
www.luigic.com

 

Young women at the beach might not know who sang “Piano Man,” but they all seem to know who Jefe is. (Say Heff•A–.) Ask enough college-aged ladies in Newark, and you’ll hear any number of variations on these three words: Jefe is hot.

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That’s because Jefe (real name: Jeff Ebbert) is one of
Delaware’s only true, enduring rock stars. In his 13-year career as a solo musician and as lead singer in cover band Burnt Sienna, the Bear resident has built a rabid fan base, many of whom are female. Many of whom lose their flipping minds during Burnt Sienna shows.

“It’s flattering, I guess,” Jefe says. “We’ve been lucky to have those fans for so long. But I guess it is kind of odd for a cover band to have that kind of following.”

Odd? Odd is a group of ladies who cut the faces out of a band photo and wore Burnt Sienna masks during a performance.

Odd is a fan who climbed onto her friends’ backs and rearranged the letters on the marquee at Dewey’s Northbeach to read, “Erin and Jefe.”

Credit Jefe’s lasting power with his ability to stand out from the cavalcade of cover bands that haunt Delaware’s party towns. His chiseled looks don’t hurt, either.

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Or maybe it’s the way he sings Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

“For whatever reason,” he says, “that has become the biggest song in the world.”

Catch Jefe and the rest of Burnt Sienna at The Deer Park Tavern in in Newark and at other
local venues.   —Matt Amis

 


Movin’ Out” features 24 of the Piano Man’s classic tunes.

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It’s Still Rock ’n’ Roll to Us
Need a Billy Joel fix? Check out
“Movin’ Out” at the DuPont Theatre in
Wilmington January 8-13. The show brings 24 Joel classics to life as it tells the story of five friends over a two-
decade period. To create the show, Joel, a five-time Grammy winner, partnered with the legendary Twyla Tharp, who has choreographed more than 135 dances and five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed three Broadway shows, written two books, and received a Tony and two Emmy Awards. The pairing has paid off. Time Magazine described “Movin’ Out” as “so exhilarating and soul-stirring, it practically bursts out of the theater.” This is not your typical musical, though, so don’t expect any dialogue. Because the story is told solely through song and dance, “Movin’ Out” may be better described as a rock ballet. And though Joel is nowhere to be found, the piece does channel his characters, especially Brenda and Eddie from “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and Tony and Judy from “Why, Judy, Why?” Fortunately for us, Sergeant O’Leary is still walkin’ the beat. For more, call 656-4401, or visit www.duponttheatre.com.

 

     
(right) Dr. A.C. Daniels’ Medicine Cabinet (left) “Be Kind Animals Club” pin

Pet Fancy
Show your love for Fido by attending “Pets in America: The Story of Our Lives with Animals at Home” at Winterthur this month. The family-friendly traveling exhibit explores the history of Americans and their pets from the 1700s to the
present. Curated by Winterthur professor Katherine C. Grier and organized by the McKissick Museum in South Carolina, the program looks at pets’ place in society as status symbols, hobbies and, most of all, companions. The exhibit runs through January 20. For more, call 888-4600, or visit www.winterthur.org.

 


Dave Payne gives new meaning to the word float
during the 2006 Hummers Parade.
Photograph is a Middletown Transcript file photo

You never know what you’ll see at the annual Hummers Parade in Middletown, and that’s the beauty of it. Held each New Year’s Day for 36 years, the laid-back event spoofs Philly’s more famous but less amusing Mummers Parade. Hummers participants fashion costumes and floats the day of the parade, then hit Main and Broad streets to pay their tongue-in-cheek tribute to politicians and others who have achieved notoriety during the past year. Recent targets include Terrell Owens, Dick Cheney and “Seinfeld” actor Michael Richards. What might we see this time around? “Hmm. Let’s think of who has stepped in something this year,” says Jack Schreppler, self-appointed grand marshal-for-life. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see a psychiatric hospital on wheels.” The parade starts around 1 p.m. For more, call 218-8588.

 

 

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