RSS 2.0 FeedFebruary 24, 2011, Merrick Life
Connecting with Merrick’s Madeline Luongo
Recent JFK grad makes another local appearance.
2010 Kennedy graduate Madeline Luongo will appear once more at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre to sing her original songs on Wednesday, March 2. Accompanied only by her Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar and original compositions, her 30-minute set opens for several bands playing that evening.
Ms. Luongo has come a long way in four short years since picking up the guitar to be able to perform effortlessly in front of what could be several dozen or more attendees.
Considered all the more remarkable because she is holding back another “gig” at present: acceptance to the Berklee School of Music for songwriting, where she plans to go, if – or when – her songwriting needs a little polishing.
“I’ll see where the local music scene is and where it can take me before I decide to go to Berklee.”
Ms. Luongo began basic chord lessons when she was 14, saying it became a “jumping-off point” for writing songs. She quickly realized she could write her own songs to chords and chord progressions she had learned. “I loved it so much, it felt like I was meant to be” singing and playing the guitar.
She fingerpicks her songs in part due to watching her influences, and in part to riffling through all the Berklee guitar books to see what techniques she could best apply to her developing style. Her early influences include folk artist Conor Oberst, and English singer/songwriters Laura Marling and Ellie Goulding. “I’m a fan of Jewel, as well,” she added.
She says of her styles compared to theirs, “I’m not plagarizing their styles as much as emulating them.”
The pace toward a possible career as singer-songwriter began for the 18-year-old during an annual talent show at Kennedy, and an unplugged event just last year, at the end of her 11th grade.
She said of her unplugged night, “I was a little nervous,” but found, after receiving a warm reaction to singing the song “You Had Me At Hello” by A Day To Remember, that “It gave me confidence that I could keep going with this.”
It’s just as likely she gained her confidence while playing the flute in Kennedy’s classical Wind Ensemble band, where she won the John Phillip Sousa Award for her flute playing. “Knowing the flute helped me understand and learn the guitar,” she said. She thanks music teacher Walter Avellanda for all his help in getting her the award, and for his belief that she could succeed.
Regarding her own compositions, she said her lyrics are based on “personal experience, and the experiences of others” she reads about. Music is universal, she said, “and to be able to connect with that universality that is in all of us,” and present it to people so that they understand what’s within themselves, is her goal.
Her performance on March 2 will be her second at the club. She’ll open for acts Chase Coy, Jimmy Robbins, Schoolboy Humor, Corey Balsamo and Catch the Sunrise. She sang her own compositions, plus a cover song, last November to what she said was “A great response,” so she has been asked back to play a new set of her original songs.
You can connect with her starting at 5 p.m.
