By Gary Wien
originally published: 11/05/2005
He's played John Lennon in Beatlemania and Buddy Holly in "La Bamba", but Marshall Crenshaw has never seemed comfortable playing the part of a rock and roll star. His music has always been a little too hip for the masses, and playing a cult-hero seems just fine with him.
Crenshaw will be performing as part of The Sanctuary Concerts in Chatham, New Jersey on November 12th and at Joe's Pub in New York City on November 27th. You never know what you're going to get at a Crenshaw show these days as he not only rolls out material from throughout his catalog but isn't afraid to completely change course while on stage.
"I never make a setlist when I play solo," Crenshaw explained. "I always just think about what the first three or four songs are going to be. I played a show in Chicago last weekend where I did a set where it was an old one and then a more recent one and then an old one and a recent one. And then I started getting into some cover tunes. I wound up doing a little two or three song tribute to Doc Pomus, who is a friend of mine. Then I heard somebody say something about Eddie Cochran so I did about five Eddie Cochran songs. There's some margin of unpredictability in the whole thing, but I play stuff from most of my records."
His catalog is filled with hits everyone in the world knows and misses that could and probably should have been just as big. Songs like "Someday, Someway" and "Whenever You're On My Mind" not only established Crenshaw as an excellent songwriter but remain staples of radio stations over twenty years later. The mystery is why later songs like "This Is Easy", "Valerie", "Some Place Where Love Can't Find Me", and "Better Back Off" never reached that same level.
"I really can't say," said Crenshaw. "I have about 150 possible answers to that question and on any given day I might give one of those answers. They're all some part of the truth. Other days I just go I don't know, it just happened the way it happened."
Marshall's last record, "What's In The Bag", was released in 2003. He said he's got the bug again to start writing and recording so we might be able to see a new release next year or the year after.
"The thing is that for a couple of years we were living in a rented house because we didn't know where we wanted to live," he explained. "So I had all of my gear set up in a spare bedroom. I wasn't writing much during that time. I really need to have my little sanctuary - my space. For about ten years I had a studio space set up behind our house in Woodstock. I wrote a lot of songs in that room and did the bulk of three albums there."
"We just moved in August and I just got back from looking at the back part of a barn that's on our property that these guys just finished renovating for me. They're going to have everything cleaned out tomorrow or the next day and I'm all jazzed up about that. I kind of looked around and was trying to picture where I'd put my drums and this and that. I'm eager to use that room and to make music, so I think I should be starting up pretty soon. I've got the bug to do it. I'm brainstorming it now."
Even when he's not out supporting a new album Crenshaw still does about fifty shows a year. He no longer plays the punk rock clubs like he did in the early 80s, but prefers to play nicer places like performance arts centers. He lovingly calls it the "NPR circuit".
"I remember when I started out with my band we used to play a lot of places that were kind of punk rock type venues," recalled Crenshaw. "At some point about 12 years ago I kind of made a transition where I reached the point where I couldn't stand to be in a dressing room with busted up furniture and stupid crap written all over the walls. I mean, I never liked it but I came up with a never for those places. I called them /c,C Aurock toilets' and said I don't want to play rock toilets anymore. So, the NPR circuit is like the opposite of a rock toilet. A guy my age likes to keep his dignity! I try to be where I'm supposed to be."
One place Crenshaw never expected to be is in the middle of a 19th Century recording studio. It happened one day when he went to see They Might Be Giants record at the Edison Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey. While he was there somebody asked him if he wanted to do a session as well.
"I was taken aback a little bit, but I couldn't say no," he said. "I really loved it. I particularly liked meeting the guys who ran the recording sessions because they were just so into it. I remember talking with the guy who was the wax cylinder recording engineer. We talked about a recording artist named Billy Murray who was a huge star back in the teens and twenties. I just loved the quaintness of it and the humor in the lyrics. It was really entertaining stuff that sounded like it came from another world. And the guy who ran the wax cyclinder recording told me he had actually bought Billy Murray's old house on Long Island. I just dug it. I have a real fascination with popular music."
And you now you can hear what music makes Marshall tick every Wednesday nights at 9pm on http://www.wkze.com. Just as with his live sets, you never know what Marshall will be spinning next, but you're bound to dig it as well.
About the author:
Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of
Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station
The Penguin Rocks. His personal website is at
lightyscorner.com. He can be contacted at
[email protected].
Don Mclean & Lee Greenwood
Sunday, November 15, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJTwo iconic singers perform their hits and celebrate America’s 250 birthday! Singer/songwriter Don McLean is best known for the classic hit “American Pie,” as well as “Vincent” and “Castles in the Air.” Country superstar Lee Greenwood has seven top charting singles, including “I.O.U,” “It Turns Me Inside Out,” and the patriotic favorite, “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Song Of The Meadowlark
Sunday, November 15, 2026 @ 2:30pm
Highland Design Farm
159 Van Dyke Road, Hopewell, NJA meditative rock odyssey weaving reimagined contemporary songs, stream-of-consciousness poetry and live painting.
The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling
Wednesday, November 16, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJBlues guitar virtuoso Nick Moss and harmonica wizard Dennis Gruenling have been on a winning streak since they first joined forces in 2016. With relentless nonstop touring and the release of their Alligator Records debut, The High Cost Of Low Living, in 2018, The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling has been playing for wildly enthusiastic fans and winning over critics and radio programmers worldwide.
Michael Mcdermott
Thursday, November 19, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJMichael McDermott’s brand of rock n’ roll brims with the kind of well-honed style and wisdom that can only come from a career on the road and a pedigree in the studio. Effortlessly blending natural folk sensibility, pop hooks, and honest rock, McDermott’s music is as much for the outcast as the congregation. It’s an exploration of the dark corners of life’s journey and it resonates middle class truths through the passionate filter of a kid that grew up on Chicago’s Irish South Side.
10,000 Maniacs
Thursday, November 19, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJ10,000 Maniacs – 45 Years of Timeless Music
EVENT PREVIEWS
Forte Piano Music Company presents Exquisite Contrasts: Haydn & Schubert Piano Trios
(PARAMUS, NJ) -- The Forte Piano Music Company presents a Piano Trio Concert - "Exquisite Contrasts" - Haydn & Schubert on Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 2:30pm. This program brings together two landmarks of the piano trio repertoire, revealing the evolution of the genre from the Classical era to early Romanticism.
Mahwah Museum Hosts "Les Paul from Start to Finish" with Jim Wysocki
(MAHWAH, NJ) -- Come to the Mahwah Museum on Sunday, November 15, 2026 for a discussion of a 29-year friendship, rare memorabilia, and the story behind Les Paul's home with Mahwah Mayor Jim Wysocki from his nearly three-decade friendship with legendary musician and inventor Les Paul. The event begins at 2:00pm.
Atlantic City Punk Rock Flea Market - Holiday Edition to take place on Sunday
(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- You can get your holiday shopping done on Sunday, November 15, 2026 when Anchor Rock Club hosts the Atlantic City Punk Rock Flea Market - Holiday Edition. The event runs from noon to 6:00pm.
Song of the Meadowlark takes place on Sunday in Hopewell
(HOPEWELL, NJ) -- Song of the Meadowlark takes place Sunday, November 15, 2026 at Highland Design Farm. This is a meditative rock odyssey weaving reimagined contemporary songs, stream-of-consciousness poetry, and live painting. Doors are at 2:00pm, showtime is 2:30pm.
Avenel Performing Arts Center presents Chris Smither
(AVENEL, NJ) -- Chris Smither will perform at the Avenel Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at 7:30pm. Born in Miami, during World War II, Chris Smither grew up in New Orleans where he first started playing music as a child. The son of a Tulane University professor, he was taught the rudiments of instrumentation by his uncle on his mother's ukulele.
Rufus Wainwright to Perform with Princeton "Super-Orchestra" at McCarter Theatre
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- On Thursday, November 19, 2026 at 7:30pm, GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright takes the McCarter stage for one night only with the Princeton Playhouse Sinfonia, a dynamic new collaborative ensemble created specifically for this concert.
Princeton Folk Music Society presents Kate Taylor
(PRINCETON, NJ) — The Princeton Folk Music Society presents Kate Taylor on Friday, November 20, 2026 in an evening of upbeat and bubbling song filled with enthusiasm and love. The concert takes place at Christ Congregation Church in Princeton. Showtime is 8:00pm. A livestream option is available as well.
Private Eyes Brings the Greatest Hits of Hall & Oates to the Strand Center for the Arts
(LAKEWOOD, NJ) -- Few musical acts defined the sound of the late 1970s and 1980s quite like Daryl Hall and John Oates. On Friday, November 20, 2026, the Strand Center for the Arts will celebrate their extraordinary catalog when Private Eyes – The Premier Tribute To Daryl Hall & John Oates takes the stage for an evening of classic pop, rock, and blue-eyed soul. Showtime is 8:00pm.
NJPAC to Celebrate Ben Vereen's 80th Birthday with All-Star Concert on November 21st
(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents Ben Vereen's 80th Birthday Concert on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 8:00pm. This special one-night only celebration is part of NJPAC’s 2026 TD James Moody Jazz Festival (November 6-22). Several of today's leading Broadway stars and vocalists unite for a spectacular birthday bash performance toasting the legendary actor/dancer/singer Ben Vereen who turns 80 on October 10, 2026.
Musicians on a Mission to Celebrate 16th Anniversary with Gala Concert at Jersey Shore Arts Center
(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- Musicians on a Mission (MOAM) will celebrate sixteen years of friends helping friends through music with a special anniversary gala and concert on Sunday, November 22, 2026, at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove.
