Kind of Blues, Kind of Green: Music Thrives at Croton’s Growler

By Brian Kluepfel

You hear the music the moment you exit your car, echoing through the concrete canyons of the concave station parking lot, beckoning you to a small house at the transit hub’s exit road apex, bordering the bicycle trail.

Rich Williams leans into a languid solo on the Selmer sax, brass gleaming in the soft glow of the beer-filled refrigerator’s neon, notes rebounding off the hand-painted tile ceiling, bouncing off the punk rock stickers plastered on the cash register.

Sarah Cione’s Hammond B-3 softly picks up the tune, while a string of mini bulbs behind drummer Eric Puente light the way for Peekskill singer Jane Simms who crushes Nat Adderly/Oscar Brown’s “Work Song” (familiar as a Nina Simone cover to many).

The organ pads through the glowing forest of notes while a Gibson ES 335 guitar snakes in and out of the melody.

It’s just another Friday night at Croton’s The Green Growler, an unprepossessing craft beer joint sharing space with a headache specialist and a maker of cake pops at the entrance to the Croton-Harmon Metro-North station. Revelers on the upstairs porch can grab a smoke while watching trains and kayaks crossing Croton Bay, or drink in another Hudson sunset with a hazy IPA.

A faux Tiffany lamp lends color to a random couch-side table while some fretboard pointillistic notes spiral upward, culminating in the melody of “Fly Me to the Moon.” A dirty blues feels somewhat nastier under the illumination of the mini disco ball, and the night concludes with the red-hot New Orleans second line swagger of Stanton Moore’s “Blues for Ben. A regular named Jason freestyles and Jeanne Shaw spins out multicolored paper peace cranes at her usual table.

Three nights later, musicians gather in a circle – two altos, two tenors, double bass, electric keyboard, drums, fiddle and even woodwind, a lone flute. Some step carefully around chairs and half-empty pint glasses to the center. Joey Berkely from Yonkers blows it out on the tenor, as does Max Abraham of Croton’s own Corpus Chicanery. Joe Abba on the drums eagerly packs up and says, “Where are we goin’ next?”

The Growler scene is high level. Williams has played with members of Phish, the Gregg Allman Band and moe., among others. Eric Puente, the leader of a quartet, studied drums with legendary timekeeper Joe Morello of Dave Brubeck’s “classic” era quartet. A rotating corps of musical friends keep it interesting.

“We love playing at The Green Growler because we can just be in the moment with no pressure and have fun,” Puente said.

A few nights later, at Mario Giacalone’s monthly open mic, you can hear a pin drop when Jane Simms delivers a drop-dead gorgeous version of the Harburg/Gorney Depression era lament, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime.” The somber lyric about trains echoes off the steel rails across the parking lot:

Once I built a railroad, made it run

Made it race against time,

Once I built a railroad, now it’s done,

Brother can you spare a dime?

Puente is effusive in his praise of The Growler’s owner, Evan Perdomo-Cohen, who’s enhanced this free (no cover charge) and free-form musical space since purchasing the taproom from original owner Seana O’Callaghan five years ago.

Perdomo-Cohen grew up in Croton and cut his teenage teeth in the local scene, appreciating the local social halls and other venues that nurtured his musical dreams. He spent a few years as a semipro touring metal/punk musician before relocating his young family to Westchester from New York City, and is now paying it forward for the next generation of troubadours.

“Growing up in Croton, Holy Name of Mary would have funk and ska bands, for example,” said the father of two. “So if someone asks, ‘Can I bring my 14-year-old cousin to hear a band.’ I say why not. Maybe I can give that kid inspiration.”

“Evan is an amazing musician himself, so he knows good music, what it means to be a performer and what it means to be in the audience,” Puente said. “He books an eclectic rotation of musicians, such as punk, folk, jazz, electronica, kids’ music, DJs and much more.”

Says Perdomo-Cohen: “I will always be a little bit of a punk rocker and our program will always reflect that ethos.”

(His recommendation to young touring bands: Walmart will always let you sleep in their parking lot. Park there!)

Puente also points out the attentiveness of The Growler’s bartenders, Nina Leone and Chris Beairsto.

“I’ve been immensely lucky to have amazing staff,” Perdomo-Cohen said. “They have great knowledge of all things beer; Nina has one of the best bar-side manners and Chris is a fantastic drummer himself.”

So if you find yourself de-boarding at Croton-Harmon one night and you hear the gentle hum of amplifiers as you jump off the 7:04, don’t depart. Let the siren song of live music draw you in. The Growler has a scene – not to mention a beer selection – worth checking out.

Check out The Green Growler’s calendar at www.thegreengrowler.com.