Had a blast on Sunday afternoon in Mineral Point performing and being a part of the Capitola gang again. We had a great turnout too, so, many thanks to all of those who crammed into the bookstore to see the show. The various writers and poets featured in the book were there to present their work accordingly and Foundry Books offered such a great vibe for it all. Great acoustics and loving hospitality was provided to all of us by the owners which we appreciated greatly.
And an even bigger thanks to those of you that came up to me, and up to Mark after the show to share your kind words about our performance. It really means a great deal to hear such great and enthusiastic things about what we’re doing. Very motivating and encouraging to say the least.
The day ended with a few of us over across the street at Cafe Four enjoying some amazing food, laughing a whole bunch and planning our next shows. Such a wonderful time was had and could not have ended on a better note. And Mineral Point is just a wonderful little town. Great vibe and very historical.
We have more shows being worked out for Nov, Dec, Jan and Feb so stay tuned for those dates. I’m looking forward to them with great anticipation of course.
Thought I would share a few photos from the day. I even included our set list….because….well, why not.
Enjoy!
The clever little sign Foundry Books put together for the event.
Our first poet, Judith Lary. I could listen to her for hours.
Richmond Powers reading a few pieces. His delivery is exquisite.
Mark and I singing few ditties.
Bruce Rowe reading some wonderful pieces.
The set list. There were a couple edits as you can see, although I hate crossing things out. It’s a major pet peeve of mine. Shhh, don’t tell Mark.
October 27, 2009 | Comments (2) | Views (170)
The Capitola Review is presenting another reading and performance this coming Sunday, October 25th in Mineral Point, WI at Foundry Books from 2:00pm – 5:00pm and we’d love for you to come out and join us if you can!
Mark Miskelly and I will be performing a couple tunes again along with a number of writers and poets reading their works as well.
Come out and say hello!
October 22, 2009 | Comments (0) | Views (108)
For pumpkin carving? Noooooo.
For turkey and brown food? Noooooo.
For insomnia! I’m decorating my insomnia tree this year with mania and insanity, how about you?
Here’s another window into my world. Enjoy.
October 15, 2009 | Comments (2) | Views (121)
So I tried something new…
Please note that I was asking my computer to do a lot of multitasking when I recorded this little snippet, so excuse the fact it sounds like it’s about to blow in the bkg. It’s not.
A few notes while you listen to the tune. The chorale part in the middle of the tune was a real ball breaker for me. That kind of took all of Saturday and Saturday night to figure out what the harmonies would be and to sing them and get the harmonies just right. There are 9 individual tracks for it and many little pieces inside those 9 tracks aka House Of Cards. I haven’t sung that high since I was 10 and in the Racine All City Choir. I still am not convinced they are just right (read: perfect) but I am currently working on progress not perfection otherwise NOTHING ever gets done. That was easy to type. Not so easy to put into action.
Anyway, I can’t believe I am admitting this, but I had TSO’s Christmas Canon in mind when I came up with this bridge of the song. I will admit, however, that I love Christmas music. Not TSO, however. Sorry. Just that song. I also love the sound of boys choirs and choral music in general and since I don’t have a choir on hand to sing what I need, I’ll utilize digital multitrack recording to its fullest. Should I be concerned that I sound like a choir full of 10 year old boys? I’m still on the fence about that.
So, hope you enjoy. Both the song and the moving pictures of my world.
October 5, 2009 | Comments (6) | Views (170)
Finally watched the Sylvia Plath movie the other night. I wanted to see it when it came out, but like usual, didn’t. It was excellent and of course depressing, but you know, what else would one be expecting when dealing with Sylvia Plath.
What I liked the most about the movie is that they addressed how she distracted herself with making cakes while she was supposed to be writing. They never really go into that when talking about artists/writers/musicians etc’s. That is something I have talked about within my circle of creative friends, but you never really see that displayed or demonstrated in a movie when they go into their life stories and the pursuit of their craft. The very real aspect of distraction and procrastination. And the fact that they showed her husband Ted Hughes calling her on it was even cooler yet. And you certainly never expect accomplished “well-knowns” to do the same tricks you do to avoid making your things. I don’t know why the very thing you want and need to do – you try to avoid sometimes like the plague. The “why bother, nobody cares, you suck” voices come out and do a slight of hand with internal dialogue like “guess I’ll cut the grass and obsess about my lawn, make some cherry crisp, experiment with soup recipes, get a part-time job at the library or make 15 appetizers for the hell of it and distract myself with what the rest of the world views as real because hardcore artistic pursuits aren’t”.
I mean, all of those things are all admirable things mind you, it is just the way they are applied and to what degree. But it takes over quicker if one is not careful and art/music/writing gets avoided or not done at all. Just speaking from my own personal experience.
Plus she was a woman in the 1950’s so we all know what extra voices from society she probably had pushing her into making cakes when she should have been writing. Oddly enough, some of that society chatter is still in existence for female creatives in my humble opinion, but certainly not as intense as before The Women’s Movement of course. Anyway, I really liked that they addressed the art of distracting yourself aspect. It was good to see. Reassuring in an odd sort of way and noted when I start veering into that direction. Which I do. Often.
September 23, 2009 | Comments (3) | Views (194)
