Hangin With the Cool Kids

It's been some heck of a weekend.
Sunday afternoon now and I'm just getting a moment to reflect.

It all started with a bang on Thursday, at the Strathmore's Joni Mitchell Tribute. It was such a great time hanging out with, preparing and performing with the area's most incredible musicmakers. If I tried to start listing names, I'd never run out. Suffice it to say, it was a great time with a lot of great people. Thank you all so much for letting me be part of it.

at the Photo Shoot with Charlie and Chelsea. I think we were singing Swing Low.

The minute the curtain was down, I was in the car with Will (the bassist) and Laela (the offspring), to get about 6 hours of sleep before playing an open house at Potomac State University in West Virginia. (Yes, I missed the after party :)

The next day was a two-fer. In the afternoon, I was the first act at the 8:13 festival with Ilyaimy and the last act at the Caroline Summerfest.
This morning was another chance to stand beneath the trees and sing for the Unity Church of Baltimore

And tomorrow, I'll be doing a wee cameo at Dupont Circle around 7. So, if you're in town, stop by and say howdy.

Then, it's hibernation for a couple of days before another weekend of rockin & rollin.

Chillin

Hey everybody,


Well, I've given myself a week or two of a break. It's been pedal to the metal since I last returned from Germany. My brain needed a moment to be still and enjoy the fam and the summer.
So, now, with the summer nearly half over, I'm restarting the engines. Slowly, though.

At the moment, I'm chillin in the yurt with my little lady, planning the next steps

Got some great news from the gentleman who does my college booking: got a showcase at the NACA South conference. So, I'll be doing a bit of touring in slightly warmer climes this fall and planning some of the promotional stuff accordingly.

Looking forward to getting a helping hand from a few kind souls I've met recently at a performances. As always, the street team's open to recruits.
Jarvis and Jen, thanks you guys for putting the fire back under my can.

LEA
(Hadn't been writing much, but I've got a new tune. I'll be sharing before the end of the month)

Spreading the Word

So, last week, we did this thing - this Tell-a-thon thing.
Thanks again, Jill for the great idea and to all of you guys who passed the word along.

That has always seemed like the missing link, to me.
I know you guys are digging the tunes, so there must be a few other people who would, as well.
So, I'm checking out various digital venues and what not to figure out the best way to "get the word out there."
If anybody else has got some tips, I'm all ears! Lea

The First Ever Tell-a-Friend-a-Thon

Hey you guys,

My friend Jill is so smart and so dear and such an earnest supporter of this music I make.
She's a genius in the ways she's been sharing the tunes with folks here and in other places where she's lived. One of my favorites is how she uses some of the songs for the cool down session at her aerobics classes.

It happens all the time that someone tells me at a show that they were sent by a friend. A lot of you guys have bought a handful of CDs to share with friends. Thank you, more than I can say, for helping to spread the word.

So, in speaking with Jill this idea has come to be.
First of all, with the help of the bigBEE, we're making it super easy to send people to the site. All you've got to do is fill out the form attached to the links on the pages of my site.
As a matter of fact, here's one such link:

And, as a little bonus, for anyone who sends to friends who actually sign up at the site, a small gift:

Sign up

5 friends : honey sweets

10 friends: the new CD, Get It Right

15 friends : a T shirt & CD

20 friends : a ticket to an upcoming show at Baldwin Station

You Heard It Here - Edition 2 - Meet Cathy & Marcy

Hey Everybody,

Hope you've enjoyed listening to an unplugged version of The Moon, A Planet & A Star. I'll be refining the download process over the coming weeks.

This edition, however it is a grand pleasure to "introduce" you to my friends and mentors, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.
If you aren't already familiar with their music, you've certainly heard their names. Multiple Grammy winners, they are an institution in Folk, Children's performance and Traditional music.

It's been wonderful getting to know them since they mentored me during my tenure as a Strathmore Artist in Residence. Here's a little peek into a recent conversation with Cathy and Marcy about their journey in music.

LEA: First of all, how, when and where did you two meet?

Cathy: We met in July, 1980 at the Toronto Folk Festival. Marcy was playing in an old time stringband and I was starting my solo career after 6 years in a duo. We were in workshops together, jammed at the parties, and had a lot of fun playing music together.

LEA:What brought you to the DC area and when did you get here?

Cathy: I moved first, in Sept. of 1979 from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I was looking for a place where it didn’t snow in May and where I’d be closer to much of the old time and folk music I loved. I’d also made friends here during concert tours.

Marcy: I moved in about 1983 from Michigan. I’d been touring with the Robin Flower Band and working at Elderly Instruments. My move was related to there being more musical work in this region, and of course to form the history making duo with Cathy :)

LEA: I love that your collective is called Community Music, Inc. Is there a story or mission behind that?

Marcy: In the early 1980’s, Cathy was hired by the Clean Water Action Project to teach 10 different branches about event production, particularly how to MAKE MONEY with fundraising concerts. When that project was over, she and her assistant, Sheila Kahn, had gained a reputation as savvy consultants in the fundraising and folk concert world. When Cathy opened an office in Takoma Park, with Sheila as the employee, the name Community Music represented both the community work we did as well as how we felt the music interfaced with community. It stuck! By the way, we also contributed to a book, “Note by Note, A Guide to Concert Production”, which is available at (901) 522-1170.

LEA: A lot of people know of your children's music, but you two wear a number of hats in the music world. In addition to performance and Strathmore mentor, what are some other ways that you are active in the music community?

C&M: We wash the dishes, clean the floors, do the laundry. We have produced about 70-80 albums through the years, played on hundreds as side musicians, helped organize fundraising concerts, learned studio engineering, write songs, write more songs, learn old songs, produce more recordings, etc. We’ve done radio shows, written articles for music magazines, worked with all ages from head start through seniors in concerts and workshops, and we love it! We play for kids, families, and everyone in between. Swing, Bluegrass, Old-Time, Folk, Original and even a little Rock & Roll!

LEA: You are both accomplished musician, but you also obviously have your act together behind the desk, as well. Is it ever challenging to balance the musical and business aspects of your career? Do you feel one receives or requires more focus than the other to be successful?

Cathy: It is always challenging, which is why we're getting to this at nearly midnight!

LEA: You ladies never seem to stop and you just keep getting better. What's the next project on the docket?

C&M: We are getting ready to launch a series of interactive, REAL MUSIC, kids and family podcasts called “Cathy & Marcy’s SongShop”. We set up our studio with bright colors, invited some families and friends over to sing and play, and had a fabulous time. All of the other podcasts we found for kids were based on TV, movies, licensed characters. This may be the first of it’s kind-where real musicians play real music and sing-along with real people. And, we encourage folks to “try this at home”. Get out your ukuleles, guitars, kazoos, and make some music together as a family.
More info at www.cathymarcy.com

LEA: Before I let you go, I mentioned before that you two are an institution. Thank you for your incredible music and guidance. Any tips for us fledgling professional performing musicians?

C&M: Be true to your self and your music. Practice, work at the business, and most of all, make sure that you enjoy what you are doing-otherwise, you can find another job you don’t enjoy. Crucial - keep a good sense of humor about yourself and the music business. Never eat anything bigger than your head. Meantime, don’t take every “rejection” personally or you should get a different job. Think less about being a star and more about honing your craft. Utah Phillips wisely thought of playing music and performing for a living as a “trade”. It makes sense. And, get whatever health insurance you can. So much to do, so little time. Less talk, more music!

www.cathymarcy.com
www.myspace.com/cathyfinkmarcymarxer
www.facebook.com/pages/Cathy-Fink-and-Marcy-Marxer/25405755690

A Somewhat Quieter Weekend

Hey Everybody,

So last weekend, the "release" of the newsletter kind of trumped this space, but I have to tell you it was a whirlwind.

It kicked off last Thursday at the William Paca Garden in Annapolis, MD, where Will and I did a show. We were billed to play with Jason, who came down with food poisoning - the poor soul.
He's back on his feet, though and will be joining us tonight in Takoma Park - hooray.



Then, Friday night, I opened for the illustrious Catie Curtis at the Cellar Stage in Baltimore.
She was terrific. Great, real songwriting and I offered my services to sometime back her up on percussion and harmonies. She said, "Whatcha doin tomorrow night?"

As it turned out, I was playing Herndon Festival the next day, but that was in the afternoon, so we got together at 11 and ran some tunes. We also wound up running inside before the bitter storm descended upon the day. Here's us jammin in the backyard. Very cool. Photo by Laela



On the Road again from Herndon to Easton, MD where Catie had her show. Here's Laela doing her favorite thing. She did, however, take a break for a moment to film us. So, without further ado, here is Laela;s debut as a cinematographer.

Catie Curtis with Yours Truly, LEA backing her up at the Coffee East in
Easton, MD. (Hold your applause til the end :)






So, this weekend, it's just this evening at the Takoma Park Co Op and a secret show tomorrow I can't tell you about :)

That's it for me, that is. If you wan to know my pick for the weekend, though, it's Ellis and Bob Sima at Focus in Alexandria.
If you've got the time GO GO GO. You will be so glad you did.

See you next time.
Lea

You Heard It Here - Edition 1

Here it is, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The first installment of my article in conjunction with the newsletter, Now Hear This. .
I also drop by here from time to time to fill y'all in on goings on.

This is a great chance to share new tunes and introduce you to some of the incredible music and musicians I'm encountering along the way.

So, without further ado, this tune is called: The Moon, A Planet & A Star

If the embedded song below is taking a while, you can listen here.

The Moon, A Planet and a Star

Written by: LEA

The moon, a planet and a star in the midnight sky, well, they're not so far. 70 some years ago. Was it a night like tonight? Guess we'll never know. The light has journeyed for a while just to land on you and to make you smile. On the night I'm dreaming of, it could have been us just discovering love. If you take a photograph, looking back, well we'll have to laugh. We are near and yet so far form the moon, a planet and a star. I wish I may, I wish I might reach into the darkness and grab a light. I would keep it tucked away just to shine for a while on your rainy day. But I have to let it go. It's the law, everybody knows. We are near and yet so far to the moon, the planets and the stars. We are so like the moon, the planets and the stars. I should explain. This song was born on the road. Very literally. I was driving in the midnight hours to make it to a show in Alberta, VA the next morning. As I always do, I was listening to NPR and happened to catch the StarDate information that they gave. The astronomer announced that souls lucky enough to be awake so late would get an eyeful of a cosmic triangle: the moon, the star Regulus and the planet Saturn. Naturally, I looked and got an eyeful of cloud. About 10 minutes before arriving at the hotel, the sky parted and there they were. It was as though they wanted me to see and of course, I was instantly inspired. Perhaps what moved me the most was the knowledge that the light I was seeing was sent my way some 77 years ago. Quite a journey just make me smile for a few moments. To download this song to your computer and share with friends , click this link & retrieve from Audio page.

Remember, You Heard it Here.
(come back soon and tell a friend)