Me at a Cafe Paradiso Open Mic a few years ago…

OK, I admit, I’ve been distracted from the blog lately, but that is because I’ve sort of had the tables turned on me in the past couple of weeks.  I was supposed to open for Ehren Ebbage‘s show last Saturday, so I was practicing my fingers off (or calluses on?) and promoting it all over!  I even got to be interviewed on KRUU by the lovely Lauryn Shapter of Crooked Sisters Radio Hour. (I’ll let you know when the archive goes up, if all goes well).

Then on Friday night Ehren called to say that he was actually stuck in a giant snowstorm in Wyoming and I-80 was closed so he probably wouldn’t be able to make it.  Saturday morning he confirmed that I-80 was still closed.  Luckily we were able to reschedule for THIS Saturday the 25th, which meant I had time to make and distribute more posters, get a haircut, get a mini article in the local events paper, go to Open Mic again and practice more, more, more.  Plus, you know, life and stuff…  Everyone seems to get more active and lively in the spring, there is so much going on all around me!

So all that combined with not having any interviews lined up and poor blog got a little neglected.  But never fear, I’m lining up more interviews, so you can be sure you’ll hear about those.  Lots of talented gals I’m excited to introduce you to – for instance the Lovell Sisters will be calling in next Tuesday (more on them in the next day or two)!

In the meantime, if you’re in town, I’ll be playing at Cafe Paradiso tonight (4/25) at 8:00pm, before Ehren comes on.  He’s a fabulous songwriter and guitarist, and I’ve got some new songs I’m excited to share, so it should be a great night!  If my brother tapes it and it turns out any good, maybe I’ll post some to YouTube!  Stay tuned…

It’s cooooold here in Iowa. I’ve been spending lots of time snuggled under my down comforters (yes, two at a time, I told you it was cold!) watching music videos. So if you’ve got a snow day, I encourage you to make some hot coco and snuggle down under your own blankets for a nice little music break, because I found a few really great clips from some live shows at a cafe in Massachusetts called Mocha Mayas.

The artists that caught my eye were ones I’d actually seen at house concerts on my street! I hosted Brooke Brown Saracino at my place, and Truckstop Souvenir hosted The Starlings at their place across the street. These videos are such good quality, it’s almost like being back in the living room with the musicians singing a few feet in front of me!

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see all the videos

Here’s Brooke Brown Saracino singing Half a Buck, Left to the Birds and Lonely Song.

Here she is again, singing a cover of Anais Mitchell’s Namesake and her songs Falling, and Boat.

Next up are The Starlings singing Rosie, Hand to Mouth and Acorn.

Three more by The Starlings: Wild Child, Bluebird and Bone to Ashes.

Looks like Mocha Mayas is a pretty cool place to hear good music, eh? They have a bunch more videos! Here’s the description of the cafe from their YouTube channel:

Mocha Mayas is a small cafe situated in the hills of western Massachusetts. A small town on the banks of a lazy river rolling over an expanse of glacial potholes provides the scene for what is known as Shelburne Falls. A small town where artisan shops and excellent restaurants provide the atmosphere for intelligent discourse and clear headed thoughts. Intimacy and community is what we are about. Mocha Mayas provides musical interludes on most friday and saturday nights – for those in our general area who might be interested in attending a live show please check out our Myspace for information on upcoming shows and events.

Unless otherwise labeled all video and sound by Elijah Rottenberg.

I’m always singing the praises of my local coffee shop/acoustic listening room Cafe Paradiso and all the great acts they bring through. It’s really nice to discover there are other great places out there with the same type of commitment to quality in everything they do – from their coffee to the entertainment they host on their stages.

Mocha Mayas also has a website and a MySpace page:
http://www.mochamayas.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mochamayas

While we’re on the subject of awesome listening rooms, I’d like to take a moment to encourage you that wherever you live, be sure to go out and support your local small businesses like this! While watching clips online can certainly be a good reminder of the magic that happens in those concerts, nothing can replace the electric connection that happens when you’re actually in a room full of people sharing the experience.

Plus, if you don’t go to shows and such, they’ll stop having them. No joke. I heard about a restaurant near Cedar Rapids, IA called Cibo Fusion that used to have live music every weekend, but stopped having musicians play because they had to cut back. That was a regular gig for some of my friends. I just came across a restaurant called Calavino’s in Decatur, Georgia that is in danger of closing altogether, that has also been a regular gig for a great musician down there, Doria Roberts.

It’s a crazy time for our country, where it’s easy to feel a pinch between the desire to give during the holidays and a need to save money to help ward off uncertainties in the months ahead. I’d like to humbly suggest that if you give gifts this year that they be from local businesses and independent artists – musical and otherwise. For an independent artist, every dollar really does count, and when you buy locally, your dollar circulates through the community 3 to 15 times before leaving!! That’s what I call strengthening the economy!

As a citizen of the web, I also would say there are plenty of really cool “neighbors” selling stuff on their own sites and others like Etsy and eBay. And if you do end up with a few special requests that need to be purchased from big companies online, consider clicking through to those shopping sites from your friend’s blogs and websites to kick back a commission to them.

Finally, as an artist myself, and supporter of artists and indie business owners everywhere, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for every time you have gone to a live show, bought a CD or handmade gift, shopped at your local Farmer’s Market or got your latte at a local coffee shop! Really! You’re supporting the kind of world I want to live in!

Alrighty, I think you get the idea! I’ll get off my soapbox and leave you with a completely fun promo for a completely non-local event, though it IS connected to Indie artists.

Girlyman Gives Advice on Packing for the 2009 Cayamo Music cruise:

OK, one last question! What are your favorite listening rooms and local businesses?

Back in February, just days before I left for my 2 month Spanish Immersion trip to Colombia, I did an interview with Ellis. It was my second interview on the show, and my first phone interview and I generally am a nervous wreck at phone calls, especially when I don’t know the person I’m calling. It went really well (although I did have a little bit of trouble getting the exact songs I wanted to play in the right order ), we ended up talking for over half an hour about all sorts of things. It was actually the official release day for her latest album Break The Spell. (You can download or stream the interview here)

So I missed the concert, but I begged my husband to go and at least get me a CD. He ended up going to the whole show, and when I asked him about it he said he didn’t want to tell me anything. I finally dragged it out of him that it was an AWESOME show and he didn’t want to tell me about it because he didn’t want me to feel bad that I missed it.

Then this summer when I went to the Rocky Mountain Song School, I found out that Ellis was one of the teachers, and she was also available for mentoring sessions. I bee-lined it for the sign-up sheet as soon as it was put out because I knew I had to meet her in person, and she only had 4 slots.

My first class that week was a guitar class, which ended up being a little beyond my skill set, at least in that I couldn’t keep up in the moment with the rest of the class. And then ALL the doubts came rushing in – “See I told you that you weren’t good enough to be here! You should just go back and stay in your tent the whole week!” sort of thing.

Luckily my mentoring session was right after that. I sat down with Ellis and told her I was the one who interviewed her from Fairfield and she thanked me for it again, and then asked what I wanted to get out of the session. I said I wasn’t quite sure but just knew I liked her vibe and wanted to meet her in person. And then I told her about the guitar class just previously and pretty much burst into tears.

She told me that every person – student and teacher alike – at the camp was feeling the way I was feeling, or had felt that way before, or would likely feel that way at some point in the future. Which was a huge relief to hear. We went on to have a great conversation about lots of things relating to the artistic gremlins that everyone deals with, and some strategies for dealing with them.

It was really a perfect way to start the week, to have my confidence breakdown right away, and get some great, supportive words of wisdom directly after that to help me get my head on straight for the rest of the classes.

A couple days later I met her manager Terri when they did a “Musician Think Tank” class to talk about different strategies for musicians to make money and survive the touring world. Terri is just as sweet, supportive and down-to-earth as Ellis, but she also has a very focused, no-nonsense mind that makes her a perfect moderator for those kinds of conversations and ensures they keep moving along and questions actually get addressed instead of lost in vague/creative/artistic land.

All of that is to say really, that I’m SUPER excited that both of them are coming to Fairfield this weekend. Ellis is doing a concert on Saturday at Cafe Paradiso, and then Ellis and Terri will be doing a workshop on Sunday! Here’s the workshop info (email me at LyricalVenus at gmail dot com for more details):

Host: Steve Cooperman
Location: Bonnell Building
107 1/2 S. Main St., Fairfield, IA 52556 US
When: Sunday, November 30, 2:00PM

You are invited to spend an afternoon with singer/songwriter Ellis and booking agent/artist Terri Mazurek, who will be sharing their advice and ideas on the business aspects of making music in a workshop entitled “Making a Living Making Music in the 21st Century.” The workshop takes place on Sunday, November 30 from 2 to 4 pm at the Bonnell Building in Fairfield. The cost is just $20/$15 for students. Topics include: how to set direction for your music career, how to find an audience for your music, promotion and marketing ideas, and how to plan/book your own tours. All levels of performing musicians are welcome, from those just starting out to touring musicians. Since 2006, Terri and Ellis have been the official business instructors at the prestigious Rocky Mountain Song School. Their workshops help creative artists to get on friendly terms with the business aspects of making music. They tackle music business challenges with humor, optimism, and compassion. Gemma Cohen, who was part of a large contingent of Fairfield musicians who attended this year’s Song School, says of Terri and Ellis, “I’d pay to just hang out with them!”

But of course, before all that, you can hear from Ellis and Terri LIVE on the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour! Just tune in to KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town or kruufm.com online worldwide, Tuesday from 9am-10am.

Official Ellis Website

The Coffee Song at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest 2007:

How Would It Be:

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see the videos.

I’m very pleased to present you with the first of what I hope to be many Lyrical Venus interviews! I met Leslie Berry when she performed at Cafe Paradiso a few years ago with Lauren Lapointe. Both talented ladies were also very sweet and gracious after the show, and when I shyly told them that I had written a few songs myself, they immediately encouraged me to befriend them on MySpace. I’ve always remembered that kindness of spirit, so I’m excited to get to know Leslie a little better, and introduce her to you!

Without further ado, here are the 10 questions with Leslie:
1) When did you know you wanted to be a songwriter?
Well, I knew I wanted to be a musician when I started taking piano lessons at age 7 but I didn’t really start writing songs until I was out of college. I majored in piano performance in college and then I taught piano for three years. It was during that time that I began writing songs and recording them. My husband, David, was in a rock band for years and was a prolific songwriter and songwriting was a craft I had always wanted to learn. My first ventures into songwriting were mostly collaborations with him and then I felt confident enough to venture out on my own.

2) Which typically comes first for you – music or lyrics?
I always write the lyrics first. I don’t always have all of the lyrics completed first but I at least have a chorus or a verse and then I often rework them as I begin putting the words to music. Sometimes, I hear a melody and then I will rewrite the lyrics to make the lyrics fit the melody line I am hearing.

3) Do you revise or rework your songs a lot?
I will work on the lyrics for some time until I am satisfied and then once I begin putting them to music the process goes rather quickly. On the last CD, Was It Blue, I spent months getting the lyrics together and then I believe I wrote all of the music in about a week. It takes me much longer to record and create arrangements but as for just getting the basic chords and melodies down that goes quickly.

David, on the other hand, will rework the songs many times. He produced my first two CDs and I believe we have about 10 recorded versions of the song “I Can Try” at different tempos with completely different vocal harmonies and they all sounded great to me but he kept reworking the arrangement until it was just as he wanted it. And, I really do admire that… listening to it now I am really proud of the end result.

4) What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
Oh, I wish I had been a little less afraid to forge a new path with my music. I think I spent a little too much time in the beginning trying to fit in with some of the other folk artists I was hearing perform at the coffeehouses and acoustic venues where I usually performed when I should have been out there just doing my own thing. My background was different because I had a heavy background in classical piano and also had taken some classes in electronic music and spent some time creating electronic orchestrations of classical pieces before getting into writing pop music. If I could do anything over, I would really focus on the electronic music and just not be afraid to be a little adventurous.

5) Where is your favorite place to sing?
Hmmm… that is a good question because I have had so many favorite venues over the years. I performed every summer for years in my hometown, Marietta, GA, at an outdoor concert series in Grover Park and I always had so much fun because all of my old friends, schoolteachers, family, my first piano teacher… they would all come and it was like a reunion.

I really think it’s the audience that makes or breaks a performance for me and not the venue.

I do love arts and crafts festivals because I can combine performing with shopping.

6) What’s the hardest thing about performing?
For me, the hardest thing is creating my own positive energy on stage and not drawing my energy from the audience. Sometimes there is just a great energy in the room and those are my best shows. But, there are those days when the performer has to generate that energy and try to lift the spirits of the audience or engage them. That’s the hardest thing for me.

What’s the best thing?
I just truly enjoy singing and playing the piano and I enjoy seeing people smile and sing along at shows. I love it when people come up to me after a show and say how much a certain song meant to them or tell me how much they enjoyed the show. It tells me that I reached someone with my music and that’s what it’s all about for me.

7) Who/where do you get support to do your craft?
I’ve definitely gotten support from my family, my husband, parents, sister… and also my musician friends. They have supported me by coming out to shows time and time again and giving me advice and making creative suggestions.

Name 3 artists you are listening to a lot these days.
Imogen Heap
Sarah McLachlan
Annie Lennox

9) Where can people listen to samples of your songs?
I have songs on my MySpace page at www.MySpace.com/LeslieBerry and also at www.LeslieBerry.com and on iTunes and Rhapsody, and about 30 other download services online.

10) Any current or upcoming projects (musical or non)?
Definitely. I am currently working on some new songs that will be on my next solo CD. I plan to release this CD in 2008. I also play keyboards and sing harmonies with the newgrass band, Candlewyck, and we just released a live CD a few weeks ago. I am working on a Professional Certificate in Electronic Music Production and Sound Design through Berklee School of Music Online and am enrolled in a sampling class this semester. I’m having so much fun with that. I want to do some remixes of some of my own songs and maybe a cover song or two. I completed an electronica remix of “Strange Brew” by Cream for one of my Berklee classes. I also have plans for a Christmas CD and have begun working on a Christmas song or two.

I’m working on a certificate in Graphic Design with a specialty in web design through Sessions School of Design online. I have a degree in computer science and math as well and enjoy playing around with web design and thought this would be something I would enjoy doing on the side. I always seem to have a lot of different projects I’m working on. It’s hard to focus on one or two sometimes. : ) Right now I’m creating a Jimi Hendrix robot for my Adobe Illustrator class using only shapes and lines… challenging!

Bonus questions!

1) What’s your favorite sandwich?
Hmmm… well, I usually get the low carb thickburger at Hardee’s but it’s so messy! Does a taco count as a sandwich? : )

2) What’s your favorite hot drink?
Oh, Chai Latte, definitely.

3) Do you have pets or a favorite animal? I have a golden retriever named Honey and she’s a sweetie. But, generally, I love big dogs… don’t care much for cats.

4) Anything else you want to let people know!
Hmmmm… check out Indiegrrl.com to hear some great female songwriters and musicians.

Big thanks to Leslie for taking the time to answer all those questions! I know I learned a lot about the artistic process and had fun too!

Are you looking forward to Leslie’s album next year? Subscribe to Lyrical Venus by Email or by RSS Feed and when I have updates on the album they will come straight to you!

But first a little background on how I found out about this.

I got to see singer-songwriter/actress Celia Perform at Cafe Paradiso in March 2006. I signed up for her email list and have enjoyed being in the loop on her doings since then.

One thing I have really admired is how she has been helping promote awareness of spiritual diversity by championing Sgt. Patrick Stewart, a fallen soldier who also happened to be Pagan. His wife wanted to put the Pentacle symbol on his grave marker because none of the other symbols available represented his beliefs. It seems obvious that if you died in service of your country the least they could do is honor the wishes of what should go on your grave marker, but apparently they really had to fight for it. Celia wrote a song to help raise public awareness for the cause.

The campaign was successful (after 10 years!), and now Celia is part of a project to celebrate spiritual diversity called 1000 Symbols. They have started a petition to establish June as National Spiritual Diversity Month, and as thanks for signing the petition, several artists of all different religions are offering free downloads of their art and music! The free downloads are only available for the month of June, so if you are interested go check it out now! www.1000symbols.com I think it’s a beautiful idea because the more we learn to tolerate and celebrate each others religions, the less conflict there will be in the world.

All this highlights the serious side of Celia, but she also has a wonderfully wacky side that is an absolute joy to watch at her shows. She has a few characters that she transforms into right in front of your eyes, and I think they get to express things she might not otherwise say or sing. Honestly, this description from her website speaks to her range of talent better than I can:

Celia is a cross between an Earthy Enya, Tori Amos, and Gilda Radner. A Red-headed Renaissance Woman, Celia is a singer/songwriter, actress, and storyteller who dishes up the most delicious concoction of the silly and the sacred. She is an amazing multi-faceted artist from powerful heart-felt vocals to wacky comedic improvisations-you honestly never know what will happen with Celia on stage.

Look for Celia’s tour schedule on her website and see if she’s coming to a town near you so you can go check her out!

Originally posted on my MySpace blog.

One of the “dangers” of MySpace (and the internet in general) for me is the way I can so easily discover great new musicians. It’s a blessing and a curse, because while I can often get my fix by listening to music players on websites, if it’s good stuff I’ll want to take it with me, which means racking up a bill on iTunes.

Here’s my three most recently added to my library:

Jose Gonzales – one of his songs is featured on bouncy ball advertisement that I’ve been mesmerized by the past few days. (while you’re there, check out the exploding paint and the behind the scenes footage too. I’m in awe of the kind of people who can come up with such outrageous and beautiful ideas.)

Anaïs Mitchell – love this girl. She’s been to Cafe Paradiso twice now and I was trying to hold out for her to come back so I could buy her new album from her in person but we’re not on her near future schedule and I couldn’t wait any longer. Had it on repeat for for a few times around at work, and again this morning. It’s funny the whole live vs recorded thing. I listened to the recording of “Your Fonder Heart” online very shortly after her last concert and I was a little disappointed because it didn’t have quite the same gorgeous ache i remembered when it was just her and the guitar a few feet away from me, but really how could it? And now, after the memory of the concert has faded by many months, the CD version is beautiful and wonderful and I had it on repeat many times over because I just couldn’t get enough.

Priscilla Ahn – Finally found her after trying to track down who was singing with Joshua Radin on one of his songs (he’s coming to Iowa City next month! Imogen Heap just mixed one of his songs!). Beautiful and whimsical stuff. sigh.

So now I’ve got plenty of fresh, heart happy music to go with the happy feelings in my heart from the new spring grass creeping in!