Coming Soon...

Hang tight peeps! As seems to be par for the course this summer, I've just gotten home from one trip and am diving headfirst into my next projects - this time as in a bunch of part time job offers. I need to do a little figuring out, because they all sound cool, and if I do all of them, I won't have any me time left! Which, after going to Song School, I've discovered I very much want me time for my own music! More on all that as it gets more clear.

Anyhoo, for first impressions after Song School, check my MySpace blog.

And know that I met a whole heap of A-MAZING musicians out in the mountains, and I plan to introduce you to a bunch of them here soon!

PS I have a few random pix up on flickr - I was so immersed in the classes that I didn't have much chance to document, and then I ran out of batteries on the last day when I was ready for it. But you get some of the idea:

Ani DiFranco Talks About Mindful Parenting, New CD Coming Soon!

I just saw this video of Ani DiFranco talking with Mindful Mama Magazine. They have a great contest going on for moms to win a trip to see Ani in NYC, with a spa package and babysitting included. :)

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see the video

What astounds me about this video is Ani's honesty and presence. And the fact that someone who seems so confident and bold and has been running her own show/label/life for so long could still be experiencing moments of self-hatred, but is self aware enough to both recognize and work on it. Kind of blows the whole "But I have to be perfect before I can do it and be a success" tape that I bet a bunch of us still play in our heads out of the water. (Somebody please remind me I said that next week when I am in Song School freaking out and self-doubting myself into a pit of despair and "I'm not worthy"-ness from all the talented people surrounding me. I hope that doesn't happen, but it's kind of happening to me right now before the fact...)

Anyhoo, in other Ani related news, she has a new album called Red Letter Year coming out September 30th. Her first new one in a couple of years. (Sounds similar to Dar's story!) You can hear a new song from it on her MySpace, and there should be more new stuff posted there in the weeks leading up to the release. Can't wait to get my hands on Present/Infant.

PS Dar Williams has a great pre-order deal going on now - order the CD and get one free, plus a "making of" DVD.

Banjo Babes on Lyrical Venus 9am Tuesday

Ok, I admit it, I have a thing for banjos. There's just something about that rich twangy sound that gets me every time. And I've had them on the brain since the theatre company I worked with for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat started rehearsing for a brand new musical called Banjo Boy. It's a story (not sure how historically accurate it is) of Meredith Wilson, the guy who wrote The Music Man. Those crazy talented interns started working on the show while we were still performing Joseph, and they open on Friday! So this week I've gathered up a collection of songs by female singer-songwriters that feature banjos for the Lyrical Venus Radio hour.

I'll finish up the morning with an extended set of songs by Leela and Ellie Grace, the singing, dancing, harmonizing sisters extraordinare who many of you may remember from their past live Fairfield shows on the square and at Cafe Paradiso! I've been looking for an excuse to finally download their new album on iTunes and Leela's banjo prowess made it a no-brainer for this show.

Check out Leela and Ellie's website or their MySpace to get to know them a little better. Then join me from 9-10 am central time on Tuesday for an hour of banjo babes - 100.1 FM in town, kruufm.com online from anywhere. It'll be finger-pickin' good!

(Yeah, groan if you want, I had to. Grin.)

Photo credit: Steph Barr

And The Winner Is...

Bud!!

Congratulations Bud! I've sent you an email asking for your address.

Thank you so much to everyone who read and commented on the Priscilla post to win a signed copy of A Good Day, I think that was the most comments I've gotten so far on a single entry. It was really fun to hear about what a good day would be for everyone too!

I hope this is just the first of many contests on Lyrical Venus, because I would sincerely love to give prizes to each and every one of you! Bookmark me, sign up for email updates, or add me to your feed reader so you'll know when the next one comes up. (I just remembered I have an extra copy of a Waterbug Records sampler hiding somewhere that would be a happy addition to someone's music collection...)

Oh, and if anyone else is interested in doing a contest on your blog where you "draw out of a hat", my friend Ananda turned me on to random.org - they have all sorts of ways of randomizing your data!