Rachel Ries and Anaïs Mitchell Duo Project: "Country EP"

I'd like to introduce you to Rachel Ries and Anaïs Mitchell. I've mentioned them in passing a few times on this blog but especially in Rachel's case never really properly which is a shame and quite selfish of me honestly. So without further ado, here they be:



Now imagine them singing to you...

Yes, it's as divine as you think. But not all sugar sweetness.

Rachel has been playing with a band lately in Chicago and calling them "The Brawny Angels". While I haven't heard the band, knowing Rachel's music I think it suits just perfectly - heavenly with a little grit around the edges. Light and fresh like laundry dried in the sun but with the kind of quiet, rooted strength that a prairie wind won't knock over. Songs that remind you of rocking chairs and rowboats, clattery upright pianos and cross-country trains. Songs that always inspire my poetic side and make me wish I could do them justice with my descriptions. It's probably better just to hear for yourself.

Anaïs has a voice that people will often describe as childlike but a listen to her songs will quickly prove her wisdom and world experience. I still would give a lot to see Hadestown, her folk-opera based on the Orpheus myth, but so far it's only been put on in the New England area. I was so proud and excited when she was signed to Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe label.

Righteous Babe is also putting out the Country EP that Rachel and Anaïs did together. It's a limited edition run CD that includes a 7 inch vinyl record. The vinyl has 3 songs - one by each of the girls and one by their friend Louis Ledford. The CD has those 3 songs plus one more from each gal. And of course all the songs have their amazing harmonies and that warm and comfortable vintage-y feeling you'd expect from them.

Rachel also did her latest album Without A Bird on vinyl which I thought was a brilliant idea. I bought it even though I don't have a record player, seeing as it was only five dollars more than the regular CD, the CD came with it anyway, and it was totally worth it just for the beautiful album art in that big record size.

Here are the gals singing one of the songs off the album called O My Star!

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

Rachel and Anaïs are doing a tour of the Northeast with a band starting September 9th. See either of their MySpace pages for more details. (and to hear songs and see pictures and buy albums)
http://www.myspace.com/rachelries
http://www.myspace.com/anaismitchell

Oh and here's that link to the limited edition Country EP on Righteous Babe again so you can order it!

photo credit: Emma Gluckman

Crazy! Win Handwritten Lyrics from Lori McKenna

But first this important message:

This week's theme on the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour is Crazy! From slightly strange to completely insane, that off-center state of mind is familiar to many a female singer songwriter, even if only through observation!

Listen Tuesday 9AM CST. Tune in to 100.1 FM in Fairfield, or kruufm.com online from anywhere.

One of the songs this week will be I'm Not Crazy by Lori McKenna. Regular readers know I'm a big fan of hers. So of course when I heard about Lori's latest contest to win a sheet of framed handwritten lyrics I was happy to post her contest widget:


Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to check out the widget

The widget is set to open to the contest tab, but click around on the other tabs to listen to song samples and watch videos. And if you love Lori too and want to put this widget on your blog, Facebook, MySpace or other webpage, just click the "Grab it" button on the top right to select your proper snippet of code for re-posting.

The other reason I wanted to post about this is I've been seeing a few musicians both offering widgets and giving away lyrics as prizes lately and I think both are pretty cool ideas. It also reminded me of this blog entry by Bob Baker. In it, he highlights one of Seth Godin’s 14 "things you can learn from the music business (as it falls apart)."

One of the most fascinating parts to me from Seth’s article was this:

“Many musicians have understood that all they need to make a (very good) living is to have 10,000 fans. 10,000 people who look forward to the next record, who are willing to trek out to the next concert. Add 7 fans a day and you’re done in 5 years. Set for life. A life making music for your fans, not finding fans for your music.”

10,000 is the number of people living in my city. That doesn’t seem like so much. Of course not everyone in one town is going to like the same type of music, but it puts things in an interesting perspective. And as Bob points out “Of course, it's not the number of people on your list that allows you to make a living. It's how you use it and deliver benefits and experiences that people are willing to pay for. But building the list is the crucial first step.”

I'd never heard of this 10,000 person threshold, but it makes a whole lot of sense, as does Bob's advice to use that list well. There’s a big difference to me on MySpace between the people who apparently randomly request to be friends, and the ones who take the time to leave a message or the new little quick note you can leave when making that friend request. It can sometimes take me a month to approve new friends because I want to properly take the time to listen to their music and leave them a comment. But if someone sends me a personal note about why they like my music, I’m much more likely to approve them right away. It’s those second types of people who are building their lists intelligently and have a greater chance of success. It’s also those people who are more likely to respond to my comments and messages and build a relationship that ensures the minute they come out with a new album I’m more than happy to part with my hard-earned cash as a small token of thanks for all they have given me. I’m also more likely to write about them in my blogs, post their banners on my site and re-post their touring information bulletins. And think of it this way too – isn’t it a lot harder to say no to a friend than to a stranger?

Relationships of any kind aren’t something you can manufacture, they take time and energy to build and maintain, but once you’ve established a good one, it’s often easy to slip back into a comfortable rapport even if you haven’t seen the person for a while. And there’s a big difference between building a true relationship and just beefing up your list. For example, again on MySpace, the difference between someone who writes a “Hey, we should be friends, listen to my music!” and someone who writes, “Wow, your song [title] really moved me.” or even “Hey, I’m a fellow songwriter coming through your area, can you recommend to me any places to play?” (People like to be asked for help, it makes them feel important. :D )

And of course I think all of this applies to other areas of life too, besides music!

So there’s your deep thought for the day, even I wasn't expecting it, heh heh. I’m curious, has anyone else heard of that 10,000 people threshold?

Lori McKenna's Unglamorous Now Available!

It's been out since yesterday, but I just downloaded my copy from iTunes tonight. Came with a bonus track and digital booklet. :)

Unglamorous is definitely more polished/produced sounding than her previous stuff, but it's still Lori.

I'm pretty curious to know how many songs are autobiographical and how many are just her ability to sing the stories of others with raw honesty and believability. Cuz some of the stories are a bit, well, dark? Heavy? I mean, they're REAL, but I just hope they didn't ALL happen to her, that'd be a lot for one person to go through! While it's heartbreaking to think it, I suppose it could be the reality for someone though. And hearing Lori's album might give them hope, let them know they are not alone. While I don't personally relate to the songs about drinking and cheating, I've definitely had the experience of gaining hope from a sad song (rather than getting depressed by it). Whether the songs happened to Lori or not, she is someone highly observant and able to compress human experiences into little Polaroid snapshots of sound that tell it like it is, and that's what I love about her songwriting.

Favorite Tracks:
Unglamorous
Witness to Your Life
Leaving This Life

I just found this great Lori interview from a couple years ago where she says her husband only listens to the music, not the words - so she can say what she wants and he won't get mad. heh heh.

Links to her sites:
http://www.lorimckenna.com
http://www.myspace.com/lorimckenna


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