That one hour of extra sleep, we eagerly anticipate. And here’s a picture Ron took on Halloween. Which is to say–while enjoying music with close friends and some we see just fleetingly, it’s also been a time to simply abide. Those who know us well are aware of the changes, losses, and responsibilities that have given us pause since Two Hearts came out. Similar seasons, also, have been true for many of our fellow musicians and lovers of music. So we’ve been very mindful of our best use of life force. The time we have to create and be with you becomes ever more precious.
We’re extremely honored to have been asked to perform the theme song from novelist Jodi Picoult’s Sing You Home for the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) annual conference. Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer will be at the conference as well (spreading their genius and ukelele love), and Mickey Hart will be leading what is sure to be an incredible drum circle.
This coming Saturday 11/5, we return to 45 South Cafe in downtown Norcross (one of our favorite haunts . . . oooo, sorry!), and we’ll start around 7:00 or as-soon-as-we-can-get-our-sound-absolutely-right.
Then, more fun in some pin-drop listening environments! We’re thrilled to be back at Ragamuffin Music in Roswell on Saturday 11/19, a place that has a vibe like no other–you can truly feel the warmth and joy in there. Then on Saturday 12/10, our first house concert. We got a chance to hear Pierce Pettis at Acoustics at Oaks End in Smyrna months back, and the gorgeous wooded (indoor) setting, great food, company, perfect sound, and hospitality were enchanting. For those of you who attend the Smyrna house concert, a gift. There you’ll receive a free track (on CD) of a holiday-themed song from the yet-to-be-titled second album. On 12/17, we return to the cozy and beautiful Zen Tea.
Hope to see you one of those times, or more. Peace to you in the coming season.
. . . where we’ll be playing (in the new pavilion) this coming Saturday, September 10th at 8:00. Click here for details. Bob Bakert & Friends will open. Our other public show this month will be a 12:30 set at the Duluth Fall Festival on Sunday, 9/25.
It’s easy to find promotional clips and histories regarding this famous house, built in 1839. Somehow, the stillness in this video feels like music.
Summer so far has been a time for Ron to take photos (see left) and out of town trips, and for Carol to catch up on movies (having seen Wings of Desire nine times, finally the sequel!) and be with family. We’ve also had a chance to work on more songs and instrument/voice combinations. It’s been wonderful to connect with new listeners, too.
On Saturday (July 16th, starting between 7 and 8), we’ll be performing in a new venue for us, Our Place Bakery Café in College Park. It’s very accessible from intown and west/northwest Atlanta as well as the south side. We hope to see many of you there. Next week we’ll be in Nashville, tooling around the NAMM show and getting inspired.
Like a lot of musicians, we do keep maintaining a MySpace page and visit it . . . occasionally. Something interesting C. discovered–if you have an iPhone and access a MySpace profile using Safari (it goes to the mobile site), touch the bottom middle icon with the arrow, touch “add to home screen,” and voilà! An app for that particular artist appears on your device. This may work on other mobile devices too, we’re not sure.
It’s been over a year since the release of Two Hearts. It’s still receiving airplay and is available at performances, by mail order from Ron, and through CD Baby. We also plan to have it on iTunes shortly. Thanks so much for your support! It enables us to keep recording more music. We’re in the process of planning the second album, possibly releasing one track (to attendees of a special show) in time for the holidays. Be well!
Metaphor is right at the bottom of being alive.~Gregory Bateson
Fiction writers are admonished to “show, don’t tell.” In folk music (and in its conceptual videos), one hears and sees both.
More, from his Metalogues:
“What did you mean by a conversation having an outline? Has this conversation had an outline?”
Oh, surely, yes. But we cannot see it yet because the conversation isn’t finished. You cannot ever see it while you’re in the middle of it. Because if you could see it, you would be predictable – like the machine. And I would be predictable – and the two of us together would be predictable -
“But I don’t understand. You say it is important to be clear about things. And you get angry about people who blur the outlines. And yet we think it’s better to be unpredictable and not to be like a machine. And you say that we cannot see the outlines of our conversation till it’s over. Then it doesn’t matter whether we’re clear or not. Because we cannot do anything about it then.”
Yes, I know – and I don’t understand it myself . . . but anyway, who wants to *do* anything about it.
Interestingly, Bateson heavily influenced violinist/multimedia artist Stephen Nachmanovitch (who wrote Free Play, a stunning book that electrified C. in the late ’90s).
This weekend–Saturday 5/28: Zen Tea at 7:00
Next weekend–Saturday 6/4: Hungry Ear Coffee House at 7:00 (with Tortoise & Hair)
We can’t wait to see you!
. . . come she will.” What are the first song lyrics you remember? While Ron’s recollections are full of Jimmie Rodgers tunes (played by his father), The Kingston Trio and early Atlanta Symphony recordings, Carol grew up with Herb Alpert and Bruckner(!) on Sunday mornings–and the soundtrack to The Graduate. How do all of these memories affect how we make music now? Powerfully, in ways we thankfully can’t measure.
We’re back in Zen Tea this coming Saturday at 7, then on to Chocolate Perks on Saturday, April 23rd. And yes, at Zen Tea we will amplify a bit this time! Both of these local businesses have fantastic food, a great deal of heart, and seating close in–so you can feel the music as well as hear it.
Early Spring
Harshness vanished. A sudden softness
has replaced the meadows’ wintry grey.
Little rivulets of water changed
their singing accents. Tendernesses,
hesitantly, reach toward the earth
from space, and country lanes are showing
these unexpected subtle risings
that find expression in the empty trees
~Rainer Maria Rilke
A few dates we’re looking forward to in March so far: Saturday 3/12, 8PM at Lena’s Place (with Cyndi Craven and Jerry Brunner), and Saturday 3/19, around 7pm at 45 South Cafe in Norcross.
The times at Zen Tea and Catacombs Coffeehouse were sweet and memorable. We’re most thankful to you for lighting up those small spaces.
The shortest and most wintry of Ron’s compositions on Two Hearts actually started out as a holiday carol, then morphed into an instrumental. Who knows where it may go next? Quite a few instrumental pieces are still waiting to be heard outside of practice sessions–new combinations of sounds and colors, new opportunities for spirited musical…negotiations!
Atlanta is snowed in, a growing family of instruments is getting humidified, and we’re doing some planning for 2011. We’ve been happy to see Two Hearts reviewed in the venerable publication Sing Out!, as well as a fine photo (by Hawk Reynolds) in the latest Gwinnett Magazine (honoring Chocolate Perks in the “best of” issue).
In the next month or so, we’ll be playing in some cozy spaces. On 1/22, you can hear us in the tranquil environment of Zen Tea in Chamblee, a beautiful community gathering place that offers an incredible variety of teas and tea-related sweets. Then on 2/10, it’s back to the much-loved Catacombs Coffee House at Mt. Carmel UMC in Norcross, one of the oldest churches in Gwinnett County. And, if you happen to be well-known to us and live northwest/west of Atlanta and would like to host a house concert (perhaps in late spring), we’d love to talk with you! One of the greatest resources for how house concerts work is here…contact us privately if you’re interested. House concerts are magical. Warmth and music to you.
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
~Thornton Wilder
Back to the coziness of Chocolate Perks in Duluth this Saturday, November 27th, starting somewhere around 7. The counter overflows with delicious desserts, and plenty of pre-desserts to make the experience a meal. November 27th is also Small Business Saturday~if you let the baristas know that you’re supporting this effort, they’ll add something special to your order.
Two Hearts is continuing to find its way. We’ve noticed an intriguing phenomenon of multiple copies being bought by one family, so that no sharing is necessary (!!) Meanwhile, new songs and ideas continue to float in as we lay the groundwork for more performing and recording, while staying appreciative of Right Now.
To answer a few questions: First, who takes the pictures? We have, for the most part. Ron has the better equipment. The color-wild sunset (left) was taken by R. just a few nights ago, and Carol snapped the photos in the previous entry (except for the Dali, of course), along with the skies and the strawberry farm. Almost all of the pictures on the website itself are from both our collections. Dan Michaels got the view through the door at Chocolate Perks. The album release photos were by Bette Gilbert of Aperio Guitar. The actual album cover shot was taken by Ron in Dahlonega at sunrise. Often, we’ll imagine colors, images, scents, or textures while working on a song.
Second, when is the next album coming out? Answer: When it’s done, really done. There is quite a bit of recorded material from the earlier sessions, and we’re coming up with new ideas and directions constantly. These days, particularly with events and responsibilities in both our lives, we’ve really wanted to make the end consistent with the means–so that the process of creation is as joyful as the birth. So every step is mindfully (!?!) taken as Ron (w/Carol) brings Two Hearts to new listeners, songs in progress to those who come to hear us often, as well as older material and borrowed tunes often requested. In the meantime, more lyrics and melodies bubble up, we play out, life lives us.
The Avondale Arts Alliance Autumnfest is this weekend, and we’re performing on Saturday, October 23rd at 11 AM. If the festival is half as good as the website, it promises to be a lovely time for all ages. Then the following Saturday, October 30th, we’ll be returning to 45 South Cafe in Norcross for two sets that evening, starting around 7:00.
You might have noticed that it’s easy now, if you use Facebook, to find and “like” us through this page (see right). It’s a wonderful way to share back and forth, and to get news/updates (and our occasionally skewed thoughts) as soon as we’re aware of them. Thanks for listening, making us laugh, and being companions through this uncharted territory. The music truly would not happen otherwise.
Have you ever sat with a Salvador Dali painting? Not online, but in “person.” Of course, experiences are intensely individual, but it can feel like being literally sucked into one’s teeming unconscious–or being thrust headlong into the collective swirl, perhaps Dali’s wild inner vortex, who knows. Is it possible to be chased by an artwork? That’s how S.D. can feel. Atlanta’s High Museum is putting on an exhibition of his late works through January 9th. So looking forward to going, when we come up for air. Wait…
The Persistence of Memory~probably one of the best-known of Dali’s visions. And for some reason, that phrase (it’s also the name of a novel) kept coming back again and again after last week’s concert in Jasper. So many dear friends from Ron’s childhood were there–he was moved beyond words. Carol’s spending much of her time now with family remembrances. Quite a few members of the audience told us how that night felt like a sweet and powerful evocation of the past, gathered and held in the present moment. As it did to us.
Out of the Rain is playing in three very different settings in the next ten days. On Saturday September 25th, it’s a benefit for Parkinson’s research, which is also a birthday celebration for singer-songwriter Bob Bakert (who organized this show), starting around 7:00 at Ragamuffin Music. The night features an incredible mix of great musicians. And we’d be remiss not to mention, with admiration, the very important work being done by wonderful musical companion Bruce Gilbert, hosting monthly house concerts in his home (for the same cause) through this fall.
The Duluth Fall Festival in all its glory is coming up this weekend, and we’ll be on the Gazebo Stage at 3:30 on Sunday. Then on Saturday October 2nd, we’re back performing at The Hungry Ear Coffeehouse on a co-bill with Rick Diamond--it’s like being in a cozy, yet large, mountain cabin. Right in Sandy Springs. What could be better? Bringing of canned or non-perishable foods is encouraged, to support Northwest UU’s food drive. The music starts at 7:00.
And tonight, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.
The air feels completely different today, and the sky is deepening into fall. Both of us have been experimenting (enthusiastically!) with various instrument setups and gear while new songs are brewing under the surface. Tone and color are everything. Well, almost.
Speaking of cool air, and breezes…on Monday, September 13th, we’ll be playing up in picturesque Jasper, GA as part of the Casual Classics Series presented by Jasper Muse, Inc. It looks like a beautiful, warm setting. Music will begin at 7:00, and the location is New Lebanon Presbyterian Church on 389 Bent Tree Drive. We’re honored to be part of this series started by musician/mentor Suzanne Shull that features the performing gifts of Atlanta Symphony musicians and internationally acclaimed classical artists as well.
Two Hearts has continued to chart on the Roots Music Report and on Airplay Direct, with songs being picked up by stations across much of the northern and western US, as well as in Scotland, Canada, Australia, Germany, and The Netherlands.
“Summer Sky” from Two Hearts is a guitar instrumental that Ron wrote long ago, born fully formed. On hearing it during the recording process last year, Carol was moved and baffled. Thinking that it was probably more suited for violin accompaniment than viola (and just getting used to that strange small instrument), she played the song continually on her car stereo, waiting for a counter melody to emerge. Nothing came. Then one night in late August, looking up…there it was.
We’re playing at Chocolate Perks in Duluth for the first time ever on Saturday, August 21st at 7:30. It’s developed into wonderfully welcoming place for acoustic musicians to be heard. Looking forward to meeting you there!
As of 8/16, tracks from Two Hearts occupy thirteen of the top 50 Airplay Direct Global Radio Indicator charts for the week, and as of 8/20 the album is #42 on the international Roots Music Report folk chart.
While working on some new tunes outside in the sweltering heat, we were astonished to see Carol’s viola morphing and melting before our eyes. The tone became ever more dark, molten, and lugubrious…until finally, it sounded as if it were being played under water! All seriousness aside, quite a few players have taken to the Pellegrina viola (which has a lot of nicknames we won’t mention here). A huge body size, reasonable string length, and great projection.
We’re happy to be hearing about early airplay of Two Hearts on radio stations such as WAMC (Hudson River Valley), WFMT Chicago (included in 6/26 picks), CKUT Montreal, and KBCS Bellevue/Seattle (heavy rotation). Folk music radio announcers put countless hours into creating beautifully crafted programs, the vast majority on a volunteer basis. They (along with so many who perform, listen, write, and organize) keep the singer-songwriter tradition alive.
As of 7/30, the album has landed in the top 50 on the international Roots Music Report chart (folk), and climbed to #15 on the general RMR Georgia chart.
The summer NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show in Nashville. Ron: “It’s a ghost town.” Carol: “help…get me to a silent room, stat!” A lot of exhibits, milling humans, smiles. Many gorgeous instruments, a fascinating dulcimer/banjo/guitar combo called the strumstick, and enough strange and wonderful gadgets to make your head spin.
We’ve been working on new music and revisiting some old (in addition to spreading the word about Two Hearts), and are really looking forward to playing again at 45 South Café in Norcross this coming Saturday 6/26 at 7pm. It’s been a while since we’ve played there and gotten a chance to bask in its great sound and vibe, say and play hello.
Driving north from Atlanta, you can feel your shoulders ease downward as swirling mind silt settles gently. During some welcome free time before our Crimson Moon show, Carol meandered a couple of miles north on U.S. 19, spied a woman eating the richest, brightest strawberry ice cream imaginable, and lo! discovered the Dahlonega Vegetable Farm. A view of the mountains, strawberry pickers young and old, and the taste of cold sweet ecstasy.
Spending time in silence and quiet incubation after 4/10, lost in no-thought. We’re extending the celebration of the Two Hearts album release by traveling northward on Friday, May 14th to The Crimson Moon Cafe, a fantastic restaurant/music venue in the warm and magical town of Dahlonega nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The show starts at 8:30 PM, so consider having dinner there before settling in to listen!
Also, we have two performances planned on Saturday, May 8th~10 AM at the Colors Festival of Arts in historic Roswell (right on the square), then we’ll play at the venerable Lena’s Place Coffeehouse on a co-bill with Tony Bolin at 8 PM.
Merry Spring.
A SRO crowd greeted us last night at the album release concert for Two Hearts~what a beautiful evening. We were happy to be joined on stage by bassist Felton Dunn, J. David Leonard on piano and dobro, vocalist Kathy Reed, and singer-songwriter Jerry Brunner. Songs a-plenty from the album, plus some old favorites and traditional tunes…hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Thank you!
Much more music coming your way. Much gratitude to Jackie and Mark of Ragamuffin Music.
The doors open at 7:30. Click here for more information and tickets.
