greetings from the Bruce Cockburn "life short call now" tour that is rumbling across canada on a bus that is carrying 8 canadian dudes and ME!
if you live near seattle, i have a few gig announcements that might interest you;
1. the bruce tour has 3 shows that are sort of near seattle (we already played seattle proper in late august, but we're coming nearby, so i thought i'd send a shout out).
they are:
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3 at the Centre Theater in VANCOUVER BC SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4 at the McPherson Playhouse in VICTORIA BC (Victoria Clipper anyone?) TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7 at the Washington Center of Performing Arts in Olympia, WA.
the bruce tour is going into its home stretch with only a couple weeks left. it's truly been an honor to have been invited so deeply into bruce's music again, and to be in a trio with bruce and drummer gary craig. we've gone on some crazy-ass musical adventures together. also, a shout out to the guys on the crew, who are so good at what they do. you know, when you're rolling down the road with a bunch of folks on a 45x10ft bus, you just hope that everyone can get in a flow and work together and enjoy one another -- this is a good group, both in terms of skill and being nice folks. come see us before the tour ends if you can.
2. my dear friend Karen Pernick is having a much anticipated CD release concert/party in seattle at the Tractor Tavern Sunday NOVEMBER 5. You should go! I am taking the Victoria Clipper myself from my night off in Victoria to get there and hear her and join in the celebration!! Karen is magnificent, and the Tractor is just the most fun place. "With Pernick, whatever is, is right. Melancholy and longing are syncopated to perfection. Her voice goes up that enviable octave or two in just that heart-stopping spot. In the title song of her record, Apartment 12, she sings, "I wish that I could find a way into that other clear refrain." The thing is, that's exactly what she does." - The Village Voice
and here's something that you don't have to live in seattle to get excited about:
my dear friend sandy cioffi is making a documentary film called Sweet Crude; it is a trustworthy, honest and bold examination of what is happening in Nigeria's Niger Delta. From the website: "Sweet Crude, a documentary currently in production, will tell the story of Nigeria's Niger Delta - a story that has never been captured on film. Here, in the most populous country in Africa, at the mouth of the Niger River, billions of dollars of crude reside under the feet of a desperate people. This is a region where vast oil revenues and abject poverty stand in stark contrast. Where families face enormous challenges amidst environmental devastation. Where the issues are vastly complicated, the answers slow in coming.
This is the story of people struggling to eat in a land with no more fish. To live with the constant threat of war. To navigate the complexities of meaningful solutions to the most serious of circumstances. To simply survive, perhaps even thrive, if non-violent political solutions can emerge in a hurry. Whether they can succeed is our concern..the stories unfolding in the Niger Delta affect us all."
i have just joined on to score the film, which i'm thrilled about. also, my twin sister kate is the post production supervisor on the film, so it is truly a family affair.
go check out what sandy is doing -- it's such good and important work.
lastly, i have become a toronto maple leafs fan. i guess it was inevitable, living on a bus with a gaggle of canadian guys. go leafs go!
was telling a beloved about this a few days ago. thought it worth sharing here:
a few days ago i played massey hall in toronto with bruce cockburn. bruce, a nice guy from canada who writes devistatingly beautiful and evocative songs. massey hall is the site of my first ever live ani difranco gig. ani, a nice girl from buffalo who also writes devistatingly beautiful and evocative songs and who's band i played in for 4.5 years. i was having so many memories of that first day; each room held a different totally new experience. this was day one. april 1998. i was just meeting the crew. just getting to know jason and andy and ani. (bassist, drummer, folksinger) new girl. hoping i could land my marks. if i could be creative and expansive, all the better, but please god, just let me land my marks. oh jeez, what should i wear? is ani wearing a latex vest? um, i think i might need to get some different gig clothes. (little did i know i had a shaved head and disco-ball hip-hugger bell bottoms in my future) i wonder what will ani's audience think of the new girl?
that's the night i met bruce cockburn. and here i am with bruce, 8 1/2 years later.
if you do, get yourself over to berkeley tonight, august 27, 2006, and hear my friend vicki randle . she's just released a gorgeous debut album called SLEEP CITY, and she'll be playing tonight at the Freight and Salvage in berkeley at san pablo and addison. i wish like hell i could be there to cheer her on. you go instead! more on vicki soon -- for tonight, you just need to know that she'll be playing with the lovely bonnie hayes and nina gerber, and they will delight you. i promise.
to all gals out there: if you are not already at the michigan womyn's music festival, drop what you are doing and get there. for real. you will not be sorry.
Coming back to Seattle any time soon?
HI Julie,
I caught you at the Centre in Vancouver (and yes I was one of the fans by the back door in the pouring Vancouver rain, hoping to say hi.) You guys were incredible! You've grown so much as a team and were really tight! All that hard work paid off! Most impressive and I was blown away to hear you sing one of Bruce's songs! Well done! Cheers!