DREAMERS, LOVERS, OUTLAWS: The Latest Word/News

Happy…um... Roman Lupercalia festival?!?!

It is said by the wise authors of History.com that in ancient Rome, “February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus.” I’m pretty sure Michael will be concerned if I start sprinkling salt & spelt around the place, so instead we’re cleaning closets and writing for a new cd. You yourself can avoid your own closet cleaning by writing songs, coming to a workshop or one of our upcoming gigs.

In late January Siobhan went back up to the Troy area to help her father prepare for a retrospective exhibition of his work in Berkeley, California. Lots of new discoveries … (“You designed a luxury hotel in Italy?!?!?! I never knew that!”). We had a lovely time up in Pennsylvania last weekend presenting a vocal workshop and performance at Acoustic Brew in Lemont, just outside of State College. We made new friends and reconnected with past acquaintances. The remainder of February is chock full of events and we’ll be taking some time to write new material in March. Read on for our upcoming events. We hope to see you soon.

1. VALENTINE’S NIGHT GIG!
2. STRATHMORE & THE WAMMIES
3. NEW JERSEY/ CONNECTICUT
4. SANTA FE GIG / VOCAL WORKSHOP
FINAL: HEADS UP FOR THOSE IN THE NORTHEAST:

1. VALENTINE’S NIGHT GIG!
FEBRUARY 14, 7-9pm. Second Thursday SAW Concert Series at The Atheneum in Alexandria, VA. with openers: Rick, Audrey, & Dayana (cello) of Sense of Wonder, and Patricia Cooper, harpist. Dessert & drinks will be available. The Ghost of Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi (…er Valentino) will definitely make an appearance…at least in song. www.nvaff.org, $10.

2. STRATHMORE & THE WAMMIES
February 17, afternoon: Strathmore is like a “modern version” of the tremendous Troy Music Hall. But it isn’t just a music hall, it’s an education center as well—come to the Discover Strathmore Festival on Sunday and you can watch sculptors at work, join a sing-along and even take a bow on the Music Center stage to thunderous applause! While you’re there you can check out the songwriters’ stage and catch the following line-up:
Discover Strathmore Festival on Sunday (We're on 2:15 - 3:15 p.m) Free!

February 17, Sunday Night, 8pm. As many of you know, we are thrilled to have been nominated for WAMMIES both for Best Contemporary Folk Duo/Group, and Best Contemporary Folk CD for Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws. Siobhan was also nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist. THE place to be on Sunday February 17 is the The 22nd Annual Wammie Awards at the State Theater in Falls Church. We’re really looking forward to a great party celebrating all the nominees from folk to rock and blues to classical and jazz! www.wamadc.com


3. NEW JERSEY/ CONNECTICUT
On February 22 we’ll be back in New Jersey at the Minstrel Coffeehouse.
A truly lovely space, tucked away on a back road in New Jersey, not too far from New York. These fans are lovers of tradition so Siobhan might just sneak a traditional Irish song in the set when no one's expecting it. Andy Goessling opens. www.folkproject.org

February 23rd we’ll be at Good Folk Coffeehouse, Rowayton, CT. Come Hear — Come Eat — Come Enjoy! Good Folk — Good Food! Doors Open @ 7:30 p.m. -- Music Starts @ 8:00 p.m. Adult Donation: $20 - Children 7 to 12 half price - Under 7 free. No reservation necessary. Rowayton United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 5 Pennoyer

SANTA FE GIG / VOCAL WORKSHOP
Friday, February 29: Concert La Tierra (House Concert).
Saturday, March 1: Vocal Workshop. High Desert Guitars. 4 to 6 PM, $25.

FINAL: HEADS UP FOR THOSE IN THE NORTHEAST:
Saturday April 26, Siobhan will also be doing a Flexible Voice vocal workshop at Folk Project in New Jersey

Saturday April 26, Opening for Colin Hay (from the band, Men at Work) at Sanctuary Concerts, NJ.

Hope to see you soon!
Siobhan & Michael

Welcome to 2008!

Happy New Year!

We wanted to be among the first to wish you the best of New Years in 2008. 2007 was great for us, and we hope as you reflect back it was a good year for you. Now, we move into resolutions and planning, and looking forward to the seasons ahead.

We ran across a quote that struck us as very relevant for this time of year. It was attributed to Edmund Burke, and read, "The greatest mistake is made by the one who does nothing, because he could only do a little." In 2008, we want to take that idea to heart. Our resolution is to do what we can, even if it is a little, because if everyone did that--well, it's better than compounding interest in savings. The planet wouldn't be the same.

As always, welcome to those who are new to our mailing list and newsletter. We'll never spam you, or give your email to anyone else.
If you wish to be removed from the list, there are easy ways to do that, and feel free to let us know. Our goal is to keep you informed about what's happening with our music...not to bother you.

1. WAMMIE NOMINATIONS
2. BIRCHMERE DATE
3. 333 PHOTOS
4. BACA SHOWCASE
5. UPCOMING SHOWS

1. WASHINGTON AREA MUSIC ASSOCIATION

The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) recently announced the nominations for 2007. We are honored to have been nominated for both Best Contemporary Folk Duo/Group, and Best Contemporary Folk CD for Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws. Siobhan was also nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist. The WAMMIES, as they are called, are the Washington DC area equivalent to the Grammy Awards. The awards show, where the winners will be announced, will be on February 17th. Keep your fingers crossed for us--and if you are a WAMA member, vote for us--but do it quickly. The deadline for ballots is tomorrow, January 2nd.

2. BIRCHMERE DATE

We are very excited to announce that we have been booked to open for Hal Ketchum at the Birchmere Music Hall--one of the premier music clubs in the US. It is an honor to be able to play that stage, and to open for Hal. That's not happening until May, so you'll hear more about it before the date, but we wanted you to know about it now.

3. 333 PHOTOS

We put up a few photos of our performance at the 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis, Maryland, that we played on December 21st. It was a very nice evening, and we appreciate, Jane Meneely for inviting us. The venue and folks there are wonderful, and if you are in the Annapolis area and haven't been there to hear the music--by all means, go!
You'll love it.

We know we have a lot of photos up overall, by the way, but you'll look at what interests you, and skip the rest. We like to remember and recognize the places we've played, and hope you enjoy them.

Check them out at www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com, and click on photos.

4. BACHA SHOWCASE

We'll be headed to Massachusetts in a couple of weeks (January 13) to play a brief set at a showcase for the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association. This showcase is important for us, because the venues--the Boston area coffeehouse coffeehouse coordinators, committees, etc., will be there to listen and deciding if they might like to have us come play at their venues. It's not a public show--open to members of BACHA only, but if you happen to be a member, we'd love to see you there...and, this is another time when we'd ask you to keep your fingers crossed for us.

5. UPCOMING SHOWS

Aside from the BACHA showcase, we'll be doing several important shows in the coming couple of months. Here's a short list:

February 9 -- Acoustic Brew, State College, PA
February 14 -- The Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA
February 17 -- Strathmore Music Hall, Rockville, MD
February 22 -- Minstrel Coffeehouse, NJ

You can check out our schedule at www.dreamersloversandoutlaws and click on "calendar/schedule" for more details on each of these, and other shows that are upcoming.

We're also pleased to announce that later in the spring we'll be opening for Colin Hay (from the band, Men at Work) at Sanctuary Concerts. We'll give you more about that--and more--later.

Finally, a reminder for all our friends from Song School in Lyons,
Colorado: remember, Song School sells out, so make your reservations now. We want to see all of you in August, and since we've just passed the season of "no room at the inn" we don't want an encore of that scenario in August, in Colorado.

Ditto, by the way, for the Swannanoa crowd. Contemporary Folk week classes do fill up, so as soon as you can, reserve your place there as well.

We'll see you all down the road--and remember, do what you can. If we all do a little, the world can change.

As always, check out www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com for the latest information.

Siobhan and Michael

Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers
December, 2007 Newsletter


Hello everyone—

Somehow, it turned into December before we knew it. We hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful—we had a great time! Now it’s on to the year-end holidays that we all celebrate in one way or another, and the new year. 2007 flew by, and it was filled with good things for us. We are grateful to all of you for you support of our music.

Contents in this note:

1. Year End Shows
2. New Pics on Website
3. Ireland…Update
4. New Year Wishes

1. Year End Shows: Alexandria, VA, and Annapolis, MD

We’ll be playing a co-bill with Mae Robertson and Jim Ohlschmidt at Focus in Alexandria Sunday night, December 9 at 7 pm. We’d really love to see you there if you live in the DC area. Details and directions can be found at http://www.focusmusic.org/Schedule.html#Alexandria.

333 Coffeehouse, Annapolis, Maryland, Friday, December 21, at 8:00 p.m.

We are very excited to be visiting Annapolis on the Solstice! We’re working on some special songs to celebrate the season, and look forward to seeing you there. Details at: http://ceimd.com/php/public.php.

Also, Siobhan will be singing at IMT on December 10, in Rockville, MD, in support of Joe Jencks and his great new CD. Details available at: http://www.imtfolk.org/html/imt_about.html.

We’re going to be doing a lot of shows around the country in 2008, and we’re very excited about the way the schedule is shaping up. Take a look at what we’ve listed so far (not everything is up there, but you’ll see how it’s coming together) at www.dreamersloversandoutlaws.com.

2. Photos

There are some new photos up on our website of performances at the IMT concert at the end of October, and the formal showcase at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) in November. Thanks to Mark Ginsberg for snapping the photos at IMT, and Neale Eckstein for taking the shots at NERFA. We really appreciate it when folks help us memorialize our performances with photos.

3. Ireland—

We’re most disappointed to announce that we’re not going to be able to lead the tour to Ireland in May. There are a number of reasons for this, and we really appreciate all the folks who were signed up to go with us. We’re sending referrals to two of our friends who will be leading tours there next year, Joe Jencks and Cosy Sheridan. We hope everyone will be able to be accommodated in those groups.

4. New Years’ Wishes

We are so very thankful for the recognitions and good things that have come to us in 2007, and we are very aware that we are blessed richly with friends, health, and family. As we move into 2008, we give you our best wishes and thoughts for happiness, health, and well, plenty of growth experiences. We at least know that we’ll all have one of those three things, and we hope that all of us make the best of it when it comes!

Last year, we recorded and emailed an mp3 of a rough version of “Let It Come” as our holiday wish for all of you, and we’re going to do our very best to have an encore—with a different song this time, of course, before the end of the year. At least that is our intention, although we know sometimes life gets in the way. Whether in song or word, we wish for all of you creativity and inspiration. May we all look to follow the greatest parts of who we are in the days and years ahead.

Siobhan and Michael

We had a wonderful show last night at the Institute of Musical Traditions. The sound was wonderful, the crowd enthusiastic, and playing music with Brooks Williams is always a joy. Thanks to David Eisner, Art for the sound, Bernard for inviting us to play at IMT, and Loralyn and al the volunteers for their support of the venue.

If you are in the DC area, check out the Monday night concert series with IMT. The shows should not be missed.

We are back and very tired...but a very good tired, from a busy weekend. The quick trip to do a workshop and play a show at the Sand Lake Performing Arts Center in upstate NY was wonderful. The workshop participants were energetic, the house was full for the show, and we enjoyed working again with Ben Murray.

Then, we drove halfway home, (stopped at 3 a.m. for a few hours sleep), and made our way to Takoma Park, for the Takoma Park Folk Festival, to do a set there on the Grove Stage. We love that festival, and the community there!

It was great to see folks who traveled from Delaware to come to the show at TPFF(!) as well as many others we know and love.

And for the both events, the weather was stellar. The festival, outdoors, was 70 and sunny.. You simply cannot ask for better than that!

Next Saturday we host the Songwriter's Exchange at Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia. Come on down and we'll talk about songwriting, and work on a tune or two. It's sponsored by the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW), a great organization.

Now, it's off to bed, and more soon. We have a busy fall, and we'll have the full schedule up soon. SWERFA formal showcase, Institute of Musical Traditions, NERFA Formal Showcase, FOCUS, Alexandria, 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis (to list the shows we can thing of now, in our sleep deprived state...)

Thanks to all who are supporting our music and encouraging us...we'll keep doing our best to write and present great music!!

September, 2007 Newsletter
Siobhan Quinn and Michael Bowers


1. Summer Happenings (Brief Report)
2. SWRFA, NERFA, and beyond!!
3. Upcoming Shows, NY, MD Alert this coming weekend!!
4. Looking down the Road—Shows later this fall
5. Opposite Corners

1. What we did this Summer (not exactly a vacation!!)

All the kids are back at school giving their summer report, so we figured we’d give a brief update as well. Last time we wrote, we were headed to Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Swannanoa. In a word, both of these events were wonderful. It rained a bit at Falcon Ridge, but the Emerging Artist showcase was great, and we were honored to be among that crowd of great artists.

We had to leave NY before Falcon Ridge was over to get to North Carolina, where Siobhan was teaching voice at the Swannanoa Gathering. The week was really a delight. Students and faculty all commented on the quality of the time we had together. Siobhan’s vocal classes were overfull, and wait-listed even after she added more spots. It’s good to be loved!

After being home for three days to do laundry—and a great gig at Vic’s Music Corner (even though it was 102 degrees outside that day) where we were joined by our friend Ron Goad on percussion-- we headed to the Rocky Mountain Song School and Festival. Both Michael and Siobhan were instructors at the Song School this year. We also had a set on the Wildflower Stage of the festival with our friends Annie Wenz and Anna Wolfe---it was an honor to play at the festival, and to teach at the school. As a bonus, Darrell Scott asked all Song School instructors to join him on the stage during his set. If you don’t know Darrell’s music, please check it out. His new album Invisible Man is a great listening journey. Well, we promise you do know some of his music, you may just not know he was the writer of some of the songs…anyway, go to his site, and enjoy what you find!

Now, we’re back in the east, taking care of business, but still playing music…(see #3 for shows next weekend).

2. SWRFA, NERFA, and beyond

This year has been filled with a wealth of truly wonderful moments and they just continue to build. We are very honored and pleased to announce that we have been selected as formal showcase artists for both the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance Conference, and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference. In a word, it is a challenge to be chosen for these juried showcases where we have the opportunity to play for venue bookers (and our fellow artists) in a professional setting. This has been quite a year for us in terms of recognition—Performance Alley at the large Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA’s reps for that event), Kerrville New Folk Finalists, Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showase, and now SWRFA and NERFA Formal Showcases. It is both delightful and humbling…thanks to everyone who has given us such a great year. And while we are honored at the recognition, it is our goal to write and perform with more excellence every day. So stay tuned—we plan on being better every time you see us!!

3. Upcoming Workshop & Shows—Upstate NY, and MD alert September 15-16.

This coming weekend, on September 15, we’ll be in upstate New York at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, at the Squire Jacob Concert Series. Information on the show (reservations suggested) can be found at http://www.slca-ctp.org/QuinnBowers.htm. We’re also doing a songwriting & vocal performance workshop on Saturday afternoon on “The Great Songwriting Challenge.” If you are at all interested in songwriting, or engaged as a songwriter, come on out!!

Then, rushing back in the middle of the night (almost literally), we’ll play a set in the afternoon of Sunday, September 16, at the Takoma Park Folk Festival in Takoma Park, MD. Information on the TPFF can be found at: http://tpff.org/07/index_spring.htm.

On September 22, Saturday, we’ll be hosting/leading the Songwriters Exchange for the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW). Info at www.saw.org

4. Looking Ahead—

In October, we’ll be at the SWRFA conference, and at the Institute of Musical Traditions (IMT) in Maryland for a CD Release show in MD (we actually haven’t done one in MD yet for Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws. We’ll be on a co-bill with our good friend Brooks Williams…an amazing guitar player…more to come on that later. In November, it’s NERFA, and a pause for Thanksgiving. December we play at the 333 Coffeehouse in Annapolis, MD, and FOCUS in Alexandria. We’ll give you more about all of these shows as the time comes nearer.

5. Opposite Corners

Michael used to live in Olney, MD. 20 miles north of Washington, DC, the area has a rich history dating from colonial times, through the civil war, as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The last two weekends when we have gone to pick up Sarah (Michael’s 17 year old daughter) to go hiking on Saturday morning, we’ve encountered groups of people standing on opposite corners, waving signs at each other, and at the traffic as it passes by. As you might guess, the issues addressed on the signs have to do with the war in Iraq. Some signs say, “Bring Them Home,” and some say “Support the Surge.

Amazingly, in the space of only one week, it seems the signs have become more personal and belligerent…yesterday the escalation was a sign that said, “Peaceniks—Freedom’s Parasites.” There also seemed to be some “space bullying” going on, with groups with one set of signs seeming to be trying to take over, or come into the space of folks holding the other set of signs. I’ll let you guess which side is being more aggressive in their language and space encroachment…

Although we won’t be in town next weekend to go witness what happens, our prediction will be more of the same, probably on both sides in the end.

We couldn’t help but think when we drove by that these folks, regardless of their signs, probably have a lot more in common than not. And our guess is that six years ago this week, they would’ve stood as one, holding candles, holding hands, affirming solidarity as common citizens in the wake of the fallen towers.

What happened? And how did we let politicians of whatever stripe lead us down the road of focusing on our differences and our divisions, rather than our commonalities?

We thought about what it would be like to go stand in the middle, between the two groups, to express these questions. Of course, between those two groups is the busiest intersection in that little town, and we’d get run over pretty quickly. It dawned on us, talking on our hike, that we’d probably inadvertently recognized a truth—people who stand in the middle of folks committed to arguing or fighting over their differences may in fact be the first to fall. Again, how did it happen that individuals who commit to stand in the breach end up fighting a two front war? And what can be done about that?

After this second consecutive weekend of seeing this demonstration of difference (and yes, if forced to choose a side we do have one), we wondered, aside from standing in the middle of a busy intersection, how we could make our point about what we saw happening.

One idea Michael had was to create our own signs, and go stand with both groups. The best ideas we’ve had for our signs so far are: “YARD SALE HERE!!” or, “SIGNS FOR SALE: CHEAP!!!” or maybe the infamous, “HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE!!” Maybe you can come up with other signs that would make the point. Maybe finding alternative signs is a silly idea. But is it any more silly than trying to make a difference by standing on a street corner waving signs at one another? Isn’t there a better way to make one’s point—and wouldn’t it be better overall to try to find some common ground, instead of waving signs—if for no other reason than this week, in honor and remembrance of September 11, 2001? Or, maybe we’ve been reduced to the belief that waving signs is the point. We sure hope not.

There has to be a third way. Together, it would be great if we could find it. We know that we’ll be out there singing our way through it. We hope to see you around.

Michael and Siobhan

We've put up three new photos from the SAW/BMI showcase earlier this week. That was a fun evening and we salute Jean Bayou and Ron Goad for their work, Michael Yugo for the fine work and space at 219, and Fred Cannon of BMI.

Yes, Michael picked out the shirt. And he still likes it, no matter what Siobhan says (although he thinks she's coming around).

We're wrapping up the Every Cobblestone Tells a Story project. Some very interesting songs came from the community on this, and we wrote a few as well. We'll try to put some rough mixes of rather rudimentary versions of a song or two in the next couple of weeks. Please note, we said, "try." There's a lot going on, surprisingly Siobhan's voice lessons continue at a very fast pace for the summer, and we're gearing up for other projects as well. More later.

Siobhan has had several songs "in the can" for a while now, released only in a very limited edition previously with Ben Murray. Those songs, and a couple of unreleased ones (including This Kind of Love) will be released later this summer on a new disc, entitled, "Siobhan Quinn: Most Requested!" We're excited to be able to offer this solo recording of Siobhan's singing and song selection. You're gonna love it!

Information on ordering and release date will be forthcoming in our next monthly newsletter. And, if you are not on our mailing list, and want to be, make sure you sign our guest book with that request.

Stay cool in this hot summer!! And stay dry if you're down in the Texas rain!

We are very pleased to announce that we have been selected to perform in the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in July. Check out falconridgefolk.com for more info about this world class, internationally renowned festival. We hope to see you there!

And, by the way, if you want to get on our monthly email newsletter list, sign our guest book. We try to mail out news about the third week of every month.

Well, we are back from Kerrville...where it rained, and rained, and rained. After two days of solid rain, we still managed to get 3 inches more in about 45 minutes once. There were a few hours when it didn't rain, but for the most part, it was not the usual heat and sun that we experience in Texas. For a while it was so bad Turtle Creek overflowed the highway into the Ranch, and no one could come or go for a few hours.

Kerrville overall, though, was very good to us. We played our songs, we got a very nice standing ovation, we sold lots of CDs, and we were asked to play gigs...several of them, in the future, and we're looking to book them over the next few weeks.

All that said, check the photo page for some shots of us on stage at Kerrville.

Siobhan is hard a work on finishing her grant, "Every Cobblestone Tells a Story," with workshops and performances coming up in the next week and a half or so.

We'll be performing as part of that project next Sunday here in Alexandria...details available through the Del Ray School of Music.

For Father's Day weekend we're taking off, to head to Nashville, to be with Michael's father for his 80th birthday. We'll be going to the Grand Ole Opry, and taking a riverboat cruise in Nashville as part of the celebration. It should be fun!

We're also pleased that the CD continues to get steady airplay on folk radio. We're a bit surprised that the Ballad of Bill Ballou is getting almost as much play as Let It Come...who knew?

At any rate, we hope to see you around some shows soon, or at Swannanoa, or at the Rocky Mountain Song School, where Siobhan and Michael are scheduled to work as faculty.

Have fun this summer!!!

What a great day at the Festival. We thank Dan Grove very much for the chance to play there, and the weather for (mostly) cooperating. It did get a bit windy....ok, perhaps that's an understatement, one booth even blew over....but we do have photos--not sure if they're eligible for public consumption, because we kind of had a "tail wind" on the stage, and there's a strong possibility that we will not be recognizable the way our hair was blowing into our faces, but if there are any worth posting, we will.

Tomorrow night it's up to Frederick, MD, for a short showcase set, then on Thursday, we fly to Kerrville Texas for the folk festival. We hope to see you around!!

Well, we've put some great new photos up on the site...many many thanks to John Cromie for all the shots of Caffe Lena that you'll see. Michael took the rest of the new ones.

We've gotten a great reception on folk radio. Thanks to all the DJs who are spinning Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws! We appreciate it very much.

This Sunday we play at the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, and then, only a few days after, head for Kerrville, Texas. We look forward to seeing several of you there at the Ranch!

Check out the photos!

Hudson Harding Music is servicing folk radio djs with Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws in the next two months. If you listen to folk radio shows, we'd love it if you'd call or email the DJs and ask them to give the tracks of the disc a spin on their shows.

We'll also be sending to other radio outlets, and to press for reviews this month. If you know of any reporter/reviewer that you believe would be interested in reviewing DLO, let us know.

Thanks for all the kind notes we've been getting. We'll see many of you in Kerrville in just a few weeks. We can't wait!!

We were pleased to be informed today that we were selected as Finalists in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition.

The competition has 800 entries (entries are cut off at 800), and the 32 Finalists play the songs they submitted live before judges and a very large and enthusiastic audience at the festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Memorial Day weekend.

It is quite an honor to be selected, and among the finalists this year happen to be many friends whose music we love. That makes the "competition" component of this event a bit more odd for us. It both is, and isn't a competition. Above all else, it is a celebration of songwriting, and being selected is in itself the "prize" for us.

This is Michael's second time to be selected as a Finalist, and the first time for us as a duo. The songs we submitted were, "Let It Come," and "Valentino's Ghost." If you haven't, go over to the Listening Room tab, and listen to clips of these sounds.

We wish the best to all Finalists....and to all who entered. Let's all keep writing, and celebrating the song.

m

Hello all--

We'll be sending a newsletter out in a few days--we just returned from a great CD release at Caffe Lena and our work in NM (thanks to Dan for his support there). However, we did want to list that Let It Come received national airplay on 51 Percent, an internationally syndicated NPR program (over 130 stations in the U.S. and Canada, and Armed Forces Radio). Thanks to the host, Mary Darcy, for recognizing Siobhan (the program is about women) and featuring the song. We are very pleased and humbled.

m

Tomorrow we head for NY and the release party at Caffe Lena. Based on current reservations, the report is that we can expect a sell-out, or very close to it. That's nice, we've been worried all week that the Final Four will get in the way (dare I write that down and remind anyone?) Of course, we only live about 7 miles or so from the Georgetown campus, and they are IN the Final Four. So maybe it won't matter too much in Saratoga Springs, NY. We promise a good show, so call and book a seat if you haven't already made your reservations.

Then, after the show Saturday night, we have a crack o dawn flight to New Mexico, where we'll be doing some songwriting, some performing, and helping record a demo. That place is always inspiring....even with the work we have to do, we're looking forward to the creativity that the southwest generates for us. And 10,000 Waves. Don't forget 10,000 Waves. And the Lucchese store. They make really good boots! If you don't believe us, just look at that cover photo!

Anyway, we're very humbled by the good response so far to those who have heard the disc, and to the reception it received on air in our radio promo shows in NY a couple of weeks ago. Thank you for all the kind words.

As for tips for the day, here are some guidelines for life I learned from a friend:

1. Show up--radical presence
2. Do what has heart and meaning
3. Tell the truth
4. Be open to outcomes

I'm far from perfect at those practices, but if we could all do those four things well, the world would be a better place.

See you soon.

michael

Oasis CD Duplication surprised us by beating their guaranteed delivery time by 10 days...and we were already pushing the limits! They were great!

We now have the CDs in hand for the release party at Caffe Lena. If you don't live in the area where you could come to the release party, and you really can't wait for your copy of Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws, email us (see contact info on this site) and we'll tell you how you can get a copy in the next week or so. We will be putting the discs out on CDBaby, but direct orders are always more than welcome...especially since we haven't had time to set up a CD Baby account as of yet.

We must say, even in our own terribly biased opinion, they sound great. The players on the disc, the sound artists who recorded and mixed, all of it---it was a great, intensive, and FAST bit of work--all excellently done. We thank all of you who helped us make this project fly.

And thanks so much to Michael Eck, Wanda Fisher, and Chris McGill for hosting us on their radio shows over the weekend. It was a delight and a lot of fun to be able to talk about the process of writing these songs, and recording this disc, and then playing a few tunes on the air.

Despite the 15 inches or snow over the weekend in upstate NY, we also rehearsed for several hours with Ben Murray, who will be joining us for this show. We're all excited about how the live versions, with this configuration of musicians is sounding. We can't wait to see you at Caffe Lena on March 31.

CD, Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws is Almost Ripe!!

We are SOOOO close with the disc. In fact, it is now out of our hands. It is mixed, mastered, the artwork is finished, and it's all off to Oasis for replication...due back just in time for the CD Release show at Cafe Lena March 31. It sounds stellar. Roman Klun did a marvelous job mixing, He sent us a soundscape that was bright and complex. Then, Charlie Pilzer at Airshow in Springfield, VA, just brought everything to life with his mastering work. It is amazing how much that process shaped the sound and made it so present. Stay tuned, the way to pre-order will be coming soon....and it's not to early to think about Christmas/holiday gifts! Buy early and often, so we'll be able to retire the costs of this disc, and begin the next one (which we are are starting work on now!).

If you haven't yet, listen to clips...


Also, we've made arrangements again to participate in the Rocky Mountain Song School in Lyons, Colorado, August 12-16. If you've never been, it's a highlight experience, guaranteed to stimulate creativity and help you in the business aspects of music. Prior to that, Siobhan will again be teaching voice at the Swannanoa Gathering's Contemporary Folk week, July 29-August 4. We love the Asheville area, and are looking forward to spending some time with our Alexandria VA, neighbor there, Tom Paxton, among others.

That's the short story for today....and the long look to the end of summer. Now, we're going to hunker down for a bit of snow that is forecast, and wait (impatiently) for spring and the return of our discs. Have I mentioned those?

more later,

m

I (michael) received a call today from my mother that my great uncle, Earl, the last of his generation, passed away this morning. Earl Bowers was one of the characters who, if it were not so close, would definitely deserve a song on the disc Dreamers, Lovers, and Outlaws.

Earl was, no doubt, a man of his time--he lived for 96 years in Northern Alabama, and saw the world change dramatically during his life. But he wasn't just trapped by the generation that shaped him. He was kind-hearted, generous, inquisitive, and quick with a joke or a laugh. He remained playful until very shortly before his death.

He was also a worker of wood--a cabinetmaker by trade (although those who know realize that he did not make "cabinets"---he made fine furniture as well as art pieces, bowls, boxes, etc., that would sell for what they were--fine art) and he remained active until the last month or so of his life in his woodshop.

I'll miss him. In January we lost our friend Frank Meyer (see entry below). Right at the end of February/beginning of March, I lose the last of a generation in my family. But the good ones are never lost. We'll carry their spirit with us and trust that our spirits will meet again somewhere in the future. Goodbye, Uncle Earl. Godspeed.

m