As many of you know, I recently finished up a Songs of the Civil War Era artist residency in the Brunswick, Maine school district. I visited each fifth grade classroom three times and we had loads of fun singing the songs sung on the battlefield, cotton fields, and the homefront. We saw how the changing views of African Americans began to appear in popular music well before the war, and we learned about the "new American music" that the whole world was talking about long after the fighting was over.
But the fun's not over yet!
This Saturday, I'll give a final concert along with Martin Swinger (who's been working with the 1st graders). It's open to the public, so if you're in the area, I hope you'll come!
I'm inviting all willing fifth graders to come up on stage with me to sing for you. If you're lucky, they'll share some of the "battle songs" they wrote themselves!
And even if you don't come to the concert, you can still hear the classroom songs. Some are funny, some are touching, some are very proud! You can listen to the classroom songs in the Listening Room at Songwriting for Kids. And you can even check out The Brunswick Broadside (.pdf) to read all the lyrics.
I hope I'll see you on Saturday. Thanks, as always, to Arts Are Elementary for the grant that made all of this possible!
Tonight, I'll be the featured performer at the Round Top Coffee House open mic at Round Top Barn (formerly known as Round Top Center for the Arts.) This coffee house is super cozy and friendly, and most importantly, there is delicious ice cream very very nearby (see directions below). I hope to see you there! (Earl is *not* invited!)
Round Top Coffee House
Damariscotta, Maine
6:30 open mic; 8:30-9:30 featured performer (that's me!)
Price: $6, $3 seniors, 12 & under free
Directions: US Rte. 1B in Damariscotta, next to Round Top Ice Cream. There is ample parking.
Volunteers are needed to provide additional baked goods fr the show and will earn free admission!
For more information, call Heather Hardy or Jason Anthony at 677-2354 or the DRA at 563-1393.
For the last post in my Songs of the Civil War Era series, I thought I'd put up one of my favorite African-American spirituals, "Walk Together Children." I love the energy and joy in this song. And the lyrics are timeless, hopeful, inspirational, and true. If we work together toward that better day, just think what we can do!
Walk together children, don't you get weary
In the concert, the talking that comes before the song goes on a little long (and I apologize in advance for all the "um's") so I separated it out. That way, if you're not in the mood for a lecture, you can head straight for the music.
When I was putting together my recent Songs of the Civil War Era concert, there were some areas I already had pretty well under my belt. I've been singing the spirituals and popular songs of the time (like Oh Susanna and Gum Tree Canoe) for quite a while now.
But I wasn't as familiar with songs that were sung on the battlefield. It was very interesting to research these tunes and find out how they evolved. One fascinating example was "Bonnie Blue Flag," and you can hear the whole story by clicking on the player below (again, if you're in Facebook, you might have to go directly to my blog).
My lecture/concert "Songs of the Civil War Era" ended up in the news a couple times last week!
First, Daisy Alioto wrote a very nice article in The Bowdoin Orient. She starts with:
"Josephine Cameron '98 sat center stage in Kanbar Auditorium strumming her guitar and letting her melodic voice soar sweetly around the room on Tuesday. She sang "Tenting on the Old Campground," the first piece in a program of Civil War-era songs that offer insight into the popular culture of the era. The song, a song of peace sung by war-weary soldiers, Union and Confederate alike, was truncated mid-verse by the piercing shriek of the fire alarm. The audience, slow to react, could hardly conceal their disappointment as Josie's voice still echoed in the rafters."
You can read the rest of the article here (how's that for suspense?)
And then Tom Porter from Maine Public Radio did a great spot on Maine Things Considered. You can listen to the whole thing here:
It's been snowing so much around here that I'm beginning to think it will never melt! Our walkway to our house is now this narrow little path up to my waist. We took pictures, but I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet, but I'll try to post some soon. The photo below is from a local news story about this week's storm. It's pretty much what my street looked like on Monday.
Please consider taking a moment today to donate to your state or local equivalent of Keep Maine Warm. Often, donations to programs like this can taper off as Winter wanes, but as much as I'd like to be in denial, we're still a long way from Spring! There are still many people in places like Northern Maine who are going to be in severe need of heating assistance over the next few weeks.
Thanks so much to Cynthia Lord for choosing me for her surprise pick in her top 12 this week (even though I'm not even on American Idol!) If you haven't read Cynthia's book, Rules, you really ought to head down to the library or the bookstore right this second. Seriously. Go ahead and cancel your plans for the rest of the morning.
While my classmates were out at field parties in the summer, my friends and I were hosting (very small) big band parties, equipped with candles and 1940's style outfits and outdoor dancing to Pennsylvania 6-5000.
So when Bowdoin College's concert band asked me to do a show with them and sing some old Gershwin standards in the *gorgeous* new Studzinski Auditorium, I was an eensy bit excited.
If you're going to be in Maine this weekend, you can come watch me live out my dreams of being a 1940's big band singer:
For those of you who are in the Damariscotta, Maine area, I'll be playing tonight as the featured performer at a new open mic/coffee house at Round Top Farm (formerly the Round Top Center for the Arts).
The open mic runs from 6:45 to 8:15, and I'll be on from 8:30 to 9:30. If you'd like to participate in the open mic, please be sure to sign up for your slot promptly at 6:30.
Round Top Farm is on US Rte 1A across from Poole Brothers hardware/lumber yard.
If the title of this post isn't enough to warn you, I'll let you know there's a pretty good chance you're in for some fangirl gushing today. On Saturday, Kevin and I drove 2 1/2 hours down to the Somerville Theater to see Sam Phillips in concert. And was it worth the drive, you ask? Oh, do you *really* need to ask?
She started off the show with my two favorite songs. I mean, what are the odds? The first song was I Need Love from her 1994 album Martinis and Bikinis. It's the one with that phenomenal chorus:
I need love, not some sentimental prison I need God, not the political church I need fire, to melt this frozen sea inside me I need love
Which brings me to her band. Ted Reichman played accordian, keyboard, and guitar. Eric Gorfain played violinophone, banjo, a supercool little white electric guitar, and various other stringed instruments. And Jay Bellerose had the coolest drum set I think I have ever seen, equipped with a gigantic vintage wooden kick drum and what looked like a huge sack of bells strapped to his leg.
These guys seemed a little like a trio of mad scientists, each sitting in his corner tinkering away--sometimes holding back so much it left you breathless, and other times letting go with abandon that shook you to the bone. They were intense, and when Sam Phillips' haunting vocals cut through, the effect was extraordinary.
And did Sam Phillips' deliciously quirky personality come shining through? Oh, yes it did. On Shake It Down, the stage manager nonchalantly brought out a gigantic metal shovel for her to bang away on, nonplussed (like people do this in concerts every day). For Animals on Wheels, the band left the stage, leaving her alone, holding a tiny, tinny dictophone to the microphone for her piano accompaniment. Every once in a while, she would shake it to distort the sound before jumping back into the verse.
I have to admit, I got a little teared up during Don't Do Anything. It just hit me during that song that I have been listening consistently to Sam Phillips' voice since I was about 10 or 11 years old. I thought of all the things I've gone through (good and bad) while listening to her music, and how I essentially grew up (and am still growing up) with her lyrics in my head. To sit there in the front row, listening to her sing...well, what can I say? It was pretty profound.
Sorry for the slightly sporadic posts this last week. I've been traveling, and there were a couple days there when I was simply too busy looking for shells and surfers, working on crosswords and puzzles, falling asleep during movies, and playing Uno and Spanish "I Spy" with my nieces and nephews to write a blog. Thanks to all my family for the great visits. I miss you already!
So, last night, just before Barack Obama gave his eloquent and inspiring speech at the New Hampshire primaries, the Obama campaign blared The City of Blinding Lights by U2. I had the song in my head all day today, and it reminded me of 2 things:
1. How much I like U2. I tend to just take them for granted as one of the "given" megabands of our time. Their songs come on, I turn the radio up, and that's that. But when I take the time to really pay attention, it never ceases to amaze me how seamlessly and consistently they can pull off such catchy riffs, soaring melodies, and moving lyrics that always manage to be both melancholy and hopeful. Like:
The more you know the less you feel Some pray for, others steal Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel… luckily
It's that last line that gets me in this song. I love that it ends there. Luckily.
2. I'm going to a mega-concert! I have two TicketMaster gift cards (ugh, I know, the corporation I can't stand). Now, I have never in my life been to a huge stadium concert with lights and staging, smoke and screaming crowds like in the U2 video below. (Ok, I went to a White Heart concert in 7th grade, but that *really* wasn't the same thing.) I've always gone for the intimate, folksy or indie-rock venues. Belly in a dive bar. Alison Krauss in a small, tasteful auditorium. Badly Drawn Boy in a space the size of a living room.
So I've decided that in 2008, I'm going to use those blasted gift cards to see something BIG. Problem is...what's worth seeing? Seen any good, huge shows lately? I've got 12 months to pick something...and I'm up for taking suggestions!
