| In This Issue |
| Upcoming Appearances |
| Warren Hellman, R.I.P. |
| David Thom/s New CD |
| Annual SALE |
January 12, 2012
Dear Companions,
Another year has drawn to a close and it has been in many ways a great one for us. Tom Rozum, the Right Hands, and I have traveled perhaps a bit too much, but there is nothing that I would look back and say no to if I had a choice to do it again. We have seen incredible natural beauty, from the hills of southern Tennessee to the piney woods and placid waters of New Hampshire; the saguaro and palo verde of southern Arizona to the driftless area of Wisconsin; the Sawtooth Range of Idaho; and all manner of places in between. And all the while, we have been lucky enough to play music with great musicians, making new friends and renewing bonds with old friends. Somehow, we have managed to mostly be in places of great beauty, so no complaints (except that my camera died in July and I have yet to replace it). I feel blessed and lucky to be alive and well.
This last year has not been without its great sorrows, though, and we have had to say goodbye to some of our heroes and dear friends. Among them Warren Hellman, Hazel Dickens, Warren Argo, Kenny Baker, Wilma Lee Cooper, Jim Rothermel, and Bill Bardin. This seems to be happening more and more each year, and I guess that's just part of the deal if you live long enough... the trick is to stay engaged and to love even with the knowledge that we my have to part before we're good and ready. Make way for new life!
Home, Sweet Home
Last month I wrote:
"Now that the rains have started..." Well, they have gone away again. The Sierra is at 1/14th of its average snowpack for this time of year, which does not bode well for next summer. The up side is that I have been able to get in some really good bike rides very late in the season, with dry roads and unseasonably warm weather.
My video has gone viral! Well, OK, it's not a full-blown contagion, but it is getting around. Check it out, if you haven't already.
"I'm in Love With a River Guide"
Speaking of rivers, Tom Rozum and I will be doing two river trips on very different rivers this summer:
July 17-20, we return to the lush valley of the Rogue in southern Oregon with our friends at Echo River Trips. This trip fills up fast, so make your reservations right away if you have a hankering to join us.
The Rogue River
June will find us on a new stretch of water for us: the legendary Yampa in Utah, in a joint trip with Echo and ARTA. This river has been on my list for a long time, ever since I looked down on it from Dinosaur National Park some 30 years ago. It's about time!
Navajo Sandstone cliff on the Yampa
We LOVE Radio!
As of this writing, I just found out that "Hartfordtown 1944" has debuted on the bluegrass charts at #27. Here's to a rapid climb and a long stay!
Thanks to all the radio folks who are spinning the new disc. We are getting reports from all over the US, Canada, and Europe.
THANK YOU!
Happy New Year!
Don't forget to sing early and often.
Walk softly,
Laurie
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UPCOMING APPEARANCES
As is our wont each winter, Tom Rozum and I will be touring in Hawai'i this month. Please join us. Mahalo!
SAT, JAN 21
Aloha Theatre
Kainaliu, HI
FRI, JAN 27
House Concert Ward's Rafters (7:30pm)
3810 Maunaloa Avenue
Honolulu, HI
info: 808 735-8012
Please be respectful of the neighbors
SAT, JAN 28
Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center (KPAC)
3-1901 Kaumualii Hwy
Lihue HI 96766
info: (808) 245-8311
Benefit for KKCR Community Radio
Info: email, 808-652-3823
Drawings for free prizes with admission and more
Advance tickets $25 Door $30 advance tickets available at Harvest Market Hanalei, Hanalei Strings and Things, Hanalei Surf Co, Magic Dragon Toys Princeville, North Shore Pharmacy, Healthy Hut Kilauea, Kauai Music and Sound Kapaa, Papayas Kapaa, Scottys Music Kalaheo
And because I'm late with this month's newsletter, here's a preview of next month:
SAT, FEB 11
Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum Also: Eric & Suzy Thompson, Misner & Smith and Steve & Karen Tamborski
Sweethearts of the Radio
Benefit for KWMR Community Radio
The Dance Palace
Pt Reyes Station, CA
FRI, FEB 17
Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands
Tom Rozum, Chad Manning, Patrick Sauber, Andrew Conklin
Santa Fe Performance Exchange
Santa Fe, NM
SAT, FEB 18
Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands
Tom Rozum, Chad Manning, Patrick Sauber, Andrew Conklin
Music in Corrales Concert Series
The Old Church
Corrales, NM
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Warren Hellman, R.I.P.
Last month, San Francisco lost one of its best friends.The man who brought hundreds of thousands of people to bluegrass through his free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival each year in Golden Gate Park passed away in December. In the ten years that I have had the honor to know Warren Hellman, I have been amazed over and over again by his generosity and kindness, his openness to meeting people and making room in his life for those who he decides to let in. He told me that what he considered a major strength of his in the business world was his ability to read people's reactions to each other, and to gauge character. He valued directness and didn't want to be coddled. In fact, I think he first took a liking to me when he was playing banjo on KPFA radio, and I came into the studio. Everyone was fawning over him and saying how great his playing was. When he asked me how it sounded, I said something like "Well, you'll get better if you practice," and he became my instant friend.
I always felt that Warren and I had a sort-of special bond, and with his passing I have come to realize that there are probably thousands of us who feel that way. He had a knack for making each of us feel particularly important to him. This is a rare trait, and has something to do with his ability to focus solely on what (or who) was right there in the moment. This is probably one of the keys to his great success in so many arenas, be it endurance racing or business.
Warren famously said, in an interview with Forbes.com, that money was "like manure. If you spread it around, good things will grow-and if you pile it up, it just smells bad." Amen.
Read more about this remarkable man here.
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I am pleased to announce the release of David Thom's new CD, That Old Familiar. I produced (and engineered) David's latest recording, and though I may be a little biased, I'd say it sounds pretty darn good! David's music is so far known almost exclusively to Northern California audiences, but that may well be changing. Check it out here!
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FREE SHIPPING on all items from our general store! Stock up for upcoming birthdays, bat and bar mitzvahs, weddings, housewarmings, harvest celebrations, and going-away parties.
We are offering a sale on all our CD's through the month of January.
In the hopes that you will spread our music around to your friends and family, we will pay for shipping throughout the USA. Please visit our General Store, and spread the joy while supporting the arts!
My latest CD, SKIPPIN' AND FLYIN' continues to garner some great reviews. Read all about it:
Creatively ambitious and utterly unpretentious, steeped in tradition but doggedly progressive, Lewis is a gifted fiddler, deft guitarist, inspired songwriter and powerfully evocative singer. A creative force on the Bay Area bluegrass scene for decades, the long-time Berkeley resident has mentored several generations of brilliant young string players, while also honing an impressive body of evocative original songs...While the album features several illustrious guests - Linda Ronstadt, Kathy Kallick, Dale Ann Bradley and Nadine Landry all contribute harmony vocals - the most notable creative connection is between Lewis and Rozum.
They started performing together in 1987 when he joined her band Grant Street, a talent-laden combo that boosted the careers of string experts like banjo player Tony Furtado and guitarist Scott Nygaard. But after a serious car wreck in Arizona in 1994, the sudden confrontation with mortality led Lewis and Rozum to focus on honing the duo act they'd long thought about pursuing.
"We felt like it was something we wanted to do, and knowing everything could be over at any time, we made it a priority," Lewis says.
Released under both their names, their first post-crash album "The Oak and the Laurel" (Rounder) earned a 1996 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album. Showcasing their restrained high lonesome harmonies, they explored classic old-time tunes by the Louvin Brothers, the Carter Family and Peter Rowan with a cast of string stars including Mike Marshall, Nina Gerber and Darol Anger.
Keenly aware that each gig is a singular communion they've thrived in each other's company ever since, whether performing with Lewis's Bluegrass Pals, working in a duo format, interpreting bluegrass standards or playing Lewis's originals. And that's something to be very thankful for.
And here is a little interview with me about the CD.
You can order Skippin' and Flyin' (and many other recordings, songbooks and t-shirts) from our website or from Spruce and Maple Music. Downloads are also available from both sources (but then you'll miss the extensive liner notes and lyrics). |
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