From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V4 #153 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, May 15 1998 Volume 04 : Number 153 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Fwd: NOMA Newsletter - Festival Edition [Riphug ] Jennifer Ferguson ["Suzanne Cerquone" ] Holly Cole tonight in Boston! [Michael Colford ] Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) ["Joseph S. Zitt" ] Spam at the Ectophiles' Guide [Neile Graham ] Re: Jennifer Ferguson [Neile Graham ] Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? [Neile Graham] Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) ["Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Fwd: NOMA Newsletter - Festival Edition This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --part0_895232687_boundary Content-ID: <0_895232687@inet_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII I know this is really long, but I just didn't want people to miss out on festivals in their area...... Jill :D - --part0_895232687_boundary Content-ID: <0_895232687@inet_out.mail.aol.com.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: Received: from rly-za02.mx.aol.com (rly-za02.mail.aol.com [172.31.36.98]) by air-za01.mail.aol.com (v43.10) with SMTP; Fri, 15 May 1998 01:03:55 -0400 Received: from eden.telalink.net (eden.telalink.net [207.152.1.2]) by rly-za02.mx.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id BAA05500; Fri, 15 May 1998 01:03:53 -0400 (EDT) Received: from adam.telalink.net (adam.telalink.net [207.152.1.4]) by eden.telalink.net (8.8.8/10.0r-blkspam) with ESMTP id AAA07086; Fri, 15 May 1998 00:03:46 -0500 Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by listserv.telalink.net (Telalink-Lists-1.3) id XAA02725 for nomanews-outgoing; Thu, 14 May 1998 23:04:54 -0500 Received: from eve.telalink.net (eve.telalink.net [207.152.1.3]) by listserv.telalink.net (Telalink-Lists-1.3) with ESMTP id XAA02722 for ; Thu, 14 May 1998 23:04:53 -0500 Received: from babel.telalink.net (babel.telalink.net [207.152.1.9]) by eve.telalink.net (MTA-v3.8/10.00v-fbmx-blkspam) with ESMTP id XAA11861 for ; Thu, 14 May 1998 23:04:52 -0500 (CDT) Received: from default (pm2e4-4.berkshire.net [209.73.133.131]) by babel.telalink.net (MTA-v3.7/relaymail-1.0.0) with SMTP id XAA02770 for ; Thu, 14 May 1998 23:04:49 -0500 (CDT) X-Envelope-To: Message-Id: <3.0.32.19980514235724.00684b88@mail.songs.com> X-Sender: maryl@mail.songs.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0 (32) Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 00:04:29 -0400 To: nomanews@listserv.telalink.net From: Maryl Neff Subject: NOMA Newsletter - Festival Edition Sender: owner-nomanews@listserv.telalink.net Precedence: bulk Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit NOMA Newsletter May 15, 1998 Vol. 2, No. 10 FESTIVAL EDITION from the National Online Music Alliance on the World Wide Web @ "It's like a big record store -- with nothing but GOOD music!" __________________________________________________________ Hello! Summer is the season for music festivals galore. If you've never been to a music festival, try one this summer! Where else can you sit in the great outdoors and hear so many artists over a period of hours or days? A fest is a great place to try out artists you've never heard and to catch your favorites. Many allow camping on the site or nearby, and many provide children's music and activities, dancing, workshops, arts & crafts booths, food and more. It would be impossible to include all the summer festivals, or even all the ones at which our artists play. We asked artists to send their current fest schedules to us. Some are on the road and couldn't respond, and others don't yet have complete schedules -- some fests haven't filled all their slots yet. What you'll find here is a sampling of fests, mostly in North America, with locations, dates, which NOMA artists are playing (NOT the complete line-ups), and contact information when available, listed by state or country. There are hundreds more festivals, so if you don't see something here that interests you, check out one of the festival information sources listed at the end of the newsletter. Then get out there and enjoy the music! - -- Maryl Neff, editor __________________________________________________________ INDEX to Today's Newsletter: 1. Specials 2. Festivals 3. Drawing Winners 4. Festival Links __________________________________________________________ 1. S P E C I A L S_______________________________________ Check out ongoing bargains including the Kerrville Folk Festival's 25th Anniversary CD special and more at: 2. F E S T I V A L S_____________________________________ Festivals are listed in chronological order for each state. A L A B A M A CITY STAGES, Birmingham, June 19-21. Chuck Brodsky, Jimmy LaFave. 1-800-277-1700, 205-715-6000. A R K A N S A S RIVERFEST, Little Rock, May 22-23. Bill Haymes. EUREKA SPRINGS FOLK FEST, Eureka Springs, Sept. 26. Bill Haymes. C A L I F O R N I A STRAWBERRY MUSIC FESTIVAL, Camp Mather, Yosemite National Park, May 21-25. Chuck Brodsky, Dead Reckoners, Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald. (Another Strawberry Fest is Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3-5, with David Olney, Ray Wylie Hubbard.) 1-209-533-0191. SACRAMENTO HERITAGE FESTIVAL, Camp Pollack, May 31. Bob Cheevers. SAN FRANCISCO FREE FOLK FESTIVAL, San Francisco, June 13. Caren Armstrong. SOLSTICE FESTIVAL, Ben Lomond, June 20-21. Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald, Ellis Paul. 1-408-338-2090. KATE WOLF MEMORIAL FESTIVAL, Sebastopol, June 27-28. Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald. 1-707-829-7067. HIGH SIERRA FESTIVAL, Bear Valley, July 2-4. Caren Armstrong, Bob Cheevers, Diana Jones, Mike Sumler. MONTEREY HIGHLAND GAMES, Monterey, Aug. 1-2. Seamus Kennedy. 1-408-899-3864. MAMOTH MUSIC FESTIVAL, Mamoth Lake, Aug. 22. Dee Carstensen. NAPA VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL, Napa, Sept. 25-27. Diana Jones. FAT FRY FESTIVAL, Santa Cruz, Sept. 26. Dee Carstensen. C A N A D A NXNE (North by Northeast), Toronto, Ontario, June 11-13. Kimberly Bass, Ray Wylie Hubbard. WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL, Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 9-12. Steve Forbert. 1-204-231-0096. OTTAWA VALLEY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL, Ottawa, Ontario, July 11-12. Barry & Holly Tashian. CALGARY FOLK FESTIVAL, Calgary, Alberta, July 23-27. Janis Ian. JASPER FOLK FESTIVAL, Jasper, Alberta, July 31-Aug. 3. Dee Carstensen. CANMORE FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL, Canmore, Alberta, Aug. 2-3. Dee Carstensen. 1-888-878-3378. OWEN SOUND FOLK FESTIVAL, Owen Sound, Ontario, Aug. 14-16. Dee Carstensen, Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman. 1-519-371-2995. C O L O R A D O ROCKY MOUNTAIN FOLKS FEST, Lyons, Aug. 21-23. Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman, Johnsmith, Annie Wenz. 1-303-624-2422. C O S T A R I C A FESTIVAL DE LA TIERRA, Montezuma, June 6. Annie Wenz. I N D I A N A MEMORIAL DAY JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL, Evansville, May 25. Victor Mecyssne. TASTE OF BLOOMINGTON FESTIVAL, Bloomington, 6-20. Bob Cheevers. NATIONAL WOMEN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL, Muncie, June 25-28. Diana Jones. MIDSUMMER FEST, Indianapolis, 6-27. Bob Cheevers. I O W A 10th ANNUAL HOBO MUSIC & POETRY FESTIVAL, Marquette, June 5-7. 1-218-963-7557. K E N T U C K Y KENTUCKY FOLK FESTIVAL, Bardstown, June 27-28. Alan Rhody, Tanya Savory. 1-800-638-4877. MASTERS MUSICIAN FESTIVAL, Somerset, July 16-18. Bob Cheevers, Goose Creek Symphony. 1-888-FUN-JULY. M A I N E MAINE FEST, Portland, Aug. 9. Annie Wenz. M A R Y L A N D TAKOMA PARK FOLK FESTIVAL, Takoma Park, Sept. 13. Terri Allard. 1-301-270-5367. BALTIMORE IRISH FESTIVAL, Sept. 20. Seamus Kennedy. 1-410-747-6868. M A S S A C H U S E T T S WESTFEST FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, Westfield, May 16. Richard Berman, Annie Wenz. NEW BEDFORD SUMMERFEST, New Bedford, July 5. Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman. 1-508-673-8523. SOBER IN THE SUN FESTIVAL, Paxton, Sept. 6. Camping. Jack Williams. BOSTON FOLK FESTIVAL, Sept. 12-13. 1-617-287-6911. M I C H I G A N BLISSFEST, Cross Village, July 9-12. Ellis Paul. 1-616-348-2815. N E B R A S K A JULY JAM FESTIVAL, Lincoln, July 24-25. Bob Cheevers. N E W H A M P S H I R E PRESCOTT PARK FOLK & ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL, Portsmouth, Aug. 29. Stan Moeller & T.S. Baker. N E W J E R S E Y APPEL FARM ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL, Elmer, June 6. Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman. 1-800-394-1211. N E W Y O R K CLEARWATER'S GREAT HUDSON RIVER REVIVAL, Poughkeepsie, June 20-21. Kim & Reggie Harris, Elise Witt. 1-800-677-5667. WINTERHAWK BLUEGRASS FEST, Ancramdale, July 16-19. 1-888-WINTHWK. GREAT BLUE HERON MUSIC FESTIVAL, Sherman, July 3-5. Y'ALL. 1-716-487-1781. LILITH FAIR, Rochester, July 10. Dee Carsetnsen. CORN HILL FESTIVAL, Rochester, July 12. Rachel Sumner. FALCON RIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL, Hillsdale, July 24-26. David Hamburger, Bob Malone, June Rich, Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman, Tom Prasada-Rao. 1-860-350-7472, 860-364-0366. INTERNATIONAL CELTIC FESTIVAL, Hunter Mountain, Aug. 15-16. Seamus Kennedy. 1-518-263-3800. BUFFALO IRISH FESTIVAL, Lancaster, Aug. 28-30. Seamus Kennedy. 1-716-839-0002. N O R T H C A R O L I N A FESTIVAL FOR THE ENO, Durham, July 3-5. Pierce Pettis. BELLE CHERE, Asheville, July 26. Caroline Aiken. ALTERNATE ROOTS FESTIVAL, Black Mountain, Aug. 16-21. 1-404-577-1079. O H I O TROUBADOUR MUSIC FESTIVAL, Columbus, Sept 12. Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman. 1-614-470-FOLK. O R E G O N OREGON FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL, Corvallis, June 20-21. David Roth. 1-541-758-3243. SISTERS FOLK FEST, Sisters, Sept. 5-6. Darryl Purpose & Dave Carter (The Sisters Brothers). P E N N S Y L V A N I A MAYFAIR, Allentown, May 21. Debi Smith. 1-610-437-6900. JACK FRONT MOUNTAIN IRISH FESTIVAL, Blakeslee, May 23-24. Seamus Kennedy. 1-717-443-8425. PATCHTOWN DAYS FESTIVAL, Hazelton, June 28. Simple Gifts. 1-717-636-2070. CENTRAL PA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, State College, July 8-12. Simple Gifts, Debi Smith. 1-814-237-3682. PEOPLE'S CHOICE FESTIVAL, Boalsburg, July 10. Simple Gifts. 1-814-231-5117. COLUMBIA FOLK FESTIVAL, Columbia, July 11-12. Annie Wenz. 1-717-684-5249. SOMERFEST, Somerset, July 17. Simple Gifts. 1-814-443-2433. NEW GROWTH FESTIVAL, Indiana, July 19. Simple Gifts. 1-412-357-2787. BRIGGS FARM FOLK FESTIVAL, Nescopeck, Aug. 8. Robin Greenstein. PHILADELPHIA FOLK FESTIVAL, Schwenksville, Aug. 28-30. Debi Smith, Annie Wenz, Susan Werner, Jack Williams. 1-215-242-0150. GREAT DULCIMER & FOLK ROUND-UP, Cooksburg, Sept. 12-13. Simple Gifts. 1-814-927-6655. CAMPFEST, Oxford, May 21-24. Diana Jones. R H O D E I S L A N D HEAR IN RHODE ISLAND, Providence, June 13-14. 1-401-949-0757. BEN & JERRY'S FOLK FESTIVAL - NEWPORT, Aug. 7-9. Folk. Dee Carstensen, Janis Ian, Susan Werner. 1-401-847-3700. S O U T H D A K O T A BLACK HILLS FOLK FESTIVAL, Spearfish, June 15-26. Small Potatoes. 1-605-642-6230. T E N N E S S E E SINKING CREEK FILM FESTIVAL, Nashville, June 13. Victor Mecyssne. RIVERBEND MUSIC FESTIVAL, Chattanooga, June 12-20. Chuck Brodsky, The Elisabeth Cutler Trio. 1-423-756-2212. CHET ATKINS FESTIVAL, Nashville, June 27. Victor Mecyssne. T E X A S KERRVILLE FOLK FESTIVAL, Kerrville, May 21-June 7. Adam & Kris, Caroline Aiken, Chuck Brodsky, Michael Camp, Dee Carstensen, Bob Cheevers, Carol Elliott, Steve Gillette, Karen Taylor Good, Bill & Bonnie Hearne, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Crow Johnson, Michael Johnson, Emily Kaitz, Jimmy LaFave, Michael McNevin, John McVey, Mickey Newbury, Pierce Pettis, Joel Rafael, Cosy Sheridan, Mike Sumler, Katie Wallace, Bill Ward, Kevin Welch, Annie Wenz, Susan Werner, The Westerleys, and Jack Williams. Plus New Folk Finalists Nina Adel & Danny Wells, Dave Carter and Jacquie Manning (of Small Potatoes). (Also, the Kerrville Wine & Music Fest is Labor Day Weekend and will include Bill Haymes, Marianne Osiel, Johnsmith, others.) Ticket hotline: 1-800-435-8429. Info: 1-830-257-3600. U T A H FOUNDERS TITLE COMPANY FOLK & BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL, Park City, Aug. 16. John McVey. 1-800-453-1360. V E R M O N T SOLARFEST '98, Middletown Springs, July 17-19. June Rich. 1-802-235-2641. V I R G I N I A POTOMAC CELTIC FESTIVAL, Leesburg, June 20-21. Seamus Kennedy. 1-301-921-8851. NELSON COUNTY MUSIC FESTIVAL, Lovingston, June 27-28. Terri Allard. 1-800-282-8223. PFISTERFEST, Copper Hill, Aug. 14-15. Elise Witt. 1-540-982-2463. BOYS & GIRLS CLUB ANNUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, Keswick, Sept. 7. Terri Allard. 1-804-977-2001. ARTS AL FRESCO, Arlington, July 18. Debi Smith. 1-703-228-6960. W A S H I N G T O N NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL, Seattle, May 23-25. Kimberly Bass, Magical Strings, David Roth. 1-206-684-7300. JUAN DE FUCA FESTIVAL, Port Angeles, May 25. Larry Murante, Magical Strings. 1-360-457-5411. PACIFIC NORTHWEST ARTS FAIR, Bellevue, June 24-26. Magical Strings. JULY 3rd HERITAGE FESTIVAL, Redmond, July 3. 1-206-860-9206. Larry Murante. LAKEFOLKFEST, Lakewood, July 18. Larry Murante. WHIDBEY ISLAND FOLK FESTIVAL, Whidbey Island, Aug. 2. Magical Strings. 1-360-321-1145. CANTERBURY FAIRE, Kent, Aug. 16. Magical Strings. 1-253-859-3991. KELSO HIGHLAND FESTIVAL, Kelso, Sept. 12. Magical Strings. WENATCHEE FESTIVAL, Wenatchee, Sept. 19. Magical Strings. W A S H I N G T O N , D. C. AMERICAN MUSIC AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL, Washington, D.C., May 23-25. Terri Allard. 1-202-467-4600. W I S C O N S I N GREAT RIVER FESTIVAL, LaCrosse, Aug. 29. Karen Savoca & Pete Heitzman. 1-608-784-3033. 3. D R A W I N G W I N N E R S__________________________ We asked you to name your favorite festival (or which one you most want to attend), and we drew two names at random from entries to receive free Kerrville festival CDs. The first winner, Jim, said "There's only one fav fest for this frantic folkie: THE FABULOUS FOLKTACULAR CALGARY FOLK FESTIVAL-running July 23-26,1998, in the land of the Canuck!" And the second winner, Natasha, said, "My favorite music fest is without a doubt Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. I've only been to it last year, but I *loved* it." Congratulations to both Jim and Natasha -- may you have a happy festival season! Stay tuned to the NOMA Newsletter as we will give away tickets to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (and possibly others) later this summer. 4. F E S T I V A L L I N K S____________________________ Check out the following Web sites for information about and links to hundreds of festivals! DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE'S FEST & SPECIAL EVENTS LIST FESTIVAL FINDER FOLK FESTIVALS IN THE U.S. & CANADA UFOJOE (Canadian Festivals) CANADIAN FESTIVALS MUSI-CAL (search by artist, city/region, event, date) THE MINING CO. FOLK MUSIC SITE ___________________________________________________________ We couldn't list all of the festivals or artists here, but we hope you found one near you that you'll attend this summer. What better way to see all those NOMA artists you've been reading about all year? Next week we'll be back with our regularly scheduled newsletter. Stay tuned! Maryl Neff, editor maryl@songs.com Paul Schatzkin, aka The Perfesser executive editor perfessr@songs.com ______________________________________________________ Orders may be placed at our website or by phone at 1-800-BUY-MYCD (1-800-289-6923). ______________________________________________________ Past issues of the NOMA Newsletter are available on the website at: ______________________________________________________ T O U N S U B S C R I B E Send a note to and leave the subject line blank. Put this text in the body of the message: unsubscribe you@yourdomain.com T O S U B S C R I B E Send a note to and leave the subject line blank. Put this text in the body of the message: subscribe you@yourdomain.com T O C H A N G E A D D R E S S E S Follow the UNSUBSCRIPTION instructions, then follow the SUBSCRIPTION instructions. This is an automated mailing list operated by the National Online Music Alliance. You have been subscribed to this list because you visited the NOMA website @ and placed and entry in the ClubNOMA guestbook. There is no cost or obligation for joining ClubNOMA or receiving this newsletter. However, if you wish.... ...T O U N S U B S C R I B E Send a message to leave the subject line blank and put one word in the body of the message: unsubscribe and you will be automatically deleted from the list. ======================= ...T O S U B S C R I B E Send a note to leave the subject line blank put one word in the body of the message: subscribe ======================== ...T O C H A N G E A D D R E S S E S Follow the "SUBSCRIBE" instructions with your old e-mail address, then follow the "UNSUBSCRIBE" instructions with your new e-mail address. - --part0_895232687_boundary-- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 08:34:56 -0400 From: "Suzanne Cerquone" Subject: Jennifer Ferguson >>I just received a copy of Jennifer Ferguson's "Hand Around the Heart" in yesterday's mail......my mail carrier was impressed that it came all the way from South Africa!<< I'm new to Ecto by about a month or so, and would love to hear more about this artist. Also, does anyone know if Maria McKee is planning on releasing another record? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:52:59 -0400 (EDT) From: Michael Colford Subject: Holly Cole tonight in Boston! Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd just vent about how excited I am to be seeing Holly Cole again tonight at the Paradise in Boston! If there are people in the Boston area wondering what to do tonight, definitely come by the Paradise and check Holly Cole out. She's a riveting live performer! Michael n.p. Holly Cole - Dark Dear Heart (what else?) n.r. Sexual Ecology : AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men by Gabriel Rotello - -------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Colford | Reading Public Library Head of Technical Services | Reading, Massachusetts colford@noblenet.org | *North of Boston Library Exchange* - -------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:28:56 -0500 (CDT) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) Any area ectophiles planning to hit this? I'm intrigued from the writeups, never having heard her. Maybe we can get together beforehand or something... - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 11:20:24 -0500 (EST) From: 00jnweiser@bsuvc.bsu.edu Subject: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? hey, this is sort of related but sort of not. :) as some of you may or may not know, i write songs, sing, play guitar and piano, etc., etc. i've had a really hard time writing anything new in the past couple of months, though, and it's starting to piss me off. i'm not sure if it's because of the huge amounts of stress in my life or just that i suddenly can't write anymore. it could be a number of things. anyway: my question is! i thought it would be interesting to read things that other singer/songwriters have said about the processes they go through to write a song... specifically people like emm gryner, tori amos, sarah mclachlan, etc. actually, i think anything would help. i realize this is sort of a weird request, but if anyone knows of any websites, books, etc., that i could find this info on, it would be appreciated. or if there are any other singer/songwriters on the list, maybe a little advice from you would be cool? :) thanks! :) jessica ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 11:40:57 -0500 (CDT) From: Kim Justice Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? On Fri, 15 May 1998 00jnweiser@bsuvc.bsu.edu wrote: > [...] i thought it would be interesting to read things that other > singer/songwriters have said about the processes they go through to > write a song... specifically people like emm gryner, tori amos, sarah > mclachlan, etc. [...] AltaVista (or your favorite search engine) is perfect for this kind of inquiry. I got a big bag full of potentially helpful URLs by asking for +"songwriting" NEAR +process One interesting URL is at http://www.senet.com.au/~scala/articles.htm#Drytimes You can try variants of the above search string (say by adding +gryner or +"tori amos", etc., or by substituting "songwriter", an so forth. I also recall a Laurie Anderson interview where she said that the best thing to do (I'm paraphrasing here) when you're stuck is just to use your tools and that they will tell you what you need to do. Enjoy. kj - -- justicek@edge.net (Kim Justice) http://edge.edge.net/~justicek Maybe it's tomorrow and maybe it's not. Maybe it's yesterday; I just forgot! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:41:29 EDT From: Riphug Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? Hi, Jess ;-) I found this on a guy's website at http://www.zaks.com/akers/fun.htm. I don't know if he's famous......John Akers is his name. <> I'll keep looking for stuff...... Jill :D ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:55:26 EDT From: Riphug Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? Well, I don't wanna make people mad by copying and pasting every little bit of information I've found on this subject.........but here are some interesting websites to check out, Jess: I went to a multiple search engine I frequently use, called "Ask Jeeves", and typed in "How do songwriters write songs?" These url's will give you a *bunch* of websites to check out: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=How+do+songwriters+write+songs%3F&h=s http://www.webcrawler.com/cgi- bin/WebQuery?text=How+do+songwriters+write+songs%3F&maxHits=10 http://altavista.digital.com/cgi- bin/query?pg=q&what=web&fmt=.&q=How+do+songwriters+write+songs%3F http://guide- p.infoseek.com/Titles?qt=How+do+songwriters+write+songs%3F&col=WW&sv=IS&lk=ip- noframes&ud4=1&nh=10 http://search.excite.com/search.gw?trace=a&search=How+do+songwriters+write+son gs%3F&showSummary=false http://lycospro.lycos.com/cgi- bin/pursuit?cat=lycos&first=1&bq=1&br=3&query=How+do+songwriters+write+songs%3 F&matchmode=and&results=terse&adv=0&mtemp=nojava&etemp=error_nojava Jill :D ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 09:41:44 -0700 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) At 10:28 AM -0500 5/15/98, Joseph S. Zitt wrote: >Any area ectophiles planning to hit this? I'm intrigued from the writeups, >never having heard her. Maybe we can get together beforehand or >something... Oh wow, I'm envious! She is amazing on record, and I'd love to hear her live! Violin and vocals from somewhere else entirely. Please give us a post-show report! - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:01:43 -0700 From: Neile Graham Subject: Spam at the Ectophiles' Guide Hey, all-- I just got my first piece of spam sent to the Ectophiles' Guide email address. The subject line was Spanish Easy Learning and it came from a hotmail address. If anyone else gets this spam and knows their email address is listed on the Guide could you please let me know? I want to know if we need to start spam-proofing the addresses onsite. It could have come from there, or it could have come from me registering the address with the Netminder site (which I did last night). Also if anyone wants to change how their reviews for the Ectophiles' Guide are signed, please let me know. Instead of the default email address, some people have chosen to use their real names or a pseudonym, so if you want to do this, please let me know and I'll make the changes. You can check out your contributions at: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/eg.commentators.html (email address and names starting with A-L) and http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/eg.commentators.html ( (email address and names starting with M-Z and numbers). Thanks!! - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 09:52:45 -0700 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Jennifer Ferguson Suzanne Cerquone wrote: >I'm new to Ecto by about a month or so, and would love to hear more about >this artist. Welcome to ecto, Suzanne! Jennifer Ferguson has received some comment here off and on over the years. The first time I heard of her was when Vickie, our list-ma, made some great sampler tapes and included Jennifer Ferguson's "Suburban Hum" song. I made a concerted effort to find music by her (this was pre-online ordering!) and finally managed a trade with someone from South Africa (not on this list and boy it cost me, I think I ended up sending him something like $50 U.S. worth of music in the end because he was supposed to send me something else and never did, but that's beside the point). Anyway, the only thing she has on disc to my knowledge is _Hand Around the Heart_ and apparently there isn't likely to be much more coming quickly because she has gone into politics. _Hand Around the Heart_ is a lovely disc. It veers toward the mainstream pop edge of things, but the songs have slightly more complex structures than the average in that area. I would say she's quite a good songwriter, along the lines of, say, the less edgy songs of Katerina Franck of Rainbirds or the slightly more edgy songs of Heidi Berry. I'm probably missing some more likely comparison here. She has a lovely, rich voice and uses it in various ways appropriate to the song from whispering to truly belting it out. It's the kind of music that you can use as a background to a task or listen to it more closely and it rewards both. It doesn't _demand_ attention but doesn't wither under it either. - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:12:45 -0700 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? Jessica wrote: >this is sort of related but sort of not. :) as some of you may >or may not know, i write songs, sing, play guitar and piano, etc., >etc. i've had a really hard time writing anything new in the >past couple of months, though, and it's starting to piss me off. >i'm not sure if it's because of the huge amounts of stress in my >life or just that i suddenly can't write anymore. it could be a >number of things. anyway: my question is! i thought it would be >interesting to read things that other singer/songwriters have >said about the processes they go through to write a song... >specifically people like emm gryner, tori amos, sarah mclachlan, >etc. actually, i think anything would help. i realize this is >sort of a weird request, but if anyone knows of any websites, >books, etc., that i could find this info on, it would be appreciated. >or if there are any other singer/songwriters on the list, maybe a >little advice from you would be cool? :) Jessica-- I'm not a songwriter, but I am a writer, and I think the processes are pretty similar, especially for poetry where sound is just as important as in songwriting (or should be--ahem). Anyway, this is the topic in a lot of writing groups and what comes up again and again are two things: (1) the importance of just keeping in practice writing and (2) the importance of not self-censoring, especially when you're getting starting with a new piece. The advice is to (1) write a lot and keep the intellectual muscles in shape so when inspiration strikes you're in a good place to take advantage of it; and (2) let yourself be free to write crap--every song doesn't have to begin as the Best Song Ever Written and once you have something to work with you can always make it better. It's harder to come up with a great song out of nothing than it is to mess with a less good song. And if you're letting yourself play with whatever comes into your head you'll be amazed at what might follow the less good stuff. Sometimes you just need to get rid of it so you can write the good stuff, and if you don't let the bad stuff come the good doesn't get a chance to follow. Oh, and (3) Don't let small scraps of inspiration get away from you. Write 'em down so you don't lose 'em! And (4) don't let other stuff in your life get in the way. Make time for writing, and make it a priority no matter how difficult that is. Good luck out there. - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:26:06 -0500 (CDT) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Re: Iva Bittova at the Metro Cafe (DC) On Fri, 15 May 1998, Neile Graham wrote: > Oh wow, I'm envious! She is amazing on record, and I'd love to hear her > live! Violin and vocals from somewhere else entirely. > > Please give us a post-show report! Will do! I just picked up her CD at the Borders across the street after listening to a bit of it at a listening station, and I'm entranced... BTW, *if* the Knitting Factory decides to turn on its RealAudio cam Tuesday night, she'll be Webcast live at 8 PM EDT. - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:38:49 -0500 (CDT) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? On Fri, 15 May 1998, Riphug wrote: > I went to a multiple search engine I frequently use, called "Ask Jeeves", and > typed in "How do songwriters write songs?" These url's will give you a > *bunch* of websites to check out: Er, got a URL for "Ask Jeeves" itself? - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:37:03 -0500 (CDT) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? One suggestion: check out the magazines _Musician_ and _Performing Songwriter_. One thing I do is to keep listening to the back of my mind for ideas that are bubbling though. For a recent piece, for which I needed 36 methods of improvisation, I intentionally didn't work on coming up with ideas, but listened for what I was hearing in my head. Whensomething happened, I wrote it down. Eventually, I had enough material to fit it into the structure. Another thing is if music hits you with no words, sing it with nonsense words or syllables that fit. (If I recall, both Eno and Jon Anderson have worked like this.) Eventually, they may mutate into meanings. (I have a sneaking suspicion that Tori wrote much of "Boys for Pele" this way, but I haven't seen it confirmed.) - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 15:36:19 EDT From: Riphug Subject: Re: a different kind of question: processes of songwriting? In a message dated 5/15/98 1:47:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jzitt@humansystems.com writes: << Er, got a URL for "Ask Jeeves" itself? >> Yep! But it's a secret! Hee-hee! Nahhhh......I'll share it with you (unless you've already figured it out for yourself)... it's just www.askjeeves.com Two other multiple search engines I use frequently are Metacrawler (www.metacrawler.com), which is my personal favorite, and Savvy Search at http://guaraldi.cs.colostate.edu:2000/. By the way, I've read some of Jessica's songs......and heard one (or was it two) of them.......the girl *definitely* has talent! ;-) Jill :D ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V4 #153 **************************