From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V10 #130 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, May 9 2004 Volume 10 : Number 130 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] It got me thinking... (about Penelope Swales) [andrew fries ] Fwd: Cranes / Dadaphonic Newsletter May 2004 [Craig Gidney ] Re: australian ecto. [DanStark <2004.carnivore99@verizon.net>] true confessions [meredith ] Re: It got me thinking... (about Penelope Swales) [Sherlyn Koo Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ******************** Steve Ito (steve.ito@utoronto.ca) ******************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Steve Ito Fri May 08 1970 DA Bull... Brian Gregory Thu May 09 1963 Eclectic Heidi Maier Wed May 10 1978 Taurus Patrick Varker Wed May 12 1954 Torius Philip David Morgan Sat May 12 1962 Chinese Tiger in Bull Clothing Steve Fagg Tue May 13 1958 Nightwol Karel Zuiderveld Fri May 13 1960 Stier Michael Colford Wed May 16 1962 Taurus Christopher Boek Tue May 19 1970 Taurus Julia Macklin Mon May 20 1968 ethereus Yngve Hauge Fri May 21 1971 Gemini Lisa Laane Tue May 22 1973 Gemini Jewel Kilcher Thu May 23 1974 The Gem Chandra Sriram Thu May 27 1971 Gemini Taina Sahlander Mon May 28 1973 Gemini Urs Stafford Thu May 31 1973 Give Way Perttu Yli-Krekola Thu June 02 1966 Kaksoset Alex Gibbs Thu June 08 1967 Betelgeuse - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 18:54:21 +1000 From: andrew fries Subject: It got me thinking... (about Penelope Swales) Reminded of Penelope Swales, I went to visit her website (penelopeswales.com) and discovered she's about to tour overseas, in Europe and States! I feel if you have a chance you should all go and see her, so I guess now it's my job to convince you :) First let's get the bad out of the way: although she sometimes tells the story of how she played in a trad folk club in England where the punters just did not know what to make of her, I consider her music definitely rooted in traditional folk. Which means she sometimes suffers from this affection I describe as "I've got something to say so I *will* say it, rhyme and meter be damned". Some of her songs also tend to be long-winded and repetitive... and yes, I consider these two characteristics of traditional folk - its original role was passing information: news and stories. Melody was little more than a mnemonic device for the storyteller, and like in all oral traditions, repetition the means of drumming the message in. Feel free to disagree - I'm certainly no musicologist, but that's how I see it. Second, she is not adverse to social and political commentary, and she goes at it with the gusto that makes Michael Moore a model of understatement. I'm definitely left-wing, but I'm not politically correct, and the way she carries on about certain topics sometimes just makes me think of that saying, "liberal is simply a conservative who's never been mugged"... Then again, that is precisely why others like her. So, your mileage might vary. But while on CDs these two things can grate on my nerves, they fade away in the live setting. She is an entertaining and charismatic performer, with powerful, resonant voice and commanding stage presence. She chats with the punters. She bashes her guitar with entusiasm reminiscent of Ani DiFranco, but better accuracy. And her voice rings like a bell... Also, she tells the stories that go with the songs. What they mean, how they came about... Often the stories bring to life songs that might otherwise feel flat, and listening to them it becomes clear she's documenting her life and experiences, sometimes word for word. I don't think she ever wrote a song in a third person, or about a fictional character or setting. It's kind of endearing. So the stories are a very important part of the performance. Don't let her skip the stories! She would be absolutely awesome in a living room setting. Neal? Vickie? Anyone? If you would like to book her for a house concert, she might be willing. I guarantee you a night of good fun! In fact the first time I saw her was some 10 years ago, in a little caffee in Redfern, the size of a large living room... few of us had tables, most just sat on the floor, and she played for nearly three hours... I was mesmerised. For many years after that I continued to see her whenever she passed through Sydney, and I was rarely disappointed. Go and see her, she's a gem. If she's a little rough around the edges sometimes... well, it's part of the appeal :) Here are some (at this stage mostly tentative, it seems) dates from her website: Mon 5th July - Half Moon, Putney (London) TBC Wed 7th July - Grey Horse, Kingston (London) - with Lisa Fitzgibbon Sat 10th july - The Old Coffee House, Soho (TBC) Sat 17th July - Isle of Man (TBA) July/August - Irish/ Edinburgh Fringe Festival dates TBA August/September - USA dates more TBA August 18 Back Porch Levittown PA August 27 Minstrell Coffeehouse Morris Township NJ August 28 Aire Coffeehouse Forksville PA September 2 Eclectic Etceteras Edinboro PA September 3 Seattle Coffeehouse Wooster OH September 6 Cantab Lounge Cambridge MA September 8 House Concert Franklin MA September 11 Sanctuary Concerts Berkeley Heights NJ September 22 Vic's Music Corner Series Rockville MD September 23 Coffee & Tea Room Williamsport PA "Anyone interested in booking Penelope in the US please contact jreinhart@grassyhill.net" Finally, for those who believe an actual sample is more informative than the whole essay, I've made a little mp3 from "Live at Woodford": "Back to Me". It's an old song, I remember her play "Back to Me" that time in Redfern... Aww, I'm getting all misty-eyed... Anyway, it's about 7.3 MB download: http://www.users.on.net/afries/backtome.mp3 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 00:58:58 +1000 From: heidi maier Subject: Re: australian ecto. neal wrote: > I'm a huge fan of the previously mentioned My Friend the Chocolate Cake and I david bridie's solo releases (2000's "act of free choice" and 2003's "hotel radio") are very much worth checking out, too. heidi. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 08:08:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Craig Gidney Subject: Fwd: Cranes / Dadaphonic Newsletter May 2004 > Cranes / Dadaphonic Newsletter May 2004 > > 'Particles and Waves' now Available > > We are very happy to announce the release of the new > cranes album > "Particles and Waves" ! The album has ten songs and > comes in a > beautiful digipack sleeve. The album will be > available by mailorder > from Weds May 12th and you can place a pre-order for > your album from > today at... > > http://www.cranes-fan.com/mailorder > > The album will also be released in the UK into shops > on June 4th on > Dadaphonic/SRD. > > "...Particles and Waves is the long awaited seventh > studio album from > Cranes and their first studio release since the > highly acclaimed > 'Future Songs' album of 2001. Ali Shaw's voice > soothes perfectly over > spacy electronic sounding waves of noise and > acoustic guitars, Jim Shaw > sings on the beautiful almost country sounding > 'Every Town' while > 'Here Comes the Snow' lures you gently into its > blissfully distorted > centre. 'Avenue A' is more upbeat and focused, while > 'Light Song' ends > the album sounding like something out of a David > Lynch film about lost > astronauts on the way to Mars... " > > 1. Vanishing Point > 2. K56 > 3. Every Town > 4. Here Comes the Snow > 5. Particles and Waves > 6. Avenue A > 7. Astronauts > 8. Far From the City > 9. Streams > 10.Light Song > > The Cranes European tour starts on Tuesday May 11th > in Helsinki, Finland ! > The updated tour schedule, including a new confirmed > show in Freiburg > Germany on May 30th, can be found below. 'Particles > and Waves' CD will > also be available at the shows from Tampere onwards > along with other > cranes CD's and other items too. > > European release dates (in record shops) for > 'Particles and Waves' > > UK on Dadaphonic/SRD - June 4th > FRANCE on M10 Records in June > ITALY on Extra labels/EMI in June > DENMARK with distribution by VME distribution - June > 4th > FINLAND wih distribution by If Society in May > > Please send any comments or distribution enquiries > to info@dadaphonic.com > > Thanks ! We're really looking forward to the shows ! > Hope to see you there > if you can make it ! > > Love from Cranes xx > > www.cranes-fan.com > www.dadaphonic.com > > > Tour Dates > ----------- > > May 11 (Tues) HELSINKI - Finland - TAVASTIA > (www.tavastia.fi) > Ticket Info: http://www.tiketti.fi > > May 12 (Weds) TURKU - Finland - KLUBI > Ticket Info: info@ifsociety.com > > May 13 (Thur) TAMPERE - Finland - KLUBI > Ticket Info: info@ifsociety.com > > May 14 (Fri) JYVASKYLA - Finland - LUTAKKO > Ticket Info: http://www.jelmu.net > > May 16 (Sun) ARHUS - Denmark - TRAIN (www.train.dk) > Ticket Info: http://www.billetnet.dk > > May 17 (Mon) COPENHAGEN - Denmark - VEGA > (www.vega.dk) > Ticket Info: http://www.billetnet.dk > > May 20 (Thurs) HAMBURG - Germany - LOGO > (www.logohamburg.de) > Ticket Info: http://www.kartenhaus.de > > May 21 (Fri) HERTOGENBOSCH - Holland - W2 > Ticket Info: http://www.ticketservice.nl > > May 22 (Sat) BRUSSELS - Belgium - VK > (www.vaartkapoen.be) > Ticket Info: http://www.vaartkapoen.be > > May 24 (Mon) STRASBOURG - France - LA LAITERIE > Ticket Info: http://www.fnac.com > > May 25 (Tues) ZURICH - Switzerland - DYNAMO > Ticket info : http://www.ticketcorner.ch > > May 27 (Thur) ROME - Italy - (to be confirmed) > > May 28 (Fri) VENICE (Marcon) Italy - MAGIC BUS > Ticket Info: http://www.magicbus.it > > May 29 (Sat) MILAN - Italy (to be confirmed) > > May 30 (Sun) FREIBURG- Germany - CAFE ATLANTIK > Ticket info : http://www.cafe-atlantik.de > > Jun 1 (Tues) PARIS - France - LA LOCOMOTIVE > (www.laloco.com) > Tickets at FNAC stores http://www.fnac.com > or reservations at laloco@laloco.com > > Jun 3 (Thur) BERLIN - Germany - KNAACK > Ticket Info: http://www.knaack-berlin.de > > Jun 4 (Fri) LEIDEN - Netherlands- LVC > Tickets Info: http://www.ticketservice.nl > > Jun 5 (Sat) UTRECHT - Netherlands - EKKO > (www.ekko.nl) > Tickets : http://www.ticketservice.nl > > June 11 (Fri) LONDON - England - BUSH HALL > Tickets- http://www.ticketweb.co.uk + Rough Trade > Records > and Rhythm Records > > - ------------------------------------------------------------------ > If you received this message by mistake, you may > unsubscribe by > emailing unsubscribe@cranes-fan.com > - ------------------------------------------------------------------ > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 13:33:45 -0400 From: "Jenny Bruce" Subject: Australian Artists Hi, This is my first time posting to this list. I'm a NYC singer/songwriter in case you don't know me. Rachael Sage got me started on the ecto-list. I've enjoyed reading all the posts for years now, but usually don't have much to add. I would like to suggest checking out one of my very favorite artists from Australia or any continent - Rachel Gaudry - http://www.rachelgaudry.com and also Robyne Dunn http://www.robynedunn.com.au/ Also Sam Hawskley http://www.samhawksley.com/ They probably all have links to other artists on their sites too : ) I feel confident that you will really enjoy these artists. All the best, Jenny Jenny Bruce http://www.goodgirl.com - -- Winner of Billboard Songwriting Contest "Jenny's Soul: New York-rooted rock ingenue Jenny Bruce is building a cult following with her CD "Soul On Fire" ...drawing comparisons to Annie Lennox and Shawn Colvin, among others." - BILLBOARD MAGAZINE "New York's Jenny Bruce has just released her second CD independently, but already she's had much success... Hers is an intelligent record full of pathos and gentle ironies; sort of like Paula Cole, but not nearly as whiny. This is Triple A as good as it gets, which means it's right on the verge of being pop." - Music Connection 10/22-11/4 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 16:45:54 -0400 From: DanStark <2004.carnivore99@verizon.net> Subject: Re: australian ecto. Emaline Delapaix is another favorite, already mentioned by Jason Gordon in another thread but worth a mention here too. Looks like she's got a new CD and tour coming later this year, including some North American dates. Dan ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 18:52:25 -0400 From: meredith Subject: true confessions Hi, I have to confess something, as utterly silly and embarrassing as it is: I am absolutely, positively *obsessed* with Blondie's new album, _The Curse Of Blondie_. A bit of background: the first album I ever purchased with my own money was _Parallel Lines_, back at the local KMart when I was 10. "Heart of Glass" was at the top of the charts at the time. I still have it somewhere, hidden amongst the vinyl shelves in the other room. I listened to it on the living room stereo until my parents threatened to break it in two. :) (But then they gave me an old stereo for my room, so it all worked out...) The band has always held a special place in my heart. I picked up _No Exit_ when it came out, but I think I only listened to it twice. I'd heard there was going to be a new one, but wasn't too motivated to buy it until I serendipitously saw Blondie perform the single, "Good Boys" on one of the talk shows and was amazed by how much I liked the song. Well, it turns out that's not even my favorite song on the album. :} Depending on the day, that honor could go to "Goldenrod" or "Undone". There is some genuinely cool stuff on this cd, including a version of a traditional Japanese folk song, and especially the tribal, dissonant "Desire Brings Me Back", which sounds like something Land Of The Blind would do. Seriously. (Go on over to and check out the MP3 clip -- it's really short, but conveys what the song is about pretty well.) They're playing in Boston tonight, but I just couldn't swing it this time. I hope they come back around later on in the summer, after their European tour -- they haven't done an official show in NYC yet, and they can't possibly do a tour without playing for the public in their hometown. I've never seen them live, and I really need to rectify that situation. :) Right now I'm watching the "Live By Request" special they did on A&E last night, and they still put on one hell of a show. (One thing, though -- if anyone out there has seen any of Blondie's recent tv appearances, does it look to you like Debbie Harry has gotten a little something done around the eyes? I don't remember her always having that perpetually surprised look, a-la Greta van Susteren. I gotta say, I'm disappointed. Punks aren't supposed to care about these things! ;) =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org =============================================== ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 12:48:38 +1000 From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: It got me thinking... (about Penelope Swales) Hey folks, On Sat, 08 May 2004 18:54:21 +1000, andrew fries wrote: >Reminded of Penelope Swales, I went to visit her website >(penelopeswales.com) and discovered she's about to tour overseas, in > Europe and States! I feel if you have a chance you should all go >and see her, so I guess now it's my job to convince you :) I agree with everything Andrew said, and second his recommendation. I saw Penelope quite a few times a couple of months ago, when she was touring Australia with SONiA. I'd definitely recommend seeing her live. She's got a new toy in her toolbox as well - one of those little pedal-controlled sampling/playback doodads, which she uses to fantastic effect in about 3 of her songs. Very cool. - -sherlyn - -- Sherlyn Koo | sherlyn@pixelopolis.com | Sydney, Australia ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 22:52:20 -0400 From: Philip David Morgan Subject: Joanna Newsom - Japan Times review (!) Good Evening, Ecto-citizens: Since Joanna Newsom was mentioned a while back, it's worth mentioning that she got some very good notice from Philip Brasor of - yes - the Japan Times... http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fm20040509l2.htm Read it while you can... My copy of _The Milk-Eyed Mender_ is on its way here, after tracking it down with GEMM. Philip David 2004.05.08-09 - --- http://homepage.mac.com/pollyshows/ - --- "This is not ALL 'rock'n'roll, dude." ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V10 #130 ***************************