After a great week touring from Los Angeles to Portland and back, I'm happy to report that it was a great trip of reaching out to new fans in new locations.
The name of my trio is "Women on the Move," and move we did! We had house concerts, an appearance at the prestigious "Portland Folk Music Society" hosted by Dick Weissman, and impromptu living room shows for our wonderful home hosts (who gave us beds and showers along the way, allowing us to keep hotel stays to a bare minimum.)
We even had one very memorable concert in a safe house which was so secret, we had to sign confidentiality forms and shred the address upon arrival for the safety and protection of the residents who are domestic violence survivors. One of the women, sitting in the front row had tears streaming down her face accompanied by a beaming smile as we sang our songs of hope and encouragement. There were many peak moments to our journey, but this one really moved us and showed us the vital power of music, and the role it plays in healing hearts.
At the Far-West Folk Alliance held this past November in Irvine, California, our trio shared a booth with potter and singer/songwriter Karl Smiley who had already booked us sight unseen (and unheard) for a house concert in his remote area of Oregon. I guess he was real nervous, until Joan and I performed in a showcase that he was hosting that weekend at the conference. He couldn't hide his relief as he told us how grateful he was that we didn't suck:) When we arrived in his tiny town last week, (that didn't even register on my GPS map,) we could see how real that pressure must have been, as the entire town came out to hear us play at their community center. If we had been awful, they never would have come to another of his concerts again!
The mayor of Summit (one day shy of his 80th birthday) invited us over for breakfast the next morning, and he shared his VERY fresh eggs (from his own home chicken coop) and very kind hospitality. We sang "Happy Birthday" in three part harmony and his eyes filled with tears. Earl is famous as the artist who has designed annual posters for the Monterey Jazz Festival, The Ashland Shakespeare Festival and the Venice Arts Festival here in Southern California, where his career began.
We opened for Chicago duo "The Small Potatoes" in San Luis Obispo and met many other wonderful musicians with a wide range of styles and backgrounds. If you're in that area, check out the Steynberg Gallery on Monterey Street (purveyor of fine art, coffees/teas, wine and beer) and a couple of doors down is "Splash Cafe" which has a great menu including phenomenal baked goods and lots of seafood yumminess. The owner really gushed about our act, which made us feel super-special.
We took tons of video and pictures . . . so keep your eyes peeled for new postings:)
Linda G[less]