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Here's wishing you a happy holiday/solstice season. Phil writing here. It has been a while since the last Progress , so I'll catch you up on what's been happening. About a year ago, Margaret, Kate, and I made a trip to Ireland. We were visiting our old bouzouki accompanist, Michael Ryan, and his wife Mary Ann Williams. He is now an orthodontist in Dublin , doing very well. It was great having his fine instrumental backing again, when we played at some informal house and pub sessions.
One of the most moving historical places we visited was the archaeological site at New Grange. It is a burial chamber which is illuminated by the sun for fifteen minutes over a five day period around the Winter Solstice. They have put some electric lighting in the chamber to approximate what it would look like. New Grange predates the Pyramids. One can only speculate on the significance of the site. What came to my mind as we saw the lights coming on in the chamber was the chorus of the Bittersweet Christmas Band's song, 'Dance in the Dark of the Year.'
While we are on the subject of the Bittersweet Christmas Band, I should announce that we are releasing our first CDr of holiday/solstice songs. For those who have asked for the last three years whether such a recording existed, well, it will very shortly. While Margaret, Kate and I were working on a new trio recording (more on that soon), Susan Urban was also working on her first solo recording in seven years. As if that weren't enough! When we could pry loose the time, we also recorded a couple songs at a time at Natural Bob Holdsworth's Floodstock. When we assembled all the songs together, we found we had more than enough for a first class seasonal recording. So we have 20 songs, including the above mentioned 'Dance in the Dark.'
Other highlights, to me, are Kate's wonderful rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Chirstmas,' Margaret's reading of the traditional 'Cherry Tree Carol,' and Susan's moving and pointed 'Candles and Silent Night.' Reverent to the ridiculous; solo vocals to howl along choruses; and bouncing percussion and flashy guitar work. Look for us in the Bittersweet configuration at the Two-Way Street, the Village Square concert series in the Chicago area; CrossCurrents, in Kansas City; and shows in Escanaba, Michigan and Madison, Wisconsin.
One other thing I have been particularly pleased with is the release of Love & War this past September. We assembled a collection of songs on those topics. With the able assistance of Steve Yates at the recording helm, we managed to capture great renditions of newer songs in our repertoire, and a couple old favorites, rearranged. This project had us bringing in the accompanying talents of our longtime friend, Natural Bob Holdsworth; the captivating viola of Melissa Kirk; Sam Byerly's sympathetic guitar (on 'No Telling') and Mike O'Connell's mandolin warbles.
One of my favorite pieces is our re-working of 'I Drew My Ship.' We had performed that with Kate's harmony added for quite a while and I was glad to get that recorded. Another high point is the stark to lush rendition of 'Quiet Where They Sleep,' starting with Kate's solo vocal, adding Melissa's stunning viola and ending with Margaret's restrained harmony. We also captured Margaret's stirring version of 'Tenting Tonight.' After a couple of previous attempts, I'm glad we got this version down. I could go on and on, but won't.
After the new year, look for us again at the Geneva Unitarian Church on Jan. 21 for our annual Geneva Library and Park District co-op show. Bill and Bonnie Paulson wanted us back in Naperville , so see us there the next night. Later this summer, we are pleased to be part of the Off Square Concert Series in Woodstock . This coming fall will see us back in the North Boston area, and giving a show for Old Songs (yay!) in the Albany region.
On practical recording information: Love & War and Dance in the Dark of the Year are hot off the presses. Bright Gold is now out of print as a CD, but we still have cassettes available. Shine Where You Stand is also out of print, as are the cassette only releases of Cooper's Fancy and Cottage by the Fall. Our website address is about to change. I will keep you all posted on that when the time comes. In the meantime, my email address is changing to coopnel@sbcglobal.net , though the aol address is still good for the next short while.
Peace,
--Phil
Hey all,
As is always the case, as soon as I sent out the last "Progress," a couple more dates popped in. Since Margaret is
teaching a couple of puppet making classes for the Geneva Public Library on April 5 & 12, we had two Northern,
Illinois local dates walk through the door. If you can make it, we would love to see you. Here are the places:
Saturday, April 5--Warrenville, Illinois, The Acorn Coffee Bar on Butterfield Road. The time will be 8:00 pm and the number to call for reservations is 630-393-1247.
Saturday, April 12--Lake Villa, Illinois, one of our favorite house concerts for Glenn & Carol Shubert. Again, show time is 8:00 pm and the number for more information is 847-356-5189. Kate Early, of course, will be at both of the shows as well.
We have just finished a fabulous time doing a double concert with Lee Murdock in London, Ontario for the Cuckoo's Nest Folk Club. We and Lee played shortish individual sets in the first half and performed the second half as a festival style song-swap. The show went so well, that the organizer thought he would try to do some othere shows with artists in that format.
Look for us this summer at Isle a la Cache in Romeoville. We will also be on the June 7 broadcast of WFMT's Folkstage program (98.7 FM at 8:00pm). As always find more information at index.htm or call me at 630-584-1262.
Peace,
--Phil
Happy 2003 to all of you! Phil here, writing with an update on our activities since last year. The recording "Return No More" was released in July of 2002. We are delighted with how it turned out. Ken Brown, our producer, was able to capture the "ball of sound" blend we have developed with our three voices and get it on a recording. If you check our website there is a great review from Pete Zacari of Cleveland confirming our success with this CD. Margaret's song "Let Peace Prevail" was published in the spring issue of Sing Out! We are pleased to have that song out where people can sing it.
This past year we spent a recreational weekend with our friends in Goderich, Ontario at the Celtic Roots Festival. This coming year, we're back as performers, after a four year absence! We were fortunate to be part of a Folk Stage broadcast on WFMT, just before the Fox Valley Folk Festival in September. It was a blast playing some new arrangements we had worked out since the release of "Return No More". Joel Mabus, The Cantrells, and Ed Trickett also shared the stage.
This fall found us able to bring Kate with for the first time to play in some of the farflung parts of our playing area. The trio's debut performance in the Washington DC area, with its great sing-along audience had Margaret's teeth drying out from grinning all the way home. The following weekend found us all in El Dorado, Kansas at the Iron Horse Concert Hall for another good time. Thanks to Dennis and Judy Cook (DC area) and Don Koke for their gracious hospitality. The Bittersweet Christmas Band season was the strongest of this incarnation yet. It's a shame we couldn't bring the audience at Joliet's Universal Blend Coffeehouse with us on tour. Susan Urban wrote the powerful "Candles and Silent Night" which became one of the highlights of our shows.
Not to dwell on this past year. We are looking forward to returning to Bill and Bonnie Paulson's in Naperville for a house concert. It will be the first trio performance of 2003. If you're in the Western 'burbs, please come out and hear some of the songs we've worked up since the new recording. For Fox Valley residents, we are also back on Jan. 24 to the Geneva Unitarian Church with Natural Bob Holdsworth playing bass with us again.
February 1, we are proud to be playing our first concert at Hogeye Folk Arts in Evanston. Further afield, we are in Grand
Rapids, Michigan in February and in Canada at the Cuckoo's Nest in March with our friend Lee Murdock. Margaret is
doing her puppet workshop in Geneva for the Library again the first two weekends in April.
Kate is celebrating her twenty-three years of involvement with the University of Chicago Folk Festival which takes place
February 7-9. As always, there is no better place to hear straight ahead roots and folk music than at the U of C.
Phil is working on a solo Celtic instrumental recording which should be out by the summer. We are in the planning stages
of a Bittersweet recording. Margaret and Phil are planning a retrospective of the last 20 years.
Your continued support by coming to our shows and buying recordings is greatly appreciated. We couldn't do it without
you! Hope the coming year is peaceful and fruitful for all of us.
Peace,
--Phil, Margaret, & Kate
What do you get when you cross a caterpillar with a chicken?
Drumsticks for everyone!