Newsletter 2015 V. 3 #1
This is my first newsletter of 2015 for Natchaug Music Publishing and if you were on the list last year, then you are also on this year. Some of you have been added New this year. Remember that it is easy to have your name removed just by telling me.
I know you all made it through the winter. Just barely, you say? Me too. But here we are in the middle of April and the weather is certainly looking good right now.
It surely was nice to again have the winter off and not have to go out in all that snow. Bob Coxx and I did get out and play a duet at one of the nursing homes. They loved it so we will likely do that again next year when Jim Sharpley leaves us for golfing in the south. He could shovel lots of snow if he would only stay around!
Now the winter hiatus for the Still Pickin’ trio is drawing to a close. Jim is back from his stay in Florida; Bob is cutting down trees for next winter and I am feeling way older than last year. When you get to be my age, another year makes an awful difference; the operative word being “awful” and it ain’t good. J But I’m Still Pickin’.
We have some gigs lined up for this year and some more not yet confirmed. We will be using all new material for this season and I am looking forward to getting out and playing it. We hope you can catch some of our gigs this season. Here’s where we will be. If you need addresses let me know.
For those of you who emailed me to ask, I am sorry to report that Still Pickin’ was not invited back to play the Podunk Americana stage this year. That was a big disappointment to us and an explanation has gone missing.
However, there is something new at Natchaug Music that I want to tell you about. It is a brand new band. I have been working diligently to find the right musicians for it. Lord sakes. Why is finding a musician so difficult? And then when you do find one, and they tell you they really-really want to work in the new group..but then they quit before they even go to one rehearsal. That doesn’t make my day!
So let me tell you some things about this new band. Sorry folks, it is NOT bluegrass. It is a Patsy Cline tribute band and we have a most wonderful lead vocalist. Her name is Laura LaCour and she was the leading lady in the Windham Theatre Guild’s production of “Always…Patsy Cline”. Laura can do remarkable things with her voice.
If you didn’t get to see and hear Laura in the play I hope you can get out to hear her in this new group. The name of the group is The Heartaches. The six piece band includes steel guitar, keyboard, rhythm guitar, bass and drums plus Laura’s lovely and dead-on Patsy-sound-alike voice. We are still auditioning for the keyboard and drummer positions since the earlier ones fled at the sight of the song list. It is quite extensive, but I can tell you that Laura has everyone of those songs nailed down.
I thought that would be an inspiration to prospective musicians, but evidently they were intimidated by it.
I can let you know that this new band will be performing at a lawn concert near the end of June. It will be by invitation only and I am going to invite at least some of you but I will need to limit the number I can invite since it will be at a private home and all of my musicians will be inviting people. If you think you are really interested in attending it, let me know and I will get your name on either my list or someone else’s. In any case, if you are interested in attending, we will certainly try to find a way for you to do that.
More about the concert later but for now you can put the date on your calendar. It looks like it will be June 28, a Sunday afternoon. Probably 4 to 6PM. The concert will be in Chaplin and there will be a $10 donation requested and for that you will hear performances; by Still Pickin’ and by The Heartaches.
Jim also started a new band last year. He calls it The Muleskinners and it’s status is currently unknown. Maybe I can tell you more later on about that.
At Podunk this year, Jim and I will be hosting a talent show for kids. It is strictly a singing contest, no musicians competing although the participants can certainly play an accompanying instrument if they wish. We’ll even let them bring a parent or friend to play the guitar for them. We will accept participants not yet 18 yrs old; solos, duets, trios or quartets. But no bands. Just a single accompanying instrument. We will run this event on Saturday morning right out in the campground. Podunk is August 6-7-8-9. Four days this time.
Another thing I do, as you may know, is write songs and I also pitch songs for other writers. At Natchaug Music, I am pretty much the chief cook and bottle washer, so to speak. I do get help from my husband, Richard. I call him the Vice President and he calls me Hillary. J Actually he has helped me write more than one song. He has lots of good ideas. I put his ideas into lyric form. He smirked when I showed him his very first copyright registration from the Library of Congress and his comment was…..I suppose I will need a couple bucks to go with this to get myself a cup of coffee. Yes dear, I think you will. And by the way, you owe me $20 for half the cost of this registration.
I spent the winter writing songs and that was surely enjoyable. I have some co-writers that I am working with in various parts of the country; TN, NC, TX. One of our songs placed in the Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Competition in Washington, DC and we were invited to their gala awards show. It was in VA so I didn’t go. But my co-writer did and said she was treated like royalty!
I think you are now just about up to date. We hope to see you around the music scene somewhere this summer.
My best regards to all of you
Myrna Riquier
Natchaug Music
