Three years ago, I received an email from Fred. I know Fred through a group of acoustic guitar enthusiasts on the Usenet discussion group RMMGA (rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic) and that, in itself is a blog post for another time. Fred asked me if I’d be willing to come up to Lubec and do a concert just to try yo get some of the local folks out of their abodes and try to dispel a bit of the cabin fever and doldrums that seem to happen up there in deepest darkest winter. I said yes and we planned on a concert for  Thursday night at the Cobscook Bay Community Learning Center.

So I drove on up there and we had 30 or 40 hearty souls come out in a snowstorm and we all had a great evening. The next day I went over to a small school just outside of Lubec and did my “Silly Songs and Funny Folk” program for a classroom full of kids.

All in all, a great couple of days.

Guess Fred got inspired. Since that event three years ago, Fred has been inviting traveling musicians to perform in Lubec and for the town’s bicentennial he put on an outdoor concert with Schooner Fair, a group that is known far and wide and two of Maine’s native sons.  Fred is busy transforming the community in and around Lubec into an Arts Mecca and it’s amazing to see what he has accomplished just in three years.

This weekend, Fred decided to pull out all the stops and his organization, Cobscook Bay Music is hosting an event called the Winter Wail.  I’m not the only performer; besides myself there will be a Contra Dance with the highly acclaimed group Sassafras Stomp, featuring Adam Nordell, Johanna Davis with Kim Roberts calling. There will also be many of the local musicians that live in and around Lubec who will be participating.

I’ll be doing a school program with the kids at the Lubec School on Friday morning and then we kick off the Winter Wail with a concert at the Community Center on that night at 7 PM. So if you happen to want to venture up to Downeast Maine for lots and lots of music come on by! Thanks to Fred Pierce for his energy and commitment to bringing events like this to his community.

Lighthouse at Quoddy Point

On Sunday evening, I’ll be doing a house concert for So. Portland House Concerts in South Portland, Maine. You can send an email to mehouseconcert@aol.com to get more information and to reserve a seat.

The result is “Among Friends” and like many independent musicians who wear all the hats, I need help to pay the expenses to release this CD. You can help by buying a copy of the CD before it’s released. I also have some rewards if you decide to pay a bit more than the price of one CD.You can preview the songs below and CLICK HERE to pre-order the CD.

I have to thank my friend and fellow Maritime musician Tom Lewis for the title suggestion. We were talking about how so many of the songs we sing and have been singing for many years stay with us and become a part of us like old friends. I started thinking about this and came to the conclusion that since that recording was made in 2006, the singers and musicians at Bacca Pipes have certainly become not only friends, but very dear ones.  Together we have seen tragedy and there are some who have this world.  But we have seen many joys as well such as births and marriages.  Now when I travel to West Yorkshire I know that not only am I among friends, but I also consider many of these folks as dear family. I cannot mention my friends in Keighley without giving a special mention to Mike Hockenhull who used my performance to experiment with new recoding software and “Among Friends” was the result.

There are also some folks who have helped with this project, notably the composers of the songs: John Conolly, John O’Connor, Danny Carnahan, Deborah Van Kleef and Jerry Bryant. I feel that I am among friends and am honoured to sing the songs that they created. I might also add that my friend, Mike Barry did a fantastic job on the mixing and editing. Another friend, Dave “DM” Mattacks gave some very welcome feedback and production assistance.

BaccaPella in Full Holiday Mode, Christmas 2010

One of these students was a girl named Phing (pronounced “Ping”).  I remember her as working very hard at her schoolwork and though English was not her first language, she also had a slight learning disability.  But she was quite a trooper; always kind and thoughtful as well.

Like many students, she gave me gifts at Christmas and at the end of the school year. One year she gifted me with this beautiful embroidered  tissue box cover.  Almost 20 years later, I still have it.

When ever I look at that box I always remember Phing. I hope that if she ever reads this, she will get in touch and let me know how she is doing.

Chris’s email reminded me of a video that Mike had made when his first dog, Nuk died. Mike had used The Lindell’s song “Said To Me” that had appeared on their 1997 CD “Roam” as a backdrop to video clips of Nuk and Mike over the years.

I remember when he first showed it to us at a family gathering. It was such a beautiful film that really highlighted my brother’s love for his dog and of course her devotion to him. Nuk wasn’t that fond of me for some reason, but she stood by Mike and went everywhere with him.  Chris and Kim’s song was perfect for this film.

Not too long after Nuk was gone, Mike acquired another four-legged friend whom he named Drake. She was with Mike when he died and had quite a harrowing experience courtesy of the Inyo County, CA Animal Control division.

Thankfully, Drake was rescued by Mike’s ex-wife, Jackie and now lives with her and is quite happy, though she (Drake not Jackie) is getting on in doggie years. Unlike Nuk, Drakey was a lot friendlier and even now when we go an visit her and Jackie in the Eastern Sierra, Drake seems to remember us and is happy to have us visit.

So yesterday, after getting the email from Chris, I got out their CD “Roam”, listened to “Said To Me” and had myself a good cry.

Listen to “Said To Me”

Miss you too much, little brother.

As I surveyed my options, I noticed that there was a car coming out of a parking lot on the opposite side of the street, waiting to turn right. The oncoming traffic was pretty light, two to four cars spaced out from each other, but it was that other car that I was watching to see what it would do. When oncoming traffic cleared, I could have turned, but sure enough, that right-turning car turned and I had to wait until he was clear before i could complete my turn.

After I made the turn it occurred to me that the decisions I had to make just to complete that left turn occupied my entire concentration. If I had been talking on a cell phone, even hands free, I might NOT have noticed that other car in the parking lot across the street.

Driving is not automatic and the sooner we get rid of all cell phone use whilst driving the better.

Hiking in the mountains around Sandpoint, ID with my sister, Judy York and Kelsey-The-Dog. Oct. 2011

I am home now after a really fine trip to the Pacific Northwest region of the US. Stops in British Columbia, Idaho, Washington State, and Oregon gave me a chance to see old friends and meet new ones. I also had a lovely visit with family and a short visit with my good friends Tom and Lyn Lewis. More on Tom below. Autumn is a splendid time to be in this region of the US; the colours were spectacular and of course the beauty and majesty of the Cascade Mountains, many of the highest peaks snow-covered, were sights to behold. I’ll be returning again next year, so watch the schedule.

UPCOMING SHOW AT-A-GLANCE THROUGH DECEMBER 2011
Last concert of the year!!!
Dec. 10, 2011 – Hamden, CT (USA) @ House Concert
This will be a house concert with my dear friends Sheldon and Nancy Campbell. I first met Sheldon about 12 years ago and he has been coming to shows ever since and has kept in touch. His daughter became a fan when she was very young and now she is in college! They sure grow up fast, eh?

Reservations are required. You can phone Sheldon and Nancy at 203-865-4171
or email: sheldon.campbell@yale.edu . We’ll be starting at 7:30 pm.

As always more dates are added on a continual basis so please check
for up-to-date performances
And always check with the venue for updated venue information

TOUR DATES TO FILL
2012
Jan. 18, 19, – NH, ME
Feb. 9 (with John Roberts) – Central or Western MA, RI
Feb. 16, 17, 19, 20 – Western MA, NY State
Apr. 19, 21 -NJ or Greater NYC area

PRE-ORDER DEBRA’S NEW LIVE RECORDING “AMONG FRIENDS”
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I am currently in the process of working with Mike Barry at Babyland Studios in Medford, MA to put together a new recording. This was a concert that was recorded live at Bacca Pipes Folk Club, Keighley, UK in November of 2006.

Again, no other way to say it but I’ll need your help to do this.

As prospective “Executive Producers” of this recording, I thought I’d give you a breakdown of the budget. I am estimating that this recording will cost $7000, which is quite inexpensive by industry standards:
-Mixing and editing the already recorded tracks – $1200
-The songwriters of the contemporary songs need to be paid a licensing fee so that I may release my version of their wonderful creations commercially – $700.
-Additional studio engineering called Mastering that will need to be done to make this recording ready for “prime time” – $1000.
-Graphic designer – $1500
-Duplicating for 1000 copies – $2000
-Marketing, promotion shipping – $600

View and download the form HERE . If you have any questions, please contact me via email: dcowan@DebraCowan.com .

DEBRA ON NEW COMPILATION CD
Back in 1998, I discovered an online discussion group about acoustic guitars called rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic or RMMGA. It is on a network called Usenet and at the time, I accessed this group because I had some questions about the guitar I was playing at the time, my Martin HD-28. I was immediately taken with some of the personalities in this forum, mainly the humour. Many of these folks have become good friends and I have also met a number of them on my travels around the US and UK.

There have been a few compilation CDs that this group has put out and I finally submitted a track to the fifth CD. I submitted my version of “Darlin’ Corey” mainly because I think Geoff Bartley’s guitar work is brilliant and has stood the test of time. Imagine my surprise to discover that “Darlin’ Corey” is the first track on the compilation. “CDV” is available from CDBaby.

DEB’S FAVES
-Steve Hawkins
My good friend Steve Hawkins is a wonderful fingerstyle guitar player who lives in Portland, OR. He is also active in the Portland Guitar Society and is quite well-known amongst fingerstyle guitarists all over the world. His new CD, “Fingerpainting” is available through CD Baby. Check out track #14, “Herman’s Ramble”. Herman is our cat and Steve wrote this tune after a visit to our house a few years ago. Those of you that have met Herman-The-Cat will agree that Steve captured him quite accurately. You can go to the CDBaby link above or just send Steve an email at . If you buy from Steve directly, the shipping is free! Such a deal!

-Tom Lewis
I have known of Tom’s work for decades, but only met him when we were both hired at the Lancaster Maritime Festival (UK) a few years ago. Tom is a retired Navy submariner and has spent the last 30 or so years traveling around the world singing and performing. He was making the Ukelele popular before it became popular! Check out his music at the link above. One of his songs, “Recall” is a favorite of mine and visiting with Tom and Lyn reminded me that I need to pull it out and dust it off.

NEW WEBSITE AND NEW MAIL LIST PROGRAM
It’s happening! Hooray! Break out the champagne! DebraCowan.com will be getting a complete makeover after the new year. Dana Whittle is doing a great job with the overall re-design and has given me some good suggestions as to how I can finally get into the 21st century on the web.

This will be the last plain text, olde-fashioned newsletter that you will receive. I am going to be using a new mailing list program called Mail Chimp that will give my newsletters a new look. Again, know that your email details are always safe with me; I NEVER give or sell my list to anyone. With Mail Chimp I’ll be able to let you know about my concerts in your specific area and keep you updated on the latest news.

That’s all for now. Hope everyone in the US has a great Thanksgiving. If you aren’t in the US, have a great November 24.

Please keep in touch. Thanks so much for supporting my music and for helping me do the best job in the world.

Debra

My trip to Nova Scotia and the Lunenburg Folk Harbor Festival was fantastic. They have a wonderful festival up there and I encourage anyone who loves the combination of great music and picturesque views to attend this festival. More on that below.

UPCOMING SHOWS AT-A-GLANCE THROUGH NOVEMBER 2011
Let’s get right to the schedule:
*with John Roberts
*Sep 10, 2011 – Bath, ME (USA) @ Maine Maritime Museum
Oct. 20, 21, 22, 2011 -Eugene, OR (USA) @ Far West Folk Alliance Conference
Date TBC (Late Oct) – Sandpoint, ID (USA) @ House Concert
Nov. 2, 2011 -Kennewick, WA (USA) @ House Concert
Nov. 4, 2011 – Seattle, WA (USA) @ House Concert
Nov. 7, 2011 – Portland, OR @ Portland Guitar Society
As always more dates are added on a continual basis so please check
for up-to-date performances
And always check with the venue for updated venue information

TOUR DATES TO FILL
Oct. 18 and 22-Portland, OR
Nov. 1 -Eastern WA (Spokane?)
Nov. 5-6 – Greater Seattle, WA, or anywhere between Seattle and Portland OR

NEWS
-Nova Scotia and Lunenburg Folk Harbor
It was a great trip back to Nova Scotia, my second one in a year. My last newsletter was written from the town of Pictou (pronounced Pick-toe) where I performed in a concert series called “Summer Sounds of Nova Scotia” at the deCoste Centre along with a great piper named Robbie MacInnis and group that included three young fiddlers named “Fiddles and Feet“.

Pictou was settled after a ship named the Hector arrived there from Loch Broom, Scotland in the spring of 1773 and arrived on the shores of what would become known as New Scotland on September 15th, 1773. There is a wonderful museum and a replica of the Hector moored on the quay. A beautiful and lovely town with ferries to Prince Edward Island and lots of great nature all around.

Lunenburg Folk Harbor Festival
Wow. That’s what I kept saying to myself as I drove back to the US after the festival. It began with my participation in a pre-festival program called “Folksteps”. Along with Jeff Davis, Brian Peters, Norman Kennedy and a duo named Sheesham and Lotus, this event was a seminar focusing on traditional music. I was very disappointed in that I didn’t get to hear Norman or Sheesham and Lotus, but I certainly made up for it later in the festival.

My main-stage appearance on Friday night was quite a lovely experience. There were close to 900 people in the marquee tent which was probably the largest live audience I had ever sang for. But what made it extraordinary was that it seemed to me that all 900 people were singing along! I had a “Wall of Vocal Sound” coming back to me in every chorus and refrain. It was an experience I’ll treasure for a long time.

The other highlight for me was participating in the Sunday Morning Gospel Concert. I did there what I love to do most and that was provide harmonies for all the other artists who contributed a song. Along with singer Pat Watson , she and I added our voices to Kim and Reggie Harris to form a spontaneous gospel quartet. Man, it was amazing.

I don’t have room to go into detail about all the talented musicians I met and sang with but if you follow this link you will arrive at the performer page. Do a bit o’ Googlin’ and find out about these excellent musicians. Then save the date for next year’s festival. Worth the money, worth the time and worth the trip.

-Finally A New Website
Yes, I know. I’ve been threatening a new website for eons and I can say now that it’s finally going to happen. We’ll start the process this month and hopefully the changes will be happening soon. In the meantime the old reliable clunky HTML site is still a-going.

-Facebook
I am nearing the friends limit on Facebook. Who would have thought I’d get over 4000 friends? When I hit 5000, I’ll be operating exclusively out of the Debra Cowan Music page. If you haven’t done a “like” on that yet, please wander over to my Facebook music page and click on the “like” button.

TRIVIA
This song was popularised by Bob Wills and has been recorded by Willie Nelson, Rose Maddox, Merle Haggard, Asleep at the Wheel, and lots of others. The song is originally attributed to Blind Willie McTell (no relation to Ralph) recording under the pseudonym Blind Sammie in October of 1929. Name the song for a free download.
EXTRA CHALLENGE: Once you hear the song guess the name of the fiddle player on the track.

Again, thanks for reading. Keep checking the website www.DebraCowan.com. I am also on Twitter, Facebook, and Reverbnation. You can purchase music from iTunes, CDBaby, Bandcamp and of course from ME!

Autumn at Whitney Portal, California photo by Debra Cowan

What is really bizarre isn’t the fact that they tried to enter the US illegally once; apparently according to the article, they were turned away, then came back 30 hours later and tried again, the second time lying to the Border Guards as to their reasons for entering the US.

Pretty stupid.

In an update, it turns out that the two musicians were allowed to return to Canada, but are barred from entering the US for five years. They got lucky: they could have been sent to jail for up to six months.

When folks ask me about touring overseas without papers, I say “Don’t do it cuz it ain’t worth it”

UPCOMING SHOWS AT-A-GLANCE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2011
Let’s get right to the schedule:
*with John Roberts
July 30-31, 2011 – Lubec, ME (US) @ Cobscook Bay Music
Aug 2-4, 2011 – Pictou, NS (CAN) @ Sounds of Nova Scotia
Aug 4-7, 2011 – Lunenburg, NS (CAN) @ Lunenburg Folk Harbor Festival
*Sep 10, 2011 – Bath, ME@ Maine Maritime Museum
As always more dates are added on a continual basis so please check
for up-to-date performances

TOUR DATES TO FILL REDUX
Sept. 8, 9 and 11, ME
Oct. 14-Portland, OR
Oct. 16, 17, 18-Portland-Eugene, OR

TEAMING UP WITH PAT WICTOR
I happened to phone up my good friend, Pat Wictor who is also 1/3 of the trio Brother Sun with my pals Greg Greenway and Joe Jencks. Pat has some time in September (as do I) and we decided to se if we could do some performances in the Northeast. We’re looking for anything in the Southern New England, NY, NJ areas. So if you would be interested in hosting Pat and I in a house concert, please let me know.

TYKE’S NEWS
The UK folk scene has a lot of regional folk music publications. In West Yorkshire, there is Tyke’s News which has been going for a lot of years now. For their Summer issue, John Roberts and I appear on the first-ever full colour cover of Tykes’.

When John and I were on tour, we stopped in at Leeds City College and spent the morning with the students from Nigel Schofield’s media Studies Classes. The students were engaged and interested in what we had to say and genuinely loved the music. After a preliminary interview by Nigel, he then turned it over to the students and John and I took their questions. Three of the students submitted their articles to Tyke’s News; thus a feature article along with photos. If anyone would like a copy of the article, I’ll scan it and make it available. Send me an email.

OLIVER DI PLACE
I still haven’t figured out the ins and outs of this blog. It’s called Oliver di Place, but the guy who writes it is named Darius Rips. Nevertheless, I had sent him my CDs and he has been extremely generous in including tracks from my recordings into his blog and pod. Check out the blog and some of the other tracks that are featured. It’s folks like this that help us indie musicians to get a wee bit ahead in the game.

SORTA NEW SECTION! TRIVIA CONTEST!
I only had three takers last month for the trivia contest, so let’s see how we do this month:

With the same group mentioned last month, the EZ Pickin’ Band, I recorded a jazz standard written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey. It was published in 1930 and was recorded by Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Zoots Sims and more recently Nnenna Freelon. Name the song and you’ll receive an MP3 of me singing it. Email your answers to me: dcowan@DebraCowan.com and put “Trivia Response” in the subject line.

Again, thanks for reading. Keep checking the website. I am also on Twitter, Facebook, and Reverbnation. You can purchase music from iTunes, CDBaby, Bandcamp and of course from ME!

Hope everyone has a peaceful and pleasant July.
Debra