News

Up here in Beacon we have been visited by the most amazing early summer weather I can remember: gorgeous sunny days with big cauliflower clouds giving way to afternoon downpours and evening rainbows…spectacular!  I see it all from my windows, with the steady thumping of tracks being mixed in our basement by my husband, Dan (who is feverishly working to finish the record we are making) coming up through the floorboards.  It is sounding quite wonderful and I will be thrilled to get it out the door sometime in the early fall of this year.

In other news, I was delighted to join Dar Williams for a concert benefiting The Randolph School. We raised a bunch of money that will go toward helping the school in their efforts to make more environmentally friendly changes to the buildings and grounds. I was supported by my great band, featuring Dan Fisherman on drums, Simon Walsh on bass and Sara Milonovich on violin. It was a wonderful night all around.

By the way, if you haven’t already, check out the new myspace page. I’ve posted a few more photos there, as well as a live recording of a song I co-wrote with Damien Bracken in Italy last year. It’s a lovely song about love after death…

And last but not least, I had the great pleasure last year of writing and recording a song with Adam Levy. Adam is well-known as the guitarist in Norah Jones’ band, but he is also a wonderful singer and songwriter in his own right. His record, Washing Day, was released in August 2007. Our song, “Longest Day of the Year” is on the record, with me singing harmony vocals.

Banjo Jim's, NYC 10/06

Hospice in the Weald CD
Chris Difford, songwriter, musician (Ex-Squeeze) and extraordinary human, has compiled a beautiful selection of songs created to celebrate life and support Hospice in the Weald. Earlier this year, Mr. Difford became involved with Hospice after a performance there led to an informal songwriting session with resident patients. He realized that there existed a strong interest on the part of the residents to tell their stories and express themselves through music at a most poignant time in life. Conducting interviews with a dozen or so patients, Mr. Difford created lyrics from the stories shared. He then asked a few musical friends, myself included, to help by putting the words to music and then recording the songs. The result is a collection of personal stories put to music which capture the joy of life, the exquisite sadness that life must also include death, and the conflicted feelings which occur when life seems to have been cut short too soon. The songs were recorded live in Italy, at the beautiful mountaintop retreat/studio, DaltoniCo Studios at Monestevole. The CD is available only through the website and supports the music program at Hospice in the Weald, www.hospiceintheweald.org.uk. I encourage you to purchase the CD, both for the music and for the support it lends to a very special organization.

Chris Difford’s Songwriter Workshop 2006
“High on a hilltop, up a rocky road, there’s a special place I’ve found…” It is called Monestevole, and I was so very lucky to spend a week writing and recording songs there with a bunch of new (and some old) friends. It was a week of pure heaven – work all day writing, punctuated by the most delicious meals I have ever eaten, perform and record at night, then talk and drink and laugh till your belly aches until the wee hours of dawn. This year’s participants included Damien Bracken, Lizanne Evely, Ry Freebury, Oreste Gargaro, Steve Hillier, Adam Levy, Geoff Martyn, Darren Poyzer, and Jane Walker. A lot of wonderful songs were written. Some of us are working on creating a cd of the best of the crop, which I will make available as soon as I can via this website. Monestevole, Italy is now home to a state-of-the-art digital recording studio, DaltoniCo Studios. We recorded all the tracks live in a beautiful, large room with wood and plaster and glass all around, and with Sean Moody as engineer. Sean was a delight to work with, very professional yet easy-going. It would be an ideal place to record a full cd. Our hosts, Alessio and Valeria – what can I say? They are two of the most beautiful people I have ever met. Living with them for a week has changed me in some deep ways. I can’t say enough about them and the vibe they create in their home. I think I have enough inspiration to last me until next year.

Songwriter's Retreat 2005
I also attended Chris Difford's songwriters retreat in England in the summer of 2005, on the recommendation of my buddies Rebecca Martin and Alice Bierhorst, and had such a good time that I dreamed of returning ever since I landed in the States. There is nothing quite like spending a week writing and playing music with other talented people, interrupted only by meals hanging out in a beautiful place.