Step One is Done!

The Greeks said that creativity is the fire of the gods. Well, we burnt the joint down at The Bull Run on Thursday evening.

I haven't heard the final recording, but if the audience reaction means anything, we have something.

This was a special evening celebrating friendship and creativity through music and I feel so blessed to be part of it all. The band was great. Backed by their superb talent, I could feel free to relax and sing. I think I only messed up words once, and in a way that won't impact meaning too terribly.

I am sure that each musician, perfectionists that they are, spent time afterwards thinking about something that could have gone better. But that is the nature of the game. A live recording can often make up in energy the lack of perfection.

A genius move on my part started the show with Jon McAuliffe's "Tear Down Every Wall". It was a kick-ass way to start the show: high energy and steeped in the message that the world needs to start to work in harmony. Perfect tribute for this Daniel Pearl Humanity Through Harmony event.

The rest of my guest singer/songwriters were in top form and delighted the audience with humor and pathos.

It was truly an evening that glowed and glittered. I owe so much to the wonderful audience of friends, family, and fans who came out to be part of this event. I heard nothing by rave reviews afterwards.

This will probably live in my memory as one of the best shows I have ever done. The combination of creativity and friendship will be hard to beat.

Well done my friends and thanks so much.

As we move to post-production I will keep you posted. The 7 songs project is not done by a long shot, as I am still working on the book.

But a major part is complete, and I am very happy with it.

I'll be back!

And joining me in the show . . .

MY AMAZING SECOND HALF!

Let me tell you about the amazing songwriters who will be joining for the second half of my show at The Bull Run.

Jon McAuliffe is a pro with a long resume: he’s been a coffeehouse performer who has performed and associated with respected artists like Emmie Lou Harris; had a band signed to Warner Bros that opened for The Beach Boys and Patti LaBelle; was a staff writer for United Artists. He is currently working with the amazing Seth Connelley on his first collection of orginals to be released soon.

Now he can add swapping songs with JANE FALLON to this list! Jon and I will perform two of his own great songs; in addition we will each give our version of a song based on a narrative scenario that Jon was exploring. Email chit chat led us to each writing a version of this scenario. We will perform these songs back to back at the show. It is amazing how different they are!

For more on Jon go to: www.jonmcauliffe.com

Tom Smith calls himself a tried and true folkie, committed to the songs that everyone can sing. For years he crafted a career in coffeehouses and festivals singing to crowds large and small. Lately he has been turning his talented ear to writing originals that are pleasing people all over New England.

Tom will lend his meticulous finger picking pleasing tenor to two songs: an original that we will duet on and an original “swap” song. Tom and I will each share a song that we wrote for a song challenge at the Vanilla Bean in Promfret, CT. We weren’t there on the same night so have different topics, but I think you will find it interesting what two songsmiths – or one songsmith and one tomsmith “-) came up with.

See www.tomsmithmusic.com for more.

Jon Swenson was a favorite on the local scene before abandoning us and heading to Philadelphia to be near family. Striking a unique pose with his tenor guitar (only 4 strings folks) Jon sings his many original compositions in a smooth, warm voice. He has written hundreds of songs in the course of his lifetime which include both the funny and the contemplative.

Jon and I will be singing a duet on one of his great compositions and also, we will be exploring the art of parody, each sharing a song for which we have written the words, but in tried and true folk tradition, stolen the melody. Jon writes some funny stuff. The Jury is out on me, but people tend to laugh.

Mark Stepakoff is an award winning songwriter known throughout the greater Boston area and behind, especially for his humrous song. But Mark writes senstive songs as well and he and I will sing one of each for you. Listing Mark’s awards would take too long, so go to www.markstepakoff.com to read about him. All I will say is that his third CD, Some Assembly Required has 6 tracks (6!) that have received songwriting awards. Mark has been especially helpful to me in developing my songwriting. I can always count on him for intuitive and insightful, not to mention professional, comments on my songs.

My producer, Jeff Root, will also contribute a song. Jeff, a software engineer by trade, has been active in the greater Boston area recording scene since 1978. A talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Jeff has recorded 12 albums, most filled with his original or co-written music. He as also produced many local artists. Jeff is responsible for my live recording on this night, but you will also hear us duet on one of his wonderfully quirky compositions. www.jeffroot.com

So after we finish up the live recording, let’s all sit back and relax and just soak up this great songwriting!

The big rehearsal

Well, last Saturday the band got together Jeff Root's studio to see what havoc we could wreak. Pretty nice havoc I might say.

In the control room was Jeff Root on acoustic guitar, Steve Gilligan on electric bass, and myself on vocals.

In the outer room were Rob Carlson on dobro, Bob Francis on mandolin, and Tom Ruckey on drums.

Now, mind you, these guys in the outer room had never played together on this material, but they pulled out some pretty fine stuff. We hadn't specified any arrangements, so they were playing it by ear and trying to see what fit where.

Tom decided that a full kit was appropriate for some songs, and a shaker, or stick might be fine for another. But whatever he chose it was creative and provided that bottom that each song needed.

After 6 hours and pizza, we were done and Jeff burned us each a CD of the day's work. We took it home and perused. Sure, there were a few conflicts between the dobro and mandolin as you might expect, but it was amazing how little conflict there was.

So, Jeff made some executive decisions and moved the dobro off one song in exchange for Rob playing an electric lead guitar. The mandolin then, would play a 'chunkier' rhythm except for filler and not come in until the 3rd verse. On another very legato song that will have piano, he decided to keep both instruments out of the intro. But other than that, there wasn't a whole lot to change.

Tag Vennard, on keyboard, wasn't able to make it on Saturday, so Jeff had him over on his own later in the week, and they found the perfect keyboard voice for my song "Short Endings to Long Goodbyes." Tag also had some interesting things to offer on some other songs I'm told, such as washboard-- hmm? Sounds cool.

So, all looks to be ready for Thursday.

Unfortunately, I lost my harmony vocalist, Camille Breeze, who was in a bad accident that shook her up pretty badly. I still have Jon Swenson doing harmony on one song, but it looks like the other harmonies might have to be added in the studio. Camille will be there though, cheering us on, and getting a feel for the arrangements.

So just 5 days away! Don't miss it. The room is filling and the excitement is building. Come be part of the audience!