Laura Love Newsletter, 12/1/01
Greetings, Love Birds!
Its
a cold, grey day in Seattle and I love it. I find the rain soothing and
cleansing and always look forward to a big storm. I’ve got Robert Johnson
on the box and he’s singing “you better come on in my kitchen ‘cause it’s
gonna be rainin’ out there” and he’s right. And it’s a perfect day to
say goodbye to George Harrison, that gentle soul. May his sweet nature
be with us forever. Here’s what’s up in this issue:
1. Touring season wrap up: Notes from the road. Tidbits
from Utah, Colorado, New England, Atlanta, Michigan, Philadelphia, Canada
and Amsterdam.
2. Post 9/11 travel.
3. PHOTO CONTEST!
4. What’s next.
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1. Touring season wrap up. Both the band and the duo had a great time traveling around last summer. Here are some highlights: We started off in Utah in June. First, the Duo (me and Jen Todd) played Utah Pride Day, then came back a couple weeks later with the whole band and played the incredible Utah Arts Festival. It’s still pretty cold in Seattle in June, so it was kind of a shock to drop into that dry, hot climate. We scrambled around to find our shorts and tshirts and had a great time. At the end of the month we were in Colorado and once more drove the infamous “Road To Silverton” for the most excellent Silverton Jubilee. Once again, Jane Legge threw a great party for her community. If you’ve never been there, you should check it out. There are few things more interesting than a tiny town filled with great characters at 10,000 feet elevation. We also played in the lovely town of Breckenridge for the first time and came back in July for the great Cherry Creek Arts Festival, just outside of Denver. We love Colorado and want to go back!!!
Jen and I got to the East Coast a couple times, playing Duo gigs in Vermont, Boston, New Hampshire, Annapolis, and Philadelphia. The Duo is getting a great response. Jen is a wonderful singer and guitarist and you really get to hear what she can do when it’s just her and me. She’s also a great songwriter and we feature a few of her songs in the set which are real show stoppers.
After a lot of false starts, the band finally got to return to Atlanta to play the funky, cool Dogwood Brewery. Caroline Aiken opened the show with some blistering blues and she was ... wow. Other highlights were a.) The best Mexican food we’ve had on the road. I forget the name of the place but it was close to the brewery. If you’re a local, you know what I’m talking about. Email the name of the place to Mary so she can put it in the road food encyclopedia. MaryMcFaul@hotmail.com. and b.) We got to see our faithful friend, Rose, close to her home for once.
In August, Jen and I played the Michigan Women’s Music Festival and had a blast! I had not been there in years and it was really fun. Incredibly diverse in respect to race, nationality, age, not to mention artistic styles.
Later in August, the whole band went to the 40th anniversary of the Philadelphia Folk Festival. We were received very nicely there and the highlight of my weekend, really, of my summer, was sitting in the wings, twenty feet away from Arlo Guthrie, watching him sing “City Of New Orleans”. What a thrill that was for me!
We only got to Canada once this year, this time to the Rhythm and Roots Festival on Victoria Island. It just poured on Friday night during our set, but we had a nice crowd out front regardless, all huddled beneath their umbrellas. It’s quite a colorful sight from the stage. It was the first rain they’d had in months, so it was good to break the drought, but the poor tech crew was running around like crazy, directing the rain away from the electronic gear and drilling holes in the stage floor to let the water drain through.
Once all the heavy lifting was done for the season, I went to the A2A Music Conference in Amsterdam in October with Jen and Mary and our good friends, Jo Miller and Her Burly Roughnecks (www.burlyroughnecks.com). The goal was to meet European presenters so we can start touring outside of North America. The Duo performed a showcase at the famous Melkweg club, we made a lot of friends there and I had a great time tripping around that fabulous city. I got a couple of chances to sing with Jo and her gang when they busked on the streets, which was really fun. I visited the Anne Frank house and was not quite prepared for how moved I was to be in the very same room in which she and her family hid from the Nazis. The best part of our trip was a visit to the Pozen Boot, a shelter for stray cats housed in a lovely boat on Singel Canal. The cats are free to roam inside a large fenced area below deck and when the weather’s good, they can crawl up to another fenced area above deck. We met two very nice volunteer caretakers and were allowed to commune with the felines as long as we wished. Check out the Photo Contest page. I think Mary has posted a couple of pictures from the Amsterdam trip.
2. Post 9/11 Travel. There is not much I can say here about that awful day that hasn’t already been expressed, and probably better than I can manage. It was, and continues to be, horrendous and heartbreaking. The small bit of inconvenience that I’ve had to contend with is nothing, but I thought I’d tell my story, as a frequent traveller. The band, Mary and I flew home from Detroit on 9/9 and were scheduled to fly from Seattle to Reno on 9/15. The Duo was scheduled to fly to Vermont on 9/19. Mary got in touch with all the u pcoming presenters, none of whom planned on cancelling shows or festivals. We all really debated about flying to the Millpond Festival on the 15th, as the airports were closed for days and we didn’t know if the schedules would be back in place by that Saturday. As it turned out, we decided to leave a day early and drive to Bishop, California instead of flying. The only problem with that plan was that Jen Todd was stuck in St. Louis and didn’t know when she would get home. As it turned out, Barbara Lamb, who lives in Nashville, was visiting in California so I tracked her down and told her to rent a car and meet us in Bishop. We waited as long as we could for Jen but she didn’t make it so Rod, Chris, Mary and I started driving south on I-5 from Seattle on Friday afternoon in my minivan crammed with all our gear. It took two days but we made it just in time for the first show. At the end of the weekend we took two days to drive back to Seattle, this time through Eastern California and Eastern Oregon. It was one of those rare times born out of adversity - everyone was in a state of shock and yet we were all grateful to be together. There was a feeling of vulnerability over everything and yet the sky was brilliant, the days were warm and nights were crisp and clear. We drove a total of 40 hours instead of flying four hours, which would normally be a bummer, but the country was beautiful and I got to connect with the band in a way that would not have occurred had we flown.
Since that weekend I have flown to Vermont, San Jose, Amsterdam, Orlando, and Omaha. The security lines at Seatac are long, but manageable. I have had no long waits or unexpected problems anywhere else. It is essential in Seattle to arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight. Everywhere else, I have arrived two hours early, breezed through the lines, and have had time to liesurely find my coffee and a good book. Still, you need to arrive at least two hours early in case there’s a problem and don’t forget to put your nail clippers in your checked luggage. If you’re flying soon, be sure to call your airline for their most recent recommendation for airport arrival time.
3. Photo contest! Submit photos that you think are cool on any subject. If you’ve got pictures of the band, that’s great, but we’re interested in any and all subjects - landscapes, your pets, abstract stuff, political rallies, your kids, cars, WHATEVER. Mary and I will pick a couple every few weeks and post them on the web site. Winners receive an autographed CD of their choice.
RULES: Email photos to McFaulManagement@aol.com. Photos must be sent as 72dpi jpegs, as small a file as possible. Or, mail your snapshots to Mary McFaul, POB 46318, Seattle, WA 98146 and she will scan the photo for you. IF YOU WANT YOUR PHOTO RETURNED, PLEASE ENCLOSE A SASE WITH YOUR PHOTO.
Either way, include your name, address, email and phone number. Go to the Photo Contest page to see some samples.
4. What’s next. We have our annual holiday show coming up Thursday, December 13 at The Tractor Tavern in Seattle. We’ve done this for the past couple of years. We call it our holiday show but it’s a pretty loose interpretation. We don’t really do any holiday songs, but it sort of has a Christmas-y feel because the joint has some extra lights up by this time. Actually, we tried to play Winter Wonderland last year but Babs got confused and came in playing Frosty The Snowman on fiddle, which confused all of us. No one could remember the words or could figure out where to start, so I pulled Julie Wolf out of the crowd to help. It didn’t occur to me until too late that Julie hasn’t celebrated many Christmases in her life and she couldn’t save us. Somehow we bailed out of the tune and that was the extent of our holiday presentation. But we all had a great time, so come on down!
In February the band has gigs in Washington State on Bainbridge Island and in Winthrop and in Oregon in Ashland, Bend and maybe Eugene.
In April, the Duo has tentative gigs in Canada in Edmonton, Calgary and Banff.
In May, the Duo has gigs at The Pangaea Festival in Jonesborough, TN and Wimminfest in Albuquerque, NM.
In July, the Duo is confirmed at the Alaska Women’s Music Festival in Anchorage and we’re working to confirm gigs around it with the band in Homer, Talkeetna, Fairbanks and Denali.
In August, the band will play the San Juan Island County Fair in Friday Harbor, WA. Many more shows will be booked over the next few months, but this is what we have confirmed so far. Go to the itinerary page for more information on all of these shows.
This is traditionally a time when the band has a little time off from the road, and gets to pursue other projects. Look for Rod Cook and Chris Leighton playing around Seattle in their band, Toast. Check for their gigs at ROD COOK and TOAST: roots and blues music. Chris also keeps time for Nick Vigarino’s Meantown Blues and must be congratulated on winning the Seattle Blues Challenge which qualifies them to compete in a national contest in Memphis on February 8 and 9. Find out more about Chris at Chris Leighton - drummer, percussionist, elbow … Well, I think this brings us all up to date on what’s happening with the Laura Love Band. I wish you all a peaceful holiday season. Love, Laura