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Tom Kimmel's March 2007 News & Tour Dates
Contents
1. Come on Spring!
2. News: Music, Book, Teaching
3. Drawing Board
4. Recommended
5. Perspective
6. Spring Tour Dates & Workshops (TN, GA, SC, FL, AL, MO, MD)
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1. Greetings...
... and Happy Spring! It's already been a busy year for me with shows and workshops in CT, NY, CO, TN, GA, TX, LA & FL, and now it's great to be home in Nashville for a bit to re-connect with family and friends, and to write and work on a new album and walk the dogs up the hill. Soon everything will sprout and bloom and we'll be hidden in a canopy of leaves, but for now we overlook these soft hills and folds with their dusting of green promise. The world is full of beautiful places, but none prettier, I think, than Tennessee.
2. News: Music, Book, Teaching
Music News
a. Listen to Live Interview: This Saturday March 17 at 4-4:30pm CDT I'll be River Jordan's guest on her Common Ground show on Radio Free Nashville. Listen online at www.radiofreenashville.org (Click on "listen online.") We'll be talking about my book and about writing, essentials etc.
b. Tin Pan South in Nashville is coming up fast (Mar 27-31)! I look forward to Tin Pan each year. Where else can you see so many great writers in one town for a week's worth of shows? Check it out: www.tinpansouth.com This year I have put a unique, talented team together -- Sally Barris, Michael Kelsh and Blue Mother Tupelo (Ricky & Micol Davis) -- and our 6pm Tuesday March 27 Bluebird Cafe show will kick off the entire week of Tin Pan! BTW if you're looking for an excuse to visit Nashville, Tin Pan week (each year around this time) is a great one.
The TK Team:
www.michaelkelsh.com
www.sallybarris.com
www.bluemothertupelo.com
c. New Album-in-progress: I'm knee deep into my new album project (collection of my film/tv songs). Some of you have emailed some great suggestions for the album title, including "Bijou," "Film Clips," "Reel Songs" and "Screen Savers." I'll probably wait till the album's closer to being finished and see what name most suits the feel of the record, but it is inspiring to get your ideas. For now, all titles considered. FYI at present I am planning to include 16 songs: 11 that were in films or TV shows along with 5 of my favorite rejects!
Book News
a. Three book-related events coming up:
i. Sandhills Writers Conference Mar 22-23 --- Featuring award-winning authors and poets, the 32nd Annual Sandhills Writers Conference at Augusta (GA) State University is one of the finest events of its kind, and I am excited about being included in this year's gathering. I'll be teaching a lyric writing workshop, providing one-on-one feedback for lyricists and performing a concert of songs and poems. Thanks to my friend David LaMotte for the connection.
http://www.aug.edu/langlitcom/sand_hills_conference/
www.davidlamotte.com
ii. Alabama Book Festival Apr 20-21: Likewise I am thrilled to be a part of this year's Alabama Book Fest. Growing up in Alabama and coming home to be part of this special event means alot to me.
iii. Poets in the Round at Nashville's grand Downtown Public Library Apr 15: I'll be reading with Tennessee poets Kate Daniels, Peggy Duke and Alvin Knox to celebrate National Poetry Month as part of the library's Spring Into the Arts Series. Author River Jordan moderates. Thanks, River!
www.library.nashville.org
www.riverjordanink.com
Teaching News
I am excited about upcoming spring/summer songwriting workshops:
a. Sandhills Writers Conference (just mentioned above)
b. Cedar Run Workshops in Madison VA, July 8-13 --- I am honored to be a part of Cedar Run's inaugural year and to share teaching duties withbPierce Pettis, Kate Campbell and other amazing friends. One cool thing about this retreat is that class sizes will be limited to 8 students. I'll be teaching 2 subjects, "Spirit & Form: Essential Songwriting" and "Writing Through the Dry Season." Note that there's a special discount for registrations made by March 31. (Thanks to Eric Garrison.)
c. Swannanoa Gathering/Contemporary Folk Week in Asheville NC, July 29-Aug 4 --- This is the granddaddy of writing retreats and it coincides with Swannanoa's terrific Guitar Week (so students can take courses from each). This will be my 2nd year teaching at Swannanoa, and I'm looking forward to being back in this sweet community. (Thanks to Jim Magill.)
d. SummerSongs in Ashokan NY, Aug 3-10 --- A long-standing Northeast tradition, a wonderful retreat to a warm, close-knit neighborhood of big-hearted songwriters. I'm grateful for the opportunity to return. (Thanks to Penny Nichols.)
If you're a writer and you've never immersed yourself in a retreat, I highly recommend it!
3. Drawing board
a. Coming soon: a free series of podcasts taken from a very cool house concert I performed in Boulder earlier this year with pal Michael Lille. We plan to add one podcast to iTunes each week for 10 consecutive weeks. Details in next newsletter. (Thanks to Brian Patrick, Jon & Luana Eckhard, Paul Schatzkin & Shauna Nicholls.)
b. Coming in the not-too-distant future: a from-the-ground-up website overhaul.
c. Songbook: Thanks for sending in your song requests. Almost all of you who emailed requests asked for the same group of songs... so I think final selection will be easy. More details over the coming months. Hope to have the songbook published late this year or early next. Thanks to Jim Moran for his enthusiasm for the project.
4. Recommended
a. Spring means baseball! Chuck Brodsky's "The Baseball Ballads" is in my CD player round the clock right now. I've loved Chuck's music for years, but somehow -- where have I been?? -- I just discovered this album. Several of the songs are archived in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and when you listen you'll hear why. Entertaining, insightful, masterfully written songs that weigh the light and dark of America, of humanity... and, oh yeah, of baseball, which I is why some of us baseball nuts see baseball as mystical, as religious, as so much more than a game. But you don't have to be a baseball fan to treasure this collection.
5. Perspective
"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart."
--Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
6. Spring Tour Dates & Workshops (TN, GA, SC, FL, AL, MO, MD)
(click Tour tab on TK home page for detailed listing)
Peace!
Tom