Linda McRae: BLOG

CD UPDATE

James and I would like to thank all the folks who have donated to our Kapipal recording fund "We're Having a Baby". 
We feel incredibly fortunate to have so many great friends and supporters.

 We've had a few delays due to  scheduling problems, etc. but the project is coming along nicely and in order to meet 
all the deadlines for publicity and distribution etc. and  in the spirit of the "new baby" we've decided to release the new CD 
on Mother's Day 2012. The CD also has a new name, Rough Edges and Ragged Hearts, a song that I wrote in 2005 with 
Al Mader (aka The Minimalist Jugband). Saveria Renucci has again come up with a great design concept 
for the CD artwork and we can't wait to share it with you. 

If  you'd like to order a copy of the new CD before it reaches the general  public or if you would like to 
make a contribution to its recording and  promotion visit our Kapipal site at 
http://www.kapipal.com/roughedges . 

Help Us Record and Promote Our New CD 
Rough Edges and Ragged Hearts!

 

 

Yes in 7 months my husband James and I will give birth to our beautiful brand new CD “Four and Twenty Blackbirds”.

This project is very special to me because it’s the first CD since meeting James, my retired donkey rancher turned poet, on the internet a few years ago. I am now blessed with a husband, manager and best friend as well as co-writer of many of these songs.   

It’s been a journey of the heart. From once thinking love had passed me by to the feeling I now have it all!…all except the means to finance this baby!

Please be a part of our happy extended family. Every little bit helps as you know.

The following are the perks you’ll receive by being a family member!

$ 25  COUSIN: Just $25 will make you a cousin and you’ll receive a copy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds before the release date.

$ 50   UNCLE/AUNT: Be an uncle or aunt and receive a signed copy of the CD and a Hatch Show Print CD Release Poster.

$100  BROTHER/SISTER: Be a brother or sister and receive 2 signed copies of our new CD and a Hatch Show Print CD Release Poster.

$250  PATERNAL GRANDPARENT: Be a paternal grandparent and receive 2 signed CD’s and 2 Hatch Show Print CD Release Posters.

$500 MATERNAL GRANDPARENT: Be a maternal grandparent and receive 4 signed CD’s and 4 Hatch Show Print CD Release Posters.

$1000 GODPARENTS: Be a Godparent and receive 4 signed CD’s, 4 Hatch Show Print Posters and an Executive Producer credit printed on the CD.

$2000 GODPARENTS: Be a Godparent and receive all of the above plus a signed banjo played at least once by Linda to play or put on display!

FRIEND OF THE FAMILY: To be a Friend of the Family all you have to do is help spread the word either by email or through Facebook. The perk you’ll receive is feeling darn good that you helped out because…

$1 from the sale of each CD will go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

******************************************************************

To donate please visit our Kapipal site at  www.kapipal.com/fourandtwenty. If you’d rather pledge directly please email James at 42management@gmail.com. The amounts listed are suggestions only. We greatly appreciate any contribution you are able to make. Please contact James if you have any further questions.

Thanks very much!

Linda and James

Things are gearing up and we're getting busier by the second. We've just good-bye to our friends from North Carolina troubadour Jonathan Byrd, his wife Mary and their cute little bundle Rowan and their Torontonian pal Corin Raymond. What a great couple of writers these two are. They blew in on the heals of the worst storm in the history of the US with their first show canceled. Corin kept saying, "The show's canceled because it's too cold? I don't understand!". Safe journey folks and see you in Memphis in a few weeks.

Had a great day today writing with Mark Elliott. Mark is a highly respected singer-songwriter with twenty-five years of performing, writing and recording experience.  After several years under the wing of the legendary Tom Paxton, Mark moved to Nashville and signed as a staff writer to the Paxton co-venture with Cherry Lane Music Publishing. Mark also won the Kerrville New Folk Award in 1993 and has just released his 7^th. CD entitled “Good Life”.  It includes a song by the late Chicago, troubadour Tom Dundee as well as the song “Wake-Up,” written for the Obama campaign and used in rallies and fundraisers in the last months of the campaign. I've played the Bluebird here in Nashville with Mark 4 times since moving to town and he asked me to get together to write and we came up with something pretty cool. I'll post it once we get a decent recording of the song.

Speaking of recordings, I start recording on Feb. 21st with Marc L'Esperance at the helm. Can't wait for that! We've had great success with the Kapipal and what to thank all our friends and fans who've given so generously to our project. Thanks again!

More in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for information on the new trio I'm working with too, we're looking for a name, we can't be Drywall Paul and The Tapers forever. Maybe we'll have a name that band contest!

Cheers everyone, safe travels if your out there on the road and if you're not, stay warm, it's freezin' out there!

Lots of Love, Linda, James and Elphie

Hey folks, I got great news today. I have been asked to take part in a panel discussion during this year's Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis. The topic is called The New Tradition and will also feature Peter Cooper, Danny Schmidt, Evie Ladin, Matt the Electrician, in the Knoxvillle Room. Looking forward to that. If you have any comments or takes on this topic give me a shout and let me know your thoughts.

I'm also honoured to have been asked to sit in with a couple of tremendous artists, Grant Peeples who has just finished recording a new CD with my friend guitarist/producer/songwriter Gurf Morlix. Check him out at www.grantpeeples.com . I'm looking forward to meeting Grant...any friend of Gurf's is a friend of mine.

I've also been asked to sit in with the great Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz who are two of the frontrunners in traditional music these days. Ginny's recording "Letters From My Father" was listed in Emmy Lou Harris' top 5 recordings of all time! Tracy is a long time member of The New Lost City Ramblers and his song "Dirt Farmer" is the title track of Levon Helm's album by the same name. I love these two.

This is going to be a blast. If you've never been to Folk Alliance you have to check it out sometime. You won't believe it!

See you soon and Happy New Year to everyone!

Linda

As most of you know, not only is my husband James Whitmire managing my career and booking my shows he is also a poet. We have been writing together and will be recording these songs for our very first CD "Four and Twenty Blackbirds".

There is a great deal of time and cost involved in recording and promoting a CD and with your generous help we can meet this challenge. Whether or not you’re able to contribute we want you to know how much your continued support and encouragement mean to us.

Writing and playing music wouldn’t be much fun without you so come share our journey with us as we put these songs out into the world! Find out how you can participate by visiting our Kapipal website at 
http://www.kapipal.com/9d363a3df9a140f88375225fd6828d3a

It's a cool, blustery day here in Tennessee, the sun is shining and the wind's a blowin' strong. James and I went to our favourite Nashville haunt last night Hillbilly Haiku (Lebanon, TX, actually) to see Malcolm Holcomb and John Byrd last night. Our hosts Rick and Denise Williams did not disappoint! They know good music. Their slogan is "music from the heart not for the charts" and it's a good one.

Hey all, I just got a letter from the folks at Folk Alliance International saying I've been accepted for an official Performance Alley Showcase at Folk Alliance 2011 in Memphis next February. If you've never been you wouldn't believe how great it is. There are throngs of people all about the hotel playing music and having a great old time. It's also a really good opportunity to be seen and heard by members of the music business community from all over the world. It's a real honour to have been chosen and I would really like to thank the folks at OCFF for giving me the opportunity to showcase at this year's conference in Ottawa. The FAI spot was a direct result of having showcased at OCFF. Thanks also to Mary Granata of the Granata Agency for giving me a great showcase spot in her Aliennation Room during OCFF. I'm so happy to have met and heard everyone and I really enjoyed the mentoring sessions. It was great fun to be able to help people out and give them a little advice when they needed it.

Well that's it for now folks, I'm off to a great concert tonight at Hillbilly Haiku House Concerts to see the fantastic Mr. Malcolm Holcomb tonight...all the best and have a terrific weekend! Drop me a line and say hi, I'd love to hear from you!

Linda

Hey Folks: Check out this new radio station Whole Wheat Radio. They are amazing. There is so much great music here. Here's my radio station, if you like it please "recommend" it to your friends!

http://wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/Artists:Linda_McRae

Thanks a bunch!

I'm also heading off to Ottawa for the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals mid Oct. It's going to be a blast. Then I have some shows locally at The Fillin' Station on Oct. 20 and The Red Tree on Oct. 22 with a new trio of friends I'm working with. Terry Pinnegar on guitar and vocals and Lisa Horngren on upright bass, guitar, nykleharpa. It's been a blast. After that I head to Toronto for a show at Hugh's Room with Ken Whiteley. This is an afternoon Gospel Matinee and is the opening of the 8th season of this series! It's going to be incredible.

Then on Nov. 5th I'll be doing a show at the Cadillac Ranch with my great friends Andrea Ramolo and Diana Catherine. It's going to be a barn-burner. After that it's off to the Canadian West coast where I start a tour with the great acoustic blues player Ken Hamm. We're touring through the Prairies offering a concert and combined guitar/songwriting workshop.

I'm really hoping to see you folks out at one of these shows!

Cheers all!

Linda

Hi all, it's been an incredible summer and even on Sep. 19, it's still smokin' hot here in Tennessee.

We have a little time off now after an incredibly great 3 months on the road. Thanks so much to all the folks who came to the shows and to the venue owners/promoters, and radio and media folks who supported us on this tour.

I have a number of shows coming up in October including a date at Hugh's Room in Toronto on Oct. 31st. I've been invited to be Ken Whitley's special guest at his Sunday Gospel Matinee, starting at 2:00. What fun this will be. This happened because of a workshop at this year's Artswells Festival hosted by Ken and another wonderful singer/songwriter Melissa Devost, thanks Melissa for inviting me out for that workshop.

I'll also be in Ottawa mid-October as part of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals. I've been working on a new duet with a friend here in Nashville by the name of Terry Pinnegar. He's a fantastic songwriter and singer and it's been fun working on the material with him...some oldies, some of our own. Stay tuned for more info on that.

In November I'll be touring with Delta Blues Slide guitarist and Juno Winner Ken Hamm. We'll be offering guitar/songwriting workshops and accompanying concert in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. I also have a house concert in Vancouver. Check the tour page for more information.

Plans for my new CD are also in the works and I will be announcing all that in a further update. Four tracks have already been recorded...I'm so excited!

Well that's it for now, short and sweet, love to all you McRaezie's out there! Teehee...

Linda over and out!

Hey folks...we've had an incredibly busy year so far.

February found us at Folk Alliance in Memphis where we had a blast hanging out with Peter Cooper, Eric Brace, Colin Linden and a whack of other terrific folks including my great friend Denise Williams of Hillbilly Haiku fame!

March took us to Texas where I played some bass gigs with the fabulous and wonderful Sally Spring and Ted Lyons. I also did my own shows during SXSW in Austin where we got to hang out with our old pals Gurf Morlix and Brende Fuller. Thanks to Gurf for sitting in with me on my Opal Divine's Pennfield show!

In April/May we toured across the Prairies with our pal Dave Lang and played a bunch of new places made new friends and hung out with some familiar pals as well. In June we headed up to NYC, thanks to Drina and Dave at Banjo Jim's...what a fun place that is. NYC is such an amazing place and it was a blast to hang out and play tourist with my husband co-writer James Whitmire as he had never been there before. We then headed up to Syracuse, Picton, Toronto, Hamilton, back down to Buffalo where I played with my friend Jim Whitford sitting in on upright bass and then off to our pals in Cleveland for a great show with the Honky Tonkin' folks there! What a blast.

We've just come back from a fabulous festival in Wells, BC, Artswells. What an incredible event that is! Thanks to Julie Fowler and Paul Crawford and all our friends in Wells for making us feel so welcome there. Thanks also to RadaR and all the wonderful friends of Tempest Grace Gale for putting on such a wonderful memorial tribute to her. Tempest was tragically killed last November on Hornby Island. She was taken from us at such a young age...only 25. She was such an inspiration to so many of us and she is missed.

I also want to thank Melissa Devost and Ken Whiteley for including me on their Sunday Gospel workshop. What fun that was and it's even more awesome that I've been invited to participate in Ken's 8th anniversary Gospel Workshop at Hugh's Room on Oct. 31st in Toronto. If you live in the area, come on out for that one! Thanks also to Artswells for that! I was asked to do another festival next year as well as a direct result of my appearance there. I was also part of Dave Soroka's "allstar" band...whew 14 people on stage at the same time! Organized chaos...well sort of! What a heapa fun!

I've also signed with a European agent recently Grapevine Music and we'll be heading to Europe in Apr/May 2011 so stay tuned for new information on that!

I've also been talking with Bob Wiseman about the possibility of putting a tour of the Maritimes together for next January 2011 so stay tuned for that one. If you live in the Maritimes and would like to have us play at your venue, give me a shout and let's set something up.

We still have another couple of weeks to go in BC. I'll be playing 2 new festivals in the next couple of weeks, Summer Daze in Spences Bridge as well as The Robson Valley Music Festival. I'll also be playing  shows with the Lillooet Arts Council in Lillooet as well as Ashcroft's Creative Cow Productions. I'll also be doing a reunion show with my old band Cheerful Lonesome at the Wise Hall in Vancouver on Aug. 27th. Also on the bill will be The Tresspassers and the great Doug Andrew. Please check my tour page for all tour information.

Other good news: BC Musician is up and running again! Look for my column "This Winding Road" in next month's issue!

Cheers ya'll and happy trails!

Linda

HAPPY NEW YEAR - Hey folks, Happy New Year and welcome to 2010! We rang in the new year in style...wow, I got to play at The Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, AB and at Noble's on New Year's Eve. It was the most moving and memorable New Year's I've ever had! These are some of the folks that were on the bus. This was New Year's Day morning and some folks were still sleepin'! Stay tuned for more info.

NEW SHOWS ANNOUNCED - We'll be on the road a bunch again this year. I'll be playing at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta on Jan. 20th. I'll also be playing with the great Caroline Herring at The Crimson Moon in Dahlonega, GE on Jan. 22nd. All the dates are up on the website! Please help spread the word if you have friends in any of these places!

SPECIAL OFFER - For a limited time we are offering CD's at $10.00 including shipping! Buy 2 and we'll throw in a third for free!!

NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - I am working on a monthly newsletter for everyone who is interested in seeing what I'm up to in the coming year! I'll be including some special offers each month along with tales from the road and the comings and goings of life here in Tennessee. If you're interested in receiving the newsletter, please sign up in the box provided at the top of each page.

Thanks folks, all the best and hope to see you on the road!

Lots of Love

Linda

Here's a video I made with my friend Doug Thomson for my very first solo recording Flying Jenny. The song was Roll On Down and was the first single from the CD released in 1997 right after I left my other band Spirit of the West. This was so much fun to make. We were in the desert in BC Canada! Yes, I said desert! Merritt, BC in the desert, absolutely gorgeous country and hotter than the hubs of hell in the summer time, gorgeous! My friends Rob Thomson and Keith Rose both from The Hard Rock Miners are the skweegy, how the heck do you spell that word? in the video.  

I've just gotten home from SERFA, South Eastern Regional Folk Alliance Conference and had such a wonderful time. Stay tuned for more info, photos, videos and accounts. I made many new friends and heard so much fantastic new music. I'll be posting new stuff as I get it downloaded on my computer.

Have a great week everyone!

Satisfied, satiated and sooooo inspired! Linda

Wow, WDVX rocks! We did a show Wed. night Writer's Block with the lovely Dennis Double and host Karen Reynolds. What a blast. These two do a great show that just happens to be on WDVX, the greatest radio station in the world! The next day we got up and did a show on the Blue Plate Special with host Matt Morlock again at WDVX! You can tune in every day at noon and listen to the show, check out http://wdvx.com, it's my fave!!!

Friday night was Jonesborough Music on the Square. Jonesborough shuts down it's main street every Friday night throughout the summer for an open-air concert. It's a gorgeous place and is the oldest town in Tennessee. Also on the bill with me was multi-instrumentalist Matt Brown, incredibly gifted player and joined me for The L&N Don't Stop Here anymore and Some of My Friends, great fun.

After that we headed to the Nolichucky Gorge Campground with our friends Randy, Deb, Loren, Denise, and all our dogs. We spent a couple of nights there by the river, drank some beers, ate some great food and shared a bunch of tunes with some friends old and new, met a woman named Ritha who played dulcimer and sang some gorgeous traditional Irish songs, lovely voice!

Every Sunday night they have a potluck there and it was insanely great! Thanks to LD and Leanne for the killer meatloaf and especially to Leanne for the lovely fiddle playing later on into the wee hours of the morning. I headed back to our campsite sometime in the and was woken up to the sounds of a momma bear chomping on the stuff in our cooler only 10 feet away! She had a baby with her as well and spent about 4 hours in the camp trying to keep him up the tree. After everyone came and checked it out figuring it was ok, James and our dog Elphie went and slept in the tent, I headed for the van and had a very restless night's sleep there! Whew, a little too close for comfort!

Saturday night, Denise and James and I headed up to the Carter Family Fold and I got to play there! I did a brand new song that Dorothy Hamm (from Euless, TX) and I wrote about Maybelle Carter. I was so freakin' nervous I hardly even remember it. The place is a shrine to the Carter Family and is wonderful. There are so many photos of A.P., Sarah, Maybelle and all the Carters including June Carter Cash and Johnny of course. Johnny did his final show there. I couldn't look around until after I played otherwise I don't think I would have been able to keep it together. In the dressing room there were hand written lyrics, letters, photographs and artifacts that were staggering! It was an incredible experience and one I'll never forget! Thanks Denise for your support and for shooting the video and thanks Dorothy for great lyrics!

We flew into Seattle and were picked up by my pal Nova Devonie at the airport. We spent the night and then boarded the Clipper for Victoria and hung out for a few days there then headed to Vancouver to spend some time with the grandkids...oh how cute they are!

Lots of shows during this month, up and down, over and under, back and forth across the border. We had a blast with friends in Oregon, two house concerts, one at our friends the Harris' in Applegate, OR. Thanks you guys for a great time and for putting on the show for us!

Next was Ellensburg, WA and another great house concert at our friends the Gunns! Great show, and had fun, thanks to all for helping us out there! I got to go swimming with McKenzie and Abby and spent some time with our friends Karen and Michael at their beautiful new home out in the woods.

Back up to Canada again for shows throughout BC and some time with friends Line and Arash in Lac La Hache, more swimming woohooo! Arash built a great float deck on the lake that has a motor on it. We motored out to the middle of the lake and went for a swim, it was fabulous! I'm so happy we got to do so much swimming this summer, it's one thing I really miss about leaving Canada.

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Wells was next for a 4-day acoustic blues, slide guitar workshop put on by the Island Mountain Arts Summer School of the Arts. The course focused on the work of blues artists Leadbelly, Bukka White, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Jesse Fuller, and Skip James as well as the work of our incredibly gifted instructor Mr. Ken Hamm.

Ken was raised in Thunder Bay and began his musical pursuits as a teenager by listening to old country and blues recordings at the local folk record store. He has become one of Canada’s foremost interpreters of traditional roots and blues music and was awarded a Juno for Best Roots & Traditional CD. He has also been nominated for Recording of the Year and nominated several times for Best Acoustic Act of the Year by the Toronto Blues Society. Hamm was also nominated three years running as Best Acoustic Blues Guitarist by North America’s "Guitar Player" magazine.

Aside from the fact that at times I felt like my left hand was about to fall off and the white cloud of moisture that formed on the front my J-45 as a result of the sweat running down my right arm (it was an unusually hot week up in Wells) the class was very enjoyable and I can’t wait to show off some of my new licks!

There were 9 students in all from all over BC and 3 of them were women, one of whom was the fabulous Melisa Devost. Luckily, the students in the class were at the same level of skill making things somewhat easier to follow along. If anyone was having trouble figuring things out, Ken would go around to each person as we were playing our “licks” and help anyone who wasn’t getting it…something that happened to each of us at one time or other during the workshop. We were all given a book of tablature as well…a huge help in remembering things upon arriving back home over a week later!

During the week we were treated to Ken’s “History of the Blues” concert in the Wells Community Hall. He has an edge to his playing that is extremely enthralling, it’s hard to sit still and not be drawn in by his energy and passion for the music. As great a performer as Ken is he is equally as great at teaching and I’d highly recommend taking one of his classes if you ever have the chance.

It’s interesting being a student as an adult. In the past 5 years I have taken classes from time to time focusing on my craft and it has been extremely rewarding. I’ve learned a great deal and am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from such knowledgeable instructors. The rest is up to me.

Sometimes it’s difficult finding the discipline to work at one’s craft. There are always plenty of excuses and things that need to be tended to. I end up doing everything else first and then hope there’s time left for my daily practice. Lately though, I’ve started making a point of doing my practice as soon as I get up. If I miss my morning practice I try and make it up later in the day and I usually sit around with a guitar in my hands if I’m watching TV, etc.

As for songwriting, I don’t usually sit down and force myself to write. I’ve tried that and it isn’t very productive for me. I always make sure I have my trusty little notebook at hand. You never know when you’re going to overhear some pearl of wisdom while sitting at the bar or a friend’s house or be woken up in the middle of the night by a piece of brilliance that will be gone with the morning light if it’s not written down. A new exercise or scale, chord, tuning, etc. can also result in a great new melody.

Writing on a different instrument can also send creative sparks to flying. Learning the banjo has changed my life! Really and truly! The banjo has changed my style, my performances and has helped me find new-added confidence in my playing. It’s a great instrument as a solo performer as it has a built-in rhythm and easier, I have found, to play leads on. Hopefully having been a part of this guitar workshop will tip the scales on that end.

I remember Jenn Patches use to have stickers that read “Go Home and Practice!” Good advice for everyone, no matter how good or bad you might think you are.

In my humble opinion, too much knowledge of theory can be hazardous to your songwriting and can keep you from trying things because “What are you nuts? You can’t fit that note over that chord.” If you subscribed to that avenue of thought you’d never try to fit that square chord into that round hole! If it sounds right to your ear go for it! (Don’t you hate that expression?) It’s like “you go girl”, ugh!

Wells is an incredible place and we had such a great time...we were there for almost a week finishing it off with the festival of all things art! Great festival, lots of fabulous music and folks and art and too much fun! We spent some time at a gorgeous cabin our friend Pete let us use. More swimming and too much fun, pooped, time to go home!

See you next time.

I'm been one poor correspondent. We've been busy...t's been awhile since my last confession!

In April James and I got in the car and headed north. Our first stop, great singer/songwriter Ben Benford's house in Springfield, IL. Ben is fabulous, you should check out his music at http://benbenford.com . Congrats to Ben and Kari who are getting married this weekend! We're hoping to do some shows together this coming November in his area...stay tuned for news about that!

Next stop was Janesville, WI and our Porchboard patrons, Nadene, Dean and Bill. Nadene contacted me awhile ago asking me if I would endorse the Porchboard for her company Enroute Music and I'm so glad she did. It's a beautiful thing! This was my first tour using it and it's been great watching the reaction of people in audience wondering where that sound is coming from! Come to a show and check it out! We had a great dinner there and a fun jam later that night. We're also hoping to had there in November to do some shows in Janesville, can't wait for that one...thanks Nadene et al for the opportunity to play the Porchboard.

The next night we spent in Fargo, ND. Pretty uneventful really...rest and relaxation in time for a fabulous time in Forget, SK at the Happy Nun...this place rocks! The folks are fantastic, the food is better than top notch and the sound is impeccable! We had a great night, the place was packed and a good time was had by all! Can't wait to see ya'll again!

The next day we headed for Alberta and our 2 week Home Routes House Concert tour. Mitch Podolak and company have put together the tour of the century! We had such an amazing time, 12 shows in 14 days and every show was stellar, all the hosts were unbelievably great and we had a blast.

We left Alberta 2 weeks later and headed to the coast. Our car conked out in Hope!!! We managed to slink into Maple Ridge and later got the car to my step dad in Victoria and he was able to fix it for us. It was a white-knuckle drive but we made it...whew!

We left the car in Vancouver and flew home! Whew, it was a whirlwind and it's good to be back home!

See you again soon!