My Friend Doug Bryan Releases His First Solo CD!
October 16, 2007
has his first solo CD release party this Fri. Oct. 19th in Dallas, Tx! And he is GOOD! Please support a fellow musician
on his path, if you can make it out to the gig (or buy his cd!) Thank you!
Love,
Sara
Here's the word from Doug:
Hope you can join me and my band The Mad Lovers at Club Dada in Deep Ellum for my CD release party Fri. Oct. 19th. We'll go
on after the Beatles cover band Hard Night's Day finish their weekly happy hour set sometime after 9.
My record "Mad Love" is available for purchase in Dallas at Good Records, CD World, and CD Source. You can also
order the CD at http://www.moontownproductions.com. OR... you can download it at ITunes or at
http://www.myspace.com/dougbryanmusic
Please feel free to forward this e-mail and spread the word.
Cheers,
Doug
posted by Sara Hickman at 08:43 am
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My Song on American Idol Chart
Listeners on American Idol Underground have rated your song among the top 50 tracks in the Folk genre during the previous week. You are at #33.
See your place on the charts by clicking here:
http://www.idolunderground.com/Pages/Charts/ChartDetail.aspx?GenreID=6
(You are on the fourth page.)
See you on the site,
The American Idol Underground Team
Get Your Music Heard!
http://www.idolunderground.com
posted by Sara Hickman at 08:04 am
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October 16…Travels, Thoughts, and a Test of Wonder
Drove to Big D for my Poor David's gigs. Wore my Carmen Miranda overalls that Linda Holt made for me...I love to swirl the bottoms of the oversized mulit-colored tiered pantslegs.
Walking into Poor David's, a man with a cane (later I discovered his name was also David and it was his birthday) yelled from the parking lot, "HEY," as he pointed his cane at my overalls. "What are THOSE!?" he finished.
The kids show was an utter delight, mostly children between 2-8, my favorite ages to perform for because they still have their wonder, they still believe in the magic of a song, a story and a smile. Kari Hirst and her husband, Eric, drove down with their sweet Elaine, who is two and has very straight, swingy hair! and I was thrilled to see them all. Also,
Amiti's sister, Lana, came with her little baby boy and Diana, their mom. Wow! Always surprises me who shows up for the kids' shows...Chris Conti brought snacks (cookies and juice boxes) for all the kids. Thank you, Chris! Then Kari and I caught up about our mutual forays into the world of creating children's television....then Chris and I went across the street for dinner at Amuse 5 STARS REALLY AWESOME CHECK IT OUT!! and by then Kristin and Chip had arrived, so we had a nice chat/good eats with them.
Soundcheck: Chip and I ran through some songs after we stopped in at Bill's Records next door to PD's and heard a nice country western dude and his honey singing original tunes
("....I don't care if I don't make money, as long as they comp my beer!") and while Chip and I were getting set up, in walked Bill! I had never met him, which is odd since I lived in Dallas all those years years ago, but I was happy to finally meet another legend...as we were chatting, Bill told me he had lived with his mother all her life, until she had passed away 11 years ago, so I asked Chip and Kristin to help me give a private concert of "My Mama's Hands" and it was hard not to cry as I sang looking in Bill's eyes....Definately one of the moments where I am grateful to be a musician...
ADULT SHOW: Two whoops and a holler, if we didn't have a blast. Cynthia and Kurt and Mike McGee and I'm not gonna remember everyone please forgive me but a great crowd and Carlos ran great sound and I even had a little Goldschlager towards the end (tastes like Christmas! with flecks of gold...) and asked the Ackermans up to sing on "Later Than You Think" and their own song, "Little Bird of Anger"....Then had EVERYONE in the audience come up on stage and we sang "Angels" to the twenty or so still seated. Nice to have a full stage of singing people! I looooooooooooove it!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14
Played at Raven's 5th birthday party in Frisco, Tx....Wowie Zowie! There was a red carpet lining the sidewalk, balloons with "HB RAVEN!" and black stars decorated with each child's name on the sidewalk leading up to the red carpet....Inside, inflatable electric guitars and plastic microphones, a sno-cone machine, a popcorn machine, and out back a full stage with a covering, PA system and a 6 foot in diameter double lit circle that blinked on and off with HAPPY BIRTHDAY in the middle....tiny little tables and chairs of black and purple, set up in rows about five deep, three across, and a Moonwalk with lots of jumpin' goin' on!
I sang/told stories for an hour. Had Raven's dad, Michael, up to dance, but he got cold feet, so his brother, Robert, came up, and so did little Raven in a shimmery, gold lame top!, and THEY danced and we all laughed and screamed with joy. What a fun, fun party!
SUNDAY NIGHT
Went out with Cyndy, Sara, and two of their friends to Alo, a delicious Tapas and Peruvian restaurant over off of Central and Knox/Henderson. I highly recommend it. I had a Fuzzy Navel to celebrate Cyndy's birthday, and a taste of the homemade banana ice cream. MMM! Feng shue interior of browns and spring green...very calming and delicious.
Came back to the very generous hotel room I had been given....a suite on the 8th floor of the Valley View Doubletree off 635....had to use my hotel key to get the elevator to even take me to the 8th floor! Whoo!....and my "room" was actually two bedrooms, a living area, a dining area, a kitchen, three bathrooms....a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine, compliments of the hotel manager....I called down to make sure they had me in the right room, I couldn't believe it! They assured me I was in the right room (ok, the note from the manager next to the strawberries had confirmed it, but you know, there is the "Sara Hickman" who was on Barney and another S.H. who writes English instruction manuals...could have been for them!) I was SO wishing I had my family here to enjoy this with me. I felt very blessed and decided to just enjoy the sanctuary and quiet time of all..........this...................space! Thank you to Chris for making this happen, and to Greg, the hotel manager, for making me feel very welcomed and loved.
MONDAY MORNING, OCT 15
Another Chris and her associate, Donna, picked me up and took me over to create a radio spot at KLITE/KVIL headquarters for the November 17th Dallas Help the Homeless Walkathon. I had a hilarious time in the recording studio with ANOTHER Chris and nailed the spot first take. I suggested we do two more, just in case....man, radio is a blast!
I started making goofy faces through the glass window at a DJ across the hall, live on the air, and he started goofing back, and when we were finished in our little studio, went over and realized it was Terry King, who I've known from Elektra days, and we hugged and kissed and then I was whirled away to lunch at Chuy's (hooray! Austin in Dallas!) and
had superb conversations with Chris (her husband helps with a day worker's program) and Donna (her husband, I later found out, works in video production...!) and then off we went to the United Way where I filmed a commercial....I'll see if I can't get some of the outtakes for you. We were cracking ourselves up, I tell you what.
After that, came back to the hotel, got caught up on emails (almost...if you haven't heard from me, yet, hang in there! I'm almost to you!) Went downstairs to the gift shoppe to buy some thank you notes, and on the way up, discovered there is a secret NINTH FLOOR where my magical key would take me for hors-deurves and beverages...so, up I went and lo and behold! Stuffed, breaded mushrooms with a dill sauce and wine and beer and cheese and crackers and fresh veggies and....I sat and watched the news and relaxed and thought, "Is this how it is for wealthy travelers all the time? Secret rooms and tasty snacks that they rest of us never see....?"
So, this morning, I returned to the Harry Potter Ninth Floor of Yummies and had BREAKFAST, too....at least until I was reprimanded, politely mind you, for not having any shoes upon my feet. I was also wearing my pajamas and the cushy hotel robe. I figured they'd mistake me for some sleepy-eyed Greek heiress, but I guess having bare feet is tacky and heathenistic. Oops. I took my food down to the room and sat in one of the 80 zillion chairs under one of the 1300 lamps and enjoyed my peace and my paper.
I'd like to thank William Silver for calling me last night at 10:30 to share the method of EFT with me (Emotional Freedom Technique). It is a tapping and release method where one works through whatever is holding one back, in essence. We were concentrating on my insomnia, thoughts/concerns over my sister, thoughts on aspects of Super Pal Universe and thoughts on the a word I have carried all my life: "ugly". I felt very good after our phone session, and was sleepy, and went to sleep. Woke up in spurts, but overall, it seemed like a
a worthy endeavor and I am glad to have experienced it with a teacher of the method! Thank you, William, for taking time out of your day and being a NECESSARY ANGEL!!!!!
Again!
Well, my family is driving up from Austin so we can all go see the exhibit by Ron Mueck, incredible testimony to the tug of art's spell that creating something in a realistic way can bring thousands of people to see what they look at every day: each other. I am excited about today, just being with family and doing something around art. When I was a little girl, I used to love to go to the museums with my mom and dad...they knew so much about art, and hearing them talk about it, or helping me read about an artist in the bio on the wall, was really fun for me. And it has stuck with me all the years...art has blessed and enriched my life tremedously, so I am happy to share this tradition with my girls.
Back to Austin late tonight. Here's the test you will love taking...Thank you to the Dalai Lama for all his inspiration and giddiness!
http://memoriter.net/flash/test.html
Ciao!
posted by Sara Hickman at 06:19 am
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Feedback from A Listener About “The One”
October 15, 2007
I hadn't seen your show before, but had heard good stuff. i'll be looking for you at your next mucky duck apprearance.
also, i wanted to add...the song about cho (virginia tech)...your intro/explanation was disarming and helpful (to people like me -
i have no sympathy for those who kill). bad stuff happens in this world, and people should suffer consequences. AND we should
all have a dialogue about what those consequences should be. your approach to the subject matter is really wonderful, and
something i didn't expect. and the important point is...someone who already has a point of view, gave an ear, and listened.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!
take care!
ciao!
J.B.
posted by Sara Hickman at 02:04 pm
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UPDATE FROM LITTLE OL’ ME
October 11, 2007
texamericana puts the music of the people into the
hands of the people while supporting radio for the
people...all to say, the circle cannot be broken when we all work together
to keep real music on the air by keeping radio real
ON THE MUSIC FOR LIFE TOUR, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3, 2007
Last Wednesday, we started the dialogue on the death penalty here in Austin, Texas with #1 in a 12 month series of concerts around the state.
There were a variety of folks who showed up, and thanks to the UT Daily Texan and News 8 for coming out to cover the event.
(But where were KVUE, KXAN, The Chronicle and The Austin American Statesman....?????)
I sang songs of sorrow, songs of hope, songs from a prison inmate's point of view, a song I wrote from the point of view of Cho's mother, the young
man who murdered the Virginia Tech students and teachers...
Barbara K sang "my name is truth and you can't kill me..."
Linda White spoke about her daughter being murdered by two 15 year old boys, how they tricked her into driving towards
a wooded area where they then proceeded to sexually assault and shoot her four times in the head.
And how there is never any closure when your child is murdered. She spoke about how the death penalty does not bring closure: that is a myth.
She said she never once thought of having those boys put to death. She moved everyone in attendance with her thoughts and memories about who her
daughter was...
About what she thinks of the death penalty and how it can not solve anything.
Rev. Bobbi Kaye Jones talked of losing her nephew to heroin, her ex-husband to a drunk driver. She talked about the circle of violence.
She talked about forgiveness.
Rev. John McMullen, of First United Methodist Church (my church), spoke of how our hearts have grown hard. Where is this all leading,
having these hardened hearts? I don't think I have ever seen him so close to tears, so close to his heart exploding with sadness.
We filmed people in the "Dialogue Nook" talking about what the death penalty meant to them.
We filmed the entire event.
I don't think I have ever spilled so many tears at an event, on the stage, and off.
I can only hope that criss-crossing this enormous state, and trying to get people to talk about the death penalty, will open up change.
Change in our hearts, our thinking, our ability to look for alternative methods to punishment (life in prison, for one.)
I have been reading about Elizabeth Fry, and how she went into women's prisons in England in the early 1800's, and believed that kindness
could change lives. She came from a wealthy family, and put aside all her worldly possessions to go into the prisons, dressed in plain clothes
(so as not to stand out), and she brought dignity, compassion, clothing, bedding, food and education to women who had previously only known
despair, poverty, crime, prostition. There were as many as four hundred women living in a prison with no light, no heat or air, no toilets, and their children
were being born into these sordid living conditions.
Mrs. Fry believed that kindness could bring people out of darkness and into harmony. She was right. Her ideas started an entire movement across Europe, not only
for women, but men's prisons, as well.
Have we not learned that we need to get to the root of the problems before they command the soil?
IRVING ARTS CENTER, THURSDAY NIGHT, OCT 4
The next day, Thursday, I flew to Dallas to perform at the Irving Arts Center for Gary Goldberg's photo exhibit of Texas Singer-Songwriters (yes, I am
honored to be included in it!)
Had a delicious lunch with Jennifer, who picked me up at the airport, and then performed in the main gallery while people mingled, listened and checked
out the photos...Joe Ely, Ruthie Foster, James McMurtry, Willie Nelson, Terri Hendrix, Lloyd Maines, Pat Green, Miss Lavelle White, etc...there I was, on a stage, singing in the midst
of so many greats!
Saw Craig Taylor from Killbilly (punk hillbilly). He looked so respectable in a gray suit and tie, with his lovely wife and adorable child in tow! I hadn't seen him since...gosh...back
in the Deep Ellum hey-days...I thanked him for all the journeys I've had in the music world because he really helped me get started...my first midwest tour (my first tour
at all!) was with Killbilly in 1988.
Back at the hotel, I watched "North Country" with Charlize Theron and Sissy Spacek and Woody Harrelson. Wow. What a compelling film. Glad I finally got to witness it.
Frances McDormand makes me want to become an actress every time I see her. She is excellent.
FRIDAY, BACK TO AUSTIN, OCT. 5
Hopped off the plane, grabbed my guitar and bag, and whizzed over to Tequila Mockingbird to sing on a commercial.
Then made it to The Summit, where I sang for about two hours for the elderly. Oh, I could just hug and kiss everyone over and over,
the stories they have to tell, the smiles on their wrinkled faces. That is going to be me some day. I hope a girl comes with her
guitar and sings to me, kisses me, looks me in the eyes when I am speaking to her. I hope that girl will stroke my back
and bring me cool water to drink, too. Or just sit and hold my hand as we watch people wander down the hall.
Go visit a nursing home today!
posted by Sara Hickman at 06:34 am
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