Ginger Leigh's End of the Year Letter

I'd like to thank you for a spectacular year in music. Many of you have been incredibly supportive - coming to multiple shows and buying my CD's. I know that in this economy, it isn't easy to enjoy luxuries or take part in too many recreational activities. But I think we all agree that music soothes the soul and can take you away from the daily grind.

I've had a busy year, sometimes I feel like I'm running in circles, sometimes I feel like it's all blast-off to the next bigger and better thing. Either way, it's been all about making music for you, about finding new fans, about growing in my creativity and about trying to survive in this business that is often barely sustainable. But all-in-all, I've succeeded in my endeavors and I have to thank you for being a part of it.

A HUGE thanks to those who pitched in for my guitar! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!


I've also had the joy of watching and supporting my friends and colleagues as they too press on in their dreams and goals. Many of us are releasing new records and working hard on our careers. Rock on, Sister Wendy Colonna, Sister Shelley King, Brother John Pointer and so many others.

As you know, I recently recorded the live CD, which doesn't even sound like a live CD! My goodness, the engineer, Chris Burns, did such a good job that it almost sounds like a studio recording. The band was fantastic and I look forward to playing more shows together. I'm most proud of this CD, as it is one I have dreamed of recording for quite some time. It's upbeat, fun, and full of joy. It is now available at
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/GingerLeigh
and soon to be on iTunes and other download outlets.


I've also been involved in other business, such as supporting Jane Reece in her interior design projects.

I've always had a love of decor and architecture.

The music comes from my mother's side of the family (http://www.theconessisters.com),


My Love of home design comes from my father's side - he is a custom home builder

(http://www.elangrouphomes.com).

Working with Jane to make these homes beautiful has been so much fun! If you've watched any of The Adventures of Jane and Ginger, you've seen some of these projects to which I refer. http://www.janereece.com and http://www.janeandginger.com


Speaking of other business, I have had the joy of designing many websites and other graphic elements for clients such as the Nancy Fly Agency artists (Bruce Robison, Del Castillo, Patrice Pike, Warren Hood and others), the Venetian Hot Plate in Port Aransas, Debra Watson, Wendy Colonna and more.

As a small child I wanted to be a visual artist and a singer. I guess we are we who are from the day we are born....

I'm currently involved in an equity raise for an incredibly unique and highly recognizable international restaurant/bar launch, which when comes to fruition I will watch grow with pride. This has been a new experience for me and I love being involved in business. Perhaps I should go get my MBA!

This year has been full of many great things and many great disappointments. But having your support and the love and direction of some very close friends, I still put one boot in front of the other and I charge laughing in the direction of my dreams. I hope that watching me through my music gives you the courage to do the same. Many of you don't know it, but it is because of you that I find a large portion of my courage to forge on.

I woke up this morning and decided that I would like to find a way to spend a year writing a book, or rather finishing a book I began years ago. Time to put on my thinking cap and to set out to structure a plan of attack on that one. Any advice?

I wish I could write this "Thank You Note" to each and every one of you individually, but that could take some time! Know that I mean every word of what I say and it is directed to the individuals in this group and to all of you collectively. Thank you for asking others to get to know my music and to purchase it. You feed me. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read all of my messages (I know, it's often too much). Thank you for choosing to come to my shows even though there are so many to choose from. Thank you for staying in touch.

I wish you a beautiful and safe holiday and a fantastic New Year!

Much love,
Ginger Leigh
(The G Leigh Mafia Boss)

Against all odds comes an outcome

My eyes are a tad blurry this morning either from the fake-eyelash glue that I didn't quite get off last during last night's washing, or because of the Jamison shots that landed on my stage last night and then miraculously jumped into my mouth, or from the fact that I finally went to sleep very late in the morning hours and couldn't sleep in this morning because I am in desperate need of an apology for last night's blatant robbery of my showtime.

About a month ago I asked for a slot specifically at the Saxon Pub in Austin for a live CD recording. I was given a 3 hour slot that is typically filled by Austin's all-star cast band The Resentments. I wanted the Saxon Pub for this recording because it holds a legendary history of music and because I knew I could capture contained audience interaction with the band. It was perfect! An early Sunday evening show from 7:30 to 10:30 with Paula Nelson following. My audience, my band, my friends and I were all geared up for a night of amazing music and it was going to be recorded for everyone to hear whenever they wish! I also hired a videographer and a photographer so the entire thing would be documented visually as well.

At about 2:00 yesterday, while rushing to find a new pair of jeans for the show, I received a phone call that a big benefit concert was moving from an open-air venue to the Saxon Pub due to rain. Everyone who had been on the Saxon bill dropped out, except for me, of course because it was a big night for me with tons of work put into it. The guys in the band worked hard on the music too. I wasn't about to postpone. I was told that the benefit show would work around my schedule and my needs.

I was given the phone number of the person heading up the benefit show (we'll just call him Frank), but instead, I ran directly to the Saxon Pub to have a conversation in person about how this would work. It was about 3:30 and the Saxon was already filling up with people; of course it was, the line-up was incredible! Papa Mali, Vallejo, Del Castillo...I mean that's a great bill! So, I found Frank and we stepped outside to talk. He was very thankful that I was being so flexible. But in all of my flexibility, I made very very clear demands or requests I should say: 1) That starting at 6:30 and ending when I finished, every person who walked through the door would be asked "Are you here to see Ginger or for the benefit?" and 2) that although I would be willing to shorten my set time, I was guaranteed the time I needed to record my songs twice and to sound check properly and 3) that we could start as close to 7:30 as possible. The benefit ticket price was $15, mine was $7. All the $7 folks would go into the "Ginger envelope" to insure I would get paid for my people. I also mentioned that it was possible I would lose people since the parking lot would be full and potentially the house too crowded. Frank kindly offered to pitch in a little extra to help out in that case.

So here's how it went down. There were a lot of people there before I started, but luckily still enough room for my fans to find seats. That was all smooth. I had John Covington with me to help run the stage. The guy mixing the CD, Chris Burns, was there to make sure the recording gear was rolling. My merchandise sales gal, Dawn, was set up just fine. The videographer and photographer were all ready to roll. I happily greeted fans, friends, and family as they arrived. It was just about 7:00 when I was originally guaranteed to get the stage for a 30-minute set-up and sound check. The band was waiting at the stage door with gear, when I was told there was another artist to perform before we could go on. Ok, we'll wait. No problem. Being flexible. Audience was flexible. Everything was cool.

We finally got the stage closer to 7:45. All of my musicians, excluding the drummer, had multiple instruments to play last night, so they needed to make sure all of them were set up properly. I have some technical stuff I run my microphone through for effects and because we were recording, we were splitting the line (no need to understand that). Frank was eager to get our show started. He stood on stage and kept asking me if we were ready. No we were not. We were supposed to have 30 minutes to set up. But the push was on and we were rushed - so much so that my split line wasn't even working and there was no time to fix the problem. Issue #1. (Side note, I don't blame Frank one bit for wanting to move it along. He had a lot on his own plate. He wasn't being a jerk, just needing to make his thing flow. We were all working together...)

For those of you who are not musicians, try to imagine that when you are on stage with all the sound coming from the instruments, it is INCREDIBLY important that your personal monitor - the speaker that plays back what you sound like - is set properly, especially for the singer. If you can't hear what you are singing or playing, you have no idea how you sound, if you are on pitch or what. It's like going deaf in the middle of a song (OK, not THAT bad, but you get the picture). So we were rushed into starting the show...The first song, "Come On Funny Feeling" was one that I was most excited about recording. It's been on my list of a song to record since the first time I heard Rodney Crowell's version of it. I couldn't hear a friggin' thing! I mumbled through most of the lines, I couldn't hear the guitars. I was requesting more monitors. But I was thinking "It's OK, we'll cut it again once everything is fixed! Just have fun and give this audience a kick ass show, G!" But in the back of my mind I was thinking about the multi-track machine capturing all of this and it was slowly falling apart. It was like the front part of my spirit was saying "Woo hoooooo! What a great audience! What a great time to perform!" And the back part of my spirit was in slow motion watching this opportunity be stolen by the need for the next band transplant to get on stage. I could feel the tension from the group doing the benefit. I could feel the band feeling the tension. But more than that, I could feel the love from the audience, and THAT made it all wonderful and there were some spirit-moving moments on stage.

So we made it through a handful more songs when I looked up at the red digital clock numbers SCREAMING at me "9:08!!!! 9:15!!!" and so on. Toward the end of the set list (which I had already cut short), I announced we would take a very very short break and come back to re-cut a couple of songs and then we'd give the room and the stage back to the benefit. Just before that happened a saw a man from the club approach stage right. He leaned in to tell me we couldn't take a break and do what we were promised we could do. I threw a hand up and relented.

We wrapped the show around 9:30 without re-cutting any of the songs I had hoped to re-cut.

However, as I am typing this, I am watching and listening to video from last night...and let me say .. there is some amazing stuff here! What a stellar band and what a fun audience! Really kickin'!

But after the show when I was handed a measly sum of cash from the door, my night was shot. This thing costs a lot of money to put together. I heard from a friend that when he and his date walked in the door guy automatically asked him for the $15 each (the benefit price and not our agreement). Luckily my friend told him he was there for me and paid the correct amount, but how many people who came to see me just paid what they were told without realizing that money wasn't for me? Gggrrrr.....

Miss Jane Reece was taking care of things and made Frank pitch in a little more money, so that helped, but crap! It was so frustrating how my big night was totally twisted. I lost an hour and a half on stage and probably 50% of the cashflow I should have received. So, when I got home, I grabbed my guitars and was close to wanting to put them in the trash and go flip friggin' burgers for a living! It's hard enough as it is to be in this business. BUT....I love it! So I put those precious Martins where they belong and sat down to a glass of wine. I vented for a while. I tried to watch some TV to shut my mind down. I finally slept for a few hours. And now, like I mentioned, am watching the video and it's pretty friggin' killer! We certainly blew off some steam on stage last night. I can tell that the tension was releasing through the notes, through the beats, through the whiskey.

All in all, I believe we captured a great product, although we will need to record a few of the songs again. Why not? So, I guess I'll be calling the Saxon folks and asking for another shot at it. Will you be there again? Or maybe we'll just release the stuff we got and let it be...Because it really rocks after all!


I hope that the benefit benefited well and that I gained some new friends and fans last night. I'd like to thank Lisa for her contribution. I'd like to thank the talent on the stage with me: John Pointer, Mark Williams, Kris Brown, and Frank Favacho. I'd like to thank Tom Zinn for shooting photos and Alison White for shooting video. I'd like to thank Dawn for selling merch. Thanks to John Covington for running the stage and the sound along with Richard. Thanks to Chris Burns who will be mixing this mess. Thanks to the Saxon Pub and to "Frank" (even though I wasn't a happy gal for a bit - he's a cool cat). Thanks to Jane for squeezing a little more cash out of it. Thanks to everyone who has already purchased the CD and in advance to those who will. And THANKS to the audience for being there last night and joining me in the music.

Onward and forward we go.....

-G Leigh
(PS, thanks also to Femme Metale jewelry for the peacock necklace! Didn't it look good with my Love. necklace? Woo Hoo!)

My Buddy Rochelle and the Warriors of RoBoobia!

I went to the bank today and every employee was wearing pink. Even the guys who looked like they were horrified to be in pink, wore that color with pride! I actually love a man in pink.

Anyway, I digress. The point I am obviously NOT getting to is that they are wearing that color because it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. And I'll tell you, I am all too aware of this issue.

A few years back I was on tour with Patrice Pike; just the two of us, no band, no trailer full of gear, just our acoustic guitars, an ipod, a schedule and my big red Suburban. We played shows all the way up through the Midwest. We played Minneapolis, then headed to Chicago. My best friend since junior high lives in Chi-town and was waiting patiently for our arrival at the Speakeasy Supper Club where we were due to play. Pike was on the phone with a good friend of hers, Rochelle, who was coming in from St. Louis to the show in Chicago. I told Kelly to look for the woman who looks like Uma Therman. Rochelle is easy to spot!

They enjoyed some cocktails and conversation, hitting it off immediately while waiting for the Big Red Gas Guzzler to pull in.

We had a great time! We all spent the night after the show at Kelly's house and had what-felt-like a teenage slumber party.

The following day, with very little sleep, Rochelle, Patrice, and I headed out to St. Louis where Ro was co-hosting a house concert for us. All went beautifully, and an instant connection was developed between me and Rochelle.

Patrice and I had a couple of days off so we spent those days with Ro in her apartment, exchanging stories of her days as a missionary in Bulgaria and my days as a touring musician in Italy and elsewhere. She spoke to me in Bulgarian, I spoke to her in Italian. With a woman like Rochelle, who has incredible intuition and instincts, language is not even necessary.

Rochelle speaks all languages with her hands. She is by far the most healing massage therapist I have known. My first Rochelle-massage-experience was on one of those nights in St. Louis atop her massage table in her apartment just before Patrice, Ro, and I sat atop said table, strumming and harmonizing Ray LaMontagne songs. It may have even been that night that I looked at those Uma-Ro eyes and said "You belong in Austin, Texas."

It seemed like only months later, Rochelle was packed up and leaving old St. Louis behind and quickly establishing herself as one of Austin's top massage therapists. Not only did she establish herself quickly, she is also a massage therapist to a lot of local superstars! She knows how to work those guitar-aching muscles back into shape! Her client-base wasn't the only thing that became loyal. Her friendships grew quickly and deeply. Rochelle is loved by many!

And many of those friends were there for her when she chose to run her first marathon a few months back. It was such an exciting moment when she came around the bend, full of life, so determined, so graceful, so proud of herself, as we were!

A few weeks ago, I was following Rochelle's visits to the doctor. She had done a self-examination and found something peculiar. The doctor did a biopsy and it turned out that she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Rochelle is in her early 30's and is more fit than ever before! They caught it at an early stage, so that's a good thing. Rochelle is one of the strongest people I have ever known and she will win this battle. Not only will she win it, she will then go on to empower more women than she ever has before. That's Rochelle. She's an inspiration, a healer, a giver of life.

As I listened to her on the phone tell me, only a few hours after she had received the diagnosis, that she wasn't afraid, that she was strong and healthy, that she would educate more women, I thought to myself "Would I be that strong?" I don't know and I would prefer not have to find out. She was so full of courage and life during that phone call to me. Only toward the end did she cry. But she cried out of gratitude, not sadness. She told me "I'm standing on Congress looking at the Capitol building. If you had not encouraged me to move to Austin and I had been somewhere else with this diagnosis, I would feel so lost. But here, I know I have the best support group. I have family. I am surrounded by love."

That's my girl, Rochelle!

If you would like to be a part of Rochelle Poulson's journey, please befriend her on Facebook. Please follow her blog www.navigatorgaia.blogspot.com. Please schedule a massage! http://www.rochellepoulson.com.

Or below there are two ways to help out financially. You can make a donation and/or you can purchase the wristband "Warriors for RoBoobia"! It takes a village to fight this kind of thing. Our village is called RoBoobia! Please join us.


Donate
email
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8362689

web

Buy
email
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8362550



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My Gawd, where has the Summer gone?

It seems like only yesterday that my life merged with Jane Reece's! There was an immediate connection. You know, especially girls know, that friendships and relationships of all kinds develop very quickly. Guys can dig other guys pretty quickly, but they don't go to the potty together when out at a bar or don't have sleep overs or go on trips together right away. And they typically don't cry on each others shoulders after knowing each other for five minutes and telling their own life stories in their entirety. That takes some time for dudes. But we gals, oh, we're instant friends, aren't we?

There is a line in a Rodney Crowell song that I intend to record. "The funny feeling comes when you're in love with everyone"....I am that girl. Jane is that girl. I just love people so much and we meet all kinds of them everywhere. I'm almost finished reading "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young, which is found in the Christian section of bookstores. Now, I don't subscribe to religion, but this book is fantastic! It paints the most loving picture of the all-time most thought about story of the Trinity...of the whole, loving Jesus that I believe has been twisted around some through many years of organized religion, political abuse, and the human struggle for power.

But that's not my point in mentioning the book. I mention it because I relate to a very strong topic in the book: Relationships are built on LOVE not power, not judgment. You can love a stranger just as much as you can love your lover or your father or your best friend. It might be a different kind of love, but love has a vast definition. It comes in many forms, my friends. Jane and I go out in the world and love each of the people we encounter. I love every one of my fans who come enjoy my music. I love everyone, except for maybe George W. Bush, but hey, I'm only human. Eeeehhhhemmmm.....Sorry for that.

Anyway, I hope you have love in your lives. I hope you find yourself full of compassion for others and I hope you find a way to limit your judgment. We humans are a beautiful mess and will always struggle. But at least we can try.

Enjoy the Jane and Ginger videos...full of silly life stuff, love, strangers, friends, travel, and simple life blunders.

Wishing you an endless well of love,
Ginger Leigh

The July and August N2 Magazine feature: Hedda Layne

Hi my friends! As some of you know, I write a music article for N2 Magazine (http://www.n2mag.com) .

This month I wrote about Hedda Layne and her new release, 4Play.

Here is the uncut version of the article:

Hedda Layne – 4Play
Dear N2 Music Lovers,

June was a punch-packed month for me, on the road as always, working, playing and enjoying the warm weather. But as all Texans know, it’s only getting hotter! And this Summer is hotter than ever with the new release by Hedda Layne. 4Play is perfect for Summer fun. Play this record in your car on road trips, at a backyard BBQ, an evening cocktail party, or on your boat.

“The Truth Will Set You Free” is the repeated lyric in the first full length song on Hedda Layne’s newest release, 4Play. Here’s the truth, Dear N2 Readers; Hedda’s new launch is a blast! It’s a spacey, ethereal, positive, sexy updated Xanadu, painted with Hedda Layne’s colorful Liza Minelli-Barbara Streisand vocal styling. There’s a happy vibe to this recording in the vein of Swingout Sister or Everything But the Girl. The compositions are grand, fun, bold and playful. Each piece has its own climax into an unexpected surprise – I intended to be redundant there – Surprises are unexpected by nature. There is an extreme to which you find the unexpected in Troy Lee’s musical execution on every single track. You will be surprised!

I’ve followed Hedda Layne’s music for many years and own every record and single she has released. And there are many. Hedda and Troy are prolific for sure. And never mind that Hedda Layne’s unique presence leaves you awestruck. Before I first knew of Hedda, she and Troy Lee lived in Seattle. I asked her to tell me a little more about that experience.

“Seattle was a great experience. We met such a diverse community of people and performed in some pretty interesting (and historical) venues. It was a beautiful place but the rainy weather can be a bit trying for a Texan. Additionally, Troy Lee and I have been performing together for 16 years. We are both Texas natives and during our musical career together we have performed everything from acoustic jazz (guitar/vocal duo), jazz trio, big band, blues/rock, cabaret, ambient lounge to dance just to name a few styles. . . We have yet to try polka - but it's never too late. . . wink. We have lived and performed in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Austin in addition to Seattle.”

What battles are you up against playing your style of music in Texas?

“Because we have been doing cabaret, lounge and dance it has been difficult. It's great living in Austin with all of the music here, but it's been hard to break through to the main stream audience. The dance music style actually forced us to play in dance-oriented venues where the sound constraints can be quite difficult to deal with. The gay community has totally embraced us though. . . LOVE THEM!”

In the past few years in Austin, Miss Layne has been known for her dance club music and performances, with heavy beats and highly-effected vocals. The new record, 4Play is a leap in a different direction; a soulful dream. The track “Hold On to Love” recalls some of Hedda’s more recent releases, but is not a heavy dance club tune. It is a soft, sexy dance groove, great for getting lost in the simplicity of the journey of “holding on to love” while moving your body and singing along. The entire record is like that. It’s a musical sedative, but will NOT put you to sleep. Rather 4Play is a fantasy, an Annie Lennox-type story-telling journey. “Don’t Want it to Stop” is a swanky, slow, sophisticated Bassanova that you relax to with a gin and tonic in hand. And then expect to be taken to yet another place with “Love Who You Are” which opens with Troy Lee’s gentle classical guitar beneath Hedda’s feminine melody which brings visions of Miss Layne sitting atop a stage prop of a half moon in a Broadway theater. The hit song on 4Play is “Stay” which I had received an advance copy of during the process of recording. I immediately put it into my own compilations of my favorite music. “Stay” is a powerful song. It’s a slow gospel love song about a woman with a broken heart, mustering all her strength to beg her lover to stay. The song in and of itself is a little movie reel; you can place all your own characters into the epic scenes of “Stay”. The vocals are huge bellowing out the emotional and vulnerable command (or is it a question?) “Stay with me.” Hedda Layne opens up her voice in this song like no other. You feel her lungs, her heartbeat, her arms in the air like a prayer or a Hallelujah.

I’d venture to say it is difficult to follow a song like “Stay” with other songs, but Hedda Layne and Troy Lee manage to do just fine by adding “Movin On” with stunning backing vocals and then a short “Reprise of Beautiful Day”, which is the answer to the very first thing you hear on 4Play. But this reprise kicks in with beats that yet again make you feel nothing but happy!

The bonus track, “Mahalo” at the very end takes you all the way to Hawaii and convinces you once again that Hedda Layne could easily succeed on Broadway. 4Play is one of those CD’s that if you listen to it in your car, before you known it, you look down and you’re driving 90 and already missed your exit long ago. You are swept away with this record.
What was the biggest challenge with recording 4Play?

“Packaging 4 years worth of original music into an album we feel is representative of where we are - and where we are going - was the biggest challenge. This one is still electronica-ish, but stripped down to create more of an organic sound. Doing all of the back-ups the good old fashioned way was really fun for me and having a live brass section was great. Yet again, we have embarked on a new sound while still staying true to our positive lyrics, Troy's quintessential musical arrangements and my vocal stylings. Let me add that Scott Linton has been a writing partner for the past 4 years. He writes most of the lyrics. We are a grand team!”

4 Play is to be released on July 1st. It will be available on iTunes and CD Baby and Hedda Layne will be looking forward to continued airplay on satellite radio and various licensing distributors. As far as performances go, they have decided on taking a summer sabbatical while developing a formative plan to scout for new venues appropriate for their new style. The upcoming shows will be listed on their new website which will be launched on July 1st!

Bravo, Miss Hedda Layne and Mister Troy Lee! You continue to amaze the world with your musical accomplishments.
N2 Readers, take action now: www.heddalayne.com

My Drew Smith Article in N2 Magazine, June 2009

Hello N2 Music Lovers,

I hope you took action last month and purchased Gavin Degraw’s and Kellye Gray’s music! I enjoyed sharing their music with you and hope you are now devouring their songs as you read this month’s article.

In the past month I have been on tour in Italy, back to Austin, on the road again back and forth to Houston and various other spots on the map. After tens-of-thousands of miles, I know a lot about road touring and one of the most important things is the music playing on the car stereo. I listened over-and-over again to Drew Smith’s latest CD, Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir.

Drew Smith just returned from his own road tour with his full band. We spoke on the phone today about the difficulties of touring. The logistics. The time spent. The unexpected low turn-out. The unexpected packed house. For the leader of the band, it’s a hard job, but with all of it comes the joy of playing live music with your favorite band-mates on stage night after night until the ensemble becomes so tight that the last show is exhilarating and flows like second nature; you are exhausted, you are excited, you are sorry to leave the road, you are ready to get home to record the next record and play your home stage.

We are blessed to live in Austin with so many great venues, the likes of which (Momo’s, Saxon Pub, Continental Club) you will find Drew Smith and his band dressed in suits and ties making melodic pop music alla Paul Simon and Van Morrison, complete with punchy horn sections and all.

Smith was highly influenced by the above mentioned artists along with others like the Beatles, but the most obscure influence is Harry Nilsson. The first track on Smith’s latest release titled “Nilsson Sings Newman” is a reference to one of Smith’s favorite records by Harry Nilsson on which he sings all songs written by a young undiscovered college student named Randy Newman. Smith’s song opens with a bouncy piano and follows with a catchy beat, simple and open, and is topped off with vocals full of personality and a seemingly positive edge.

All of the records Drew grew up listening to have left a strong mark on the music he writes and creates today, not only in their vibe and melody, but also in the way he chose to record the songs. In today’s studio world many of us work with digital media, thus allowing virtually as many tracks to record on as one could imagine. Drew, instead, chose to work in East Austin at Infinity Recording Studios which records in an old fashion way directly to 1.5 inch tape, limiting the recording down to 16 tracks and fewer opportunities to make mistakes. Analogue sound is warm, organic and makes you feel like you are listening to a record that could have been recorded back when Drew and I were in Middle School. Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir is a timeless piece of simple genius. The record (and I call it a “record” purposefully to say it isn’t like many modern CD’s which are often a collection of singles, rather than an entire journey) flows like a classic. You don’t want to skip over any songs. You are comfortable listening all the way through its consistent sound and groove. He sounds good. He feels good.

Drew Smith, more than anything, is an artist, a song-writer, a muso with an ear for tasteful tunes and he is surrounded by top-notch musicians at all times. Have fun listening to Drew Smith. You will leave this CD in your player non-stop and you might even put songs like “Nilsson Sings Newman” or “Follow Me Down” on repeat. They make you feel good. Follow Me Down, Down, Down….is the simple catch in the chorus, but I say let’s follow Drew Smith UP, UP, UP.

Let’s work together to be a part of Drew Smith’s musical journey. Visit him online at www.drewsmithmusic.com or catch him live in the Austin area.

(Photo Above By Ed Verosky | www.veroskyphoto.com)

Article 1 of N2 Magazine Music Review by Ginger Leigh

Here is the uncut version of the article I wrote in May's edition of N2 Magazine (A Guide to Culture in Central Texas - Temple, Waco, Georgetown, Cedar Park, etc).

Dear N2 Readers,

Welcome to the first edition of N2’s Music Section! I’ll take a brief moment to introduce myself and then we will move on to two uniquely different and equally fascinating artists, Gavin Degraw and Kellye Gray.

I am a musician; a professional touring and recording artist. I am highly and often inspired by other artists, not just only the music they produce or the shows they execute, but also by their varying business strategies in this ever-changing entertainment industry. I believe in being a member of the music community, working together with other artists to help promote our music, our shows, our love of a common jewel which is MUSIC. Without music, society is without flow, rhythm, a secondary – but incredibly important – language of emotion, romance, societal, political and familial conflicts and journeys. You too can be a member by purchasing new music online or in stores

With instruments like itunes, myspace, facebook and our own websites, the playing field has opened up to vast sea of tiny CD outlets for anyone to sell and shop for new or old music. I intend to share music with you in the hopes that you will be inspired to be a part of the musician’s journey.

In this article, I will introduce to you two artist who have very different stories; one being on a major label, the other being independent. Gavin Degraw is one of the artists who manages to reap the rewards of being signed to J Records (Clive Davis’ baby), with hit songs such as “I Don’t Want To Be” and “Chariot”. Kellye Gray is an artist who has worked on her music career for 25 years, having been on a label which began beautifully and ended poorly, and who today releases records independently, thanking daily her angel investors and her informidable strength to carry on. Both of these featured artists are lucky in their own ways and have managed a level of success which I encourage you to applaud and support.

Gavin Degraw
I sat at my desk with the Blackberry pressed hard to my ear hearing the kind and intelligent voice of Gavin Degraw on the other end. He is a busy man at the moment on a national tour supporting the release of his latest CD, Free. I started my 40-minute phone interview with Degraw by asking him the question, “Tell me 5 musicians you have playing on your iPod.”

Chris Whitely (whose song “Indian Summer” is featured as the opening track on Degraw’s new CD), Martin Sexton (whose tone I can hear in Degraw’s music), Donnie Hathaway, Pavarotti, and Dwight Yoakum (who Degraw says “Gotta give a shout out to my buddy Dwight!”)

He obviously has a wide span in his taste for music, which is also apparent in the way his records stand alone in their varying genres. His first release titled Chariot (2003, J Records) was more pop/soul, then his second release, self-titled, Gavin Degraw, was much more rock, and now his third release titled Free is more soul, bluesy, stripped down, mature. Each album is fantastic in its own unique way, but I have to admit that his newest release, Free, is by far my favorite. I feel this CD is for a more adult audience.

I was introduced to Degraw’s music a few years ago by three young pre-teens. Coming from their direction, I assumed Degraw to be a young pop star. I continued to hear his hit songs played on pop radio through the years and today. I asked Degraw if it was his intention to release his first album to a younger audience. “I didn't design [Chariot] to be anything but identifiably me while being held under the wing of a record company. As a musician, you will know which producer to work with. The Producer has a stamp, almost more than the artist. The producer[Mark Endert] balanced out his task at hand- taking a new artist and bringing him to the forefront of popular music, while satisfying the artist...Mark did a great a job.“

The bigger poppy production of his first record undoubtedly did its job for Degraw. Chariot was certified platinum and yielded three gold singles: “I Don’t Want To Be,” which soared to No. 1 on the Top 40 radio chart, “Follow Through,” and the title-track, “Chariot.”

Degraw certainly changed direction in his recent release. In the title track, “Free”, Degraw says he is pointing out his own extremes, the way that he battles himself, his opposing characteristics, which everyone has. “I want to be free, release this weight of self-criticism onto something more important, more valuable to my life. You become consumed and imprisoned in your own mind.” While listening to Degraw explain this song I remember something Fitzgerald wrote: “Intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in your mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." Degraw is an intelligent man and Free will make him a longer-term major-label artist; quality setting him on his path to legendary status. It is sure to bring to his career a shift, or maybe simply a growth, in his listenership – at least it will bring in a 30+ audience. I wondered how he got away with releasing a more mature record under the “wing of a major label,” when to my understanding the machine prefers to continue branding an artist under one sound, one style, holding on to the same demographic every time. Degraw replied, “Even younger than 30, there are plenty of 18 year old high school kids and freshmen in college who are looking for this type of music and this style, less-is-more type of thing....Itunes makes this type of production more commercially viable. [It’s] the public's opportunity to revolt against the conveyer belt of mass-produced music. All the people making marketing decisions of all industries target the same people....It's not a small group of people...why not make something good and don't HAVE to sell it. Let people who are interested find it!”

Awe, yes, says Ginger Leigh! Let people find it! Viola’! Make the music you believe in and hope that people find it.. And I applaud his courage to change and to take risk. He describes his first launch onto the scene with Chariot as like being that glass pitcher of Cool-Aid running through the wall. He was breaking down walls, getting some attention from the start. With Free, he hopes to maintain what he already built, while branching out to reach other people. I agree with Degraw when he says that music shouldn’t be about a demographic, a tribe, but about taste and similar interests. He spent only 2 weeks in the studio recording Free, hoping to create a sound without big production bells and whistles, without over-thinking the recording, but staying true to the songs. In my opinion, he succeeded. Free is the kind of record I can gift to both my father and my niece. The music is luscious and spare, authentic and raw holding up this man’s rich vocals and intimate lyrics.
Learn more at www.gavindegraw.com

Kellye Gray

Make the music and let people find it! Find THIS, my friends….Kellye Gray, the magical jazz vocalist who can sing with – and often beyond – the best of the best. From the first note you hear from Gray’s mouth (or should I say Gray’s lungs?), you are stopped in your tracks. You can practically cut through Kellye Gray’s vocals with a butter knife; so thick, luscious, creamy, rich. The first note makes you wait, makes you hang on for the next note. That tiny nanosecond feels like a lifetime, as if it’s the first time you have ever heard music. And then she soars, and you soar with her.

My favorite song of Gray’s is her rendition “Everything Must Change” which has a different meaning for everyone. Whether it makes you think of your own children growing older or how society must adapt to social shifts or something about your own life’s journey, Gray makes this song her own and yours. She sings it from such a personal place that the intimacy she shares with you feels like she is putting a sweet spell on you by singing a message right into your ear.

Gray has released 7 records, the most recent being KG3, Live form the Bugle Boy. I have also played the Bugle Boy a number of times. It’s a sweet listening venue in the least likely place – La Grange, Texas. The owner, Lane Gosney, makes certain that the audience doesn’t chit-chat during the show and even asks you to turn off your cell phone. If you have Kellye Gray on the stage, there need be no distractions. You won’t want to miss a moment of her live performance. Even though you missed this show at the Bugle Boy, I’m sure there will be plenty more opportunities, but in the meantime you don’t have to feel left out; you can get the CD! This tiny venue not only offers a special listening experience, but they record the show and hand the results right to the artists then and there. Kellye tells me that on this special evening, she and her guitarist and bassist hadn’t played together in 6 or so years. She handed the guys her music charts and off they went to spontaneously bust out some of the most sensual, exciting and true jazz music heard today, opening with Summertime and ending with “If You Never Come to Me”. They left the Bugle Boy feeling high off their performance. A number of months later, Kellye met up with the guitarist who asked about the recordings from that night. Gray hadn’t even listened to them. Upon his suggestion she later did and decided the night was so magical that she would release the music to the public.

This is one of the most fascinating parts to being an independent artist. You can release whatever you want, whenever you want. There are no labels to answer to, no marketers shaping your artistic content. Gray has only one CD that was released on a label years ago. Although it sold over 75,000 copies and Gray was reaching the top of her world, the label turned on her and the deal ended in a lawsuit. Even though Gray escaped the mess unscathed, she does not maintain the rights to the recordings, which I understand are often found on eBay and other online outlets for quite a high price.

I have known Kellye Gray and her music for quite a number of years. I have always admired her vocal ease and her massive stage presence. Her body is her instrument. Her voice is her brass. Her lungs are her drum. Her arms are her strings. Her eyes are her spotlights. You immediately succumb to her wishes, like being entranced by her body’s orchestra, while feeling your own sense of empowerment. There is no wimp inside Kellye Gray, only a leader and a super-powered chanteuse.

One of Gray’s best albums to date is Live at the Jazz School which I have had loaded onto my iPod for a long time and now sits next to KG3, Live from the Bugle Boy. Like Gavin Degraw’s recent CD, Gray speaks about the essence of the music. She releases live records because she too hopes to stay true to the songs themselves without them being over-produced for the masses.

We discussed Gray’s life path to music and the jazz paradigm in general at my dining room table where I conducted our recent interview for this article. Ironically, over dinner, wine and conversation my iPod on shuffle chose out of thousands of songs to play Gray’s music a handful of times, as if the iPod itself was enchanted by her presence in the room. Gray’s personal iPod spins the likes of Miles Davis, Fiest, dZihan&Kamien, Suba and Shirley Horn, a personal friend to Gray.

Kellye Gray found her voice around the age of 5 or 6 while cruising around in the backseat of her mother’s T-bird while her sister used to encourage her to sing Barbara Streisand which she did with ease. But Kellye didn’t go into music in her youth; instead she studied theater at university and later became a stand-up comedian working alongside the likes of Bill Hicks and Sam Kinison. As a young child, her life was interrupted by her parents divorce at the age of 5. Her mother remarried a man who adopted Kellye and became her father and was her jazz influence. When Kellye couldn’t sleep at night, she would sneak down to her father’s record collection and put the needle down to the likes of Sarah Vaughn and Thelonious Monk. The jazz music would help her sleep and if you asked me, it sunk in so deeply and ultimately formed the singer in Gray that we know today.

When her mother and new father divorced, she and her sister were sent to a Texas State School. In the 1950’s it wasn’t easy for a single mom to get a good paying job and the State of Texas determined her mother’s income as unfit for raising children. This terrifying experience of loneliness and confusion made a strong survivor of Miss Gray. She was bound to be expressive in life, which she first adapted to the stage and then comedy and later, in her 30’s to jazz performance.
When Gray was 24 her mother passed away. She moved to Austin for a shot at a new life. One day an acquaintance asked if she would sing a song he had written for a big show. She agreed, having used her musical talents for a few years in more of a theatrical way in her recent past. But Kellye had not yet used her jazz voice in a show such as this. 800 people waited in the audience for the show to begin. She was told at the last minute what the form of the song would be! She was terrified. Before walking out on stage, she exclaimed “I have no idea what that means! What do you mean by chorus, by solo?” The reply was “You know, SOLO on top of the music! Like Ella [as in Fitzgerald]!” Gray recalls that moment when she was “at the end of the diving board, I just had to throw myself off.” And that she did. She opened her mouth, her lungs, and her memory of the records playing in the night when she was a child, and let it all out. At that moment, she knew this was her calling. Music, Jazz Music, found Kellye Gray in a frightful moment of spontaneous performance in front of 800 people. And she has never stopped singing since.

Kellye’s entrance to the world of Jazz began there and continued by her own will to succeed. She worked Piggy’s Jazz Club on 6th Street and ultimately found her way onto local stages 2 or 3 times a day, 7 days per week. She grew to be a name that could sell out the Paramount Theater on Congress Avenue.

But like anyone’s career, there are big moments and lesser known moments. Gray eventually moved away from Austin to work other jazz scenes. Many years passed and she came back to Austin to find that she lost touch with many of her local fans and that there isn’t much of a jazz scene left. This is why Kellye spends half the year on tour all over the world, performing concerts and conducting vocal seminars.

If you ask me, Gray is only now getting started. The twenty-odd years she has been performing have laid the ground work for a woman who is primed to rise again. I asked her if she would be willing to sign a major label deal if it were to land on her desk today. “Sell out? At this point in my life? ABSOLUTELY! I’ve done my own thing for all these years!” With the forthcoming release of “The Best of Kellye Gray” let’s hope it gets in the hands of someone who can take her to the next level. I doubt she’ll actually have to sell-out. Her authenticity is the appeal that today’s industry is seeking. If Gavin Degraw can release a stripped down, honest, small production record, then there is no reason why Kellye Gray can’t sign a major deal that will release her as she is – an old-school jazz vocalist who delivers dreams to her listeners inside the spaces between her ever-lasting notes.
In the meantime, the ever so beautiful KG3 Live at the Bugle Boy is available online and in regional stores. Go get it!
www.kellyegray.com