Subject: The Jamie Anderson Newsletter Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 9:34 PM From: TsunamiInc@aol.com To: Here's another edition of the somewhat boastful but always sincere Jamie Anderson newsletter! You are getting this because you signed my mailing list at a concert or wrote to me and asked to be added. If you'd like to be deleted or if your address will change soon, please let us know at tsunamiinc@aol.com. Be kind and keep in mind that a real, feeling person answers your email. Please don't forward jokes, news items, virus warnings or petitions. I love personal notes from fans, though, and try to answer every email. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends, especially if I'm going to be performing in their area. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. The intro section where I blab about general stuff 2. Women in Harmony music camp for women 3. New Outvoice address, please vote for Listen 4. The National Women's Music Festival 5. Anti-gay amendment 6. Review in the Indianapolis Star 7. Nickel and Dimed (On not getting by in Boom-time America) 8. Tour, tour, tour 9. Closing quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. The intro section where I blab about general stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I got home from weeks of touring in the early part of May. The day after that, our dog was so sick I had to take her to the vet. The problem? Constipation. Being the ever-cautious mom, I asked the vet if there was something I could do. Medication? Change her food? Nope, says the vet, dogs get constipated for the same reason humans do. The pet sitter made sure she got enough water and exercise so there's only one reason -- our pit pull is stressed. The next time both my gf and I have to leave town we'll ask the sitter to put prunes in her food. Poor puppy. More information than you needed, eh? Let me move on to better topics. Last weekend I had the pleasure of performing at CampOut, a really fun women's music festival near Charlottesville, VA. The weather was stunning, the land beautiful and there I was, with a couple hundred women. The music was fab, too, a nice variety, from rock to folk. I crawled up on stage several times, once to sing back-up for Deidre McCalla with Alix Dobkin and Tret Fure. Deidre will be coming out with a new album in the next year or two. Good thing - she has some wonderful new songs including a gospel-like tune that knocked my socks off. She's currently raising money for her new release. Contact her through www.deidremccalla.com if you think you can help or if you just want more information about her great music. Tret Fure is also raising money for her new release: www.tretfure.com. I also had the pleasure of singing backup with Kathrine Archer, singing her new tune "Chick Magnet" while wearing an enormous foam hat. Hey, the hat was her idea. Really. Even though Kathrine has horrid taste in hats, she's a wonderful guitarist and all-around performer. I listened to her CD "The Other Side of Blue" on the way home and had to repeat several tracks, I liked them so much. www.katherinearcher.com. Lots of other great music at this event but I don't want to make this into War and Peace. Keep an eye out for other events happening at CampOut and look for the festival next year. For you hometown babes in North Carolina, keep in mind that the land is only a three hour drive! www.campoutva.com I've been nominated for three OutMusic awards!!! One for best out song ("Listen"), best album ("Listen") and best out musician. The awards ceremony, unfortunately, is the same weekend as the National Women's Festival, so I can't go but all the same, cross your fingers for me, 'k? There's more info at www.outmusic.com. Women in Harmony, the women's music camp I'm organizing is happening at the end of July. If you've been thinking about it but haven't yet registered, better get to it soon! See below for more information. Thursday night (May 30th), I'll be in Cary, NC (with Wishing Chair and others!), June 6 - 9 at the National Women's Music Festival (with a band!!!!), June 15 I'll be in Portland, Maine and at the end of the month, I'm playing close to home again in Fuquay-Varina, NC. I'll also be teaching some classes in June. More information below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. Women in Harmony ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This camp is a fun and supportive retreat for women of all musical abilities. There's a lot to do for everyone from shower singers to intermediate musicians. It's like Girl Scout camp only you don't have the clean the latrines. Camp is July 26 - 28 at beautiful Camp Pleiades in the mountains near Asheville, NC. (www.starcamp.com) There'll be workshops (songwriting, guitar, improv, singing, dance), song circles and jam sessions for beginners through intermediate players and singers. The event is based on Judy Fjell's successful west coast camp Women Making Music (WoMaMu). It's coming up soon, so don't wait to register! Contact Women In Harmony, c/o Elaine Townsend, PO Box 973, Columbia, SC, 29202, elainetownsendsc@yahoo.com, 803-791-7606 or check www.jamieanderson.com or www.judyfjell.com. A $50 deposit holds your place. Registration is $225 to $300 sliding scale if paid by June 28. This fee includes delicious meals, all activities, cabin accommodations or tent space, and full use of the beautiful grounds including a swimming pond, hiking trails, and hammocks. Whether you're a shower singer or a professional musician, we hope you can join us! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. New Outvoice address, please vote for Listen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can now find them at www.outvoice.net. Please set a bookmark there for this great lgbt music site and vote for Listen! My new album has been in the top ten for most of the last few months and I'd love to see it stay there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. The National Women's Music Festival ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is soon, soon, soon so what are you waiting for? Make your plans to attend one of the coolest and oldest women's music festival. Hear Margie Adam, Ember Swift, Bitch and Animal, Saphire (Uppity Blues Women), Laura Love, Wishing Chair, Michelle Malone, Vickie Shaw, Kara Barnard, Alix Olsen, moi, and many more. If that wasn't enough, they have a fine arts exhibit, theater presentations, workshops, a festival chorus, a crafts area, health fair, golf scramble, and open mike. You can sleep in real beds, eat great food, and see shows in wonderful theaters. Even my mother AND my girlfriend's mom are coming! It's June 6 - 9 in Muncie, IN. www.wiaonline.org, wia@wiaonline.org, 317-927-9355. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. Anti-gay amendment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An amendment to the US Constitution that would ban gay marriage was introduced a couple of weeks ago in the House of Representatives. I don't know if the amendment has any chance of success but the religious right has been touting it for awhile now. I would treat this as serious, folks, so do what you can to let your representatives know how damaging such a law would be. Here is PlanetOut's coverage of the amendment: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/po/20020516/co_po/group_calls_f or_federal_ban_on_gay_marriage Contact your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm Contact your US House Member: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. Review in the Indianapolis Star ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to Rita Rose and the Indianapolis Star for this great review! May 12, 2002 Humor remains a staple on Jamie Anderson's "Listen" Rita Rose You can always count on Jamie Anderson to trip your chuckleometer. No matter how many poignant ballads or songs about social issues she packs into her albums, there's always a couple of tunes drenched in wry humor. On "Listen," the first is "Potato Chips," which is more about sensuality than snack food: "Oh salty morsels, here in the dark/ I'll savor them slowly, oh my beating heart / Give me salt and vinegar, sour cream and chive / I like to lick them, they make me feel alive." Another funny, "I Miss the Dog," is about lost love (sort of): "I want to pet that cute furry head / Even if she's rolled in something dead / I miss the dog more than I miss you." More subtle but still rife with innuendo is "(I Wanna) Drive," a clever, grinding tune about love-as-vehicle. Anderson counterbalances the fun stuff with the anti-gun message in "Fourteen," based on a true story in which a teen-age boy is shot dead by a friend; "Forever Family," about lesbian parents; and "A Love This True," a testimony to gay marriage. Anderson writes or co-writes nearly all of her material and accompanies herself on acoustic or electric guitar. She bulks up this CD with other musicians on percussion, bass and background vocals, including Indiana's Kara Barnard (electric guitar), who will appear with Anderson at the National Women's Music Festival at Muncie June 7-9. "Listen" is Jamie Anderson at her witty and solemn best; the only thing better is seeing her in concert. Three and a half stars (Star ratings: four stars, excellent; three stars, good; two stars, fair; one star, poor) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. Nickel and Dimed (On not getting by in boom-time America) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This book knocked me over. Barbara Ehreneich (a frequent contributor to The Nation, Time and a former writer for Ms.), inspired by the rhetoric around welfare reform, decided to get low wage jobs in several cities and write about her experience. What she found was eye-opening. I've worked my share of minimum wage jobs but during that period of my life, cheap housing was not too hard to find. It's so different now. This resourceful woman found herself barely able to afford a cheap motel (apartment deposits and rents were often too high to afford) while many of her co-workers slept on friend's couches, crashed with a boyfriend or slept in their cars. She writes that 59% of poor renters spend more than 50% of their income on shelter. Thirty percent is considered affordable. One of her jobs was as an "associate" at Walmart, a corporation that forbids union organizing (which is against the law) and dissuades employees from talking with each other, even on breaks. I could go on and on but just go read the book. www.nickelanddimed.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. Tour, tour, tour (no, NOT toro toro toro) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As always, check with the venue before heading out to a show. 5/30 Cary, NC, 8 pm, Six String Cafˇ, 107 Edinburgh South, Ste. 112, 919-459-3667, www.sixstringcafe.com, with Wishing Chair, Kim Buchanan and Rachel Cross 6/6-6/9 Muncie, IN, National Women's Music Festival, 317-927-9355, www.wiaonline.org/NWMF 6/12 Carrboro, NC, Artscenter, 7 pm, Songwriters Circle class begins, www.artscenterlive.org, 919-929-2787 x 101 6/15 Portland, ME, 3 pm, South Maine Gay Pride, www.southernmainepride.org, 207-650-8219 6/20 Carrboro, NC, Artscenter, 6:30 pm, Getting Gigs workshop, www.artscenterlive.org, 919-929-2787 x 101 6/28 Fuquay-Varina, NC, 8:30 pm, Hyphen Coffeehouse, 135 S Main St., 919-567-0303, davidthecat@worldnet.att.net, http://home.att.net/~davidthecat 6/30 Cary, NC, 7 pm, Six String Cafˇ, 104 Edinburgh South, 919-459-3667, www.sixstringcafe.com, with others, benefit for Independent Animal Rescue, www.animalrescue.net 7/7 Durham, NC, Festival for the Eno, 3:45 pm River Stage, 6 pm Meadow Stage, 919-477-4549, with Wendy Brancaccio 7/26-28 Bakersville, NC, Women In Harmony, women's music camp, 803-791-7606, elainetownsendsc@yahoo.com, 8/13-18 Hart, MI, Michigan Women's Music Festival, 510-652-5441, www.michfest.com 9/5 Pensacola, FL, WUWF concert, Pensacola Museum of Commerce, 6:30 pm, with others, www.wuwf.org, joe@wuwf.org, www.radiolive.org 9/6 Tupelo, MS, 7:30 pm, Mocha and Music at Starting Over Coffeehouse, 499 Glouster Creek Village, 662-840-6587 9/21 Los Angeles, CA, John Ansen Ford Theater, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, www.lacountyarts.org/ford.html, 323-461-3673, StandoutProd@aol.com, opening for Kate Clinton 10/4 New York City, NY, Sun Music, with Wishing Chair 10/5 Syracuse, NY, Happy Endings Cafˇ, with Wishing Chair 10/6 Ithaca, NY, 7 pm, Common Ground, 1230 Danby Rd., www.ithacacommonground.com, 607-273-1503, with Wishing Chair 10/9 Kingston, NY, West Strand Grill, 50 Abeel St., gr8dame@msn.com, with Wishing Chair 10/11 Philadelphia, PA, Tin Angel, with Tret Fure 10/12 Burlington, VT, Burlington Coffeehouse, opening for Wishing Chair 10/15 Bethlehem, NH, 8 pm, Highlands Inn, 603-869-3978, vacation@highlandsinn-nh.com, www.highlandsinn-nh.com 10/20 Alexandria, VA Nov/DecSouthwest 2003: February, west coast; April/May midwest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9. The ending quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times." - G.W. Bush, Tokyo, February 18, 2002 "I really didn't say everything I said." - Yogi Berra -- Jamie Jamie Anderson Singer - Songwriter - Parking Lot Attendant *** Touring nationally for over a decade *** http://www.jamieanderson.com http://www.mp3.com/jamieanderson 4201 University Dr., Ste. 102, Durham, NC, 27707 tsunamiinc@aol.com Order Jamie's recordings! Goldenrod: www.goldenrod.com Ladyslipper: 800-634-6044, or www.ladyslipper.org Harmony Ridge: www.hrmusic.com