NEWS edition, March 25, ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC NEWS 2009

.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
.
"Tied to the Tracks"
ACOUSTIC AMERICANA
MUSIC NEWS
.
NEWS FEATURES edition for March 25, 2009
.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
copyright (c) © 2009, Larry Wines. All rights reserved.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
.
.
This big edition brings lots of fresh news for artists and acoustic music fans alike!
.
.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
.
WELCOME to the ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC NEWS, our news feature companion to the ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE (the enormous annotated calendar). HERE, you’ll find news ranging from the immediately useful to the merely informative, from gig opportunities and festival deadlines to early bird discounts, from venue openings and closings to career tips, and hot tips for acoustic music fans.
.
The Acoustic Americana Music Guide with frequently updated posts of upcoming events, is available at http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com and various other places around the web. We no longer publish the Guide or the News on our Myspace page, because Myspace has made changes that limit the size of posts; it’s far too time-consuming and ponderous to post things there in a series of small pieces.
+
Our myspace site, www.myspace.com/laacoustic is still the place to go for news of the syndicated “Tied to the Tracks” radio show.
.
LATEST NEWS FEATURES always post separate from the Acoustic Americana Music Guide; see the Guide for an annotated calendar of all the current and upcoming acoustic music performances, workshops, seminars, and more, in the Los Angeles region, and festivals everywhere.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
COMMUNICATE WITH US about anything related to the Acoustic Music Guide & News, or “Tied to the Tracks,” at tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com.
+
PLEASE DON’T SEND US ANYTHING THROUGH MYSPACE EMAIL. It’s esoteric, can’t be auto-forwarded into a “real” email account, and we just can’t keep up with it. So, communicate through the above address.
.
.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC NEWS
MARCH 25, 2009 EDITION
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
.
.
*** IF YOU’D LIKE TO RECEIVE A NOTICE when we update the Acoustic Americana Music Guide, and when we publish fresh NEWS editions, send your email address to tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com - don’t worry, we won’t sell or distribute your address.
.
///\\\///\\\
.
In this edition:
+
1) Our FEATURE STORY:
THE CYBER ACOUSTIC FUTURE (IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)
.
2) PETE SEEGER’S 90th BIRTHDAY IS THE SHOW OF THE YEAR
.
3) INDIE MUSIC TRIUMPHANT: NEKO CASE DEBUTS AT #3 ON BILLBOARD
.
4) L.A. INDIE FIDDLER BEATS ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS
.
5) HELP FOR PETER CASE (PLIMSOULS) AFTER HEART SURGERY
.
6) SANTA CRUZ RIVER BAND MAKES URGENT APPEAL
.
7) MEMORIAL FOR JOHN CEPHAS, GREAT BLUESMAN, AT THE SMITHSONIAN
.
8) CALL FOR CONTESTANTS AND VOLUNTEERS FOR TOPANGA BANJO-FIDDLE
.
9) THIS WEEK: GUITAR DAY FOR NATIONAL BOYS & GIRLS CLUB WEEK
.
10) FILM, STAGE & SHOWBIZ EXPO in NYC; REGISTER TO ATTEND FOR FREE
.
11) LIVED (OR FROM) ELSEWHERE? “ACTIVE ARTS®” WANTS YOUR STORY
.
12) STUDENTS: SUMMER AT GRAMMY FOUNDATION®'s GRAMMY CAMP®
.
13) FACEBOOK TARGETED BY DANGEROUS MALWARE
.
14) L.A. VENUE AVAILABLE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE, COMPOSERS & WRITERS
.
15) “GETTING YOUR SH*T TOGETHER: …CAREER BOOTCAMP FOR ARTISTS”
.
16) ZYDECO DANCE THURSDAYS RETURN TO GOLDEN SAILS, LONG BEACH
.
17) “KATHRYN GRIMM FOR BURMA” VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
.
18) FREE BANJO GIG BAG IF YOU BUY A BANJO THIS MONTH FROM DEERING
.
19) WESTERN / COWBOY MUSIC & POETRY GROUP GETS SITE ON MULTIPLY
.
20) AW, %#*@! WE MISSED IT!
.
21) MAIN STREET SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE (MSSS) ON HIATUS
.
22) “THE SECRET MUSEUM OF THE AIR” WITH CITIZEN KAFKA & PAT CONTE
.
23) OUR MAILBAG
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
This edition’s FEATURE STORY
.
1) THE CYBER ACOUSTIC FUTURE (IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)
.
For some time now, we’ve offered the observation that the entire Britney Lohan thing is soooo over, and that for a long time, everybody has known it except Big Music. We’ve presented news and statistics of how, in the Los Angeles area alone, live performances of roots / folk-Americana / acoustic Americana / and acoustic renaissance music overwhelmingly outnumber live music performances in ALL other genres, combined.
+
But you sure wouldn’t know that from listening to the radio, especially in L.A.
+
What is the face of music’s future? With a few notable exceptions, it’s indie - the independent, not-on-a-major-label musicians. That’s where artful music-making comes first and business is a necessary externality to enable it.
+
Why? Because the alternative is Big Music - the big corporate record labels and the centrally-programmed, over-consolidated, commercial radio industry where business trumps art. It is a sluggish beast that is unable to adapt, and unwilling to risk trying anything it isn’t already doing (except to recklessly try to control things it doesn’t understand, but thinks might be a threat). Collectively, the incestuous partners of Big Music - big labels and corporate radio - have simply lost the ability to find / sign / present the best of the talented musicians who write and perform original music.
+
The corporate label side of Big Music is all about grinding out more of the same, like sausages. And making sure that none of it is “too good” (an exact quote we’ve heard repeatedly from industry insiders). They can’t risk anything being too good. If you’re dumbfounded with a bunch of “whys,” their business model is simple: if the only product they present is not memorable, then it has a short shelf life, people tire of it, and Big Music can sell you more unmemorable stuff with a quick turnaround time. After all, the corporate labels won’t sign anyone who does anything else, so where could you hear anything but what they know how to market to you? Except that the number of people who are buying that stuff is an ever-diminishing market share.
+
As for the corporate radio side of Big Music, anyone can tell you that radio is ruled by payola (regardless of what they call it, it’s payola) and it has all but sacrificed its once-key role in helping you find good stuff.
+
The only great questions for the average music fan are, how do I find: (1) music that I’ll like, (2) music that I might part with some bucks to buy, to have it whenever I want to hear it, (3) new (and previous) music by those same artists, once I’ve found them, (4) music by others who are as good as the artists that thrill me, since it’s increasingly unlikely I’ll turn on the radio and ever find anyone who thrills me?
+
The nebulous answer that’s often given is, the web. But let’s get real. CD Baby alone has about a half-million different CDs. If you take the approach of the 99-cent single-song download, multiply those half-a-million albums by 13, the average number of tracks on an album. That’s over six-and-a-half-million tunes, and at an average length of three and a half minutes per track, you would need to listen continuously for more than 43 years to hear each of them once.
+
And, with all that variety, Big Music can’t find anything to offer but sh-thump-thud, revolving-door-rehab, pop-tart-du-jour crap.
+
Some music fans seek input, even guidance, from music journalists. On behalf of myself and colleagues I know and don’t know, we are all humbly grateful that you have at least a passing regard for what we do, whether that’s in print or on the web. Not one of us is able to explore more than the tip of the tip of a very few icebergs. And as Big Music melts down, having lost control of their environment, their once unified ice pack continues to fragment more and more, filling the musical sea with ever-increasing numbers of those bergs.
+
A new paradigm is overdue. We once thought that it would be satellite radio, but the Sirius / XM merger and the subsequent business failure of that monopoly of an entire medium doesn’t look good.
+
There IS something that would almost certainly supplant everything else, the way the telephone supplanted the telegraph. It requires the next great leap in cyber technology. What we envision offers profit potential so great, for somebody, that it can’t be all that far in the future. That next great leap will be the ability to receive streaming internet radio in your car, and on any portable device, in real time.
+
Yes, we do wonder if the entrenched powers-that-be might attempt to block it or price it out of existence with fees so high that no one can pay them - unless the content presenters of new-cyber accept the old status quo model of presenting only what is propelled by Big Music payola.
+
Currently, presenting music on web radio requires making royalty payments based on the number of listeners. The more popular your show, the more it costs to webcast it. That’s why nearly all web radio offers only indie music, for which the artists have signed waivers, declining their rights for publishing and performance royalties. But if a web-based show plays an indie doing a Bob Dylan cover, or Willie Nelson singing his own song, royalty payment demands are forthcoming. And don’t expect those iconic artists to sign waivers. They can’t. Their Big Music labels won’t allow it.
+
That, together with its limited portability, has produced the dirty little secret of web radio: its programs each have tiny numbers of listeners. That’s directly determined by their content creators’ inability to pay royalties necessary to offer familiar touchstones to listeners - iconic artists and iconic songs. The icons are (or were) all on big labels when they had hits, and the labels own the publishing rights.
+
The average person quickly finds web radio a bewildering sea of the unfamiliar, lacking all navigational aids. Even if you hear something you really like, four unfamiliar songs later and you’ve forgotten the name of that unfamiliar artist and the name of that unfamiliar song. That state of continuous terra incognita, together with lack of portability, are, it seems, asking too much of the average person.
+
But everything could change with in-your-car reception, where listeners would choose between commercial broadcast radio’s nineteen minutes per hour of commercials and clutter, or unknown indies on a deep niche channel of Live 365. The choice is made easier with your car’s Garvin or a similar satellite traffic monitor, since you don’t need a pushbutton search of local radio to find alternate routes that avoid SIG alerts.
+
Web radio in your car will change everything. Unless Big Music prepositions itself to get control and ruin it. And if they do, internet music broadcasting will simply “move” to North Korea and Cuba, beyond the tentacles of the octopus. After all, once it’s on the web, you can get it, regardless of its origin.
+
Think of it. You will be able to easily hear music that will again be listenable, with melody lines and harmonies and meaningful lyrics. The next pop stars will be more like the current singular aberrations. More like Nora Jones or Alison Krauss. Bye-bye pop tarts and intentionally-disposable thud-thud-thud and poster children for bad behavior.
+
Once truly portable web radio technology arrives, everyone will demand it. In another year or two, we might all be listening to acoustic pop from artists you’ve never heard of (what a concept: musical ARTISTS), from youthful new ones like Skeyler Kole (www.myspace.com/skyelerkole), to plenty who are accomplished but hard to find, like Stephanie Bettman (www.stephaniebettman) and Nicole Gordon (www.nicolegordon.net) and Marina V (www.MarinaV.com) and Kat Parsons (www.katparsons.com). And we haven’t even gotten to the bands or the duets or the male solo artists. They’re all out there, struggling to have their music heard. Before long, maybe they will. This whole cyber thing can yet redeem itself.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
2) PETE SEEGER’S 90th BIRTHDAY IS THE SHOW OF THE YEAR
.
On May 3, PETE SEEGER, the musician / social-activist / performing songwriter / song collector / environmental pioneer / beloved icon of folk culture and so much more, will reach the age of 90. Fittingly, a show in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, THE show, will honor him with performances by an astonishing lineup.
+
Tickets just went on sale in mid-March for “PETE SEEGER’S 90th BIRTHDAY - A SING-ALONG CELEBRATION” in Madison Square Garden on May 3. Playing this amazing concert are PETE SEEGER, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, DAVE MATTHEWS, EDDIE VEDDER, JOHN MELLENCAMP, JUANES, ANI DIFRANCO, ARLO GUTHRIE, BELA FLECK, BEN BRIDWELL, BEN HARPER, BILLY BRAGG, BILLY NERSHI, BRUCE COCKBURN, EMMYLOU HARRIS, JOAN BAEZ, KELLER WILLIAMS, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, MICHAEL FRANTI, PATTERSON HOOD, PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND WITH DEL MCCOURY, RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOT, RICHIE HAVENS, STEVE EARLE, TAJ MAHAL, TOM MORELLO, WARREN HAYNES, ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW QUARTET, BERNICE JOHNSON REAGON, DAR WILLIAMS, GUY DAVIS, JAY UNGAR & MOLLY MASON, KATE & ANNA MCGARRIGLE, LARRY LONG, MIKE & RUTHY, NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURAL ALLIANCE, NYC LABOR CHORUS, SCARLET MOORE, SILVIO RODRIGUEZ, TAO RODRIGUEZ-SEEGER, TOM CHAPIN, TOM PAXTON, TOMMY SANDS, TONY TRISCHKA, & TOSHI REAGON.
+
All proceeds benefit the Hudson River Sloop “Clearwater.” Pete Seeger founded the effort to clean up the Hudson River when it had deteriorated to an open industrial sewer. The Clearwater was built as the key symbol and vehicle of the message, a mission that it continues today. Can you imagine Pete Seeger doing this concert for anything but a cause he has carried for much of his life? Much more on the concert and Pete at www.seeger90.com
+
Meanwhile, those of us on the Left Coast don’t need to wish we were in New York that night. Simultaneous with the East Coast show will be the “PETE SEEGER 90th BIRTHDAY SHOW” May 3 at the UCLA Labor Center in MacArthur Park, co-produced with Dana Charnofsky’s “Concerts in Harmony.” Dana tells us it will be “Half ‘our’ music and Seeger sing-alongs, and half world music (Latino) plus some spoken word.” More when we know it.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
3) INDIE MUSIC TRIUMPHANT: NEKO CASE DEBUTS AT #3 ON BILLBOARD
.
Neko Case's “Middle Cyclone,” on the indie label Anti-Records, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200, the highest debut this year by an independent release on Billboard's main album chart. That’s not all. “Middle Cyclone” hit #1 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart. Case's strong showing followed her recent TV appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on NBC and “The Tavis Smiley Show” on PBS, as well as widespread critical acclaim for the new album. Her last album, 2006's “Fox Confessor Brings The Flood,” debuted that year at #52 on the Billboard Top 200.
+
Case kicks-off a national tour March 31 at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, TX, and she is scheduled to perform on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS, April 15.
+
Critics are raving about Neko Case and “Middle Cyclone.” Some examples?
"Her voice is a force of nature." - The New York Times Magazine; "The best album of her career by a generous margin." - The New Yorker; "One of the most memorable and seductive voices in music." - NPR; "Indie's greatest singer." - Rolling Stone; "America may need Neko Case's back-to-nature fantasias more than ever." Rating: 9 out of 10 - Spin Magazine. More at www.myspace.com/nekocase
+
But don’t expect the big labels, or the rest of Big Music, to suddenly “get it.” They’ll just dismiss this as yet another aberration, a hiccup in the niche markets - even as they shuffle the deck chairs on their Titanic.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
4) L.A. INDIE FIDDLER BEATS ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS
.
Great things are happening for STEPHANIE BETTMAN & THE BOYS since they played their radio debut on “Tied to the Tracks,” and the radio show brought world premiere airplay of advance tracks from their album, “Get Close to Me.” Fiddle wizard Stephanie tells us, “Yours truly was chosen in the Top Ten of Folkworks 2008 ‘Best L.A. Female Singer-Songwriters’ - AND a DJ down in New Zealand made my album ‘Album of the Week.’”
+
Here is the New Zealand DJ’s quote: "How can such a classy performer go wrong with quality moments channelling Emmylou? My album of the week ... without question." - Eddie O’Strange, Town & Country, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
+
Stephanie describes the biggest thing so far, “As if that weren't enough, news has it that my album, ‘Get Close To Me,’ has charted at #8 on the Folk DJ chart, and my track, ‘Evening Prayer Blues,’ came in at number #6 - I BEAT ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS! Now, I suppose, I can die.”
+
Yikes, Stephanie! Can we forget the last six words?
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
5) HELP FOR PETER CASE (PLIMSOULS) AFTER HEART SURGERY
.
He’s performed live twice on radio’s “Tied to the Tracks,” and delighted many with his myriad of music projects. On January 15, 2009, three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter-guitarist PETER CASE underwent emergency open-heart surgery. The surgery was successful and he is now embarked on a long program of recovery. Peter is not ill and is expected to make a full recovery. But the medical bills associated with this necessary surgery and recovery are, and will continue to be, very high. And, like all too many talented working artists, Peter does not have medical insurance.
+
There are three ways for you to help: (1) donations to Peter’s medical relief fund; (2) purchase of tix for the upcoming benefit concert; (3) purchase of an excellent 3-CD album. Details follow.
+
“HIDDEN LOVE MEDICAL RELIEF” is an effort by Peter’s friends, fans and fellow artists to help alleviate the burden of these mounting medical bills so that Peter can recover, get back and focus on what he does best – writing and performing his songs. No one involved with Hidden Love is going to make money on this endeavor. That's not the point. All money raised through this effort and the “Hidden Love Benefit Concert,” now being organized, will be applied to Peter’s medical expenses.
+
The idea behind Hidden Love is that acts of Love – big or small – are often Hidden. We – and you – are doing this because we care for Peter and for his work and feel deeply that, at the end of the day, we need to take care of each other. There’s info about Peter’s condition, the story to date, and links for the Hidden Love Medical Relief Fund, at http://hiddenlovemedicalrelief.com
+
News on “The Hidden Love Benefit Concert” will be posted at that site as details are announced. Prior to the concert, tix will be available on the site.
+
Meantime, all donations of $35 and higher will receive the Peter Case tribute CD, “A Case for Case,” the 3-disc, 47-song collection of some of music's most talented artists performing Peter Case's songs (heard on “TttT”). Copies of the 3-CD set are graciously being donated by “Hungry for Music,” a non-profit organization dedicated to providing instruments and musical instruction to children. Donations and concert tix purchases are separate transactions; you won’t get confused, because they are separate links on the website. Either way, you’re helping a fine musician in a time of need that is all-too-understandable to a great many of us with no medical insurance.
.
///\\\///\\\
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
6) SANTA CRUZ RIVER BAND MAKES URGENT APPEAL
.
You’ve heard MICHAEL RONSTADT, TED RAMIREZ, and their Tucson-based SANTA CRUZ RIVER BAND perform live several times on radio’s “Tied to the Tracks,” where they earned a “Listener Favorite.” Many of you remember the band’s bass player, ARTHUR MISCIONE, and have heard Arthur's music on SCRB recordings. Michael and Ted say, “Arthur was a very special member of the Santa Cruz River Band. He joined as a bass player in 1999, and performed and toured exclusively with the group for five years. Arthur was known for his fine musicianship and his wonderful sense of humor, as well for his deep sense of compassion.”
+
Arthur was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after returning from the 2005 SCRB European tour, and he died of lung cancer on Good Friday the following year.
+
Very recently, a young family member of Arthur's has endured a very serious and difficult situation. Care for this family member's recovery is very costly, and is not covered by the family's insurance. The immediate family is facing the challenge of covering the expense, and requires further resources in meeting the full amount.
+
In efforts to embrace and support Arthur's family in all ways that they can, The Santa Cruz River Band has organized two efforts.
+
First, they are planning a benefit concert, at an early date in Tucson, for Arthur's family. (Details when we have them.)
+
Second, the band has established a donation fund on the SCRB website on behalf of Arthur's family. They are asking all who have enjoyed their music to go to a special donation page on the Santa Cruz River Band website and help: http://santacruzriverband.com/donate.html
+
For further information, contact Ted Ramirez - ted@santacruzriverband.com or Michael J. Ronstadt. mike@santacruzriverband.com

The band says, “Thank you very much for considering our appeal, and for your love and encouragement of Arthur and his family these past years. As always, good friends, we are grateful for your friendship, love and support wherever we are!”
+
More at www.santacruzriverband.com
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
7) MEMORIAL FOR JOHN CEPHAS, GREAT BLUESMAN, AT THE SMITHSONIAN
.
On Sunday, March 29, from 1-3 pm, a memorial service will be held for John Cephas in the Baird Auditorium at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, at 10th and Constitution, NW in Washington, DC. John Cephas passed away March 4, 2009. The memorial service will honor him and his great contribution to Piedmont Blues, and all are welcome. To celebrate his life, a House Party Jam will follow immediately after at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, located at 400 I Street SW, Washington, DC. Musicians are encouraged to bring instruments and play, as that was John's wish.
+
John Cephas & Phil Wiggins - CEPHAS & WIGGINS - were leading exponents of the Piedmont Blues – specifically the Piedmont-style guitar, featuring alternating thumb and finger, with the thumb creating a steady, loping bass as the melody is simultaneously picked-out on the treble strings. The two met in 1977 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., where Cephas was playing in the band of pianist Big Chief Ellis and Wiggins was accompanying gospel singer-guitarist Flora Melton. Along with pianist Wilber “Big Chief” Ellis and bassist James Bellamy, John and Phil formed the Barrelhouse Rockers. A year after Ellis’ death, the duo of Cephas & Wiggins was born.
+
Almost immediately after the two musicians joined forces, the blues community proclaimed them as the new champions of the East Coast Piedmont style of blues, first popularized by artists like Blind Boy Fuller, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake. After teaming up, they toured the world, including the former Soviet Union, where they were the first Americans to perform at the Russian National Folk Festival in Moscow. In 1987, they were awarded the “W.C. Handy Blues Entertainers of the Year” and “Best Traditional Album of the Year.”
+
After hundreds of concerts at major festivals, concert halls and colleges (not to mention the many workshops the two conducted), Cephas & Wiggins continued to bring energetic good times to each performance, winning new fans everywhere they went. They have performed in living rooms, where their audience was only a handful of people, and in front of thousands, at blues festivals all over the world. They even entertained at President Clinton’s inaugural party in 1997.
+
To Cephas & Wiggins, the blues lyric was the poetry of the African-American experience. Said Cephas, “The blues is a creation of black people in communities all across this country when times were hard. It was a way of expression, an outlet, and it’s had so much impact. Blues music is truth. The lyrics are true-to-life experiences that people everywhere can relate to.”
+
“People automatically think of sadness and depression when they think of blues. But the blues is uplifting music, music to rejuvenate you, to nourish the spirit. When you get down, the blues will pick you up again. Blues is nourishment for the human spirit,” says Wiggins.
+
They chose their repertoire carefully, not only for musical impact, but also to highlight the cultural and historical content of their genre. Their concert performances evoked life in the post-Reconstruction South. Hard work, celebration, joy, and struggle are all there. A verse that may sound like a straightforward love song may contain an allusion to African tribal culture or the indignities of racism or an optimistic assertion of a better future. Cephas & Wiggins provided their audiences with a very special treat – a powerful and intelligent performance of a wonderful, American treasure - the blues.
+
"Blues music is truth. The lyrics are true-to-life experiences that people everywhere can relate to.” - John Cephas.
+
Thanks to harmonica virtuoso Gary Allegretto for giving us the news. To learn more about JOHN CEPHAS, extraordinary gentleman and National Heritage Award winning Bluesman, go to www.cephasandwiggins.net.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
8) CALL FOR CONTESTANTS AND VOLUNTEERS FOR TOPANGA BANJO-FIDDLE
.
Entry deadline is April 4 for all contestants in the 49th Annual TOPANGA BANJO-FIDDLE CONTEST & FOLK FESTIVAL. The event returns to the Paramount Ranch, Santa Monica Mountains National Park, in Agoura Hills, CA, on May 17, 2009.
+
TIME GROWS SHORT to register for your 15 minutes (well ok – 3 minutes - 5 for Bands) of FAME. The event’s website has information on many of the wonderful things that happen May 17. It’s the place to download the CONTESTANT ENTRY FORM.
+
Don’t dawdle. Get it online, print it, and get it into the mail. Registration ONLY via U.S. Mail. Registrations accepted based on postmark when a category becomes full. BAND CATEGORY OPEN as more band contestant numbers have been added.

Become a volunteer for free admission. Contestant Registration and Volunteering coordinated to avoid conflicts

NEW THIS YEAR: SAVE BY Purchasing General Admission Tickets with Contestant Registration or through our website AT http://www.topangabanjofiddle.org/purchase_tix.html

I'm looking for someone with a willing heart and soaring spirit to assist me (not take my job as I absolutely love it w-a-y too much, the day of the Contest. Free tickets, free t-shirt, free food and great vantage point to hear all the contestants. Contact Joy Felt, Registrar, at registrar@topangabanjofiddle.org or call 818-382-4819 and leave a message. Other email questions can be sent to info@topangabanjofiddle.org
+
The line-up of performers and activities, the Contestant Registration Form, and Volunteer Questionnaire, are all available at www.topangabanjofiddle.org
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
9) THIS WEEK: GUITAR DAY FOR NATIONAL BOYS & GIRLS CLUB WEEK
.
Word arrived from the Antelope Valley, north of the L.A. Basin, of something you may want to support, or emulate in your area. The week of March 22nd is National Boys & Girls Club week. Each day of the week there are different activities for the kids.
+
Jack Miller, president of the Antelope Valley Guitar Society (www.avgs.freezoka.com), tells us, ”The Antelope Valley Guitar Society is hosting a guitar day (2-6 pm) that week (The exact day is not set in stone yet) and are looking for volunteers to provide guitar seminars and performances for the Boys & Girls Club youths for that day. I am trying to establish one-hour seminars of various playing styles to provide a variety of music exposure to the youths. If you are available for a day that week to participate, please email me at AvGuitarSociety@yahoo.com. This will be a local media event as well. Additionally, Antelope Valley Guitar Society will be coordinating a guitar lesson program where Guitar Classes will be taught to these youths for 1 hour a week and are looking for volunteers to donate their time for this program.”
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
10) FILM, STAGE & SHOWBIZ EXPO in NYC; REGISTER TO ATTEND FOR FREE
.
It’s on Sun, Mar 29, 10 am-6 pm, and yes, it’s in New York, at the NYC Hilton Hotel, 54th & Avenue of the Americas. They tell us, “If you are IN the showbiz industry, you should be at this huge Film, Stage & ShowBiz Expo. More at www.TheShowBizExpo.com
+
It’s “a free, five-star event that brings everyone in the Entertainment Industry (film makers, production companies, studios, producers, directors, designers, company/general managers, editors, cinematographers, crew, musicians, etc.) together under one roof.” This is the only event of its kind that simultaneously offers exhibitors, industry workshops (ranging from producers panels to casting directors to festivals), HeadShot Lane, Movie Reel Showcase, Designer’s Showcase, Project Boards, Focus Groups, Networking Round Tables, actual casting calls, and networking opportunities in a professional all-entertainment related trade show venue.”
+
Register to attend for free at www.moviemaker.com/mailinglist/lt.php?id=N0sEClBUBwcGABoEAwJPBwlTA1w%3D
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
11) LIVED (OR FROM) ELSEWHERE? “ACTIVE ARTS®” WANTS YOUR STORY
.
March 30, 2009, is the submission deadline. Active Arts® at the Los Angeles Music Center invites participation in “L.A. Storytellers: My Journey, My Rights.” They are encouraging public participation in an upcoming program/exhibit. They tell us, “We’re looking for story submissions about human and immigration rights from the public for our annual program ‘LA Storytellers.’ This year’s theme is, ‘Journeys Toward Justice: Capturing the Stories of Human Rights in the Context of Migration.’ The selected stories will be displayed at an open house public event in May.
+
Share Your Story”
Have you lived in another city or country?
Were your human rights challenged during your journeys?
Did you witness anything that changed your perception of human rights?
How have these experiences shaped you, living in Los Angeles?
+
Now in its third year, L.A. Storytellers is a unique gathering and sharing opportunity for Angelenos to exchange life stories, vivid memories, oral histories, and engaging experiences. This year, as part of the “International Day of Sharing Life Stories,” L.A. Storytellers invites you to tell your life stories and experiences around this year's theme. Human rights / immigrant rights life stories are accepted in all languages and can be submitted in writing, audio, video or by photo essay (they ask that you provide English translation). You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Selected stories will be shared at the L.A. Storytellers open house public event / exhibit on May 16. More on L.A. Storytellers at www.musiccenter.org//events/aa_lastory.html
+
Submission due by Mar 30, at www.musiccenter.org/cgi-bin/hforms/forms.cgi?form=963
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
12) STUDENTS: SUMMER AT GRAMMY FOUNDATION®'s GRAMMY CAMP®
.
March 31 is deadline to apply for “Summer with The Grammy®s 5th Annual Grammy Camp®”, a unique summer program held at the University Of Southern California that brings teens together with outstanding artists and music industry professionals. Grammy Camp® allows high school students from across the US to work, learn and play with a variety of top music industry professionals. Past teaching artists include singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, producer Warryn Campbell, recording artist Brandi Carlile, Grammy® Award-winning songwriter-producer-recording artist Lamont Dozier, multi- Grammy®-winning group Earth, Wind & Fire, DJ Faust, multi- Grammy®-winning producer David Foster; four-time Grammy® winner and Recording Academy Chair / Grammy Foundation® and MusiCares® board member Jimmy Jam, singer-songwriter Josh Kelley, saxophonist and radio host Dave Koz, songwriter-producer-recording artist Jeff Lorber, multi- Grammy®-winning producer Manny Marroquin, recording artist Jesse McCartney, Minor Productions Inc. President/CEO and "American Idol" music director Rickey Minor, multi- Grammy®-winning group Ozomatli, Recording Academy Grammy Foundation® and MusiCares® President/CEO Neil Portnow, DJ Shortee, Grammy®-winning guitarist Steve Vai, Sublime bassist Eric Wilson, and Grammy®-winning film composer Hans Zimmer.
+
The “5th Annual Grammy Camp®” offers 75 selected high school students a nine-day interactive residential summer music experience. Focusing on all aspects of commercial music, this unique opportunity provides instruction by industry professionals in “an immersive creative environment with cutting-edge technology in professional facilities.” Grammy Camp® is sponsored in part by Epiphone Guitar (www.epiphone.com).
+
Online application and more info are available at www.grammyintheschools.com in the Grammy Camp® section or at www.tinyurl.com/grammycampfacebook. Financial assistance is available to qualified students. Student deadline to apply is March 31, 2009; School Counselor deadline to apply is April 30, 2009. Grammy Camp® runs July 11-19, 2009 at the USC Thornton School of Music, in downtown L.A. 90089; portions of Grammy Camp® take place at other professional venues throughout Los Angeles.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
13) FACEBOOK TARGETED BY DANGEROUS MALWARE
.
If you use Facebook, you should read the news from the techies who monitor Yahoo Groups for Yahoo. It’s “Koobface, Other Worms Target Facebook Friends,” and you can find it at http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nf/20090305/tc_nf/65095
+
Thanks to VICKI BLANKENSHIP (spottedkivaproductions@yahoo.com) who posted that info and the following on the Indiegrrl web group. This may serve as a guide for how you want to handle this if you have a Facebook account: “Important yahoo news report about viruses running rampant on Facebook. I experienced one of these attempts through the Indiegrrl facebook network so please beware. For now I am shutting down and deleting all of the little applications to poke friends, race friends, send things to little gardens, etc. So for now don't be insulted if I don't accept a drink or an angel or don't race you with my little scooter or join your cause. But will continue to network and post opportunities on the site.”
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
14) L.A. VENUE AVAILABLE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE, COMPOSERS & WRITERS
.
Browsing the AMP (Artists Meeting Place and Resource Collective) site (http://pluginamp.com/network), we ran across this from G.F. Mlely, from Mar 23:
+
“Locally in LA, as we all know, there's no off-off bdwy scene for new theater work-outs to occur. There's now an ongoing venue in the heart of Hollywood offering space to present unknown musical theatre, showcase ops for 10- to 45-minute pieces. These can be excerpts, a 1st reading-singing, the like; can allow for audience feedback, to test how well an untried and previously unstaged musical work works.
+
“The location is an open, fairly large jazz room, a bar and grill with a grand piano and small riser stage and sound system. The music doesn't have to be jazz, but it has to be original and interesting musically. The room easily seats 75 with tables and booths, and has held over 100. Singers regularly gather there to perform.
+
“There's no budget at present, but there's the potential for it. Composers and writers will have to provide their own casts. The opportunity is there to invite producers.”
Interested parties contact Billie Jay-Kalua at projects@jazcraft.net
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
15) “GETTING YOUR SH*T TOGETHER: …CAREER BOOTCAMP FOR ARTISTS”
.
Okay, so they actually claim to be “the ultimate Career Bootcamp for Artists.” Registration is now underway for the Spring Semester’s “Getting Your Sh*t Together (GYST)…” workshop, at The Eagle Rock Center for The Arts. They tell us, “If you are anywhere the L.A. area and are looking to kick-start your art career, get organized, and learn just about everything it takes to make it in the art world, then this class is just what you've been looking for.” They add, “Sign up today, this class fills up very fast.”
+
Created by artist, curator, and CalArts professor Karen Atkinson, GYST is a workshop for emerging artists, and for artists who've been "emerging" longer than they expected. Karen says, “Over 400 artists have graduated from GYST since 2002 and their continued success and contributions to the art world are what gives GYST such a great reputation. GYST teaches you the business stuff you should have learned in art school, but didn't. GYST values self-sufficiency and presents you with information, skills, and strategies to make things happen without necessarily waiting around for some arbiter of culture to validate your work. We're not concerned with producing slick, commercialized artists, nor is this some new age, touchy-feely ‘find your inner artist’ crap. GYST is a program for artists, by artists that will teach you bare-knuckled, practical strategies for negotiating the baffling terrain of the contemporary art world. Over 8-weeks, you'll create and refine your ‘presentation package,’ artist statement, bio, resume, portfolio, and more, with the full editorial and technical support of GYST staff. GYST culminates with Curator Speed Dating. Get real-world feedback on your portfolio and proposals from some of the area's hottest curators. Past curators have been LA Times Art Critic David Pagel, LACE Director Carol Stakenaus, and Christopher Russell from the Getty Research Institute. Students get a complimentary copy of the new GYST software, which usually retails for $150. The MAC and PC based program is packed with all the organizing tools and information resources every artist needs.”
+
The class runs Mondays, 7-9 pm, April 20-June 8, plus the “Curator Review,” one session, 10 am-2 pm, on Saturday, June 13. The Center is located at 2225 Eagle Rock Bl, L.A. 90041 (Eagle Rock is a far-flung part of the City of L.A.) More on the Center at
www.centerartseaglerock.org
+
To register, call the Center For The Arts, in Eagle Rock, at 323-226-1617. More info online at www.gyst-ink.com/services/workshops.php#enroll or email tucker@gyst-ink.com. Tuition is $250.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
16) ZYDECO DANCE THURSDAYS RETURN TO GOLDEN SAILS, LONG BEACH
.
For several years, dance instructor and music booker KAREN REDDING offered a weekly zydeco dance series at the Golden Sails Hotel's Crystal Ballroom, 6285 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach. Last fall, we lost the series. Then, this month, Karen reported, “Zydeco is Back at Golden Sails.” The series returned March 3, with a special “Mardi Gras Soiree Benefit” for a fallen law enforcement officer, the Culver City Police Officer Massey Foundation. The night featured the FONTENOT PAPPION LOUISIANA BAND.
+
Now, the series includes dance instructor A.J. GIBBS some nights, and KAREN REDDING on others, on this schedule:
1st and 2nd Thursday nights, each month is zydeco dancing, and AJ teaches and hosts
3rd Thursdays, each month, the venue has a comedy night
4th Thursdays, each month is a LIVE ZYDECO BAND, and Karen teaches and hosts
5th Thursdays (when there is one), Karen says, “I'm workin' on it. Perhaps some Tex Mex? French Chanteuse? I'm thinking accordion music here. May be able to get some more live entertainment. No promises, though. More to come!”
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
17) “KATHRYN GRIMM FOR BURMA” VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
.
We’ve all seen the hellish conditions in Myanmar, the former Burma, in news coverage. L.A. blues musician KATHRYN GRIMM tells us, “My wonderful friend, Hongsar, filmed and edited this awesome video of the Good Morning School in Mae Sot Thailand when I was there teaching last November. It is set to a song I wrote about Burma, "A Better Way." You can hear the Burmese Children singing the chorus. Hope ya'll enjoy it. I think it is a treasure.” It’s at www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFoW_Cqx9f0 and you find more on Kathryn and her music at www.myspace.com/kathryngrimmband
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
18) FREE BANJO GIG BAG IF YOU BUY A BANJO THIS MONTH FROM DEERING
.
Buy any Goodtime banjo in March and the company will give you a free Deering gig bag, worth $77 retail. Offer good on orders placed through authorized participating Deering dealers or factory direct. Info at www.deeringbanjos.com
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
19) WESTERN / COWBOY MUSIC & POETRY GROUP GETS SITE ON MULTIPLY
.
Multiply allows members to post messages, event & gig alerts, add new photos, and post other information to specific genre sites. If you join, you'll be alerted whenever another member posts there. It isn’t exactly myspace for cowboys, but it is small and genre-specific, and in this case, it can make it easy to share info and stay in touch with fellow Western / Cowboy Music & Poetry site members.
+
Group description? “Everything about our heritage in Western/Cowboy Music and Poetry and all that is part of the culture.” The new western site was created by Gary Bright of RPS Recording and Entertainment Group.
+
To participate in the Western/Cowboy Music & Poetry group web page, it is necessary to register, for free, for Multiply, at http://multiply.com/i/3NmsTTCGyGdhW1EVP1lpqg
+
About Multiply: joining any of its groups requires registration on Multiply, a web site that makes it easy to keep in touch and share information with friends, family and people who share your interests, musical or otherwise. Multiply says they do not add your email address to any lists, nor will they share it with anyone at any time.
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
20) AW, %#*@! WE MISSED IT!
.
What kind of a #^><*@-g moron politician would declare a special week for something, after that week had already started? Well, the proclamation for a “Cuss-Free Week” in Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous county, wasn’t brought-up by MICHAEL ANTONOVICH on the County Board of Supervisors agenda until after the week had started. The no-cussing week was the first week of March, Sunday the 1st through Saturday the 7th.
+
Antonovich, the County’s 5th District Supervisor, was previously known mostly for naming a massive new courthouse complex after himself in Lancaster. (That’s in the county’s high-desert northern fringes, separated from the L.A. Basin by the San Gabriel Mountains.) The courthouse even holds the Antonovich family museum in its taxpayer-provided lobby.
+
Lest you think it’s simply one of those conservative-politician-on-a-moral-crusade things (and those elements are probably present), the idea for setting time aside to watch your language isn’t Antonovich’s. It’s one that comes from 15-year-old McKAY HATCH, and his “No Cussing Club” at South Pasadena High School.
+
And, lest anybody think we are in opposition to the concept, far from it. Your editor, for one, is tired of hearing the most attention-getting words in the language applied indiscriminately to anything and everything imaginable, from incongruous applications as adjectives that impart no descriptive value to whatever the intended subject might have been, to the use of what were once sexual terms that are now devoid of sexual context. As someone who works with words everyday, it’s annoying when f-bombs and other wannabe shock words litter anyone’s speech like an obstacle course or a cow pasture with objects on which you don’t want to step. It happens so often, it’s to the point that whatever was intended to be conveyed is simply lost in the, uh, clutter.
+
Some musicians, like other performers, go for the cheap laugh with expletive-laden stage banter. Ask yourself: does it add anything? Whether or not your audience feels like the intended recipient of the particular assault, the inescapable outcome is that your music becomes secondary to whatever rant or bad karma oozes or trickles down from the stage. And writing as a radio host, and increasingly, an emcee of events and festival stages, it’s one way that I know immediately if I should pass on inviting someone to participate in an event, regardless of the strength of their music, song lyrics, or other performance skills.
+
Bob Stane, founder of the world-famous Ice House (which he sold years ago) and now impresario of the Coffee Gallery Backstage, simply says, “My artists must work clean. I’m not interested in anyone who has not honed their craft to bring material that says something. Profanity is a cop-out. It simply communicates that you have nothing worthwhile to say to an audience who has paid to come and see you.”
+
So, we missed knowing in time to share, and to enable you to take part in, the proclamation of “No Cussing Week” 2009. Instead, we encourage you to establish your own. And why not try it for a month? We believe you will find value in that, as you shed the need for negative references like a snake sheds a dried-up old skin. Want proof? What if we ended this piece with: “And if you don’t think so, #@* you!” That might get a cheap laugh, but would that add to or detract from the message?
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
21) MAIN STREET SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE (MSSS) ON HIATUS
.
The popular weekly live music series faces uncertain future. It has reliably presented a different pairing of recording artists every week for years. Each featured artist plays a half-hour acoustic set, series host GARRET SWAYNE plays a few of his songs, and the evening concludes with an open mic. It’s been a successful concept that’s lasted across different owners at the venue where it’s held. But now, that venue has closed, and that closure may be temporary or permanent. Here’s the story, from host Garret Swayne, sent the day he learned the news: “This evening I learned that Café Bellissimo, which has been the home of the MainStreet Songwriters Showcase for the past 5 and a half years, has been shut down by the Los Angeles Building & Safety Department over the issue of building code violations. The owner of Café Bellissimo feels that the considerable cost of correcting these violations should rightfully be borne by his landlord, the owner of the building. However, the landlord has not taken any action. It was hoped that while this is all being worked out, Building & Safety would allow the restaurant to continue to operate. But that apparently is not to be the case. So with great regret, I have to report that [the] showcase, featuring Kim Acuna and Tracy Newman, is cancelled. And for the time being, all other showcases booked for the future are also cancelled. We have enjoyed our tenure at Cafe Bellissimo, and sincerely hope the situation will be remedied so we can return there, but for now, the MSSS is on permanent hiatus.” Keep with the status at www.myspace.com/garretswayne
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
22) “THE SECRET MUSEUM OF THE AIR” WITH CITIZEN KAFKA & PAT CONTE
.
PETER FELDMANN (Peter Feldmann & The Very Lonesome Boys) is well known in bluegrass and old-time music circles, and he publishes a newsletter that is often broader than that, at www.BlueGrassWest.com. A recent edition includes this fascinating referral:
+
“For about 3 years beginning in 2000, NYC record collector PAT CONTE held forth on radio WFMU-FM with an hourly program of old time, world, and ‘unusual & strange’ music in the Big Apple on a weekly basis. Pat, assisted by Tesla-inspired engineer CITIZEN KAFKA, came up with some very amazing shows, many theme-based, other being random walks through the world of the beautiful and the musically bizarre. Most sources were commercially recorded 78 RPM discs and field recordings. If you feel at all comfortable outside the restraints of our modern commercial pop world, try venturing to this website, which has archived most of Conte's programs. (You will need to have Real Player downloaded and installed to listen.) Suggestion: if you happen to stop by between 1 and 3 a.m., try beginning with the first program on the list, ‘Diaphonic Singing.’” It’s available at www.wfmu.org/playlists/SM
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
23) OUR MAILBAG
.
letters. . .
+
Dear Editor,
The $4 billion in bonuses I handed out in December while I was CEO at Merrill Lynch were performance bonuses. Just think how large the bonuses might have been if we didn’t go bankrupt. Besides, it was just bailout money.
Sincerely,
John A. Thain
+
Dear Editor,
Contrary to rumors being spread around the Internet, there is no truth to the rumor that because of my fancy footwork, I’ve been invited to appear on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Sincerely,
Former Sen. Larry Craig
+
Dear Editor,
After hearing former Illinois Gov. Blagojevich on the radio today, we are again reminded of all the things he has said in recent months. We can’t believe that he would have the gall to compare himself to us. We were thinking more along the lines of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew for him to evoke.
Sincerely,
Mahatma Gandi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandella
+
Dear Editor,
I object to your characterization of my enterprise as a “Ponzi” scheme. I prefer to think of it as free-market capitalism unfettered by the tyranny of government regulation.
Sincerely,
Bernard Madhoff
+
Dear Editor,
You’re right. Now that Bush and Cheney are gone from the White House and the Democrats are in control of Congress, the only people left to pick on are Rush, Bill-O and the other clowns at Faux News. On the upside, I have confidence that Bill-O and the clowns will do and say enough stupid things to keep me on the air for along time.
Sincerely,
Keith Olbermann
+
(Our thanks to Bill Hoban, Managing Editor, Sonoma Index-Tribune, for these letters.)
+
You can write to us for real, at tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com
.
.
///\\\///\\\======================================================///\\\///\\\
.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
That’s it for this edition of the Acoustic Americana Music News. We’ve heard that some of you print it out and read it on the light rail or the bus, and some of you read it on those itty bitty PDA screens. While we don’t know how anybody can do the latter, we do appreciate that you include us in your quest to be informed and entertained. Drop us a note, and let us know what you like and don’t like about what’s here, or comment on anything from this, or any past, edition. (Email address below.)
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
NEXT WEEK, or whenever we can, we’ll bring lots more NEWS features.
.
=====================
.
copyright (c) © 2009, Larry Wines. All rights reserved.
.
=====================
.
Be sure to check EVERY WEEK for
.
+ the extensive and always huge ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE’s event listings at http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com, or at www.myspace.com/laacoustic.
.
And, when we have the time to compile all of it, we’ll bring you updates of more, like:
.
+ news of the “TIED TO THE TRACKS” radio show in syndication.
.
+ the latest ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC NEWS with features from the acoustic music universe!
.
.
WANT TO CONTACT US?
tiedtothetracks@hotmail.com
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
.