December 2016 and January 2017 Newsletter
December 2016 – January 2017
‘Tis the season and it is looking like we’ll be taking a last-minute trip to Sarasota, FL for Christmas. We’ll be hanging with my in-laws and I am sure it’ll be quite a bit warmer there than in ol’ New England. This is a photo I took a couple of years ago of Hazel and Herman in their Christmas hats. I tend to re-cycle these as getting them into the hats again is always a challenge.
A New Project In the Works!
Process
On December 11, I met with drummer and musician Dave “DM” Mattacks to discuss us working together again on a new recording. DM produced and arranged my third recording, “Fond Desire Farewell” which was released in April 2009. If you are not familiar with Dave’s work, pay a visit to his website and take a look at all the musicians he has worked with over the years. “Fond Desire Farewell” brought some very nice recognition and even after almost ten years, DM still mentions it in the many media interviews he does when discussing his 50+ years as a professional musician. Working with him is always a joy and I am definitely excited about this latest project.
This is definitely happening, but when this will be released is anybody’s guess. I am one to try to let the music “cook” at it’s own pace as I feel that rushing something like this could mean a lesser quality product. I might predict that we’ll have this out sometime in 2018.
At this point we are choosing songs. This is a process by which I send DM an mp3 and lyrics and he’ll give it a thumb’s up or thumb’s down and will always state his reasons for his opinion. As a producer, I trust his judgement 100% and so far we have a few contenders and some solid choices. After the songs are chosen, we’ll go into pre-production and begin to work on arrangements, and after that we will begin planning for the recording sessions.
It’s ALWAYS About Money, Ain’t It?
A recording with a producer and arranger as fantastic as DM costs a lot of money and going into debt is not an option. “Fond Desire Farewell” cost almost $35,000. Expenses included studio expenses, musician fees, DM’s fee, graphics, duplication, promotion, and licensing of the composed songs.
I have almost three times as many folks on this list as I did back in 2007 when I was fundraising for “Fond Desire Farewell”. My crowdfunding then was of the homegrown variety; there were no fancy websites, just a PDF document that expalined the project and what folks got for the anount pledged. A lot has changed since then; now there are all kinds of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Pledgemusic, Indiegogo and many many more. I am not sure if I want to use one of these or not. Social media is a way of getting the word out about all kinds of stuff, but I always wonder if anyone is really paying attention. What do you think?
No matter what I decide to do, I’ll certainly have to raise funds for this project. I’ll certainly keep you posted and as I have done in the past, anyone who does contribute will be treated to updates, some cool premiums and other things as-yet-to be-determined.
2017 Tours
I’ll be traveling a lot in 2017 and I am already planning 2018.
Deb Solo January 2017
UPDATE: I just added a house concert in Takoma Park, MD on 1/14. I’ll be traveling through CT, NJ, PA, MD, NC (booked 1/19), SC, GA (booked 1/21) and FL (booked 1/28). I would love to do a few more enroute to the gigs that are already confirmed. Any listening room would be welcome. House concerts, museums, libraries, church coffeehouses are all welcome to get in touch. I’d also love to present my “Women and the Sea Program” to anyone who might be intersted in hearing and learning about songs where women are the main characters in Maritime songs and ballads. The dates would be any time between Jan. 15 and Jan 28. Thanks for any help you can give.
Roberts and Cowan Midwest February-March 2017
John and I will be heading west in late February after a couple of New England dates. I am really pleased to be appearing at the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, NY. I’ve been hearing lots of great things about this event and very excited to finally see it and be a part of it.
Take a look at the calendar below and if you are within striking distance of any of these dates, it would be great to see you.
Deb Solo UK 2017 Annual “In For A Pound Out for a Penny” Tour March-April 2017
For those of you in the UK, I still have some open dates on this tour. I have dates in the south between Swindon (31 March) and Bracknell (4/April). I will also be in the north for a repeat appearance at The Black Swan Folk Club in York on 8 April. I always look forward to my UK visits and seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
The Store Is Open!
As always, the store is open! I have added a new bulk purchase: you can now get Five CDs of your choosing for $40 and that includes shipping! Unfortunately this offer is only available in the USA due to shipping costs.
I now have a “Pay-What-You-Want” option on all CDs (except Ballads Long & Short) starting at $8.99. Due to rising costs, I have had to raise the base cost of all CDs from $7.99 to $8.99 which is still a pretty good deal if I say so myself. If you would like to pay with a credit card, but don’t want to use PayPal, I’ll be happy to take your order over the phone. I am sorry, but this option is only available for purchases made within the USA. All other currencies are accepted through the store via PayPal.
If you do reside outside of the USA, there are digital downloads available or you can contact me via email.
Reminders
These are things that you can do to help me get the word out about the music. Please click on a “like” or “follow”; it only takes a second.
Claim Your Free Download! I greatly appreciate that you have subscribed to my email list and there are a number of you that have still not claimed your free full album download of either “Among Friends” or “Fond Desire Farewell”. You can still do this if you have not done so already. It’s really easy to do and quite painless. Please contact me and let me know which album you want (all notes, graphics and lyrics are included) and I’ll send you a unique and specific code along with instructions to get your download.
Write a Review and/or Rate the Recording! If you really like one of my recordings, write review on the various music services out there: CDBaby.com, Amazon.com, iTunes and many others.
Listen to Debra and Ctreate a Debra Cowan Station: on Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music and many other streaming services
Please Like and Follow: the Facebook page, follow me on Twitter and I am also now on Instagram.
Become a Member: of The Standing O’ Project. This is an online streaming community for musicians and fans that actually helps musicians earn a living. Artists get paid when someone becomes a member and when you join, you know that you are supporting artists whose music you enjoy. I have many friends who have joined me on The Standing O’ Project and you may even discover some new music in the process!
Host a House Concert: it’s easy and if you have never done it before, I can help you get it started. House Concerts are a great way to enjoy music up close and personal without the distractions of people talking or other conditions that might not be to your liking. This is for your friends and acquaintances and can be a private event or you can open it up to others. If you have at least 18 friends and can fit them into a space in your home, you can have your own private concert! Please contact me if you would like to do this.
If you have stayed with me this far, here is a song from a band I was in from 1988-1993. The band was called Tar’d & Feather’d and the song is our version of Lazarus and Divers. I have a sneaky suspicion that it might have been “lifted” from Nowell Sing We Clear. Click on the graphic below to hear the song.
That’s all for now! I hope that everyone has a wonderfully nice and warm holiday season.
Debra
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Disclaimer: the PO Box at the end of this notice is no longer valid. If you would like to send me something via the postal service, please send me an email and I’ll give you the address. Mailchimp requires a postal address and I am sure that you understand that due to privacy concerns I cannot make the other address public.
