11/06

Dear Surfer:

This was a rather quiet month for blue number nine. Marco, Jack and I got together one night and came up with two new song ideas. Haven't worked them out yet... they're still on the mini disk, but eventually, I'll get to it. We were going to start recording a new album, but I feel like we need more material, and anyway, there's no rush.

So we're going to make a DVD instead... we have footage from many shows, and we also have the "URBAN THEATER" performace & interview, which is just great. Authoring DVD's is time consuming, though! So I have to find the time, or I may be getting some help!

On the 17th, BD Lenz played with us again at a venue called THE OPUS THEATER. This theater is amazingly cool & beautiful and they serve decent food and reasonably priced drinks. Thank you to all who came out. I wish there had been more people... what a great place. BD Lenz booked the night - his trio played first, and then he joined us for a set. It was fun to play with Morgan and Camari again. Camari's back in NY - she's upstate, but she lives closer than she did when in Columbus, OH!

And really, that's it! Well, I sang backups for Doreen Younglove on the 16th, which was a blast, and BOX OF CRAYONS (http://myspace.com/1boxofcrayons) came to Concussion Studios and we recorded 6 songs. I sang backups and played flute on a few. It sounds great, so far. If you visit their MySpace page, the first song was recorded here, by me.

Meanwhile, Marco is working on 2007 dates. It looks like we will have one last show in NYC on January 27th, a Saturday, so I really hope New Yorkers will come see us one last time. I know that sounds doomy & gloomy, but honestly, I don't see any point in playing in these NYC clubs. The person who booked us basically threatened that if we don't have 50 people at the show, we will never play the venue again. Nice, right?! I guess the rent is so expensive for venues in NYC that they simply don't know what to do to stay in business. This venue, Crash Mansion, is fantastic. Doreen's show was at Crash Mansion. I don't understand why the place isn't packed all the time. Food is served, the place is cozy, comfy and nice and the sound system is excellent and not too loud. My conclusion is that even though millions of people live in NYC, live music is not a preferred form of recreation. I can't change that! Sure, there are places, I've heard, that draw crowds consistently. I don't know if there are bands who draw crowds consistently. It seems unlikely, but I could be wrong.

So, I'm hoping Jeff Witt will join us on keys, we'll have Morgan and Camari and Karyn on guitar. That's my hope! I'll keep you all posted. Please write it on your calendar! We should see 50 faces in the audience, not because we were given rules, but because it is a nice place and we will entertain.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now it's holiday time. I'm already sick of Christmas songs. Did they start earlier than usual this year, or is it my imagination??

peace,

stefanie