Seventh Siren Release Date November 19th!!! - Virginia Evans - News/Journal

The Wandering Minstrel Lesson

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Today I wandered and played at the Lockeland Design Elementary School’s Folktale Fiesta. This was my first wandering minstrel gig. Children ran up to me yelling, "Hey, it's a guitar lady!" And there was the oddity of people talking to me while I played. And an stranger incident where I stopped playing to pick up items that had flown from a booth.

I met interesting people, speaking to someone I had seen at church services but whom I had never officially met. A couple from Maine asked me to stop by their creative arts center with my guitar sometime and visit. So the wandering minstrel gig is far more interactive than the performances I’m used to.

I’d like to do that sort of thing again. I particularly like the situation where I stop singing, keep playing while I’m talking to someone, and then hop back into the song again. I wasn’t always so smooth about it, and I can see how developing this skill would make me a stronger player. I’d recommend the wandering minstrel lesson to anyone interested in developing a stronger connection to their lyrics and music.

Learning Blues, Playing Ohio and Germany

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

So Danny Ray at the East Nashville School of Music has been throwing some Blues at me...and I like it ;) It all started with me saying I had been going through my old cd's and most of them weren't worth what I'd paid for them. They had maybe 2 good songs and the rest was filler. And the exception was a Mary Chapin Carpenter cd: Come On Come On. So Danny Ray went over I Feel Lucky with me using some power chords and Blues Shuffle and it was instant addiction.

We were playing around with some other Blues Tools today and I started singing about jelly beans...I think there's a song in there...and probably one that you'll never want to hear - LOL.

Today for my song a week requirement (I'm supposed to write 1 song a week and play it for DR) I played "Dont' Wanna Write No Stinkin' Song." Which made DR laugh quite a bit. And he enjoyed playing the fancy bits behind my 12 bar blues pattern.

Last but not least, in the New News category, I had started preliminary plans to travel to Germany and Austria and before I'd even made reservations and Acoustic Forum member suggested we have a Gathering in Germany. Acoustic Forum members have held gatherings in other locations, and I'll be at the one in Ohio in June, but I'm excited to have the opportunity to play out in Germany. The only other country I've ever played in was Australia...and that was because a piano player needed a vocalist so they could play at a community coffee hour dealio. So this will be entirely different with my music and accompanying myself and jamming with other people that I haven't met in person yet. Major fun.

New Lyrics - Five Songs a Week

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

So, I had a bet with my guitar instructor recently. The conversation went something like this. G=Guitar Instructor, M=Me

G: So how does this feel? You've been writing a song a week and you aren't struggling with the guitar on these songs.
M: (smiling) Yeah. This is great. These songs are really mine, completely mine. I didn't have to go to someone else to talk about chord selection. And it wasn't hard to do. It just flows. Gosh, if I didn't have a full time job, I could write a song a day.
G: (rolling his eyes) Yeah, and if I didn't have to use all my brain power running this school, I'd be a genius.
M:(jaw dropping to the floor, picking jaw up and putting it back where it belongs) You don't believe me? I have tons of song pieces recorded and all sorts of prose. What would it take? If I wrote five songs in a week while working full time, would you believe I could write a song a day if I wasn't working?
G: Sure.
M: You got it.

So I got through to Wednesday and I had written five songs in five days. And I charted them. And THEN I realized I had only written four songs. Yes, in my state of exhuberance, in the glory of my primal win, I had gotten it in my head that I had five songs when I only had four. I decided that was still amazing and that I preferred to enjoy this fact rather than torture myself by staying up extra hours to write that last song.

However, my source decided that wasn't to be. I woke up on Thursday morning with another song going in my head: Five Songs a Week. It was funny and funky and wanted to be born right then. So I recorded the first verse. Jumped in the shower. Got out, recorded the second verse. And that night I recorded the third verse. I had five songs. Then my guitar teacher fell ill and I was robbed of my triumphant play of the Five Songs a Week song.

Not to belittle my instructor's suffering, because he has been VERY important in my recent developments as a writer and a guitar player. But I was looking forward to my victory dance. I had it all planned out: I'd put the four songs on the music stand. They'd be charted perfectly on my heavy stock parchment style paper. I'd play through them and my guitar instructor would say, "Was that five?"
And I'd answer, "That was four."
And he'd say, "That's still very impressive. It is unusual for someone to produce this amount of work in a week. You should be very proud."
And then I'd pull out my blue notebook and say, "But...I always have the notebook song." (My notebook always contains at least one complete song that hasn't made it to the final charting process, sometimes because the song needs work and I'm not willing to share it yet, and sometimes (as in this case) just because there wasn't time to write it neatly on the nice paper.

And then I'd just start playing it:

Guess I must be shockin' you
with my amazin' feat
You did not believe me
I can write five songs a week
Workin' full time, wrote 'em on the side
Five lovely songs, all in good time

Wasn't a hard thing to do
I write songs in my sleep
And sometimes when I'm drivin'
I dream up symphonies
I bob my head, I tap my feet
I yodel-odel-odel, people stare at me

My boyfriend used to criticize
'bout my strange disease
Claimed it wasn't natural
to write all thorugh the week
and so I left him, that so-and-so
He said no writin' in the tub, what does he know

Hope you have compassion
for my special needs
Some people live for vino
I just want five songs a week
Don't need no diamond, don't need no fancy shoe
Gimme my guitar, and I'll do what I do

Okay, so I didn't get to do this on the appointed day. I had to wait an entire extra week. And my instructor was still looking rather puny and recoverish when I met with him. So I didn't relish the win as much. But I did relish the lesson I received. You see, I knew I could write five songs within the time limit of a week, but I hadn't realized I could write five songs that I would enjoy. I had limited my abilities in my head to achieving a number only, and I hadn't allowed for the enjoyment until it was upon me ;)

We are capable are far more than we normally allow ourselves. Give time to your talent, and it will give to you far more than you had imagined.

CD Winners for Jan 21st Contest Deadline

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Winners for the most recent CD Contest are:

Kim from Vermont, USA for the Brain Fart category

T-Bone from West Virginia, USA for the Simple Pleasures category

Bruno from Vienna, Austria for the Slice of Life category

Kim's Entry:

Not a brain fart, exactly, more a consequence of being somewhat behind the times technologically...I was setting up a new answering machine for my mother and I hit the red plus sign instead of the black plus sign. Very quickly, I learned that the red plus sign is the speed dial for 911, and I hung up, thinking I would avoid wasting anyone's time. Within a few seconds I received a phone call from a 911 opearator. With a red face, I explained what had happened. Minutes later, thinking I was through the worst of it, there was a knock on the door. Two squad cars had pulled up to the house and 2 officers had come to check on me and make sure I was okay. OMG...I wanted to crawl into a hole! (I can laugh now, but I just wanted to die then!)

T-Bone's Entry:

Near my fishing camp in West Virginia, there is a mountain site that used to be the home of an old fire tower. The tower has long since been torn down but the road that leads up the moutain is still maintained.

It's one of the highest points for miles around and it's like standing on God's thumb. I can see forever. Just standing there with nothing but my thoughts and the wind in my ears puts me at ease.

Whenever I go for a fishing trip in that direction, I make a journey up the mountain road. Before I do anything else I spend some time in that high church, that temple of stone.

Bruno's Entry:A couple of years ago, I bought a van in Canada (good old Rusty, nomen est omen) and drove it down to Argentina, where I sold it 13 months later. It was a remarkable trip, though not as remarkable as some apparently believe ;)

Halfway down in Central America, I realized that there was a gap in the road to Panama. You have to take a ship or plane to get from Panama to Columbia, or wherever in South America you want to go, as there is no road through the Darien jungle. And there is no ferry, so the only way to get Rusty across was to put him on a cargo ship.

It turned out that the normal price to get a vehicle across was around $3,000 U.S. which would've blown my entire budget. I spent many hours of many days in the harbour talking to captains and shipping agents, trying to negotiate something more reasonable. And in the evenings I went to the yacht club where I met a German sailor and his teenage daughters who were sailing around the world in their self-built nut shell boat. (A boat smaller than most of the sailboats that cruise our lakes in Austria). They had been sailing for 3 years at that time and had many stories to tell. One evening as we sat in the yacht club wathing the sunset above the Caribbean, the German sailor said, "Why don't you build your own raft for Rusty?" Of course, I thought he was joking, but in the following days we discussed the details, how many locals it would take to build it, what type of outboard motor, how much gas was needed, papers for the harbormaster, what I would do in case of a storm, and so forth. Other travelers would join in on the discussions with suggestions or laughter.

I had actually settled for the raft idea when I heard about a dodgy harbour with a dodgy ship and captain who would take Rusty over for the cheap price of $1,000 U.S. I got no receipt, and the official loading process involved setting Rusty atop all the containers aboard ship. I flew to Columbia where I met up with Rusty again.

Half a year and 14 flat tires later, I found myself in Buenos Aires in a backpackers hostel. I sold Rusty with a week left in my travels. Other travelers came and went. And on the last night before I left, we had a party to celebrate a girl's birthday and the end of my trip. I felt a mixture of happiness and sadness and I was confused about whether I really wanted to go or stay. And then everyone at the party began sharing their stories with a travel book author from Chile. After a while this Canadian started: "OK, that sounds all very fascinating, but you won't believe the story that my friend, Jim, told me. When he was in Panama, he met this guy from Austria who was building a raft for his car to sail on the Pacific Ocean all the way down to Ecuador!
And that was when decided it really was time to go home.

Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry.

New Contest

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

There was a man who rarely visited his mother due to her nagging nature. On visits to his mother's house he would end up fuming and blocking out everything that she said...until one day he realized all of her precautions and advice were an expression of love. Not his preferred expression, but it was what she knew of love. And after the man realized this, he was able to hear his mother saying I love you, I love you, I love you. So, he still didn't really hear a word she said - but at least he wasn't angry about it anymore.

So if you want a free Seventh Siren CD, email your holiday realization. Realizations do not have to be limited to family or friends or self...take it wherever you want to.

My favorite will be posted in the News/Journal section on the week of January 21st.

-Virginia

CD Winner

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

We have a winner for the best comment/question about Seventh Siren:

"was finally able to stop listening after family intervention and the the help of prescription drugs."
-Matt K. from Massachusetts

This comment has made me laugh many times. It
came from my MySpace page and it was not an "intentional entry" because Matt didn't know about the contest.

-Virginia

Win a Seventh Siren CD

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

From Me to You:
I'd love to hear what you think of the songs. Leave me an email with your thoughts and any questions you may have. The most interesting comment/question will be featured in the December 10th News/Journal section and will earn you a free Seventh Siren CD shipped to the address of your choice. YES, THIS INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING because I love the response I've gotten from the international fans and radio stations.

And please remember to make your comments and questions as simple as possible so that everyone can enjoy them. One of my favorite comments left on MySpace was the word "beautiful." It was a like a wild iris growing amidst a sea of asphalt: unexpected, overwhelming, and simply divine. So share your feelings, share your thoughts, and I'll share a CD with at least one of you.

-Virginia

STORY BEHIND THE SONG SERIES - ARMS OF FRIENDS

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Have you ever felt the need to correct someone”¦perhaps an acquaintance said something wrong, maybe you even soften your correction with “I think you mean________.” Maybe there is a discussion over who is wrong and who is not.

In my life I’ve found that in most situations, there is no need for these corrections. If someone said to me, “The sky is green,” why does that need correction? If I look up and the sky is blue to me, it is still blue to me even though someone else says it is green to them. And accepting the difference in our perceptions adds to the depth of our relationship. The only time I can think of (off the top of my head) that I would want to correct someone would be if I were a passenger in a car and the driver said the light was green when I thought it was red ;)

However, in the earlier years of my life, I was very much into facts. And facts linked themselves to judgments. I was vehement in my conclusions and I felt I could explain anything to anyone (This is code, by the way, which roughly translated means: I knew everything and if you just listened to me, you would see things my way). However, a lot of the world did not agree with me and I was suspicious of all of “them.”

My current mode of thought is pretty much the opposite of the old way. I realize that I know very little of all that there is to know. And what I do “know” about a certain situation may be entirely different from what another person “knows” who experienced that situation standing beside me as it occurred.

So now I am open to green skies, and in this state I had Thanksgiving dinner with a group of people, most of whom I did not know. They shared with me many wonderful life stories. My favorite was an explanation of a toast “Cin Cin” which is pronounced “Chin Chin.” Alex told me that it was important to make eye contact during the toast. She said that unfortunately, people often looked at their glasses rather than the person they are with during a toast. She added that to toast properly, one must let go of the unimportant things: whether the wine spills or the glasses meet perfectly. All focus should be towards the eyes of those you are toasting.

The song Arms of Friends reminds me of the Cin Cin toast. The focus is on the people and fellowship. Before I came to this place of Cin Cin, I was very much a woman who “knew it all, yeah, I knew best.” And then once I focused on connecting, I became a “woman who knows what she doesn’t know, that’s a lot, yeah it lifts my load, travelin’ light and I make more friends, only thing worth havin’ in the end.”

So Cin Cin to you, my friends. Remember to look your friends and loved ones in the eyes when you toast. Here's to green skies In The Arms of Friends ;)

-Virginia

Story Behind the Song Series - Come Home

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Come Home is the final song on my CD and it was an addition...or replacement would be more accurate. I had orignally intended to put an A CApella (without instrumental accompaniment) recording of One Family on Seventh Siren. But that wasn't meant to be.

One morning near 4am I was writing poetry and I decided to check an online acoustic musicians' forum that I frequent. There was a post from a woman who was looking for songs for the troops and their families. The comments in response to her request were not an answer to her. They were statements about how everyone else felt about the war. And I thought that was very sad. The woman wasn't asking for pro war songs or anti war songs. It seemed she felt alone, and I decided that if I was up at 4am writing my poetry, I could certainly write something for her. So I put myself in her shoes as best I could and thought about how I would feel and what I would want if my child was living in constant danger in another country. The result is Come Home. It was originally written with harmony in mind, but I decided I loved the lone melody on this particular piece. Anything added to it would just take away from the mother's voice.

Come Home is about love, not necessarily about happy endings. However, I'd like you to know that the Army Mom that I originally wrote the song for emailed me that her son would be home for Thanksgiving.

And that's the story behind this song ;)
-Virginia

Story Behind the Song Series: The Title Track - Seventh Siren

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Seventh Siren was not my first idea for the title of my CD. I don’t think I can remember all of the names that came and went, but I remember “Oh De Vee” which was a play on “L’eu de vie” which means water of life. My friend Trish translated Little Bird into French for me, and she came up with “Oh De Vee” because some people call me Vee and the themes of water and birth are in many of my songs. I love French (which is why I’ve tortured Parisians with my version of it) but I was afraid that I’d lose a lot of people by throwing Franglish at them.

I do digress”¦back to Seventh Siren. I was playing around with the idea of a Siren. In the oldest accounts, a Siren is a creature with a bird’s body and a woman’s head. Sirens have beautiful voices, which they use to lure ships full of men towards the rocks, or which they use to lull ships full of men to sleep”¦and then the elements or the Sirens kill the men. The legend of the Sirens changed over the years and instead of bird women, they were women with wings, mermaids, and beautiful women.

The Sirens were the daughters of Achelous (“he who washes away care”), chief of the river deities. According to Ovid, the Sirens were playmates of young Persephone and Demeter gave them wings to search for Persephone when she was abducted. In any one account, there is a maximum of five Sirens. I started wondering how a ship full of men could save themselves from the Siren Song. I played around with the idea that the gods create another Siren with a voice more beautiful than all the other Sirens combined. Of course, if such a Sixth Siren was created, the original five would surely take care of that problem pretty quick, which is exactly what they do in my song. And the dying Sixth Siren calls out “Offer up prayers, while ye still have life.” So a woman on ship who has been praying offers herself up in service. The gods take the woman and create the Seventh Siren. Her voice rises over the wide sea on celestial music that sets the men free. The Five Sirens are dispersed to the darkness of earth. From then on, lost travelers see the Seventh Siren as a light in the night sky and they ask, “Why is it that star seems to sing out to me and guide my way homeward when far out at sea.”

And that’s how the song, Seventh Siren, came to be. Some study, some story-telling, throw in a little melody and there — it’s the title track.