Deborah Crooks: News/Journal

The tour begins & I'll have the Ep with me. Come along!

If all goes as planned, the new Ep "It's All Up to You" will be available first week of March. Stay tuned! I'm really excited about the work I did with the band and producer Ben Bernstein and the opportunity The Bay Bridged gave me via its recording grant program to record at Tiny Telephone. Meanwhile, I've posted a new song on my page "Let's Move" (also streaming). Let me know what you think. Now taking preorders $10.99 each via Paypal. 

Jean Mazzei and I recently chatted with Brian Ball about The Great Idea Tour we're launching March 11 at lululemon athletica in Burlingame. Hear more about it! WOMEN'S RADIO INTERVIEW

I'll be at the MacWorld Music Studio again on 2/13 @ 11am. Hear a preview of the new Cd then I'm sending to mastering on Tuesday ...In the meantime, you can find my last Cd Adding Water to the Ashes on iTunes.

Amidst all this, the Great Idea Tour is shaping up. Raw Revolution just joined our sponsor list. Yum!

Some nifty new items in the store, including Great Idea Tshirts and water bottles. Check it out!

I'll be talking about making and recording songs at the upcoming MacWorld in San Francisco.

Visit the Music Studio at MacWorld February 11 and 13th. I'll have an engineer and a bandmate or two with me as we demonstrate how we use Mac tools on the trail to taking a song from inspiration to actualization.

 

The end of January sees a return to the Northwest which includes a nice gig at Skylark Lounge and a Lululemon Store warm-up for upcoming Great Idea Tour:

 

 

Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Skylark Cafe, 8pm
3803 Delridge Way SW
Seattle Washington 98106
 
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Lulu Lemon - Pacific Place
In-store Appearance - 3-5pm
600 Pine St.
Seattle Washington 98101

This week is almost all about recording after a fun swing down the Central Coast this weekend (special thanks to Slo Down Pub in Arroyo Grande as well as Leah & Mat). I've been working on the tracks I did with the band (shout out to Mike Stevens, Tim Perdue & Kwame Copeland, ole!) at Ex'pressions last month with Ben Bernstein at Petting Zoo Studio in preparation for my Bay Bridged Recording Grant sessions at Tiny Telephone later this week. Vocals, some piano by John Mazzei and a bit more guitar from Alex Walsh and it will be time to mix the first batch of songs. Yay!

Amid all this I'll be at the monthly Songsalive! showcase at Velo Rouge Cafe hosted by Katie Garibaldi. Come on by Thursday night Jan. 7 for some live, acoustic action.

Speaking of which, have you checked out The Great Idea Tour?

Life is full! Sending love & appreciation,  Deborah

I'm playing as part of a New Year's Eve celebration at Le Meridian Hotel. 333 Battery St. San Francisco.

LINE-UP:
9 pm Deborah Crooks Band
10 pm Voodoo Saints
11 pm Two Headed Turtle

ADVANCE TICKETS $12/$15 door

Crooks/Walsh Blues, aka me and Alex Walsh play Angelica's Bistro this Saturday, December 12 at 6pm. Dinner seating starts at 5pm
"Angelicas Entertainment is a rare venue that offers a wonderful bohemian setting and makes you feel that you are in 1930’s with a European flare. The main club room is where we are performing and has limited seating. Please call 650-365-3226 to make your dinner reservation!"

I'm excited and grateful to have received a Bay Bridged Grant for recording time at Tiny Telephone! So I'm headed back into the studio with a batch of new songs to begin-at-the-beginning-again with some sessions this month and next. Interested in supporting this venture further? Write me at deborahrcrooks@gmail.com to find out how you can help me fledge this new bird. More news in my newsletter

A couple more thank yous this Thanksgiving week: Thanks all who supported the Go Girls Music Fest at Cafe Du Nord. We had a great time and were happy to raise funds for an important cause.

Thank you www.Talenthouse.com for selecting me as one of 6 featured artist on the @Talenthouse site this week http://bit.ly/TalentH

Thanks for reading and listening. Now go enjoy the pie!

Mark your calendar for November 17. I'm part of a swell line-up of San Francisco artists playing Go Girls Music Fest SF, a benefit show for Mary's House, at Cafe Du Nord.

GoGirlsMusicFest celebrates its 10th anniversary tour this year, and GoGirlsMusic.com founder Madalyn Sklar and her team have selected a new beneficiary of the event's proceeds - the nation's maternity homes.

The San Francico Event will be held on November 17 at 8 pm at Cafe Du Nord and will feature performances by area artists Monica Pasqual, Tiffany Petrossi, Deborah Crooks, Valerie Orth & Blue Rabbit.
Admission is $12.

Get your tickets HERE.

I did my first road trip with my best friend Sally and her mom when I was 10 years old. We drove to Texas to deliver, and kept going to New Orleans, listening to Boz Scaggs 'Silk Degrees' ad infinitum as well as Willie & Waylin and whatever radio station we could find. My eyes bugged out at the sight of saxophone players in the street and I ate hush puppies wherever I could find them. The trip was pivotal in more ways than one and decades later I'm still addicted to hitting the road or taking off on a plane as well as good music. The Indie Abundance Tour™ earlier this month was reminder of that fact and I'm busy planning a new tour in 2010 that will traverse much of the terrain I traveled as a 10-year-old, only this time I'll be playing. It's a few months off, but I welcome your gig suggestions and other music-friendly tips for touring the Southwest. Send me a tip @ deborahrcrooks@gmail.com & your mailing address and I'll send you a treat from one of my sponsors. Thanks!In the meantime, I'm so excited to go see Boz Scaggs on Thursday night here in SF. With Buddy Miller, woo-hoo.

Thanks to everyone who came to El Rio last Sunday. It was a sweet afternoon on the patio. The Indie Abundance™ tour featuring myself, Emily Bonn & Chantelle Tibbs in now in Eugene en route to Tacoma. Hee Haw. Check the calendar for all the latest

It's been a week of radio. Yesterday, I was at Pirate Cat Radio with tour mate Chantelle Tibbs to play and talk about Indie Abundance with host  Diamond Dave . Earlier in the week, I did an interview with Women's Radio fresh off playing the station's fun Guerrilla Showcase in Nashville. Listen in as I discuss the Crooks/Walsh Blues and the upcoming tour with host Brian Ball.

The shows this past week in Fairfax, Salinas and the IndieGrrl Conference in Nashville have kicked off what looks like to be a run of living out of a suitcase. It's been fun and it definitely leads one to contemplate 'what to keep and what to give away?' that much more closely. The show at Peri's with Emily Bonn and Chantelle Tibb's in anticipation of the Indie Abundance Tour was a hoot and bodes well for the kick-off show at El Rio on August 30 when we'll all be playing with our full complement of backing musicians and bandmates. Two days later, my stalwart band member Kwame Copeland and I tried out the lean-and-mean acoustic version of the material at the Gap in-store in Salinas. A surreal gig to say the least but again, fun and gratifying (we're looking forward to our new jeans) ;-). The next day I hopped a plane to Nashville for four sets on different showcase stages at the IndieGrrl Conference. There I was delighted to find a backing guitarist in Brett Rosenberg, a local artist who was equal parts Buddy Miller & Ryan Adams and kicked ass on his Danelectro (and, in the case of the unplugged Women's Radio turn, duck-taped acoustic) as well as backing vocals. Check him out. I have been so grateful for the great musicians I've been sharing the stage with. Yeah!

The conference was full of great artists and I happy to reconnect with Tiffany Petrossi as well as meet some other finesinger-songwriters across the musical spectrum around the country, including Alyson Greenfield, Michele Monte &  Eileen Carey. Lots of possibilities ahead. But first I gotta unpack...and pack.

There's a lot of stuff going on for which I'm excited & grateful. Just added another appearance of Crooks/Walsh Blues at the Western Addition's National Night Out event on Tuesday 8/4, so it didn't get into my August Newsletter which you can find HERE.

Likewise, you can cast your vote for my band in the Jansport Battle of the Bands, winners get to play the Forecastle Festival.

And, Listen In Alert:  I'm getting tracks played on the Women's Radio Weekly Podcast.

All the other details are in my calendar. See you at the shows! xo, Deborah

I'll be performing at the largest-ever simultaneous live acoustic music event, hosted by Gap. On August 20, 2009, every Gap store in the U.S. and Canada will host an exclusive, live acoustic music night to celebrate Gap’s 40 years of heritage in jeans and music. Over 700 simultaneous performances & I'm scheduled to be in Salinas (Steinbeck country!) @ The Northridge Mall

It's been a busy time. Some recent news & thanks.

Ahoy to Indie Music n Arts for giving me a shout! Always nice to know people like your tunes...

The Indie Abundance™ Tour NW w/Emily Bonn & Chantelle Tibbs is getting its wings. Our site is shaping up and we've brought sponsors on including City CarShare, Rainfrog Apparel & The Pie Truck. Check the calendar for dates. More news will come but if you're in the Bay Area, keep August 30 open. We'll be rocking El Rio.

Prior to that, I'll be playing an opening set for my dear bandmate Kwame Copeland who has been hard at work on a Cd of his great songs and will be on tour w/me in September. July 25, @ 33 Revolutions in El Cerrito. Come on down. 7:30pm showtime. Yay! & Thanks everybody

I've new newsletter (thanks @lovehasnologic) up @
http://bit.ly/pbPHH In this issue
all the news about upcoming, including:

* California Music Fest
* Indie Abundance Tour™ & T-shirt Giveaway
* August: Nashville for IndieGrrl
* Buy "Adding Water to the Ashes" Cd
* Indie Abundance: Music, Money & Mindfulness Tour Dates

June has been about songwriters: playing songwriter showcases (NY's Bitter End sessions), in-the-rounds (SF Free Folk Festival), listening in (Bazaar Cafe) and cowriting with some of my Bay Area music buddies: some stripped down blues with Alex Walsh, pop/rock with Stefan Gustafsson and dobro, Cali/Soutwest stuff with Todd Tate. I''ve added some tunes (Joy w/Alex, & Only One w/Todd) to myspace and Reverbnation as well as the music page so take a listen.

After a fun run through LA, NYC & corners of SF (see below), I've several Bay Area dates scheduled in June, including a gig at Spud's Music Parlour on June 5 (that's a week from today!), the San Francisco Free Folk Festival on June 13 & the Laurel Village Summer Solstice Music Festaval June 20. The first weekend of July, I'm excited to be heading down to the California Music Fest, a two-day music, surf & community extravaganza in Ventura, CA. Later in the summer, I'll be showcasing at the Indiegirrl Conference in Nashville, TN August 21-23. My first time in the hallowed music city! The summer is bright with possibility; nonetheless I've got the blues on my mind. ... Alex Walsh & I are heading back into the studio with Ben Bernstein June 14, to record a handful of blues songs we wrote in February. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope to see you at the shows....

After a solid three weeks of shows, events, rehearsals, travel, parties, & hosting out of town friends, I have a fairly calm couple of weeks ahead. I feel like I've been moving very fast...and I couldn't have done it without the fuel provided by Raw Revolution organic food bars. If you were any of the events I've been at the past few weeks, you've probably tried them. Good stuff. Shout out for good nutrition! http://rawindulgence.com/ Nor could I have done the run w/o support of Rynda in LA, Pacsckie in Long Beach, & Karen in New York. Thank you for making travel easy.
Moving forward, I've several Bay Area dates in June, including the San Francisco Free Folk Festival 6/13 & the Laurel Village Summer Solstice Music Festaval 6/20. Midway between those two events, I've a recording session with Alex Walsh. Back in February, we participated in the "RPM Challenge" writing and recording a demo of what we've called thus far, Crooks/Walsh Blues. On the plane back from New York, I revisited the material and decided there were some keepers. So June 14, we're heading back into the studio to record about half of the songs we wrote properly. Fun! And hopefully you'll enjoy the tunes as much as we did creating them.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms I know. I'm joining the Rockin Moms celebration this afternoon in San Jose. I'll be playing a little after noon, dedicating my set to Phyllis Crooks (1935-2004) and listening to a whole crew of talented artists including Rockin Moms founder Tiffany Petrossi. Check it out TODAY: Landmark Ballroom
Rock Mom's Mother's Day Celebration - 12-5pm
75 S. 11th St, San Jose CA 95112

In other news, Adding Water to the Ashes is now available both at Amoeba Records in San Francisco and The Music Store, 66 West Portal, SF, CA. I played a very fun acoustic gig there yesterday and I say go support a really wonderful, traditional record store (you know, vinyl! Cds! stuff you can hold in your hand before listening).

Look forward to seeing you!
Deborah