Deborah Crooks: News/Journal

It's taken me a very long while to realize that most projects take TIME to complete-whatever complete really is. Of course my brain desires some shape to things to feel content, so I've always got more than one project going or on a back burner. While I've been in the big long process of songwriting and now starting to record again, I've got my hand in other projects--writing for both the magazine YogiTimes (www.yogitimes.com) and the arts event producer ArtSFest (www.artsfestsf.org) which are dedicated, when it comes down to it, showcasing a lot of the projects that are keeping this city cooking. I spent much of the weekend REALLY cooking, well baking. Post gig in San Jose (a very pleasant one at Santana Row along with Tiffany Petrossi & Band), I drove down to Santa Cruz with an old friend and spent Saturday picking berries on a farm very close to the place I was born. Big fat olalaberries. Yum. I made not one, but three pies, which satsified in the project completion department on many levels.
Fortified, I spent much of Monday finishing some pieces for the aformentioned YogiTimes and ArtSFest, then picked up my mail and found an issue of Quiet Feather magazine, a literary publication out of England, which contains a short essay about traveling to India a few years ago, "Approaching the Freeway." You can buy a copy here:www.thequietfeather.co.
Today's project is a cowrite and tomorrow I'm back in the studio to complete vocals on some tracks. Look for mp3 demos here soon!
In other news, some fun gigs are on the horizon: Mama Buzz with Madeline Roa in July, Revolution Cafe in August, and back in Austin, TX in September.

For about a year I've been cohosting the San Francisco of Songsalive!'s monthly songwriter showcase. The organization (www.Songsalive.org) is dedicated to providing a platform for independent songwriters of whom there are many fine ones that you may not know about. Our June showcase was a case in point. We had a fine night of music at Caffe Trieste Downtown by a diverse group including Vanessa Van Spall (preparing for her CD release party at 12 Galaxies), Kym Trippsmith ( fresh off the Harmony Festival and backed her by lead guitarist Lisa Gomez) and Lisa Gracciano (having driven up from Los Angeles with her family). I started out the evening with a few songs as much to check the levels as get the evening going. Harp player Shawn Shaffer had driven down from Richmond to give the songs some kick. Then Kym took the stage and simply rocked the place. Vanessa belted out some originals backed by her pianist before Lisa wowed us with her rich, bluesy, slide playing that had her family members dancing. Check all of these artists out. They're doing fine, realized original work. Steven Andrew Kacsmar rounded out the rich evening of music, joined again by Shawn Shaffer on harp and thus we closed the place down.

It was a very full weekend, starting Friday at Harmony Fest, a peace-love-and happiness event if there ever was one. After playing on the Goddess Stage, I checked out New Monsoon, Brian Wilson and a plethora of items dedicated to making life harmonious (I'm never sure how tie-dye really fits into it but suffice to say there are a lot of tie-dye believers). Thank you Kurt Huget for fine playing during my set. The whole weekend turned out to be "harmoniously" themed and and I was delighted to return to San Francisco to be a part of the entertainment at the Peace Wall unveiling at Koshland Park on Saturday. Kind of like Harmony Fest in action on the day-to-day plane, here's some background on the project:
Since 1999 churches, schools, and community based organizations in the Western Addition have been learning a peace empowerment process, and painting tiles of what PEACE means to each person.

Through the integration of the visual arts, volunteers have taught a program in two local elementary schools, Megan Furth Academy (formerly Sacred Heart Elementary) and John Muir Elementary, and over fifty community based organizations in the Western Addition, that focused on tolerance, understanding, and non-violence. Participants collectively learned ways to develop positive and proactive solutions to resolving conflicts and defusing anger. The project was developed and implemented by residents for residents—a true community endeavor.

As a result of this project, children, residents, and seniors designed over 1,800 tiles were placed on the retaining wall surrounding the Daniel Koshland Community Park on Page and Buchanan Streets in San Francisco. A community celebration followed on Saturday, June 9, 2007. The wall was dedicated to the families who have lost their children to violence in the Western Addition.
Go see it!

Saturday, June 9
Bands That Rock, El Rincon, 8pm, 16h & Harrison, San Francisco.

"Promoting Global Cooling"
I'm delighted to be a part of this event:
June 8 2007 2pm Goddess Stage
Harmony Festival
Sonoma County Fairgrounds
Santa Rosa, California
<http://www.harmonyfestival.com>http://www.harmonyfestival.com
World Class Music & Speakers on multiple stages
for 3 Days and 3 Nights of Entertainment

Harmony Day Shows
BRIAN WILSON & THE STEVE KIMOCK BAND- Friday
ERYKAH BADU & RICKIE LEE JONES & UMPHREY'S MCGEE & DENNIS KUCINICH, AMY GOODMAN
-Saturday
THE ROOTS, KINKY, ALO & ARIANA HUFFINGTON- Sunday

Harmony After Dark Late Night Shows in 3 Venues
moe., SOUND TRIBE SECTOR 9 9(Live PA Set), JAI UTTAL & SHEILA CHANDRA and much more!
- Friday night
TECHNO-TRIBAL DANCE / Shongle & Rabbit in the Moon plusMIKE STERN, VICTOR WOOTEN,
Dennis Chambers & STEVE KIMOCK and One At Last and much more!- Saturday Night
COMMON & SHEILA CHANDRA & WISDOM , Shimshai, Tina Malis and much more!- Sunday night

Also featuring

DEBORAH CROOKS 2PM on the Goddess Stage
<http://www.harmonyfestival.com/lineup/lineup.html and there's more:
The Waybacks - The New Orleans Social Club
ALO - New Monsoon - Hot Buttered Rum
Stanton Warriors - The New Mastersounds
Sol Horizon - Jai Uttal - Stellamara
Pam the Funkstress - Green Lemon
One At Last - Luna Angel - Ganga Giri
Goddess Alchemy Project - Sukhawat Ali Khan
Blue Turtle Seduction - Shimshai & Tina Malia
Vernon Bush - Jaya Lakshmi

PRE-SALE TICKETS: $32 per day / $32 Harmony After Dark late night shows. Weekend
packages from $80-$149
plus special limited MAGIC PASS VIP TICKETS $500
AT THE GATE : $37 per day / $37 Harmony After Dark late night

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT: <http://www.harmonyfestival.com

I'm from a family of war veterans or people escaping wars. My dad in WWII, my great-great-great grandpa in the Civil War, my brother a reserve during the Persian Gulf business, my mom's family living through multiple bouts of violence in what was once Yugoslavia and now is Croatia. I try to stay clear of it all though I carry too many of these memories with me.
So I'm in Austin working on some new tunes. Shout-outs to Damon Alexander, Patrick Godbey and Melanie Martinez for lending work to "Believe" and "Turn It All Red", and getting ready to play some peace-related events in CA this summer (check out the calendar).
In the meantime, "Dream Me" is number #265 on Neil Young's "Living With War"
vote it up! It's my hope for finding some love amid the warmongering madness:
http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwsongspage.html
And while you're voting, go to
http://www.myspace.com/ripstar_sf, add yourself as a friend and vote for "All This Love" on the comments page.
Thanks!
Wishing you a PEACEFUL DAY,
Deborah

June 9 @
El Rincon
2700 16th St. @ Harrison,
San Francisco, CA
I'm opening for Broken Ladder, French Thinkers, Full on Flyhead and Hippie Grenade. Should be quite a show.
Details:

www.myspace.com/ripstar_sf

Between, amid, after the Bay to Breakers shebang come take a load off at either
Caffe Trieste Downtown
OR
Bazaar Cafe
in San Francisco
and listen to a slew of songwriters sing their words and world view.
Good eats for every palatte at both....Calendar has exact details...

I was given some good words recently from bard/musician/healer Forest Sun. Among the pearls of wisdom I gleaned is this simple
bit of guidance:

"Truth is light. A lie is heavy"

Good to notice.......

I'm very excited to get some tracks down for 4 songs that will be part of the upcoming CD and off to Austin this week to work on some more. Yay.
Write me if you'd like to find out how to contribute to this project's release.
I look forward to seeing you soon....Deborah

Some cool upcoming dates just added:

June 8
Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa
http://harmonyfestival.com/
June 9,
El Rincon, San Francisco

Check the calendar for more info....

I'm doing a full-band show this Saturday in Cupertino, opening an early evening show including Tiffany Petrossi and Band.
In other news, I'm breaking ground on recording a long-overdue new CD, both here in SF and later in May on a return trip to Austin. Yippee. If you'd like to donate to this project, please write me at deborah@deborahcrooks.com

If you want to hear what a lot of San Francisco songswriters are up to, come to these events THIS WEEK
4/11 San Francisco SONGSALIVE! Showcase at Caffe Trieste Downtown
and hear Jean Mazzei, Jo D'Anna and Paz, hosted by moi.
4/13 Red Vic Sessions at Red Vic Hotel in the Haight District of SF.

I'm also playing 4/12 in BENICIA if you want to wine, dine and LISTEN
and
Sunday 4/15, Celebrate the end of your tax woes with an afternoon at Caffe Trieste Downtown again, my third Sunday, 3-5pm. Look forward to seeing you. Check the calendar for details.....

This Thursday, first Thursday, post-gallery viewing you're gonna need that coffee so come on down to Starbucks on Mariposa and check out me and two other fine songwriters (see gigs page) do our stuff....
If you're ears are tired, check out what's new on the literary front. I've some work appearing in the next (and final issue, wah) of Kitchen Sink Magazine (www.kitchensinkmag.com) and check out http://www.theworldly.org/ArticlesPages/Articles2007/....hope to see you soon. Love and rockets, Deborah

Did you get your ticket yet?
Please do:
http://artsfestsf.org/Spectra.html
Enter "ARTS" for a special discount.
See you there (I'm on early so come early!)

Thanks to Mike O'Neill for a fun shoot out near Land's End and the Presidio. Check his work out here:
http://www.oneillimages.com

Austin rocked! Thanks Patrick and Benjy for playing, Women and Their Work, Go Girls and Songsalive! for hosting and every musical great I managed to see (highlights included Michelle Shocked putting down at Molotovs, acoustic Tom Morello as the Nightwatchman, Menomena....) and Scott the tattoo artist who gave me my new friend.
Now its time for the Spectra Ball which is putting SF on the map this March 31. Check it out: http://www.artsfestsf.org/Spectra.html

Rain, a LOT of instruments on a airplanes and a SW compass reading equal a zooropa of musicians, music fans, and music industry folks in Texas. Flew in with Tiffany overnight and rehearsed with
Patrick and Benjamin on Wed,
got some sleep so it's time to play....calendar has dates and times.

Promote peace:
www.shanti-shirts.com

That's tonight. In Benecia, with Alex Walsh...come on east, west or north....8pm til 11pm. Food, wine and bluesy, lyric driven songs....

I sense a big party ahead. My California pal and Rockin Mom Tiffany Pettrosi is going to share the show at Women and Their Work Gallery, I've added a fourth date on Saturday & I'll be playing with http://patrickgodbey.com/ on guitar and Benjy Portnoy, http://www.benjaminportnoy.com/ on percussion and Patrick Godboy at all the gigs. See the calendar for details....

Valentines Day, my birthday and two of three gigs at red venues. Hope to see you this month at Velo Rouge Cafe (2/11), Red House (2/16) or Caffe Trieste (2/18).

Poem: "At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border" by William Stafford, from The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems. © Graywolf Press.

This is the field where the battle did not happen,
where the unknown soldier did not die.
This is the field where grass joined hands,
where no monument stands,
and the only heroic thing is the sky.

Birds fly here without any sound,
unfolding their wings across the open.
No people killed-or were killed-on this ground
hallowed by neglect and an air so tame
that people celebrate it by forgetting its name.

Last night, I drove over to Oakland with pals Heather, David and Peter to Estaban Gallery for the CD release party of Aireene Espiritu http://aireeneespiritu.com/and Rick Dida new work. Before the shindig we popped into Mama Buzz and sat a while sipping coffee and reading issue 15 of Kitchen Sink magazine (www.kitchensinkmag.com) which managed to get the issue out despite many obstacles that small, independent presses tend to face. I was pleased to see Karen's (www.onefootoutthedoor.blogspot.com) essay about moving to NYC. I met Karen nearly 10 years ago at a writing workshop in the Colorado Rockies when we were both preparing to move West, having just opted out of our respective marriages to listen to some soul urge that defied rational or reason. I smiled reading it because I knew that her life and poetry were going strong and could tell that her life had become her art. Aireene and Rick's music was similar in sentiment if not genre. Aireene is another one of the fully realized artists I am pleased to know. Yippee for her.
Tonight I am back in the East Bay, playing at the Nomad Cafe where I know Abel Mouton (www.abelmouton.com) played last night. Abel, a brutally smart and funny musician, helped me fledge many of the songs I play these days.
I am proud to be part of a community of such committed artists. Following ones muse is equal parts privilege, luxury and sacrifice. We have laid much on the line to do what we are doing. Oh the stories we could tell…Publications and CD duplication are the icing on a very complex cake. Kind of like getting to the top of Mt. Everest is the pay-off of a very long journey.
If Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet, I would say I am at 28,500 feet as far as completing goal of completing a full-length CD. I’ve written more songs this year than ever, and like Kitchen Sink Mag, I could use some additional oxygen.
If you would like to contribute to the Deborah CD fund, write me at my mailing address. Better yet, come down to the Nomad tonight or Caffe Trieste Downtown on Sunday and talk to me in person. I'm excited to be playing with some new folks, Tony Maddox on guitar and Trevor Hughes on bass, and it will not be a party without you.
(btw the yet to be released issue 16 of Kitchen Sink also contains an essay I wrote last year. Give them some extra love as well)

Join Songsalive! hosts Steven Andrew Kacsmar and Deborah Crooks for a full
evening of entertainment with some of our premier songwriters. The
Songsalive! San Francisco Showcase takes place every second Wednesday.

Date: Wednesday Jan. 10, 2007
Time: 7:30PM - 9:30 PM

Caffe Trieste
1667 Market St. (at Gough)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 551-1000

Cover: Free

6 Great Songwriters, 1 Great Night of Songs!
Featuring:

Michael Gregory http://lodelinemusic.com
Tiffany Petrossi http://tiffanypetrossi.com
Alex Walsh http://alexwalsh.net
Andreas Mario http://andreasmario.com
Co-Host Deborah Crooks http://deborahcrooks.com
Co-Host: Steven Andrew Kacsmar http://www.stevenandrewkacsmar.com

I'll be hosting SongsAlive! SF showcases again in 2007 which will now take place at Caffe Trieste Downtown, the second Wednesday of each month. Check it out! I've been having a lot of fun there at my monthly Sunday.
www.songsalive.org and myspace.com/songsalivesf....

in other events of interest to creative types, Kitchen Sink Magazine, a very cool independent literary magazine published in Oakland needs some financial assistance. Why don't spend some of that holiday budget on keeping the arts alive?
http://kitchensinkmag.com/
Continuing on that note, I've a three-song demo CD available for $5 @shows and by writing me for more info.

I'm also planning a trip to New Mexico in January/early Feb. Will keep you posted...
Cheers, Deborah

I'm going to be playing at a special Holiday Gala Benefit on December 2 for a great cause, TOTA, a 35-year-old charity that collects surplus food from San Francisco and Oakland produce markets, Safeway, Whole Foods, etc and distributes them to low-income neighborhoods five days a week. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, TOTA raises additional funds to purchase the turkeys/hams that will go into the food boxes to be distributed to those neighborhoods. This TOTA program is called the Mr. Anthony Program because the Founder-Vic Baranco-was fond of the TV show where a person was presented with a check for a million dollars from 'Mr. Anthony' who represented an anonymous donor. TOTA boxes are given out in plain trucks and no notice is given as to when they will appear in the neighborhoods. It is an all volunteer, no administration, no salary organization with the goal of putting food directly into the hands of those who need it. The Gala, held in Novato at a private home, is one of the seasonal project's biggest fundraisers. If you'd like to attend, please write me and I will get you an invitation.
It's a great cause and it should be a fun event.