TWO SHOWS SOLD OUT!
A Sheinem Dank, New York City!

What a spectacular day for singers and audience alike!

Binyumen Schaechter is the kind of musical director with whom any serious musician would relish an opportunity to work. It is my pleasure and privilege to be part of this magnificent chorus.

We not only sing these songs - we truly experience them. Based on the reception we got, I think we get our point across. It is a humbling experience to be standing side by side with such splendid, talented singers. May we go mi'chayl l'chayl together! Ooooh-mayn!

Highlight personal moment: We are posing for a group shot which will be taken on the count of three. Someone from our group calls out with a heavy Litvak accent, "Eints, Tzvei, Drei! (one, two three!)" and my darling daughter Miriam the Poylisher instantly shakes her head from side to side and retorts, "Aynts, Tzvay, Dray!" Big shout out to mo' peeps from Lodz!

Big thank you to those of you who helped make this concert such a success. And if you could not make it, I would have loved for you to be there, so I'm providing for you a highlight, "Hey Tzigalekh," by Mordecai Gebirtig (1877-1942), featuring a breath-taking solo by soprano Judith Bro. More clips to come on YouTube.

xoxoxo
moi

Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus sings Songs of Mark Warshawsky and Mordecai Gebirtig

Binyumen Schaechter, Conductor

NEW YORK CITY -- I am thrilled to have the great honour of participating in a presentation of choral arrangements of famous and lesser-known songs by the great Yiddish songwriters Mark Warshawsky and Mordecai Gebirtig. This is a Yiddish program with English translations.

Here is a picture of Mordecai Gebirtig. I could not find a pic of Mark Warshawsky (1840-1907). But I am providing you links to info about both composers.

When: Sunday, June 10th, for two shows: 2:00; and 4:30
Where: Hebrew Union College, 1 West 4th St. (b/w. Broadway & Mercer St.), New York, NY
Adults: $15; Seniors (65 and up) and students,
with ID: $10

PHOTO ID required, all adults age 18

For more information: http://www.thejppc.org/

This is probably the best online Yiddish radio station I've ever heard.

I believe our show is sold out by now, but if you make it down to the venue, please come by and say hi!

Peerie Willie Johnson: The Guitar World Loses a Master

(Pictured, from left: Tom Anderson, fiddle, and Peerie Willie Johnson)

Yesterday I received an email from a banjo player in the Shetland Isles named Gary Peterson who informed me that "Peerie" ("little") Willie Johnson had passed away at the ripe age of 86. I did not know Gary; nor had I seen wee Willie in many a year, but I had listed him high up as one of my influences on myspace and that is how Gary found me to tell me the news.

I wrote back to Gary [slightly edited]:

I am deeply saddened to hear of Willie's passing. Was he ever a huge influence on my guitar playing and also as a very decent human being.

When I was a 17 year old pip at the Mariposa Folk Festival in my hometown of Toronto, back in the late 1970s, it was Willie who tolerated me and actually welcomed me sitting at the hem of his garment, listening to him and absorbing everything I saw.

He taught me the concept of passing and melodic chords. He showed me some neat inside chords and I clearly remember him teaching me the very cool passing chords that I use on songs like Lady Be Good: "Put your fingers here on this fret...mute that string with the inside of your hand...now run that chord down four frets, strumming each as you go...you can thumb over if it's easier..." and so on. We talked about Les Paul and Django Reinhardt. Willie was one of the first grown ups (if not THE only grown up at the time!) to take my passion for the guitar seriously.

I spent three delicious days with him, hanging around and watching, watching, watching. I never heard on recordings what I heard him play in our precious moments together and I will treasure that memory forever.

Today I find myself with teenage guitar students and I only hope that they feel I take them as seriously as Willie took me.

Having recounted for you my personal memoir of Willie, I urge you to read the obituary and learn something wonderful and life affirming about this wee giant; about how to lighten up, kick back and enjoy what precious time we have here on earth. And also the life-altering impact that your words and deeds might have on a young person many years hence.

xooxox
Lynda

__________________________________________

Peerie Willie Johnson
Influential folk guitarist of Shetland

Sunday Independent
Published: 29 May 2007
William Henry Johnson, guitarist: born 10 December 1920; married 1953 Ethel Johnson (deceased); died Lerwick, Shetland 22 May 2007.

Peerie Willie Johnson was a self-taught master guitarist, revered for his skill as an accompanist and as an influence on generations of musicians in his native Shetland and beyond. He was known for his unique "dum chuck" rhythmic playing style, which fused elements of jazz and western swing with Shetland's traditional folk idiom. In 2005 the Shetland Arts Trust celebrated his achievement with the inauguration of the "Peerie Willie Guitar Festival".

Nicknamed "Peerie" (Shetland dialect for "small") because of his height, Willie Johnson grew up on the remote, windswept island of Yell, one of the most northerly and sparsely populated of the Shetland islands. During a childhood illness that kept him housebound for months, he developed a love of jazz and western swing while listening to American forces short-wave radio. Fascinated by the complex chords of the jazz guitarist Eddie Lang, he began to figure them out on a ukulele that his mother had bought him. When the limitations of the instrument later became apparent, he progressed to guitar, joining his first local band at the age of 14.

In 1936 - by which time he had also fallen under the influence of the music of Django Rheinhardt - a chance encounter in a music shop led to him joining the Islesburgh Dance Band, led by the fiddler Dr Tom Anderson, whom he would accompany on and off throughout much of the latter's life. He and Anderson also formed another group, in 1938, called the New Players Dance Band with the piano/organ player Billy Kaye, but they disbanded when Kaye and Johnson were called up in 1940.

While stationed in Sullom Voe on mainland Shetland, Johnson played with an RAF band, thus meeting many British jazz musicians. After the Second World War, he moved to London and briefly made a living playing with a number of his wartime contacts, though he was hampered by his inability to read music. He soon returned to Shetland, settling in Lerwick and marrying Ethel Johnson (no relation) in 1953.

He lived off odd jobs and the income his true vocation brought him on occasional tours with other musicians. His collaborations with Anderson resumed, and in 1958 he travelled to London with the Shetland fiddler Willie Hunter for a performance at the Royal Festival Hall. That same trip, he and Hunter stunned the staff at Abbey Road Studios by recording both sides of a joint LP (never released) for the BBC in a morning's work, polishing off a bottle of whisky between them in the process. "The second half of the album is much better than the first," Johnson observed.

Hunter and Johnson also performed regularly together at the Edinburgh Festival between 1973 and 1980. A modest man who underestimated his own abilities, Johnson never made a solo album, recording only as an accompanist to others, such as Anderson, the pianist Violet Tulloch and the fiddler Aly Bain, who he joined on tour with the Boys of the Lough in the US in 1978/9.

Johnson's distinctive playing can be heard on Scottish Violin Music (1963), Shetland Folk Fiddling Vol 2 (1978), Cathal McConnell's 1978 solo début On Lough Erne's Shore, and Aly Bain's First Album (1984), which contains Johnson' best known piece, an interpretation of the tune "Margaret's Waltz". Johnson also appeared on Silver Bow - Fiddle Music of Shetland (1995).

In 1988, Aly Bain began hosting Down Home, a Channel 4 series on which Johnson regularly featured. Johnson and Hunter later made several appearances on Norwegian television and radio.

Johnson's playing style is widely credited with influencing not just his contemporaries, but also a number of younger musicians including the Wrigley Sisters, from Orkney, and the jazz guitarist Martin Taylor. In 2005, Taylor travelled to Shetland to make a BBC radio documentary about Johnson. He recalls him thus:

I don't think I've ever met another musician who was so full of music. It's almost as if he was more than a musician. Every atom in his body was music, and his enthusiasm was quite amazing. If he was in the Lounge [his local bar] and someone started to play, he just picked up whatever instrument was there, whatever just came to hand, he was just so natural.

Jon Lusk

Poetic Notion Chorus receives the esteemed Soul Patrol Award!

Transitioning!!

I have a few interesting gigs coming down the pike and if you visit www.myspace.com/guitargirl4scrabble you can read all about them. In order to prepare you, my gentle visitors, I offer you this clip from my most favourite, deffest guy, Socalled. Enjoy, and get in the groove.

Love,
Lynda
xoxoxoxo

By popular demand for those outside the GTA,
here's the pic from the Toronto Star that ran
with Greg Quill's fabulous Mother's Day article.
WE LOVE YOU, GREG AND THE TORONTO STAR!

Caption: Yummy mummies, from left: Joy Rose, hostess Erica Ehm, organizer Lynda Kraar and B-Girl Cynthia Ross.

THANK YOU TORONTO!!

The Kraars are back in NJ after an exhilarating weekend in Toronto. Mamapalooza Toronto 2007 was a stunning array of Mom talent. Although everyone was a highlight, the crowd particularly went crazy for veteran punkers and soul survivors Zr04 and the B Girls, who dominated the Toronto punk scene in the 1970s. How truly exciting to have them grace our stage, with their kids in tow. What an inspiration to the younger moms, such as Sisters3, who now know there is life after 30.

Here are a few pics from our exciting, landmark event at Healey's. We'll be posting more pics in a bit. For now, enjoy!

MAMAPALOOZA at Healey's tomorrow -
Mother's Day...doors at noon. Be there!

THANK YOU, GREG QUILL AND THE TORONTO STAR!!

The mother of all concerts

More than 17 maternally enhanced artists set to rock the city with second Mamapalooza concert at noon tomorrow

May 12, 2007 04:30 AM Greg Quill, Entertainment Reporter

Of all the reasons to pick up an instrument and rock out in public, motherhood seems the most unlikely.

But membership in the Mama Nation is the prime qualification for performer status at tomorrow's second Toronto edition of the Mamapalooza Festival, the local offshoot of a growing New York-based franchise that boasts its own satellite radio program, a line of merchandise and 40 similar events staged in May all over North America, Britain and Australia.

You have to have your own material and some actual performing experience as well, says Toronto-born ex-pat, New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Lynda Kraar, co-organizer with seasoned local promoter Gary Topp, of the event at Jeff Healey's Roadhouse tomorrow.

More than 17 maternally enhanced artists – both homegrown and imported, they include Kraar, Ardene Shapiro, Zro4, Maria Kasstan, The B-Girls, Kathryn Rose, Arlene Bishop, Sandi Marie Porter, Heather Katz, Ilana Waldston, Michele Mele, Laura Fernandez, Lenka Lichtenberg, Sisters of Sheynville, The Sisters Three, Lara Berlin, Lynn Harrison, Naomi Macklem-Tremblay, Barbara Stokes, Marianne Girard, Zoe Chilco and host Erica (Yummy Mummy) Ehm – will hit the stage between noon and six.

"The original idea was for musical mothers to play for each other in a community that makes room for children and family members of both sexes," Kraar said in a recent interview from her home in Teaneck.

Like most of the acts on the bill, Kraar put her musical life to the side to raise children, but a series of coincidences in 2005 – the year her mother died – led her across the river to the heart of Mamapalooza territory in New York City, where reconstituted rocker Joy Rose had established an annual Mother's Day festival and a figurehead for the movement in her band Housewives On Prozac.

"It was a milestone for me, one of the best times in my life," Kraar said of her first Mamapalooza experience. "I just had to bring it back home to Toronto."

She did that for the first time last year, and with Topp's help staged a one-day festival that sold out virtually overnight and instantly became a fixed item on the city's cultural agenda.

"Toronto is ideally suited to Mamapalooza," she said. "It's an easy-access city for families with kids, it's liberal-minded and family-friendly, and the cultural mix is so rich – everyone is wide-eyed about everyone else."

For 50-year-old mother of four Joy Rose, who started the Mamapalooza ball rolling in 2002 in the belief that if people made more time for music, dancing and art they'd be less inclined to make war, the annual festival is "a celebration of the rearing momhead that has been with us throughout history.

"My idea was to create stages for women who had stepped away from their passion, women of a certain age, with a certain look, women who were no longer welcome in the music industry – professionals and semi-professionals who wanted to keep their music going now that their children are grown.

"And my hope is that it will grow into a women-owned business that will support itself and help careers blossom," added Rose, who won't be at the Toronto Mamapalooza.

That's exactly what former Toronto punk rocker Cynthia Ross hopes will happen with the reformed B-Girls, once darlings of the city's crash-and-burn culture and former touring mates of The Clash, no less.

With a son and a daughter in their 20s, Ross and her erstwhile bandmate Zenya, now a yoga instructor, have started playing again, partly in response to resurging interest in pre-grunge Toronto rock and power pop. They've already performed at the Radio Heartbeat Festival in New York.

"I was in a club in Brooklyn a month ago and they were playing our records, along with The Diodes and Teenage Head – all Toronto bands," she said.

"And apparently we're huge in Japan as well.

"I'd never heard of Mamapalooza, but when I checked out the website (mamapalooza.com) and saw they were serious about promoting women in the arts, we had to be a part of it."


Just the facts
WHO: Mamapalooza
WHEN: Tomorrow, doors at noon
WHERE: Jeff Healey's Roadhouse, 50 Blue Jays Way
TICKETS: $15, ticketweb.ca;
kids under 13, free

THANK YOU ELLE CANADA!!!

Mamapalooza: Celebrating moms! Moms show their artistic side and rock out at the second annual Mother's Day event!

By Karen Bliss

For the second-year, Mamapalooza's unique celebration of motherhood will take place in Canada this Mother's Day (May 13). The self-proclaimed movement encourages "moms who rock" to emerge from domesticity and day jobs and let loose their dormant artistic side.In this case, about 20 moms will hit the stage at Jeff Healey's Roadhouse in Toronto with families in tow to marvel from the sidelines.

"You never saw anything like it," says Lynda Kraar, founding coordinator of the Canadian event. "It's just moms getting all giddy and their kids are just looking at them like, 'I never saw mom having such a good time.'"

Kraar will perform and co-host the afternoon (1 to 6 p.m.) with Yummy Mummy television host Erica Ehm.

Other performoms include The B Girls, Kathryn Rose, Arlene Bishop, Heather Katz, Michele Mele, Lynn Harrison, Marianne Girard, and Zoe Chilco."It's a strong bond," says Kraar who stayed in touch with moms from last year's inaugural Canadian Mamapalooza.

"The thing that made us distinct when we were younger is you get the calling to be a musician and it really shapes who you associate with growing up. Your friends tend to be artsier than kids that go into professions or go into the work force.

"When you have kids, you get isolated and then when you have an opportunity like this to get your voice back -- because it's like you've had laryngitis all these years -- and it's great to associate with other people who experience what you do on a regular basis. And some of the people get into music a lot later in their life, but there's still that bond."

Kraar, now 47, fronted Lynda Marks & The Marksmen for 16 years in Toronto beginning in the late '70s, before moving to New Jersey in 1985. She has two daughters, ages 17 and 13, "both musical," she makes a point of adding.

She first read about Mamapalooza three years ago in a USA Today article.

"I thought, 'Wow, that's really fascinating. I'm just like a lot of other people who had a unique life before the kids came and then had a happily average mothering life.'"

Founded in 2002 in New York by Joy Rose of a band called Housewives on Prozac, Mamapalooza has a big mission statement, as posted on its web site, http://www.mamapalooza.com/, a part of which reads: Dedicated to serving, promoting, celebrating, encouraging, inspiring and awakening ALL mothers through the media and performing fine arts. Musicians, authors, comics, dancers, filmmakers, designers, craftswomen, educators, and community leaders coming together in a collaborative effort to highlight the challenges of motherhood in an ever-evolving personal, social, cultural, sexual and political landscape.

"The whole reason I became involved was my mother was dying of cancer," recounts Kraar, "and she died 13 days before Mamapalooza and just before my birthday, so two weeks after she died, I found myself onstage. I had a house full of people, seven women from England who were performing in an punk-art band called The Mothers, and they stayed in the house with me during that time. It was an absolutely perfectly timed celebration of life -- just phenomenal."

Learn more about the event by going to www.mamapalooza.com.

Photo courtesy Erica Ehm

JOIN ME FOR MAMAPALOOZA TORONTO

THIS SUNDAY!

...presented by the Yummy Mummy Club and co-hosted by yours truly and Erica Ehm!

WHEN: Sunday, May 13 (Mother's Day), doors @ noon

WHERE: Healey's - 56 Blue Jays Way

$$$ : 15 bucks; kids under 13 FREE!

Come early to assure a great seat!

FAMILY FRIENDLY!!!

Scroll down for all the details. Click on our performers' links to hear them and learn more about them. See you there!

Thanks to the Toronto media for helping get out the word about Mamapalooza Toronto! Read on:

THANK YOU, http://toronto.24hrs.ca!!

Mamas ready to rock

By TANYA ENBERG, 24 HOURS

Forget about "Desperate Housewives", there's nothing needy about these rock 'n' roll mamas. Certainly motherhood can conjure up images of minivans, car-pooling, SUV-sized strollers and Saturday afternoon baseball games, but what about wailing guitars, rock tours and weekly jam sessions?

Welcome to the real meaning of multi-tasking. Between helping with homework and lunch preparation, one group of moms regularly ditch the kitchen in favour of rehearsing, working out catchy guitar hooks and performing live on stage.

Now they're getting pumped to hit Toronto on Mother's Day (May 13) for the Mamapolooza Festival, a tour amplifying the talents of musician moms, beyond, of course, solid child rearing.

The lineup of 20 bands or so -- including Sisters of Sheynville and the B Girls will perform at Healey's.

At the helm of the Toronto happening is Lynda Kraar. She turns 48 this month, is the mother of two teenage daughters, ages 13 and 17, and has stopped the tedious process of dying her hair to cover up grey. She now flaunts a shade she refers to as "gun metal."

While just two years shy of turning the big 5-0, Kraar says she's nowhere near ready to set down her guitar.

"You're gonna have to pry that guitar out of my cold, dead hands," laughs Kraar.

Originally from Toronto and now based in New Jersey, Kraar says the festival brings a certain kind of mama together -- and they rock.

"Some women are hard-wired to drop everything once they have kids," she says. "I put my guitar down at the end of the eighth month of pregnancy because I couldn't handle the smoky bars ... but for some people, the switch goes off."

Still, motherhood isn't exactly ignored at Mamapolooza. In fact, the theme serves as hilarious lyrical fodder with tunes poking fun at parent-teacher meetings, changing dirty diapers and getting kids to eat their dinner.

With Kraar's country-infused tune, Suburban White in a White Suburban, it's clear she's no June Cleaver.

"Performers who are mothers congregate differently," she says. "Sure you see them at the park because they need to take their kids there, but you'll also see them on MySpace clustered together."

The festival, which debuted in New York in 2002 and now takes place in more than 30 locations, brings a certain balance to motherhood, explains the singer/guitarist.

"You can have your life back," Kraar insists.

Advanced tickets to Mamapolooza are $15 and are available at Rotate This, Sam the Record Man and online at: www.ticketweb.ca.


THANK YOU, www.torontostar.com!!!!

Rock 'n' roll plays on as fountain of youth

May 04, 2007 04:30 AM
by Josey Vogels and Li Robbins


Adventures in Aging

"Your momma don't dance and your daddy don't rock 'n' roll."
Are you kidding? Not only does your momma dance, this Mother's Day she definitely rocks 'n' rolls. So forget the flowers, give her a pink Daisy Rock guitar and send her to Mamapalooza.

Yep, there's a crazy little thing called Mom Rock – bands with names like The Mydols and Housewives on Prozac – bringing Mampalooza to a bar near you on May 13. More on that later.

Aging moms aren't the only ones squeezing into their leather pants, though. Iggy Pop has a new album. The Police are reuniting. Genesis are getting back together.

And Mick and the boys, well, they just won't go away. We can just see it: The Rolling Stones 2087 tour, sponsored by Cryonics Inc. – because, baby, rock 'n' roll will never die, not if boomers have anything to do with it!

We get the moms rebelling against the mommy-can't-rock stereotype. But what is it about rock 'n' roll that makes boomers so clingy? Why not middle-aged moms who play Indonesian gamelan, or lead Bavarian polka bands?

Perhaps it's because, for the "My Generation" generation, rock 'n' roll was "the best days of their lives," the music they associate with their younger selves – and you know how much boomers like their youth serum.

But you'll be relieved to know youthful vanity isn't the only thing keeping us stuck in a musical time warp.

Blame it on your brain. According to neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music, the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease occurs less frequently when it comes to music. Apparently, those going doolally can "still remember how to sing the songs they heard when they were 14."

Even more frightening, Levitin says our musical tastes are pretty much cemented by the time we hit 20. So, because of our overly emotional amygdala and flirty neurotransmitters, we're musically stuck – teenagers forever.

Sure, some of us try to open ourselves up to new music later in life. But between our who-has-time-to-keep-up-on-music lives and our stuck-in-the-musical-past brain, our playlist can look something like this:
Your teenagers won't run from the room: Neil Young.

Memories of arena rock: Yes.
Kitsch value: Neil Sedaka.
Contemporary but dinner-party safe: Norah Jones.
Barista sanctioned we-are-all-one world music compilations.

What to do? You could turn to corporate efforts to shake off your inner rock' n' roll child. Please don't, though. Not if they're anything like the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) attempts to make music "relevant and so cool."

Funny, we just didn't realize that AARP's "hottie over 50," "babelicious baldy" James Taylor was relevant and cool.

Said babelicious baldy's manager did raise an interesting point in The New York Times recently, though, saying: "As much as (our generation) were once intuitive discoverers of music, we've lost that intuition. Now we have to be spoon-fed."

Fine, but we'd like to think we can still hold our own spoon. And, nowadays, it's even easier to dig in, with music blogs, Internet music recommender services and by making friends with music journalists ... (Hey, it works for Josey.)

But if you're determined to wax nostalgic, at least take a cue from the Zimmers (Google "youtube zimmers"), a band of seriously aging Brits who got out of their rockers to rework The Who's youth anthem, making a new statement about their own generation. They must have realized that if you want it to, music can provoke new thoughts, inspire new feelings.

Sure beats constantly trying to "get ourselves back to the garden."

Oh, and Mamapalooza – hosted by Yummy Mummy Erica Ehm, with a Jeff Healey autographed Daisy Rock guitar up for raffle – rocks Jeff Healey's Roadhouse from 1 to 6 p.m., May 13, 56 Blue Jays Way.
Visit mamapalooza.com.


THANK YOU, www.toronto.com!!!!

Mamapalooza

Rockin' Moms Hit the Stage this Mother's Day Price: $15, free for children under 13, Jeff Healey's Roadhouse
Sun May 13, 2007 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Good For: Kids, Family Official Site: http://www.mamapalooza.com

Editor's Profile

Being a mother isn’t all about casseroles, soccer carpooling and scrap-booking. Oh, no.

For many moms, it’s about getting down with your bad mommy self and rocking out. After all, anyone who’s heard songs such as Housewives on Prozac’s “Pee Alone,” “Eat Your Damn Spaghetti” and “Fuzzy Slippers” knows that Moms have enough angst-ridden material to put most metal bands to shame.

This Mother’s Day, it’s Mom’s turn to play - at Mamapalooza. This special concert will feature a lineup of rockin’ mom musicians who take their mommy angst to the stage.Originally founded by Housewives on Prozac’s Joy Rose, Mamapalooza was brought to Toronto by musician Lynda Kraar, who will be performing at this year’s event.

Joining her will be Ardene Shapiro, Zro4, Maria Kasstan, The B-Girls, Kathryn Rose, Arlene Bishop, Sandi Marie Porter, Heather Katz, Ilana Waldston, Michele Mele, Laura Fernandez, Lenka Lichtenberg, Sisters of Sheynville, The Sisters Three, Lara Berlin, Lynn Harrison, Naomi Macklem-Tremblay, Barbara Stokes, Marianne Girard and Zoe Chilco. The evening will be hosted by Erica Ehm. Dads, kids and other mom-lovers are also welcome. Kids under 13 get in for free.

FLASH! "Zro4" just added to the Mamapalooza Line-Up!

presents

GOT ***MILF***? You betcha.

Be patient -- Mama will tell you all about Mamapalooza...

...and the MILFs, of course. :)

Mamapalooza Toronto
is coming out of the kitchen
and kicking out the jams!

Mark your calendars: SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2007, 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. And prepare to have your mind blown! Here is an update about The Yummy Mummy Club Presents Mamapalooza Toronto, the hottest Mother's Day ticket in town. Be sure to check out our mamas, learn more about them, and hear the amazing music they make.

Please visit the Yummy Mummy Club and League of Rock and our other sponsors.

Learn more about Mamapalooza, the truly international movement that celebrates mothers and their creative performance.

NEW LOCATION!
This year we have moved from the Lula Lounge to the larger Jeff Healey's Roadhouse on Blue Jays Way. We want to be sure we can fit you all in. Healey's is centrally located downtown with plenty of nearby parking. With the magic touch of superstar promoter Gary Topp, we anticipate a sellout for the second year straight. Please invite everyone you know to join us. What a great way to celebrate Mother's Day.

ADVANCE TICKETS $15 NOW ON SALE AT ROTATE THIS, SAM THE RECORD MAN, CIRCUS BOOKS AND MUSIC, and www.ticketweb.ca

RAFFLE PRIZE!
The great blues guitar virtuoso and all-round legendary musician and club owner Jeff Healey will autograph a guitar for us from our sponsor, Daisy Rock Guitars, which we will raffle off at the event. The proceeds go to the charity of Jeff's choice. Developing....

YUMMY MUMMY CLUB AND ERICA EHM ARE ONBOARD!
The Yummy Mummy Club is now a partner with Mamapalooza in presenting our event. Erica Ehm has agreed to help host the show. Please visit the Yummy Mummy Club and sign up at http://www.yummymummysite.com/

Since you are wondering, according to to the Yummy Mummy Club, the current definition of a MILF is:

• M ODERN



• I NSPIRED



• L IFE-MAKERS



• F REAKIN' MULTI-TASKING BABES
  

Agree? Disagree? Think you can do better? If you're a Yummy Mummy, your opinion matters! Share your thoughts and win prizes at www.yummymummyclub.ca.

WELCOME LEAGUE OF ROCK AS AN ASSOCIATE SPONSOR!
Learn more about the League of Rock while you're partying at Mamapalooza. League of Rock founder Terry Moshenberg will be in the house. See how you can make the League of Rock a part of your life.


Here's a peek at the Mamapalooza
"army" of Mom rockers...
ROCK ON, MAMA!

Lynda Kraar/ Ardene Shapiro / Amir Gamliel/Miriam Borden/Yona McGraw/Fay Gamliel
www.myspace.com/guitargirl4scrabble
www.guitargirlsdigitaldiary.blogspot.com

Maria Kasstan
http://www.myspace.com/mariakasstan

THE B GIRLS [see pic below]
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/B/BGirls.html

http://punkturns30.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sid+Stiv&search=Search [WOW! Cynthia with Stiv and Sid]

[caption] B-Girl Cynthia Ross visited Los Angeles with Stiv a few months prior to the band's tour, and started the B-Girl buzz going. After the Whisky dates, the B-Girls found themselves adding backing vocals on the Blondie track, "The Tide is High," which became a hit single.

Xenia of the B Girls [pic below]

http://www.sananda.ca/

Kathryn Rose
www.kathrynrose.com
www.myspace.com/kathrynrosemusic

Arlene Bishop
http://www.arlenebishop.com/

Sandi Marie Porter and band

http://www.myspace.com/sandimarieporter
http://www.sandimarie.com/

Heather Katz
http://www.heatherkatz.ca/
www.myspace.com/heatherkatz

Ilana Waldston
www.myspace.com/ilanawaldston

Michele Mele
http://www.michelemele.com/

Laura Fernandez
www.laurafernandezmusic.com
www.Myspace.com/laurafernandezband

Lenka Lichtenberg
http://myspace.com/lenkalichtenberg

Sisters of Sheynville
http://myspace.com/sistersofsheynville

The Sisters Three [see pic below]
http://www.myspace.com/thesistersthree

Lara Berlin

http://www.myspace.com/laberlin

Lara's career in music began behind the camera as a producer of music videos for Canadian musicians such as Bryan Adams, Kim Mitchell, Rush and others. It was during that period that she began to establish herself as a musician and performer. She is the winner of the Houston International Film Festival's Gold Award for children's environmental work.

Lynn Harrison
http://www.lynoleum.com/
http://www.lynnharrison.blogspot.com/

Naomi Macklem-Tremblay
http://www.geocities.com/nmacklem2001/

Barbara Stokes
http://torontosongwritersassociation.com/members/barbara.html

Marianne Girard
www.myspace.com/mariannegirard1
www.mariannegirard.com

Zoe Chilco
http://www.zoechilco.ca/
http://myspace.com/zoechilco

Zro4 [pic below]

http://www.zro4.com/

An Event of Note:

Laura Nyro Memorial Concert

From Laura Nyro's website and on behalf of Jan Nigro:

On April 28th there is to be a beautiful evening of Laura’s songs in Ithaca, New York commemorating the 10th anniversary of Laura’s passing.

Hosted and organized by her brother, Jan Nigro, you are invited to join him for a celebration of Laura’s extraordinary music. Jan has enlisted the talent of a number of singers/musicians to perform nearly 30 legendary songs written by Laura that span the four decades of her working life.

Jan Nigro worked with his sister playing guitar on “Smile” and “Mother’s Spiritual” in addition to composing for National Geographic and Disney. He is the co-founder/songwriter and performer with the award winning group, Vitamin L and is currently composer-in-residence for the Hangar Theatre’s “Project Four."

Margaret Dorn has performed with more artists of fame than can be reported in full, however among them are: Celine Dion, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Lionel Ritchie, Donald Fagan, Michael Bolton, Boz Scaggs, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross and the Chieftains. In short, a lot of heavies.

Diane Garisto toured extensively for many years with Laura as one of her cherished “Harmonies”, as Laura named her back-up singers. Additionally, Diane sang on Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams” and Paul Simon’s “Graceland”. She toured with Steely Dan and recorded with Laurie Anderson, George Benson, Donald Fagan, Carly Simon to name a few notables.

Margaret Wakeley has worked throughout the United States and Europe. She made her NYC debut at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre with “An Evening of Perfect Relationships…and Other Romantic Fantasies” which drew such praise that the club extended her debut. She is an award winning songwriter and recording artist.

Molly MacMillan is a well known musician residing in Ithaca. She has been a featured pianist at many jazz festivals including Ottowa, Montreal, Buffalo and the Thousand Islands, and Corning’s Crystal City. Molly plays a beautiful piano with her tasteful comping and her melodic solos.

Where: Ithaca, N.Y. at the Ithaca High School’s Kulp Auditorium - 1401 N. Cayuga St.
When: April 28th 8 p.m.
Cost: $15.00 at the door.
Questions: email vitaminLproject@hotmail.com

BIG BIG BIG Mamapalooza Announcement!

Watch for it! We got us some big news coming up. I'll post more soon. Waiting on a couple more confirmations. Hey, Toronto....it's huge. Check back here real soon and get your cash ready. You're gonna wanna spend Mother's Day at the biggest, bestest party in town.

xoxoxo
Lynda

THE ONLY FESTIVAL

OF ITS KIND
CELEBRATING MOMS

IN THE ARTS
2007: BIGGER AND BOLDER

"....the rules of motherhood are being
radically rewritten--with a snarl,
cymbal crash and power E-chord that
would make the lads in AC/DC
stand and salute."

- USA Today

1-6pm Mothers' Day - Sunday May 13
JEFF HEALEY'S ROADHOUSE
50 Blue Jays Way, just below King
DOORS @ NOON

KIDS UNDER 13 FREE

Recruitment is still underway
for moms who strut their stuff.

INFO: lyndakraar@aol.com

www.myspace.com/guitargirl4scrabble

CHECK OUT: http://www.mamapalooza.com/

ADVANCE TICKETS $15 NOW ON SALE AT ROTATE THIS, SAM THE RECORD MAN, CIRCUS BOOKS AND MUSIC,
ticketweb.ca

I am a Digital Goddess!!!

Yes!! I figured it out. And my apologies to my Scrabble friends at the Internet Scrabble Club for not being as attentive as usual. I've been lurking there, watching games and chatting while testing out various programs and finding my old songs to convert to readable formats. So instead of adorable pictures of my cute kids from their younger years, my desktop is now cluttered with shareware that can turn my mpeg4s and wavs into mp3s. Do you have any idea how this has tranposed me from a lowly nerd to a haughty geek? I thought I was totally analogue. Phew!


It has been brought to my attention that while I'm so busy heralding the accomplishments about others or the world around me, very little is actually known about my art or music. I am not the most forthcoming and am a very private person, believe it or not. So I will try to describe the music. Pardon moi if I do not divulge about the "why" of my songs and instead focus on the "how." Just easier for your humble blogger.


Before I go on, let me add that I decided to post the above picture of multi-instrumentalist Al Watsky (left), me and SoCalled (right, with corned beef sandwich) so that you would not be bored with what I'm about to talk about, namely, me. It was taken on Yona's phone last summer in Riverside Park, NYC. I also want to mention that SoCalled is an amazing guy. If you do not believe me, then check out his "These Are the Good Old Days" vid on YouTube. Ouph/e! See? There I go again. Distracting you.

Okay. About me. Um, my "myspace" is very much under construction and needs tons of work, but you can check out three of my songs at www.myspace.com/guitargirl4scrabble. Pictures? Another time, amigo. First thing's first.

There you will find:

1. Tonight
2. Birds Can Swim (Fish Can Fly)
3. Lord of the Universe

They come from various places in time and space. "Tonight" was originally an uptown Bronxy doo-wop until Denis Keldie gave it a Barry White mojo feel and slowed it down dramatically. The instrumentation is low- to no-tech and includes a huge chromatic harmonica, acoustic guitar bass, and a Moog synth. See what else you can recognize in the layers there. It's a Protools recording, made in Denis's basement.

"Birds Can Swim (Fish Can Fly)" is inspired by Shalom Aleichem who asked, "A bird may love a fish, but where will they build a house together?" This song attempts to explore that. Because I think a lot of birds out there ended up with fish and face a lifelong balancing act. This was recorded at Wellesley Sound in downtown Toronto with great people like Denis, Dennis Pendrith on bass and Bucky Berger on drums. I set it to a Cajun beat, which is pretty normal for a Canadian girl with a guitar, I think!

"Lord of the Universe" is modeled after a liturgical poem that most people of the Big Three organized faiths can instantly recognize. I wanted to write a rip-snorting soca for Jouvert Morning, and voila. I did a rough mix on my Fostex X-15 and mailed it to my friend and producer, Ronnie Payne. I had sung a bit around St. Martin (French side) in the past with Ronnie at the keyboard and we had the good chemistry, so we kept in touch. We recorded the track in his home studio in Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten (Dutch side). My arrangement. The singer was a local guy whom the producer thought would add a little island flavour to the piece.

You should know that I had intended to upload a fourth tune, which is a ska I wrote about my old house in Kensington Market, affectionately known as the Hotel Kensington, but the file was too big for MySpace. So if any of you know how I make the file fit, get in touch. Anyhow, it is a great, pumpin' ska with a horn section, recorded in London's funky Camden Town, with drums by Jah Bunny who is Mr. Riddum on the international reggae scene. Paul McCartney signed him with his band, the Cimerons, back in the 1980s. Bunny put together a kick-ass bunch of studio guys, some of whom I knew from the reggae scene in Toronto. We had a ball with the track. Later I took it to Toronto and Denis Keldie sweetened it a bit. So I hope to get that one up somewhere -- maybe as a download. Getting there slowly but surely.


I hope you enjoy the tracks. I have a bunch of analogue stuff I am furiously digitizing from my club dates and hope to compile them. I know it won't happen in time for Mamapalooza, but somewhere down the road we will celebrate!!!


Upcoming posts to watch for - my appearance dates. Hope to see you again real soon.


Love,
Lynda
xoxoxoxoxo


PS -- I'm on the road again. Have a love-filled, meaningful and peaceful holiday.

At Last!

Spring has sprung. No more waiting, no more procrastinating. It's here. Time to get 'er done, whatever "She" is!

Methinks that enough of a segue to Mamapalooza Toronto. It's happening and it's huge. We're taking over the new Healey's on Blue Jays Way on Mother's Day (Sunday, May 13), so come all you saints and sinners, and make a day of it! We have a slew of new mom bands and acts, plus two special Daddy acts that we are adding this year. We also have a few of last year's veteran mom rockers who made our first-ever Mamapalooza Toronto a smashing success last Mother's Day at the Lula Lounge.

Be patient -- we are trying to get some last year's festivities up on YouTube. Tickets will go on sale very soon -- for a nice price, plus (bonus points) kids under 12 are free. Healey's will be offering a sumptuous Mother's Day brunch in addition to the great entertainment. Join us for a fabulous time! Can't stress that enough! Healey's is centrally located, easy to access via public transportation and there is plenty of parking in the neighbourhood.

No matter where in the world you are, IF YOU WANT TO PERFORM...go to the Mamapalooza website and register. Find your local festival and rock on, Mama!

If you're in or near New York City, we're having a very unique and exciting conference in May. Details available at the website under "Events." I hope to see you there. Definitely come by and say hi if you make it to the Toronto or New York City events.

New and noteworthy GuitarGirl tidbits

It's been a pretty productive and wonderfully woodsheddin' winter. I have two poems coming out in the new Mom Egg poetry book.

I have a couple of new songs that were tough to write because they are rather personal. I'm much more of a Laissez Les Bontemps Rouler kind of writer, so this is uncharted territory for me. More on that when the time comes to divulge.

I have a very exciting and important gig coming up June 10 at the Hebrew Union College with the Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus. I am really honoured and thrilled to be part of this incredible group of talented singers. Choir director Binyumen Schaechter has been an incredible teacher and mentor, and I am forever indebted to him for the privilege of being his student and part of the alto section.

There is more news but I am going to hold off until I can get a few dates settled. Big news. But you will have to wait until next time.

xoxoxoxo
moi

In case you missed it on NPR today.....
you can still hear it

My choir director, Binyumen Schaechter, writes:

If you missed the segment on WNYC radio today on "Weekend Edition Sunday" about
Mordkhe Schaechter, z"l, the father of Gitl and Binyumen, you can still hear it on the internet:
Remembering Yiddishist Mordkhe Schaechter (March 11, 2007).

You will also hear a bit about the Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus. We have some upcoming dates that you should know about.

A Time to Teach;
A Time to Learn

Last week I came back from St. Martin to a kitchen table on which was sprawled the Village Voice, opened to an ad for Antony and the Johnsons at the BAM, and Time Out New York, which featured a notice about Michael Feinstein's Carnegie Hall program of romantic songs from the American Classic Songbook. Miriam wanted us to go on a date, and these were my choices.

That was a tough decision. I'd spent an entire week in St. Martin recovering from the cold and flu which cut my trip to Toronto short -- Marty had to "airlift" me back to New Jersey after I became too ill to drive home from Toronto. I infected four families who were with me at a little dinner soiree. Once I got back to my hosts's home I blacked out and crashed to the bathroom floor before trying to drag myself into bed, and blacking out a second time. Marty gave me only one choice -- to come home immediately -- and even that was postponed for one day while I slept it off.

Marty asked me to consider putting off the holiday by a week. I refused, wanting to stick to our schedule. And after such a tough year, I felt he did not deserve to have his holiday delayed by me. My body said "don't go" but I did not listen. Two days later we boarded a plane and headed to the tropics where the delightful, humid air brought on a relapse, and I spent most of my time reading, sleeping and listening to my iPod. And faithfully taking my meds, prescribed to me by the doctor at the Grand Case infirmary. I listened to Antony almost every day (and incidentally, Yes, I will have to go back to Toronto this week to pick up the car and drive it home). This is what happens when you do not have the word "no" in your vocabulary. I could/should have postponed the holiday by a week and might have gone hiking, windsurfing and snorkeling. Note to self: JUST SAY NO.

Anyway, now that I was back home, I enquired about Antony, but the show was totally sold out.

"Come on down to the show and wait until showtime for rush seats," came the suggestion by a well-intentioned salesperson. But I said "NO." Yes, I really did. I did not want to jeopardize my returning good health by waiting around in the cold night air for something that may not materialize.

I listened to the little voice in me which said, "Carnegie Hall." Success. We got a pair of cheap tickets, and on the day I placed my order, Michael Feinstein was on WNYC, talking about his PBS special on the Soundies.

Spending a few hours with Michael Feinstein is like taking a master class with a superb musicologist and visiting a favourite cousin. Not only does he know the stories behind the songs, but he made a life's work of befriending the composers and documenting their lives. Seeing him onstage in his suit and hearing his traditional singing style evokes an image of a lone Rat Packer. He was born in the wrong era. On the other hand, he is the son of the Rat Pack. He is a steward of all that great music who knows his job is to keep the music alive. As long as people keep coming to see him, he says, the music will live. I am still singing those songs in my head and mulling over some of the anecdotes that Michael told.

When we got home, there was an email from Lisa Roma -- one of our Mamapalooza performers from Arlene's Grocery.

She was singing as part of the Poetic Notion Chorus, which was to be an interpretive show of Laura Nyro's music.

From her email:

Poetic Notion Chorus is an inspired group of performers, soloists and musicians, directed by the gifted vocalist/composer and choral director, Rob Darnell. Chorus: Sandy Cleary, Corinne Goodman, Lisa Roma, Nikkie Schmeigelow, Meryl Zimmerman; band: Mike Czekaj (drums), Rob Darnell (vocals/piano), Jesse Martin (guitar). Poetic Notion is receiving a Soul Patrol award for one of the Best Performances of 2006. For more information, visit www.poeticnotionchorus.com, or www.sonicbids.com/lisaroma . www.soul-patrol.com

It took me almost two hours to make the trip to Park Slope, but it sure was worth it. The room was crammed with a hometown crowd of Laura enthusiasts and fans and friends of the performers. The show was an inspiring, soulful and loving display of great music and vocal talent. While I was in St. Martin I had read Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro by Michele Kort (Thomas Dunne Books, 2002) and felt that I had a deeper insight into Laura's music and the How's of her music if not the Why's.

Musical director/pianist/vocalist Rob Darnell was very true to Laura's improvisation and mid-song tempo changes. He offered up a very sweet and soulful harmony to anchor the female harmonies. I agree with the assessment that Laura would have been satisfied with these artistic interpretations of her work.

By all means visit Poetic Notions' website and be sure to read the review of their Dec. 2006 show.

In the spirit of Michael Feinstein's Carnegie Hall show, on this modest little corner in Brooklyn here was another excellent example of how important it is to keep the music about which we are passionate alive. In this way, we musicians can all be leaders.

It was pouring rain as I made it down the slope to the Manhattan subway. I stood on the platform with a guy who had also just come from the show. We gushed together until his train came. I smiled all the way back to the Village, despite the rain. I didn't even notice that the weather was probably 30 degrees warmer than it had been the night before. Maybe I am feeling a little bit healed.

Good luck at the DO, Brian!!

EW AER GINOORT FOR OUR ACHMP!!

With love from "abinr, eilnst ot em" and the gang

oooooxxxxx

PS -- no bacteria, viruses or doggy bags were hurt in the editing of this picture.

Heavy Rotation

It's high season for Mamapalooza preparation. So I'm in Toronto now. It's 24 hours after I set out on this journey, which will be the last for my truck.

When you are traveling 520 miles through lake effect, black ice and snow squalls, over mountains and through valleys, there's only one thing you can do: Play it loud and wail on your 78 RPMs at 85 MPH, as much as you can, when you can. Bust a tonsil if you must. And keep the selections at a good adrenal clip when you are behind the salt and sand truck. That is enough to keep the windows steamy all day into the night. Over the hours we witnessed four vehicles that had skidded into the highway median, but our little truck was flying.

Yona says, "Damn, we listened to a lot." First we went through some 200 songs from Yona's Creative Zen, including:

The All-American Rejects
The Fray
Beyonce (To the Left...you go, Girl)
Plain White T's
Cartel
Snow Patrol
Gwen Stefani (Halla Back Girl at brain-melting decibel)
Akon
Fergie (Fergalicious)
Bowling For Soup (they're all great)
Bobby McFerron
Bryan Adams (Summer of 69 -- repeat if necessary: repeat)
Yellow Card
Cascada
DHT
Blue October
and many, many more.

At Corning, for the first refueling, we switched mp3 players.

From my iPod we harmonized with:

Lucinda Williams (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road)
Laura Nyro (The Loom's Desire)
2 hours' worth of Italian classics, with a focus on Louis Prima and Connie Francis
Yiddish radio classics (Yiddish in swing, too dayum good for English words! Sultry Barry Sisters...Moishe Oysher with that wholly erotic voice...even 50 years after his death -- OMG!)
Rosanne Cash (you are very much on my mind, darling!)
Rodney Crowell
Emmylou Harris
AC/DC (Back in Black!)
Shel Silverstein (Freakin' and other ditties of debauchery...let my kid learn it from the Light in the Attic Guy, and not in the street!)
Gram Parsons Tribute CD (Elvis Costello's Sleepless Nights makes me cry every time)
Yiddish/Hebrew/Russian by Netanya Davrath (by the hour, repeating Es Brent and Eitz Ha'Rimon)
Marty Stuart (Hillbilly Rock)
Brian Setzer (a double shot of adrenalin and...my personal favourite...testosterone, all served up on a '57 Gretsch. How much do I love that guy?!)
Aerosmith
"Swing!" - Manhattan Transfer with Asleep at the Wheel
and Heaven Knows what else.

Here we are in TO. Gotta put a set list together for our gig on Thursday now. So many to choose from. One hour to knock 'em out before hitting the road again Thursday afternoon.

__________________________________________________________

Flashback to the eve of the Big Winter Road Trip of '07. The love of my life had just returned from a very exhausting trip to Southern Florida, San Francisco, Orange County and Los Angeles for a week. Miriam was en route to Paris with her school. Yona was going to be up in TO with me, so we were mellow and giving each other lots of space. Not to mention the Hellhound on my trail.

The week had sucked real bad. As lousy as I am to be around, I am no f*cking good at all when I'm alone, and everyone who knows me knows this. So our house became a frat house in which no one had a real meal or slept very much. We ordered in veggie Chinese one night. It lasted three days because we were all glued to the computer, obsessing on music, Scrabble, or whatever. Stuff was strewn everywhere. The mail was stacked up, unopened. No wash got done. People traipsed in and out. Big shout out to Miriam who actually made her bed and did the mountain of dishes. I think I made a batch of rice crispie treats. Or maybe I just meant to. We grawed on wilted carrots and rice crackers. The only order was disorder.

But there was at least one thing I got right: I dusted off my double set of Robert Johnson and blew the cobwebs off my 1952 National Resophonic. I pulled out my slide, which had been a gift from Johnny Winter who-knows-how-many years ago, and I played along to Mr. Johnson, in a trancelike state. I never forgot how good that stuff sounded. It's always like the first time, especially when you drop the tuning down and do it like Robert did it. Yona took the picture, which is below.

I am offering you the lyric to Come On In My Kitchen. Best version I will ever remember was by David Rea (where are you now, Davy, California I hear?). His big claim to fame was writing Mississippi Queen, which Mountain made famous. I met David Rea at either Mariposa or Owen Sound sometime during the Jurassic era. I loaned him my Yamaha FG-180, when I learned from his manager, Gene Mascardelli, that David's Martin was stolen. He spent a year banging out his legendary, amazing Robert Johnson show on that battle-scarred guitar, which I still have and treasure. When I got it back, it looked like hell, but it sure sounded like David had sold its soul to the devil. I am positive that's how it went down.

So, here it is, with a special personal dedication from me to Jeff Healey.


Come On In My Kitchen

By Robert Johnson
Recorded in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday, November 23, 1936.

Mmm... you better come on in my kitchen babe, it’s goin’ to be rainin’ outdoors
The woman I love, took from my best friend
Some joker got lucky, stole her back again
You better come on in my kitchen babe, it's goin' to be rainin' outdoors

Oh, she's gone, I know she won't come back
I've taken the last nickel out of her nation sack
You better come on in my kitchen, baby, it's goin' to be rainin' outdoors

(Spoken: Oh, can't you hear that wind howl?)
Can't you hear that wind howl?
You better come on in my kitchen, baby, it's goin' to be rainin' outdoors

When a woman gets in trouble, everybody throws her down
Lookin' for her good friend, none can't be found
You better come on in my kitchen, baby, it's goin' to be rainin' outdoors

Winter time's comin', it's goin' to be slow
You can make the winter, babe, that's dry long so
You better come on in my kitchen, 'cause it's goin' to be rainin' outdoors