Montreal Jam 2011

I'm still basking in the afterglow of this year's Montreal Jam, held July 29, 30 and 31 up in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec.  An awesome confluence of musicians and fans, this gathering seems to get better each year.  20 Second Life musicians graced the stage on Saturday and Sunday, including Gandalf Mornington, Stratus Mactavish, Montrealer Moody, Montian Gilruth, me (Shannon Oherlihy), Eponine Dench, Maximillion Kleene, Wren Hartunian, FunkyFreddy Republic, Tamra Sands, Maurice Mistwallow, Wytchwhisper Sadofsky, Taunter Goodnight, JellyJellyJelly Benelli, Katydid Something, Slim Shaky, Jase Branner, FrancoOis Beaumont, Lyndon Heart and Norris Shepherd. Back in 2009, at the first Montreal Jam, I was the poster child for the stolen guitar...the cautionary tale of how not to lose your instrument, and it was a minor underlying theme this year, with choruses of "Where's your guitar?" heard throughout the weekend. I did manage to come home with my guitar this time, although I had a momentary scare on Saturday night. Rich and I were getting ready to go and I went to the restroom and then to pack up my guitar, only to find it not there. Where's my guitar?" I said to Bree, and she said, "Oh no, not again."  I turned around and there was Rich with my guitar -- he had packed up my gear for me, loyal and dedicated roadie that he is.

The music started at the Friday night mixer, held at Dundee's, a bar and restaurant in the heart of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. The impromptu jam featured many of the musicians on a rotating basis and was a great way to get a sense of each musician's style. There was a pajama party planned for back at the dorm, but everyone elected to stay at Dundee's and keep playing till midnight.

In 2009, at the first Montreal Jam, I was not that comfortable about asking people to join in my set -- I had only been playing in Second Life just under a year, and was very shy. What if they said no? After having been to both Montreal in 2009 and Hartford in 2010, I realized that a bit of preplanning helps to make things go smoother, even though the off-the-cuff stuff totally rocked!  The musicians were so top-notch, it felt like we had been playing together for years. I was pleased and honored to be asked to sing and play in the sets of Montrealer Moody, Katydid Something, Maurice Mistwallow and JellyJellyJelly Benelli.  The structure was such that anyone could jump in at any time, but it was nice to be included specifically.

It's always wonderful to play when there is a great sound system available. I think it makes a major difference, and it sure did here. I know Rich enjoyed running the sound board and he did an excellent job. (Yes, I might be a little biased, but as a musician, I know the sound was great.)

I ended up playing a mix of originals and covers in my set.  My story of the stolen guitar, Lost in Montreal opened the set. The covers I played were God's Promise, You Ain't Goin Nowhere, Black Star, Angel From Montgomery, America, Wayfaring Stranger, Paradise, Kathy's Song, Different Drum. 40 Years On, Emotional Vampire and Anyway were the originals. That was my set, to the best of my knowledge. I did play in a couple of other sets, so my memory might overlap.  The crowd in-world in Second Life was amazing. The screen was shown behind us on a curtain attached to the stage.  I turned around from time to time to see if I could see anyone I knew, and to check the time. It was neat to get a request from someone in-world too. My only regret for my set was that I didn't specifically ask for singers to come up, and I should have. There were some awesome vocalists there. I guess I thought that it was implied that they were all welcome. Next time I will make that clear.

I am sure I missed out on a lot of fun by not staying at the dorms. From the stories I heard, everyone was up till all hours playing and singing and enjoying each other's company. We stayed at a lovely B&B, Gite Angell,  just over the bridge. It was right on the lake and so relaxing. The breakfasts were out of this world...stuffed french toast and sausage, fresh fruit and yogurt, toast and cheeses for Saturday breakfast, and a bagel topped with pesto, tomatoes and cheese, roasted grapefruit with fresh fruit and candied ginger on top, cheese and toast for Sunday's breakfast.

We left on Sunday in the afternoon, so I missed the closing. Wish we could have stayed, but as often is the case, RL called. The woman at the border crossing didn't understand why we would travel to meet people that we met on the Internet. We didn't have time to explain with any depth what it all meant to us.

Sincere thanks to Montian, Bree and all who helped make this jam the great one it was. It's always wonderful to meet new people, make new friends and share our love of music together.

Open Mike Night

My steady stream of gigs has seemingly dried up, and I'm left to my own devices, hawking for gigs like a Girl Scout selling cookies. Unfortunately, I don't have the Thin Mints or the green uniform to boost the deal.  A wise person (my live-in roadie and sound man, Rich) advised me to get myself out there by playing weekly open mike nights. A great idea, of course.  I wish I had thought of it, but that's why I pay him the big bucks. The Outer Space in Hamden, CT was the first stop on my Open Mike Night Tour.  We arrived after 7pm, which was signup time and found the prime spots were taken, leaving only the very first slot at 7:30 and the third to last slot at 10:00.  I carefully weighed my decision, deciding against the first spot, because in my experience, the crowd is at its thinnest earlier on. In this case it would have been better had I chosen it. By the time my turn rolled around, after the featured act and one person ahead of me, the crowd had depleted considerably.  Lesson learned: Get there just before signup happens so you can get the slot you want.  I've been playing open mikes since I was 15, and I know the rules, but five minutes can make a huge difference.  I played The Sum of My Years, Anyway and Lost in Montreal (the new song about my stolen guitar).  The crowd was very appreciative, and I managed to sell one CD, get a tip and hand out a business card, which made it a success in my book.  Next stop is C.J. Sparrow in Cheshire, CT this Thursday, July 15th. Come on out and cheer me on! :)

The Song of the Stolen Guitar, Part 2

Back in January, I wrote a blog post about a song I was going to write memorializing my stolen guitar. I finally started work on that song, creating the first verse a few months ago. Strangely enough, this song has taken forever to materialize. As I write this, the song is about 85% done, I think. For some reason, it has been very difficult to express the story without sounding like a sentimental fool. I'm not sure there's any way around that. In my early days of songwriting, the songs would come a heck of a lot faster. If I couldn't finish the song in one sitting, I would trash the remnants. I'm not so quick to do that now.  This is the first song I've written since 40 Years On was finished back in November of 2009. EmmyLou Harris talked about her fear of songwriting in a recent interview. I can surely relate to that. I am lucky that many seem to connect to my songs -- that is such an amazing feeling. I want to make that connection EVERY time, so that puts pressure on me to create a song that people can understand and believe in.

I have been playing the new song, in its fragmented and experimental state, to my Second Life audiences for the past week or two now. I'm not sure whether it's helped or not, in regards to feedback or whatever. In the past, I used to play the song over the phone to a friend when I was finished, just to get someone's opinion. Playing an unfinished song is uncharted territory for me--drawing the listeners into the songwriting process and allowing them to see the song evolve.

This song is moving SO slowly. I'm not sure what's keeping the words and music from flowing, but I truly hope to finish it by the end of this week. The working title is Lost in Montreal, so be on the lookout for it, and let me know what you think.

Video Podcast

Last night I was part of a video podcast shoot to promote our upcoming show at The Outer Space in Hamden, CT.  The night didn't get off to an auspicious start when I got lost in the wilds of Naugatuck, trying to find  Vision Recording Studios. Thanks Google Maps! At least I wasn't the only one to get lost with those directions. After two calls, I finally made it there an hour later, only to find that in my rush to get on the road, I'd left my purse at home. It didn't make much of a difference that I was late, however, since the crew was working with one of the other acts, but I didn't want people to think I was ditzy because I couldn't find my way. Four other acts besides me will be appearing on Saturday, April 16th: Mojo Magnus, Sarah Lemieux, Tomorrow Just Started and Little Ugly. Last night's session included me, Little Ugly and Sarah Lemieux. A PBS crew working on a show about Connecticut musicians was there doing the filming and interviewing, and will add footage from the April 16th show to their final cut.  Each of us had an interview that lasted about thirty minutes and played two songs.  I played The Test and 40 Years On, since I talked about them in the interview. The video podcast will incorporate some of  the interview and most likely one of the songs. I am not a fan of myself on video or in pictures, so I'm not sure whether I want to see it or not, but of course I will watch it. It was an interesting evening, and even though it was long, I really enjoyed it. By the time I left the studio it was just after midnight. Thankfully, I didn't get lost on the way home.

Thanks to David Vignola, owner of Vision Recording Studios and half of Mojo Magnus, for giving me the opportunity to play at this event. The mix of musicians and styles are diverse, but each is very talented and I'm honored to be among them.

The video podcast should be out sometime next week, I believe...

Two Shows

Somehow, the god of live shows has been smiling down on me. Where there once was drought, there is now fruition. Starting in February and reaching all the way to May, my live show dance card is full. I'm playing SoNo Caffeine on Thursday, March 17, Maggie Mcflys in Middlebury on Wednesday, March 30, and The Outer Space on Saturday, April 16. Beyond that, who knows? On February 19th, 2011, I was part of Frank and Friends Saturday Night Special at the Huntington Street Cafe, in Shelton, CT. Frank Pergola, our host, kicked off the show with a couple of songs. John Hoyt, a banjo player from Indiana, played next, and then it was my turn. I played a 35-40 minute set of mostly originals to a very appreciative crowd. One woman in the front row was crying during my song  40 Years On. I'd like to believe it was the song that moved her to tears, but I'll never know for sure. I closed out my set with John Prine's Angel From Montgomery and Bob Dylan's You Ain't Going Nowhere so I could call Frank up on stage to add some guitar and vocals to the mix. The whole audience sang along on the last song, which was a great way to finish my set. The Zuzazz String Orkestra ended the night with a lively and eclectic set of classic tunes.  Here's a bit of video from the show: Greenwich Village was the locale for an hour set I played on the Window Box Stage at Manhattan Theatre Source on Saturday, February 26th. Amelia Blake, a fellow Second Life musician was in town from Louisiana, and we had made plans to get together that day. She mentioned the Window Box Stage, and I thought I would see if I could get a gig there on Saturday, since I was going to be in the city already.  I figured it would be a long shot, but lo and behold, the spot was open. As we had plans to roam around the Village all day, I had to find someplace secure to stash my guitar. A good friend of mine offered to let me keep my guitar at her place for the day. The caveat: she lives on the upper west side. Needless to say, we spent a good amount of time riding the subway in and out of the Village. We had plans to have lunch at Katz's Deli, but when we got there the line was too long, so we found Pulino's, a gourmet pizza place which was unexpectedly delightful.

Arriving in Greenwich Village 50 some-odd years late for the folk movement and culture that thrived in those days, I still felt a little like I was perpetuating history--just me and my guitar, singing my folk songs on MacDougal Street, steps away from Washington Square Park. The room was fairly empty when I began, save for the few familiar faces of friends, who came out to hear me and give support.  I was the opening act for the Manhattan Theatre Source production of Oscarpalooza, a show of film parodies. As the crowd of actors and audience trickled in, they found seats where they could and started paying attention. I did see people intently listening as I scanned the room. My last song was Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi and I'm told that folks sang along, but I didn't hear them.  After the show, we grabbed dinner with Amelia and JW at a nearby diner and talked till we had to catch the train home.

I'm very happy to have had an engaged crowd for both shows. I know that doesn't happen at every gig, but it gives me hope that my music is somehow reaching people.