| DVD Update I have spent most of the winter working on the PBS special shot by Montana Public Television in Missoula, Montana. Silly me - I thought this would be easy. Even though it's a live show with only me and my guitar, it is ONE BIG BLACK HOLE of time as we choose between two days of shows and edit the sound and pictures. But we're all increasingly excited about what it's looking and sounding like. It's funny. The audience |
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| is great. It could be a big deal. Do I want a big deal? I don't know. The show will air in Montana in April, and then we'll be hoping to have it shown on other PBS stations around the country. We'll need your help on that, and let you know about it as the time comes. A DVD and audio CD of the performance will be available this spring too. | |||
photo by M. Gallacher |
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| MySpace | ||
| Yep, I took the plunge. You can find me on MySpace www.myspace.com/billharleymusic. My son Dylan spent much of his Christmas vacation setting up the page and it looks great. He is, as he says, the Bill Harley Myspace Team. It's an easy place to hear a song, see my schedule, and even download some songs and stories. Why do I feel like I'm in junior high again? Check it out. (and Dylan's note below!) | ||
| Grammy again? | |||
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I Wanna Play, my music recording for families, has been nominated for best music recording for children this year. It has already won a bunch of other awards, and reinforces Debbie's notion that it's my best recording. I have no idea - I just make them. We're up against some pretty heady competition, including the Muppets, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Peter Himmelman, Buck Howdy and The Velveteen Rabbit-Love Can Make you Real. Just going to the party ought to be enough for me now. | ||
| Like I'm not doing enough | ||
| I've started meeting with the Providence Quartet, the great musicians behind Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI. We're playing around with music and stories, and hope to put together some pieces for performance in the next year. It's wonderful to work with other great musicians and think about new ways to tell stories with music. We'll keep you posted. | ||
| Books, media, etc. | ||
| I recently read Bone to Pick: Of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Reparation, and Revenge by Ellis Cose and was particularly moved by the author's attempt to look at the possibilities for reconciliation and forgiveness on a personal, group and national level. I also read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, which made me glad we've got our own farmer and are members of a community supported agriculture group. If you are interested in finding a CSA or Farmer's Market near you, check out the Local Harvest website - it's a great resource for all of us. | ||
| In addition to reading Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, and some Elizabeth George mysteries, I also loved a book my dad gave me called The Smaller Majority by Piotr Naskrecki, a very cool book about little critters - frogs, toads, bugs, caterpillars, worms moths - with incredible photography. What a planet. | ||
| Misc wise - I am currently listening over and over again, to cd retrospectives of John Prine and Steve Goodman - two guys that taught me (through their recordings) how to write songs. I love 'em. | ||
| Books/etc from Deb | ||
| I've been working on a hand-pieced quilt lately - hand-dyed fabrics in shades of jewel tones and, since I can "feel" the end nearby - I'm quilting more than reading - but here are a few great reads - a couple thanks to suggestions from you! The Language of Threads by Gail Tsukiyama, The God of All Small Things by Arundati Roy and Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig. | ||
| While I've been quilting, I have been listening to some terrific music. Check out Carrie Newcomer (The Gathering of Spirits and her NEW recording The Geography of Light), Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem (Big Old Life), Dixie Chicks (Home, Taking the Long Way), Garnet Rogers (All That Is) and Eric Bogle (At This Stage) and, various show tunes which are fun to sing along with. | ||
Enjoy the winter months, take care of yourselves and each other and please come say hi if I'm performing nearby. |
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From the Office |
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| The Bill Harley MySpace Team | |||
Greetings to all! This is Bill's son Dylan, his MySpace team of one. You may remember me from big hits such as "The Pirate Song" and "A Cowboy's Life," on some of my dad's earlier recordings, when I was still "cute" enough by industry standards to sing on a kids album. I'm very excited to be working on the MySpace page, where you can listen to samples of music, see photos and concert dates, and even download some of his songs and stories. Please feel free to friend us, or send a note with suggestions, comments or questions - I'll always be more than |
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| happy to put my school work aside for some productive procrastination. | |||
Don't forget to tell your friends and family! It's a great, easy way to introduce people to Bill Harley's work! Happy New Year, The Bill Harley Myspace Team |
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| ATTENTION TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS |  |
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| Bill Harley featured in ALA Editions books by Rob Reid | |||
| We had the opportunity to meet Rob Reid and his family last spring when we were filming a PBS show in Montana. He was there for a family wedding - we were there for the concerts! After corresponding while Rob was completing these publications - it was a pleasure to meet in person. We appreciate his ongoing support of Bill's work and the great work of the wider community of children's musicians - these are really wonderful resources! | |||
| "Harley is also in the top echelon of children's recording artists" writes Reid. In the chapter titled Rob's Favorite Original Children's Songs, Bill's songs "I Like To Sing", "Look Out Your Window" and "Sittin' Down to Eat" are included and, in his list of "core recordings" Big Big World is recommended! Bill's picture book Sitting Down to Eat is featured in Something Musical Happened at the Library! | |||
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Children's Jukebox, 2nd edition, is an updated version of Reid's first book. It is a subject index of children's recorded music and, as a reference tool, is aimed at libraries and schools. Something Musical Happened at the Library incorporates music with children's literature with practical suggestions and is aimed for librarians, teachers, and parents.
More information for Children's Jukebox can found from the ALA Editions catalog by clicking here. More information for Something Musical Happened at the Library can be found by clicking here. |
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| Photo Fun | |||
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Here is a fun indoor activity that was suggested by Cassie and Robbie (pictured left). They have included no less than 8 songs in the picture. Can you figure out which ones? Click here to see a bigger version and to get the answers. This is the perfect cold weather stuck inside and there's nothing to do kind of activity. So put on your favorite Bill Harley CD, come up with some cool costumes and funny props and take a picture. Send them to us and we'll add them to our Photo Fun page! |
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| Online Reviews | ||
| While cruising Amazon.com the other day, we noticed that there's only 1 (one!) review of Bill's newest recording, I Wanna Play! And, while it is a great one, we'd love to have more of them...so, IF you feel moved to do some reviewing next time you're on Amazon, or CDBaby, or itunes, we'd greatly appreciate it. | ||
| Bill's Calendar | ||
| To find out where Bill is going to be performing, check his online calendar. Arranged by month, we list all shows that are open to public. If you have a question about a show, feel free to email us. | ||
Visit Bill Harley's homepage: |
