I’ll be packing up my guitar and heading to Alaska this week. This is my time to think and write. I’ll take 2 weeks to myself to clear out my head from a year of teaching and see what I have left of my own creativity. This is the beauty of being a teacher….12 weeks off in the summer. Sitka is known for its music scene in the summer, so I will start there. Looking forward to local concerts and Jazz on the Water. I’ll be sure to post if anything exciting happens……
Scotts Valley High School Receives the Grammy Foundation Signature Enterprise Award
As the new music educator for Scotts Valley High School I was very excited to hear our school had received the prestigious Grammy Foundation Signature Enterprise Award for this year! They will present the award at our Spring Concert on May 17th at 7 PM in the the Scotts Valley High School student union. I never thought I’d receive my Grammy through teaching! I have to say, in hindsight, this one couldn’t mean more to me. Having worked with students now for 7 years I am constantly humbled by their talent, life stories, and their love and passion for the art of music. What a great daily reminder of myself and how I came into this profession. I hope kids are inspired and encouraged to continue to pursue a career in music. I know its been a blessing in my life!
http://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-foundation-announces-2011-grammy-signature-schools
Universal Audio and Antares to build studio at Scotts Valley High School
The crew; including, Antares CEO Georgie Hildebrand, Scotts Valley High School teacher Beth Hollenbeck, Director of Commercial Music West Valley College Jeff Forehan, Universal Audio President Matt Ward
Big day coming on Saturday. As the new music teacher at Scotts Valley High School one of my dreams will come true….a recording studio for my students. Local businesses Universal Audio and Antares are sponsoring it for us. They are providing all the equipment and will build it with two of my students on Saturday. All I can say is, I wish I had this when I was a kid!!!
Don Quixote’s International Music Hall/ Santa Cruz, CA
Finale at Don Quixote's
Sean Chapman (not pictured), Cassandra Farrar, Gustav Haggren and Robert Johnson (Sweden), Elisabeth Carlisle, Kenny Schick and Liz Smith.
In-the-Round with Gustav Haggren and Cassandra Farrar
This Thursday night Jan. 6th will be a singer/songwriter showcase at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall. I will be joined on stage by Gustav Haggren and Cassandra Farrar. Gustav and I did a show last March together in Helsingborg, Sweden and Cassandra came to my attention through one of my ex students that is playing bass in her band. It should be somewhat eclectic with a wide range of age, culture and life experiences going on!!
Gustav is touring the US with his guitarist Lucky Johnson and they are actually part of a band called Case Conrad. They are promoting a new CD with this tour. Cassandra is young and up-and-coming. She has a unique voice and I’ve been impressed with her youtube videos. And me….well I’ll be singing some of the old and then some new. I will be donating my portion of the night to my dear friend who just completed cancer treatment and is sitting on a pile of medical bills not covered fully by insurance. I hope a slew of people show up so I can send her some much needed cash!!! It’s going to be a magical evening. You won’t want to miss it. 
Case Conrad’s Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1390611825250&sk=messages#!/caseconrad
Basement 3 Productions
Thank you Kenny Schick for doing a great job recording two new songs. Will release 4 song EP January 6th at Don Quixote’s show!
Basement 3 Production Studio
Going into the studio again
I’ll be recording a new song the next couple days. Hope to have a 3-4 song CD ready for my show at Don Quixote’s on January 6th with the songs recorded in Sweden last March on it too. Found a local guy that I really like. As much as I love to record at Yla Studios, it’s hard to get over there every time I want to record a song. I hope this local studio can be an alternative when I can’t get to Sweden. Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/basement3music
