From Tracy: The Living Tradition Concert Series in Anaheim , this past Saturday, November 21st

From Tracy: The Living Tradition Concert Series in Anaheim , this past Saturday, November 21:  We (TN $ R – Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements… that’s my new way of writing it,) opened for Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band.

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A word about the venue - Steve and Michele Dulson started this series at the Anaheim Community Center ten years ago.  We’ve appeared there three times in the past two years, and felt privileged to be invited to play the final show under their management.  Gary and Terri Trobridge from Dallas will take over in January, 2010.  I look forward to working with them, but I will miss Steve and Michele.  They were dancing together in the back of the house through many songs… mainly waltzes, actually. You don’t see that too often.  The house was a good size, maybe 65 or a bit more… and very appreciative.  The sound was spectacular… I felt like every word of every song could be heard.  I was very much at ease because Lorie and Gene and I could hear each other so clearly!  That doesn’t happen all the time and it makes a huge difference.  Thank you to soundmen George and Steve… I don’t know your last names.  Thanks, guys!   I had my full band there – Lorie, Gene, John Cartwright on bass -- (Did you know that he played with Harry Belafonte for 35 years?) – the fabulous John O’Kennedy on mandolin, dobro and Weisenborn, and the steady Doug Knoll on drums.  We did a pretty tight 45 minute set… an even mixture of songs from “ A Place in the Sun,” and new material.  I love doing “Table Nine.”  And each time we perform “Waffle Boy” I learn something new.  This time I learned that I can sing it slower that I have been.  There are a lot of words and the story is very detailed.  It’s good to slow down.  It worked very well that way for this crowd.  Of course, the crowd always loves seeing Lorie Doswell’s special moves to “Goodbye Aloha.”  Our encore was “Mama, I Know You Ain’t Santa,” which we only get to do a few times a year.  Not a dry eye…

 

Now, Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band – so great.  So entertaining and soulful.  Bluegrass .  Most of their songs are new and written by lead guitarist, Rob Carlson.  All about murder and heartbreak.  The only other artist I know who can pull that off is Ernest Troost.  Rob’s songs all sound like they’ve been around for years, and have been honed and changed over time the way real “folk songs” are supposed to be.  It’s quite an art and Rob is brilliant at it.  Susie has a high, pure voice.  I love it.  You can’t really talk about Susie Glaze without saying how cute she is.  Being a woman myself, and not always appreciating being called “cute,” I hope she’s not offended.  But damnit, that’s what she is.  Cute and in fact, quite beautiful.  Her husband, Steve Rankin (who is also a hard-working actor – Google him – you’ll recognize his face; you’ve seen him a million times), plays guitar and mandolin by her side.  The bass player is Fred Sanders.  He sang an original about parenting that was very moving.  All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed their show.  Lorie, Gene and I sat in the back and quietly harmonized.  Watching the show, I remembered a song I’ve known most of my life… the Ballad of Springhill, written by Ewan McCall and Peggy Seeger, about a mine disaster in Nova Scotia .  I think we’ll learn it and do it.  Needless to say, Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band were inspirational to me.  We’re doing another show together – on Saturday, Jan 9, 2010 at Kulak’s.  I can’t wait to see them again!  I’ll post details soon.

From Tracy: FAR-West Conference in Irvine, Nov 6 & 7, 2009 (www.far-west.org)

FAR-West Conference in Irvine, Nov 6 & 7, 2009 (www.far-west.org).

 

This year, the conference took place at the sprawling Hyatt Regency by the Jamboree exit of the 405.  Lorie and Gene and I (Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements) played 15 guerilla showcases over the two days and nights of non-stop music.  It was wonderful.  We connected and reconnected with old friends, club owners, house-concert people, radio people and made many new friends and fans.  I was happy to get requests for material on my CD, “ A Place in the Sun,” such as “Waffle Boy,” “Night Blooming Jasmine,” “Diane,” “Laraine” and “Goodbye. Aloha.”  I also did my Christmas song, “Mama, I Know You Ain’t Santa” a few times… it is November.   And I got requests for new material, such as the carpool song “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” and my tribute to Merle Haggard, “Table Nine.”  Oh, and some people wanted to hear “I Just See You,” a song I wrote about what I see when I look in the mirror.  The amazing guitarist, Steve Postell sat in with us for about 5 of the showcases.  Luke Halpin (on fiddle) and Matt Cartsonis (on mandolin) sat in for a few songs, too.  That was cool.  That’s what it’s all about.  The nighttime guerilla showcases didn’t even start until 10:30, so we were all exhausted by Sunday morning, but what fun!  (These guerilla showcases take place in a host’s hotel room.  It was all on the 3^rd floor.  The hallway was very noisy.  Sometimes it wasn’t a problem; sometimes it was.  It would be nice to figure out a way to fix that next year.) 

 

Also, there were some 40 Main Showcase performances, going on from 6:45PM to 10:15 on Friday and Saturday night.  They took place simultaneously in three rooms, each with superb sound and lighting.  If you wanted to see everyone, you would have had to pop into a room, listen to a song or two and then move on.  I’m sure everyone who was there could speak at length about some great Main Showcase act, but this is my forum, so I’m going to focus on just three.  

 

First off, Shaun Cromwell.  I won’t go on and on about how great he is, I promise.  It so goes without saying.  Just this:  Several of us – Ernest Troost and his lovely wife, Louise, and Nicole Gordon and I sat in the front row smiling like magpies through his whole set… a half hour of kvelling.  I don’t think the smile left Ernest’s face for one second.  I remember the first time Ernest saw Shaun… he wrote to me saying, “Holy Mississippi John Hurt!”  That’s all I’m going to say.  Check out Shaun for yourself: (www.shauncromwell.com)  

 

Aztec 2 Step.  I had never seen them.  I had heard of them in the early 70s.  I entered their showcase room, sat down next to Steve Postell and was transported by Neal Shulman and Rex Fowler.  Neal has that abandon on the guitar that you dream of.  It’s not just that he plays fast and accurately… it’s that he plays with abandon.  He’s free.  He’s not working up there; he’s just playing.  And the charming Rex Fowler sings out loud and clear and fully committed to a timeless style.  Their wonderful bass player was having the time of his life… I’m so sorry that I don’t remember his name!  (www.aztectwostep.com)

 

Robert Morgan Fisher.  Well, well, well.  He’s wonderful but I see him fairly often in town.  I don’t know what drew me to his room, but I went in and sat in the back.  I don’t remember what he started with, but I was singing along. Then he started his song from the point of view of a guitar… Life in Music.  I’ve heard it probably 10 times, but he was performing everything on this Far-West Main Stage with such quiet, gentle power that I felt myself get up and go to the front of the room.  I realized about halfway into the song that I was watching Robert “come into his own” for lack of a better phrase.  He was completely in his element.  He was in the right place at the right time.  Far-West is the absolute right audience for him.  His stories are so well-crafted and his music is so perfect, and he was so happy up there.  Robert has something to say and we were really listening.  I just felt like his life was changing before my eyes.  I’m so glad I was there!  I should mention that the terrific Matt Cartsonis was up there supporting him on guitar.  What a perfect side man for Robert at that event.  (www.robertmorganfisher.com. 

 

I will be returning to Far-West next year, in San Jose .

Tracy Newman Now Sings Her Stories by Leah R. Garnett from "Music After 50"

 

Tracy Newman Now Sings Her Stories

by Leah R. Garnett on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at at 12:47 pm

A former TV writer, Tracy Newman started a new career as a singer/songwriter in her 60s. Photograph by: www.sherrybarnettphotography.com

You may not know Tracy Newman’s name, but you likely know her dialogue. She’s a former TV writer who’s written for “Cheers,” “The Nanny,” “Ellen” (with Ellen Degeneres), The Drew Carey Show,” and many others. She and co-writer Jonathan Stark won an Emmy and the Peabody Award for writing the ground-breaking coming-out episode of “Ellen.” The duo then co-created the long-running sitcom, “According to Jim,” starring Jim Belushi. And for Newman’s encore?

In 2005, she left the TV business to become a full-time singer-songwriter. Tracy Newman cut her first CD, “A Place in the Sun,” in 2007. Her second CD is due to be released in early 2010. She’s also recording a CD for children. 

A Los Angeles native, Tracy is in her 60s and has played the guitar and written songs since the age of 14. Tracy says that the years of experience creating “stories” within the confines of the 22-minute situation comedy improved her songwriting skills. Now her stories are 3 minutes long, and she gets to sing them. Music After 50 talked to Tracy Newman about her new career, her approach to songwriting, and her next gig.

LRG: I understand that both you and your younger sister, Laraine Newman of “Saturday Night Live” fame, were members of the Groundlings, an improvisational group and theater in Los Angeles. I imagine you weren’t just writing, but acting as well. Did that experience set the stage for what you’re doing now?

TN: Yes. Being in the Groundlings made me comfortable on stage and helped me hone my re-writing skills. TV writing is really about re-writing. So is songwriting. So is all writing. That’s where the hard work is.

LRG: What prompted you to leave television when you did?

TN: I’ve always prepared for my next job while I still had the money coming in for the current one. When we sold “According to Jim,” we had a great staff in place and I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I thought I could get out of television and do something else. I loved writing comedy, but I didn’t want to be going every day to a job anymore. I was burned out from the pressure of shooting and editing a live show every week.

When we sold the pilot in 2001, it was like winning the lottery. I stayed on as a consultant until the end of 2005. I then went to Nashville to study songwriting 101, where I wrote “Waffle Boy.” It’s about a kid suffering through his first day of making waffles at a Waffle House. I tried to give a very detailed description of everything he goes through on his way to triumph. It’s really about a wonderful father-son relationship. I’ve won several songwriting contests with that song. [LRG: listen to it here, along with other songs.]  

LRG: I really enjoyed your song “Laraine,” which is about the love and friendship you feel for your younger sister.  Do you think mature songwriters tend to write less about romantic love than young singer/songwriters?

TN: Not necessarily. I think all songwriters write about heartbreak, lost love, etc. The best songwriters cover everything, no matter how old they are; they are observant. Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, the Beatles – all influenced what a lot of us write. They certainly wrote a lot of love songs when they were younger, but they also wrote character studies. “A Free Man in Paris” by Joni Mitchell is a good example. It’s a very detailed character study of then agent David Geffen, with a lot of heart in it. It has an emotional through-line. He’s a frustrated man. Everyone is trying to get a piece of him; everyone is begging him for favors. It’s heartfelt; you understand why he’s in Paris.

There’s “For Free,” about the clarinet player on the corner playing for tips. She meant to give money but the signal changed. Such a great comment on all of us. She’s a brilliant  observer. She writes about life around her. She was young when she wrote that.

LRG: You mentioned that you’re much less nervous going on stage at 60-something than at 20-something. Why is that?

TN: I think many people feel more at ease…or maybe more accepting of who they are as they get older. When I started singing and playing in clubs again…as I had done in my early 20’s, I practiced and practiced until at least I knew I wouldn’t screw up the technical stuff. Then I wondered for a New York minute… “Jeez, I’m in my 60’s. What’s this going to look like?  Who’s going to be interested in what I have to say?” Then, I just shrugged and said, “Who cares?” I am who I am. There’s nothing I can do about it, and as long as I’m interested in what I have to say, maybe someone else will be, too. I think that’s my new motto. 

LRG: You mentioned you were also doing a kids’ CD. Talk about that, and about how you got involved in children’s music.

TN: When I was a teen, I was the camper who led singalongs around the campfire. In the early 70s, I was a nursery school teacher and I did a song circle every day. When I had my daughter, Charlotte, I sang her to sleep every night with songs I knew and songs I made up. Then I sang in her school for all ages. I have a lot of songs for kids. By the way, if you want to sing for children, make sure they know your songs ahead of time, if you can, so you’re a superstar when you walk through the door. Then, they’re riveted. Actually, it’s the same with adults.

LRG: On your CD liner notes, you thank your songwriting teacher, Harriet Schock. 

 

TN: I’ve taken her class about 20 times…that’s 10-week sessions, over three years. Many of the songs on my current CD were written in her classes.

LRG: What sorts of people are in class with you?

TN: Some are there because they just want to write; they’re never going to perform. I think others are there for a kind of therapy. Others are experienced singer-songwriters who may have hit a wall, and need help. Sometimes there’s a teenager in there. Right now, I’m probably the oldest. One of my band-mates is in there writing up a storm. Harriet’s class is really fun. As far as I’m concerned, she has a sure-fire method.

LRG: What were some recent gigs and where is your next performance? Do you, or do you want, to tour?

TN: My last gig was at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood. That’s a funky 60s throwback with a 6-camera international webcast of the shows. My next one [Saturday, Nov 21, 2009] is at the Living Tradition Concert Series in Anaheim. That’s like a community center with a subscription audience. I play a lot at The Talking Stick in Venice. I play Russ & Julie’s House Concerts in Oak Park, Bob Stane’s Coffee Gallery in Altadena, Strings Music Store in Glendora, Arnie’s Café in Tujunga. As you can tell, I do a lot of shows locally. I don’t travel much yet. It becomes a matter of managing my energy. At this age, do I want to tour? If they made it comfortable for me? Maybe. I’d probably have to have a hit record. That would be very cool, wouldn’t it?

Copyright © 2009, After 50 Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Tracy - Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood , Friday night, Oct 23, 2009 with John Wort Hannam

Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood, 
Friday night, Oct 23, 2009 with John Wort Hannam

 

I love Kulak’s.  Paul Kulak has nurtured this little place into a singer/songwriter haven.  A jewel.  It seats about 40 people.  There’s a king size bed there, several couches, and all types of chairs and stools, some comfortable and some god-awful.  The walls are completely covered with pictures and album covers.  There are 5 or 6 video cameras, some gliding on rails.  The equipment is operated by volunteers, including sound.  Ken Holmes did ours last night, and it was perfect.  Shows are webcast all over the world and usually the quality is excellent.  The artists get to take home a DVD of the entire night, which is very cool.  Kulak’s is supported by donations.  Most people give about $10.  Each night brings in $300 to $400, which covers the rent.  There is no food, there’s coffee and a fridge in the back.  Last night’s show was totally full, with people standing.  I had my full band – Lorie, Gene, John Cartwright, Doug Knoll and John O’Kennedy.  We did the first hour and John Wort Hannam did the second.  We did about ten songs, I think. The audience was very enthusiastic.  I had a ball.  Lorie and Gene each did a solo.  Then John Wort Hannam graced the stage.  I loved every minute of his show.  He’s such a wonderful writer.  If you’ve never heard him, go to www.johnworthannam.com and listen to “Two Bit Suit,” “Infantry Man,” and “Sweet, Sweet Rose.”  You’ll be hooked.  His voice is so clear… he’s a true folksinger.  He’s Canadian.  I like that he was a junior high school teacher for five years, and quit to make a living as a songwriter.  Pretty brave, but I think he’s succeeding.  He sold a lot of CDs last night.  He’s playing tonight (Saturday, Oct 24) at Russ & Julie’s House Concert in Oak Park .  Oh, I forgot to mention, if you’re watching the webcast, you can email the players and your letter gets read during the show.  I love that Russ & Julie were watching last night and wrote to us!  The Kulak’s experience is always great.  I recommend it!

-Tracy

From Tracy - Wednesday, Oct. 21 at WineStyles in South Pasadena

Wednesday, Oct. 21 at WineStyles in South Pasadena:  Brad Colerick put this night together.  It’s called “Wine and Song Series.”  The place is wonderful… Kathy Bergstrom serves wonderful wines and beers, along with a variety of cheeses, crackers, fruit, hummus, tapenade, etc.  Big comfortable leather chairs, and those  tall round tables and tall chairs.  Brad set up a small but mighty sound system.  He runs a very relaxed show.  He’s so good himself, he doesn’t need anyone else, but I guess he likes the company.  He opened with three songs, including one called “Lines in the Dirt” which I particularly loved. (www.bradcolerick.com)  

Lorie and Gene and I were singing harmony from our seats.  He writes great choruses for that.  Damn, I just realized I forgot to ask for “Sweet Corn.”  I guess I was too concerned about what we were going to sing.  We came up next and did “Night Blooming Jasmine,” “I Can Be Bad,” and my carpool song, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”  There were a few people in the audience with teenage girls who seemed to relate.  

The Reinforcements each sang alone: Lorie did “Dream Drivin’,” and Gene did “I Can’t Seem to Dial You In.”  Ed Tree showed up and did a song.  He’s a terrific producer, but I had never really seem him perform, so that was very cool.  He’s so good at everything. Then it was time for Rob Laufer, who I had never seen.  He’s a terrific writer and just really, really solid.  He did a song about how it doesn’t take long to cry… or it only takes a minute to cry.  I loved it.  Check him out:  (http://www.myspace.com/roblaufer)  I’m going to try and set up a show with him so my fans can see him.  This was a really good gig.

From Tracy - Arnie's gig last night (10/15/09)

Last night, Thursday, Oct 15:  Once again, we played Arnie’s Café in Tujunga, as guests of Mark “Pocket” Goldberg, Randy Sacks and the remarkable house band.  I now pretty much know everyone in the band – Mark on bass, Nick Kirgo (guitar), Dave Fraser (piano), Debra Dobkin (drums,) and on pedal-steel, none other than JayDee Maness.  So this time I did two things I didn’t do last time:  First and foremost, I brought CHARTS.  My friend, Stan Ayeroff made them for “Laraine,” “Night Blooming Jasmine,” “My Kisses,” “Table Nine,” “One-Way Road,” and “Goodbye, Aloha.”  I printed them up on slightly heavy laser paper.  Each song is two pages, which I taped together.  I normally have fun on stage, so… I’m not sure it’s so amazing that I had a lot of fun.  And to have JayDee Maness playing on “Table Nine,” my odd little tribute to Merle Haggard, was indescribable.  More about the music in a moment.

 

The second thing I did that I didn’t do last time was eat.  I had the chipotle chicken pasta dish.  Original and great.  I loved it.  The chef’s name is Chris.  He’s Italian.  He’s just so good.  Next time I’m going to try the pesto pasta.  Gene (Lippmann) had that and it looked great.  Someone at my table had linguini with clams.  He seemed to like it, but to me it looked very watery.  That was the first thing I’ve seen there that didn’t look good.  I think when it gets too busy there, things fall apart a little.  They need a helper in the kitchen and probably another waitress, although the one they had was fabulous.  She handled a full house alone.  It doesn’t hurt that she’s really cute and actually listens to the music.

 

Shaun Cromwell played after me.  If you’ve never seen him, do.  To coin an overused phrase – he’s the real deal.  Or as one of my friends’ puts it – “this guy’s the guy.”  (www.shauncromwell.com).  It was interesting to see Shaun with that band.  He had some charts, but not for all the songs he did last night.  Everything sounded great and got better and better.  Speaking of sounding great, last time we played this gig, the sound wasn’t as good as it was last night.  It was perfect this time.  I don’t know if something changed or we just had a better mix in the monitors this time.  Randy Sacks was handling it all and he stayed on top of it.  

 

Arnie’s house band just kicks ass and there’s no other way to put it.  I love that song of Randy’s called “I’m Depending on You.”  I don’t think he’d mind my comparing him to Costello.  I love Mark’s song about Walking… I can’t remember the exact title… unless it’s “Walking.”  And Dave Fraser did an amazing song.  And Debra just keeps everything steady.  Really, any Thursday night out there will rock - you can’t miss.  Great food, great show.

 

I was also blown away by how many friends and fans showed up.  The house was full.  I guess they live out there.  I look forward to playing there again.  I’m having more charts made up. 

 

Tracy

Tracy Newman

www.tracynewman.com

www.myrecordlabel.com/tracynewman

www.myspace.com/tracynewman1

The Talking Stick, Oct 8, with Women on the Move

This was a remarkably mellow night.  A full house and very quiet.  I had my whole band – Lorie, Gene, John Cartwright (bass), John O’Kennedy (dobro, mando, Weisenborn, and Doug Knoll (drums).  I did a new song, called “If It Were Up to Me,” which I wrote for my daughter, Charlotte.  It’s reminiscent of John Sebastian’s “What a Day for a Daydream,” in tone, but the content deals with all we might wish for our child.  It should be on my next CD. 

 

We did about an hour, then turned over the stage to Women on the Move, aka Joan Enguita, Linda Geleris and Trish Lester.  Actually, I was originally part of WOM, too.  Two years ago, Joan Enguita produced a CD called “Beautiful.”  It has 14 female artists on it: Anna Montgomery, Teresa James, Karen Hart, Julie Gribble, Kelly Z, Harriet Schock, Andrea Ross Greene, Holly Jurgensen, Debbie Hennessey, and Evonne Rivera , me, Joan, Trish and Linda.  It’s quite lovely.  The theme of the project is uplifting songs highlighting the plight of abused women.  My song on there is “Diane Wants a Man,” about a woman who keeps getting plastic surgery in hopes of attracting a man, but is losing her essential self in the process.  I’m not sure that fits the theme exactly, but the song seems to work on there.  There are some great songs – my favorite right now is Joan Enguita singing a Garth Brooks song, “You Forgot That I Could Fly.”  And I love the title song, “Beautiful,” also sung by Joan and written by the wonderful Marty Martin.  Oh, and “Paper Thin,” sung by Julie Gribble and written by Garry Corman and David Smith.  Actually, I guess I love a lot of songs on there -- Harriet Schock sings “Worn Around the Edges,” which she wrote with Arthur “Cry Me a River” Hamilton .  To listen to or buy the CD – www.cdbaby.com/cd/womenonthemove.  

 

Anyway, WOM were wonderful on this night.  Trish started them out with “How Do We Go On,” then did her clever song, “It’s Just a Cookie.”  I loved hearing Joan sing “Take a Breath,” (written by Joshua Rush and also on the Beautiful CD.)  And I’ve never heard Linda Geleris sound so good!  I don’t know what it was… she’s always wonderful, but something about her voice this particular night was more compelling than usual.  I thoroughly enjoyed sharing a Talking Stick turkey sandwich with Lorie Doswell, and watching those ladies do their thang.  Respectfully submitted.  – Tracy Newman