Its Great to be GREEN!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  I hope this festive day finds ya tippin' your green derby hat to yur  closest chum, as you eat me lucky charms....  or  if you wanna go  more authentic perhaps your  eating limerick ham, shepherds pie or coddle stew? Irish food honestly inst my favorite , but I do enjoy shepherds pie usually annually round this time of year :) Personally, I do enjoy the good nature spirit that is associated with this  day of celebration. Irish or not , you can for at least a day feel like everyones  brother/sister and its like one big family reunion. ( *insert warm fuzzies )The Irish are good people, it's evident in their music- sure you have the folk lore of leprechauns and magic that comes to mind( what other nationality can you say that about?) but even their music stirs the soul . What famous Irish musicians do we know here in the States? First thing that comes to my mind is Enya, U2 and Riverdance.  So I got to researching and remember the 90's rock band The Cranberries - their Irish, along with Van Morrison, The Corrs and Damien Rice. Remember season 7 Irish -American Idol finalist Carly  Smithson?  She has teamed up with a few of the original members of the extremely successful  rock band Evanescence  heading up hew own band called We Are The Fallen.  What if you go to Dublin, Ireland though, what would you hear on their air waves? Check out Live Ireland-

Find more videos like this on liveIreland
which is live Irish internet radio and they offer live talk, music,  pics from the Irish country side and webcams all promising to thoroughly douse you in Irish culture and leave you wistfully wishing you were there! Im serious, GO THERE NOW!! Im watching a live web show there now as we speak, you can also interact with  them with your Twitter, Facebook accounts- Its your source for all things Irish and St. Patrick's celebration!
There will be parades in every small town  and major cities  that boast Irish roots. The pubs will be packed around the globe today and pints of Guinness will be consumed in honor  of ol' St. Patrick, for me though Ill forgo the parades and I cant stomach the bitter bite of a stout Guinness( maybe I'll have some  Bailey's Irish cream instead?!) but these Irish eyes will be smiling regardless as I reflect of the culture the day reminds us - I pass this blessing on to you!
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

Artist Review : The Civil Wars

What happens when California pop collides with folk rock Alabama? Hauntingly beautiful and mesmerizing harmonies of The Civil Wars. They are musical detox for the over synthesized ears that today's over saturated market currently brings. Singer/ Songwriter Joy Williams and artist songwriter John Paul White make up the remarkably talented duo that is The Civil Wars. Officially the two teamed up in February of 2009 and have been playing intimate settings across the U.S. California native Joy Williams has been in the music industry since 2000. She and her husband, Nate Yetton, started their own label/ management firm in 2008- Sensibility Music ( where Joy and The Civil Wars are both signed) -Joy has released three records  and has a new record due April 2010. She also has received 11 Dove Award nominations. Her songs “Charmed Life”, “Speaking a Dead Language” and “Sunny Day” have been in episodes of the hit ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy which is where I originally heard “Poison and Wine” the Civil Wars' debut single . See that video HERE
Alabama boy, and Johnny Depp look-a-like, John Paul White the other half of this amazing act released his solo album “ The Long Goodbye” ( featuring, “Alien”, “Over My Head”) in August 2008. John Paul White also has co-written songs for Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Jason Aldean among others. Joy and John Paul met at a music writing camp in TN a little over a year and a half ago and immediately found their niche with each other. The chemistry between the two is undeniable and comes through in their music. The Civil Wars released their first EP in November 2009 “Poison and Wine” and I along with so many countless others were captivated. Perhaps it's because so many of us can identify with the song, or maybe they saw the video and was moved by it's simplistic beauty, one thing is certain- The Civil Wars had tapped into something and left us wanting more!

Interview: Halie Loren

Whitney:  "They Oughta Write A Song" is an excellent well rounded vocal jazz album, How Did you go about choosing the collection of standards that are on there?

Halie: Thank you!  I'm so glad you enjoy it... and thanks for asking me to participate in your blog!  It's a pleasure.

The standards that are featured on "They Oughta Write a Song" were chosen for a variety of reasons... some of the songs are ones that I have been performing for many years, and felt like natural fits for me vocally and for the musicians that are featured on the album.  "Summertime", for example, is a song that I've been performing since I was 12 years old, and is one that I've loved singing from that first performance of the song (which was at the Spring Recital assembly at my middle school in Sitka, Alaska).  For me, it was included for its nostalgic value as much as anything... and I thought it fit well in the context of the rest of the album. 

Music is...

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”

“So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it and give it expressive meaning

"Music is what feelings sound like"

“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.”

"If Music be the food of love - play on "

"It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty of disappointment and never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature and everlasting beauty of monotony. "

Halie Loren/ They Oughta Write A Song

So I seriously lucked up with the indie gods when I stumbled upon the enchanting Halie Loren.
She is a 24 year old Singer/Songwriter Jazz musician that is going places far beyond her current home in Eugene, Oregon. She might just be one of those best kept  secrets that is on the verge of become town gossip!.. In a good way, of course!  She is a delight to listen to. The first thing I noticed immediately