You folks are somethin' else!

Thank you. So many people came out to the show at the Tin Angel! Wow. It was amazing to play such a full house our first time at the venue. Lots of people brought groups of their friends (Brian R especially rocked that department) and a sweet time was had by all.

Must mention a few individual kudos.... first to the amazing JEFFREY TENNANT, drummer from Phoenix, AZ. My last blog was a plea to friends to tell their friends about the show. Jeff emailed within minutes with a brilliant and generous idea: to sponsor tickets as radio giveaways.

Thanks to Jeff we had additional coverage of our shows on college campuses in Wilmington and Philadelphia, and announcements on the radio on Tues and Wed. Advance ticket sales spiked, and we brought folks to the show who wouldn't have been there otherwise.

Also, undying gratitude to my mother and brother for all their rallying efforts, and as always, to the amazing Greta Larson, for always dealing with me calmly when I am at my most stressed.

The whole experience was so instructive, from soup to nuts; booking the venue, choosing the co-bills, contacting the press, doing interviews, working with the other two bands on the bill, working with the venue, finding last-minute rehearsal space... never a dull moment.

The show itself was terrific, but it was also frankly a bit of a blur - we drove down and back the same day (thanks to Carl, my drummer, who has an awesome band van). Wish I could re-play the whole night in my mind and catch all the details I missed at the time. Wouldn't that be grand? (And NO, I didn't videotape it. I know, I know! but I don't have a video camera, and I don't know anyone who does. That's on my gear wish list. I DID get it audio taped, but it's a board mix, so you mostly hear me and Josh on guitar, since we were direct in.)

Anyhoo, onward, perhaps upward (that's always the hope, isn't it?) If I had a big money tree, I would say the next thing is recording recording recording. The band has really brought my songs to full bloom, and I would looooove to capture that. I think with the full band sound we could knock a number of things outta the park: licensing, festivals, download sales, booking new venues. Who knows what else?!

But, no money tree, so the immediate next thing is our usual recurring gig at Suite this Wednesday, some more catching up on sleep, and then some more planning to figure out a workaround for the money tree. I'll figure out something. Where there's a will, there's a way. : )

A thousand thanks, again, to everyone. Successful gigs are such a team effort, and I feel blessed to have so many wonderful friend and supporters hither and yon pulling for me.

XOXO,

-Elaine

Hello, beautiful people!

So, we have this Tin Angel gig in two days in Philadelphia, about which we arre EXCEEDINGLY excited. The Tin Angel is a great venue, the booker has a great ear, we are really really looking forward to being there, back in my hometown, playing a tight show, for which we have been practicing as if our lives depended on it.

But we had not particularly been pushing advance ticket sales, because tickets are only $10 for all three bands, and Comcast online adds a whopping $2.75 per ticket service charge onto the cost. People get grumpy about that. They would rather just pay at the door.

But the venue --ah. The venue wants advance ticket sales, or else. (You would think this issue might have come up earlier than Sunday afternoon.)

So now we have about 36 hours to re-direct people to advance sales. Oy.

What we have done is this:
We lowered the advance ticket sale price to $8. If you pay by phone, it won't cost you a dime more, because that service charge is $2 per ticket. By phone: (215) 928-0978.

Online it will cost $10.75 total, which is still not so bad: http://www.comcasttix.com/eventinfo/venueevents.php?region=east&venueName=Tin+Angel&eventName=Tin+Angel

I know the Tin Angel is no biggie for a number of bands, but for us, this is a big deal show! There are only a handful of small clubs that are known nationally, and the Tin Angel is one of them.

This is a great opportunity for us, and if we succeed it will open doors.
Conversely if we fail, it will close some doors.

So if you love me (or even kinda like me a little), and you have a half hour to spare today to contribute to the cause, please ask your Philly friends to come to the show, and to BUY THEIR TICKETS IN ADVANCE... to join Team Elaine for a day.

This is one of those rare cases when you can make a direct, visible, measurable impact on someone else's life, with a little bit of your time, and maybe the cost of one cocktail.

If you can enlist just *one person* to come to the show with a couple friends, that will make a huge impact.

And then *those* people could make a substantial difference in someone's career, just by going out for the evening and enjoying themselves.

If only 5 people read this note, and you each get 1 friend to commit to the show, and those 5 friends-of-friends each buy only two tickets, that's 10 people at the club that would not have come otherwise.

But that's enough to change EVERYTHING. That changes how I live in the next 24 hours, from worrying about advance ticket sales in every spare moment to preparing musically for what promises to be the best show we'd ever played.

Also, whoever gathers a group of 4 people total or more will go home with a free custom-pressed CD featuring all the bands. That's worth the price of admission alone.

We all only get by with a little help from our friends. Do you have a little help to spare today?




P.S. Want to be able to tell your friends some of what people have said?

"spectacularly soaring voice" - Lucid Culture blog
"Havertown's favorite singer/songwriter set for the Angel" - Main Line Times
"Angelic-voiced singer/composer lands at an appropriate spot" - Philadelphia Daily News
"Delaware County’s own Elaine Romanelli brings her music back home" - Delaware Co Daily Times
"The wonderful and talented Ms. Romanelli is the FLF Artist of the Month for December 2008" - Freedom Love-Fest blog

Well I'll be.
There I am in print.
Nifty!

The Delaware County Daily News ran a press release we sent them. The print version has photos as well, but you can read the online version without a photo at this enormous url:

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/03/13/entertainment/doc49b8f324d902d711694065.txt


There's also a really lovely spread in the "Ticket" section of the Main Line Times, which unfortunately is not online, but which we will try to scan or something. It's a multi-page feature! Whoo-hoo! (All photos by Yun Gen Yang.)


In other news...
this past Wednesday's show at SUITE was soooo much fun! I was surprised by how packed it was. The band was ON, the audience was really engaged, folks came who have been meaning to and came back who said they would, and with friends... thanks everybody. : )

I've said this before and I'll say it again: the audience really IS the show. It may seem like you are just sitting there, receiving, but from on stage it feels very much like we are doing the receiving. We feed off the energy from the listeners, and vice versa, and then we all leave the better for it.

Anyhoo... just wanted to share. Here's hoping the press translates into lots and lots of people coming to the show at the TIN ANGEL next week, Wed March 18th, at 8:30pm ($10).

XO,

-Elaine

I really need to write updates more often, don't I? Big things keep happening off stage, so to speak, and then I wander on like a delinquent Greek chorus and do a hasty update, and then shuttle off into the wings again. Silly.

The Big Story on Action News is that there's new band, and they sound HOT. Really loving working with these guys.  It totally re-invigorates the sound to have new ideas and grooves and lines and licks re-shaping the songs. Hats off to them!

We have a show tonight in NYC which is sort of a dress rehearsal for a show I'm supremely excited about, which is happening next week in Philadelphia, at the TIN ANGEL. 

(If you have friends in Philly PUHLEEZE tell them about the show!  $10, 8pm, three bands.  Free custom-pressed CD for anyone bringing 3 or more people.)

I will try to write more between now and then, but I thought I'd toss in this press release in the meantime. We wrote it but didn't use it. It's purposefully snarky, but maybe a little too snarky. Perfect for MySpace. ; )

-Elaine

*********

Reality TV star, Carpet-bagger, and Girl Scout share stage March 18th

Philadelphia, PA -- Philadelphia-born singer, songwriter, and reality TV victim Elaine Romanelli brings her band to Philadelphia from New York City for the first time on March 18th, to share the stage at the Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd Street between Market and Chestnut) with Mythica from Delaware and Philadelphia newbie Kelly Ruth, at an 8:30pm show ($10 cover).

“This show could be an amazing night of indie folk, with elements of jazz, pop, and contemporary Celtic folk/rock – OR it could be a total train wreck,” says Melissa Cox, Mythica front-woman and Vice President of Communications for the Girl Scouts. “One way or the other, our fans are in for a memorable time.”

All three front-women share an Irish-American heritage, which they will partially celebrate and partially ignore, as the show’s March 18th date arrives a dollar short and a day late at the tail end of St. Patrick’s Day events.

“I’m thrilled about this billing happening near St. Patrick’s Day,” says Romanelli. “Our show is a great way to celebrate two perennial favorites – hot Irish chicks and drinking – but in a modern way, by hearing original indie music in one of Philadelphia’s best music venues.”

Says Ruth: “Whatever. So I’m Irish. Who cares? Our fans are mostly plaid-wearing Jews. We’re connected by taking music seriously, and that’s what the Tin Angel is all about. (The music. Not the plaid.)”

Reality TV victim Elaine Romanelli is celebrated by fans of TLC hit show “What Not to Wear”  (Season 4, Episode 27), for upstaging series star Stacy London with her witty banter. She also can actually sing; her “spectacularly soaring voice” (Lucid Culture), turned her Better By Far EP into a CD-Baby best-seller whose tracks have been featured on several CD compilations, as well as radio and podcast rotations.

A Celtic Fusion band, award-winning Mythica are club regulars smart enough to live in tax-free Delaware and commute into Philly for phun. Lead singer Melissa Cox was dubbed Spark Magazine’s Best Singer/Songwriter of 2008.

Singer, songwriter, bassist and new Philly resident Kelly Ruth toured and still plays with indie folk group Raise Up Roof Beams, opening for chart-topping Boys Like Girls, before launching her solo act. Ruth is already a huge fan of cheesesteaks.

The Tin Angel, located in Old City at 20 S. 2nd Street between Market and Chestnut, has a full bar, accommodates groups, and serves dinner with reservations via its companion restaurant, Serrano. Show attendees who bring along three or more friends will receive an exclusive limited edition CD featuring songs by all three bands.

I suppose my romantic life is a bit off topic, but what the hey. It's my blog and I'll TMI if I want to. ; )

So, I'm trying to date more proactively, less reactively. (Translation: 'pookin' pa nub', instead of just randomly acquiescing to being chatted up every so often in the course of life.) To that end, I signed up for a dating thing (erg), and they have this not-really-a-question to answer, which is:

'The most private thing I'm willing to admit here'

And I wrote something I thought was worth sharing, when I read it later. (Aside: sometimes -- does this happen to you as well? -- I will write something wiser than I am. And then, later, I turn to it for advice. How this happens is well beyond my comprehension.)

Anyhoo... here is your Thought Du Jour, for what it's worth. I thought it summed up the search pretty well; a bit of the yearning common to women looking for a partnership kind of relationship.

-Elaine

The Most Private Thing I'm Willing to Admit Here:

I'm looking for a man who fundamentally believes women and men are equal.

Not that we are the same - Lord knows we are not the same - but that we are equally capable of excellence in our strengths, equally complicated in our weaknesses, alive in our creativity, and both crucial to the future success of shared endeavors.

We're getting air play on WCXI 1160 AM in Fenton, MI!  It's cool to be on terrestrial radio in addition to being on podcasts. DJ Mike Stephens has a show on Saturdays, the Open Mike Cafe, and has been playing cuts from my EP, Better By Far. Many thanks to Mike for his continued support!


Also great big thanks to the Women of Substance's Celtic show for featuring FLY on their weekly Saturday podcast.  DJ Bree Noble spins out of Alta Loma, CA, airing 9am Pacific standard time. You can listen here: http://www.live365.com/stations/breenoble

These DJs do so much for musicians like me who are ascending a self-constructed path through the underbrush.  Huge kudos to them for their work.

-Elaine

Not the most flattering title, I realize.

But catchy, no? And accurate, in its way.

There's something about voices entwined, isn't there? It makes the hairs on your arms stand up. It underscores our own human-ness, to hear people singing in harmony together, without much else supporting them, without anywhere to hide.

It's a little risky somehow. And elemental. And sensual.
And reeeeeeeeally fun, if you're the one doing it.

I've been singing with some great folks lately, really enjoying the experience, and I figure, Why not share the love?

So the gig this coming Wednesday is gonna be about voices raised together in sweet, sweet harmony. Mine, my guitar player Josh's, and my friend Susie.

It's going to be our own little version of MTV unplugged. No bass, no drums, no distractions. A few voices and a guitar. (And of course copious amounts of alcohol, for the audience. That goes without saying.)

If I figure out a decent portable device I'll record it. But, no guarantees... so if you're in town, come catch it while you can.

No cover charge, no drink minimum, full bar and food. Plus cool curved banquette booths, for snuggling up to some cutie.

Come drink a draught of one of my favorite nectars; sweet harmony.

XO,
Elaine
---------------
Gig details:
Wed Jan 5th, 8-10pm
Suite bar & lounge
992 Amsterdam Av at 109th St. (NYC)
1 or B/C to 110th St.

Hello all. SO sorry to have abandoned this blog for months at a time. (It's a commitment, isn't it? And apparently one I have only partially made. I am like semi-soft cheese. Flavorful, but a bit confusing.)

The super quick update is that after a break from playing out we're back, and with a vengeance -- and by 'we' I mean more than just the collection of voices in my head that makes me plural, I mean also the fabulous and handsome men Josh Fox and Dimitri Moderbacher who play with me. We're also actively searching for a percussionist, so who knows... by the December 17th gig we may have been fruitful and multiplied.

Anyhoo... we are now playing uptown a couple times a month, working on brand-spankin' new material, and to our delight, we have been named ARTIST OF THE MONTH by the music blog Freedom Love-Fest, http://freedomlovefest.typepad.com/, which is splendid.

I think they sent out a note about it to their mailing list, which we certainly appreciate. Thanks to FLF hostess Nana-Oye for the support.

Check back for other dates in other places. We hope to come soon to a dark, crowded club near you. : )

Theoretically it's spring in New York, but those of you who live here know that it's been behaving much more like any ol' day in London; cold, winy, dreary rainy... the kind of weather that gives a body the blahs.

But there's a way around it -- stay underground, where the weather's dandy!

And that's what I did today with my friend Josh. We BUSKED. Me for the first time. (Busking, for you suburbanites, is playing music in a public place for free, with a hat or guitar case out for tips.)

We didn't have the best spot in the universe, and we figured out quickly why that platform was available at that hour - constant train traffic, which means no stable audience and lots of noise.

But nonetheless it was great fun. Josh is a *hoot*: a thoroughly delightful person, excellent guitarist, and a terrific singer/songwriter in his own right. (And, lucky women, he's single, and looking. Sign up on the right, line up on the left. Myspace/joshuafox.)

We did the busking partially just 'cause, and partially because after a family-related hiatus of several months I have a great local gig on the L.E.S.this coming Friday at 7:30pm, at Googie's above the Living Room (154 Ludlow between Stanton and Rivington.) So I sang and handed out flyers and gently willed people to come to the gig.

And I have to say, busking was a grand experience. Yes, there's noise, and incurious people, and for us not so much money this time around, but overall people are kind, and interested. Folks will loiter sort of near by, some looking, but most pretending to not look -- checking phones, looking for trains -- but standing so they can see, and hear. I could hear my voice echo down the platform, and see people even waaaay down there turn -- and listen.

And you can see, obliquely, that you are positively affecting someone's day. Which is cool. Which, actually, is everything.

And here's the kicker: in addition to a (very) few bucks, we got the best, most apt tip of all, especially for an inaugural busking experience: a small, sealed bottle of brandy, tossed in the case by someone as he hopped onto the train.

Most excellent brandy, too. I am sipping it as we speak.

You know that guy who invented Post-Its accidentally, while trying to invent something else?

I wonder if it always works that way.

Sometimes I start out to write a song, and it turns into a something else. Usually it turns out to be nothing at all, or it stays a fragment in a notebook.

This one came out as a poem, and it might stay that way. I keep tinkering with it. It may just get different punctuation, or it may end up slashed into bits that get made into other things. Or it may be thrown out all together. I’m not really sure. But this is what it is for now.

-Elaine

*****

everybody hates me
except
my imaginary boyfriend

she was fond of saying
and it was mostly true

She was a pill and a half
only the unreal could accept her completely

He loved her,
her imaginary boyfriend,
with a patience surpassing all sanity

He saw her conflicted thrashing
and longed for her
the more deeply
(so she said)

He proffered himself, unconditionally,
if she would deign to stay

And so she deigned -
but half-heartedly

She wanted/not wanted
a simmering kettle-corn-ucopia of desire
eager for the projected bliss
of not being
but fearful of the near-miss

She walked the world as if holding
razor blades to her wrists
waiting for the jostling
which would result,
in some unexpected moment,
in release
with her acquiesence
but not her effort

then one day
he appeared in the flesh,
her imaginary boyfriend,
(not as tall as she’d expected)
gently lifted the blooded blades from her fingers
and embraced her

and the sun caressed her face
as if for the first time

-efr 3/08