Hola friends.

So here’s the latest in our world…

 

This has been kind of a tough spring. Lots of wind. And lots of intense changes! But folks have been sticking together, helping each other through. Spreading the love and moving forward.

 

Got Mud?

We do. We have started working on our Cobb house again. We love building our home out of the Earth. We’ll be making mud walls most of the summer, so if you’d like to come out and play in the mud, let us know.

 

Upcoming Gigs:

We have some fun shows, concerts & festivals lined up this summer & fall. We’ll keep you posted on our dates as they get closer. And if you have any ideas for venues in your area, let us know. We’ll be doing a little road trip this fall.

 

 

CD Release:

We are SO excited about our upcoming CD!

Release date is as yet unknown, but it will probably be late this summer.

 

We’ve made some amazing new friends on this project while getting to meet and work with great players who put a lot of love & energy into our music. That always feels good! I feel blessed to work with people who love & care about our music as much as we do. It’s incredible to see where a song starts and where it winds up. I love this process of seeing them come to life in the studio; collaborating with other artists and watching the magic happen. It’s inspiring to feel the love & support of folks for our music as we’re stretching ourselves to reach new ground.

 

I’ll tell you more about the songs and the players involved as it gets closer. We are thrilled to have these musicians playing with us on this project!

 

 

Spreading the Music. Spreading the Love:

The more you listen to our music, turn your friends on to our music, call radio stations to request our music, come out to gigs, tell other folks to come out and see us, any and all of it that you feel inspired to do. – It really matters and helps propel us to new ground!

 

So many of you have been doing this for a while now and I want to tell you it’s made a huge difference! There have been times when I’ve contacted a club owner or music promoter that I’ve never talked to before, sometimes half way across the country, to ask about a venue or an opportunity to get our music heard, and they’ve already heard of us. In some cases they haven’t heard our music, but they’ve heard our name. And that repetition leads to recognition.

 

So to all of you who given us your love & support & encouragement over the years, thank you so much! We couldn’t do it without you and I will never forget it! When I get down about the ‘business’ of music and how often it seems to have nothing to do with music at all, or I play a really crappy gig, of which there are many, (and it’s happened to every musician I know) say with the tv on right over your head and the playoffs on…

I think of everyone who has given us positive energy for our music, told us how much they love a certain song, or what it means to them, and that’s what helps get me through. That, Jeff and my neurotic habit of writing everything down.

 

So here’s where you go for our other music sites, to leave us comments & to help spread the word… We Love comments because then we know we are connecting!

 

http://melaniezipin.com           

http://www.myspace.com/melaniezipin

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Zipin/29995554498

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kf9BFb1KhE            

(our new music video!)

 One final Note:

Drawing for the HOUSE CONCERT RAFFLE will be held Saturday, May 23^rd at the Silver City Blues Fest. You need not be present to win. Good luck & Thanks to all of you who participated! We look forward to playing for whoever wins.

 

RAFFLE TICKETS will still be available for a limited time at L & I Arts or by contacting me directly.

 

***

 

Let us know how you’re doing out there! We love it when we get emails from our friends near and far filling us in on their lives and helping us stay connected with you!

 

Love,

Melanie 

it' s so uncertain. so full of everything!! I cant even tell you what I'm feeling it's so extreme.

I lost a friend and I'm so sad and devastated. how quickly life can change. I can understand how people get tired of trying. and of hurting.

I'm so proud of my son. who just came out with his 1st CD and i think he is so gifted with words (among other things) and his ability to express his truth in a unique & complex way. so many subtleties. i think it's profoundly brilliant! i know, I am biased, but it's still the truth. and I wish I could be there for his CD Release but I will be there in Spirit!

check it out and if you're in Portland, go see him live! G Love watch out! Rafael is the best wordsmith I know.
http://www.myspace.com/rafaelvigilantics

as for what we got going on... we had a successful trip to Santa Fe and will keep you posted on when the new CD is coming out. we got to meet and play with some great players that added a whole new element to our songs. that was really fun! and I am trying not to second guess everything I do.

we have been getting great feedback and response to the Music Video. I cant thank Teresa and the Virus Theater folks enough for helping to make that happen! we live in an amazingly wonderful and supportive community. I feel really lucky to have so many wonderful friends and creative artists all around me.

we are seeking help booking a tour late summer early fall, if you know of places around the country that might be a good fit for our music, or have friends in other towns and cities that might have suggestions, we appreciate any input! we already have a few concerts booked for June & July around the state. April & May we are staying close to home and hopefully will get our mud walls up! if anyone is interested in 'cobbing' let me know. well be doing a lot of it! and mud is fun! just ask Jeff.

guess that's all for now. we appreciate all your input and support and send out lots of love to you all!

I cant believe I wrote that much because I feel at such a loss for words... for what I truly want to say. I hope you all are well!
melanie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kf9BFb1KhE

Original Song by Melanie Zipin & Jeff LeBlanc filmed in Silver City, NM with Special Guest, Stanton Moore of Galactic on drums.

we had a GREAT Last Weekend at the Buckhorn. and I want to thank everyone that came out & shared it with us! I have so much history there it was a bit hard to let go. SO MANY stories! but I'm ready for a new era. Seems everything out there is changing, and rocking. I think the good thing is people will share more, see what's really important and we'll all help each other out. Least that's what I think. Maybe we'll have more fun!

Thanks to all of you who tried to harass Eliza into coming out to play with us. we've got great friends. Crazy, but Awesome. I don't know what she thought of the 'petition' you all signed but her partner seemed to really like our music. so that's was a nice addition to our last gig at the Ol' Buckhorn. Onward...

Our Music Video Premiere is coming up. March 7th and we're so excited! Mostly because it was such a fun project and so many people in the community came out to lend their support and participation. It was really a group effort! There is a story behind the Video, but it’ subject to your interpretation, of course. It’s a lot to absorb in 3 1/2 minutes! You may have to watch it more than once.
Teresa Dahl-Bredine did an excellent job of Directing. John McSween did all the Videography. Lots of amazing actors from Virus Theater and around the town contributed their expertise. Come see who you recognize on the big screen. And as a special treat, renowned drummer, Stanton Moore of the band, Galactic, did the drum track.

We'll post it on line after the Premiere. Stay tuned!

Peace & Love out there!
melanie

2/7/2009

ALL IS WELL!
we're so excited about the reign of terror being over! and a new start for our country & the world!

I'm just starting to figure out how to keep our website updated & keep folks posted on what's going on with our Music. it's a lot to keep up with as we have a myspace page, a facebook page, a reverbnation page...

we're about to Premiere our new and very first Music Video!
which So many people worked really hard on and Teresa Dahl-Bredine did a Brilliant job of directing and everyone else... cast & crew were all Brilliant as well!
by the end of it I had ALMOST gotten over how uncomfortable I felt in front of the camera. next time... but in the meantime... I am SO excited about the Music and the Video. and here's an extra tidbit... Stanton Moore of Galactic did the drum track! you know it's good!!

also in March, we're going back to Frogville Studio in Santa Fe where we will do our 2nd set of songs for the new CD. we did our 1st batch in January and we had the most Amazing time! Bill Palmer was- is an Awesome Engineer and Producer. his wife Felicia Ford (both of Hundred Year Flood) sang amazing harmonies & played accordion. Joe VIctor played bass & harmonies. Kevin Zoernig was stunning on keys & organ. David Waldrop, super funky drummer from the Gumbo Project is playing drums. and of course, Jeff LeBlanc played some sweet guitar! can you tell I'm stoked? can't wait to go back.

while we were in Santa Fe, we did a 2 hour live radio show with Gabe Gomez. It was a lot of fun. you can hear the live podcast by going to:
http://www.project1015.com/sound_bytes/view/session/melanie_zipin/90/

our last gig at the Buckhorn Saloon will be in February on Valentine's Day Weekend. they are closing for renovations and don't know when they will re-open. that's definitely the end of an era in our community, though it was the beginning of the end quite some time ago.

for me it has been a lifeline. lots of people have different opinions on the Buckhorn, its owners & its management, but the thing is … it has always been what it is. an old west cowboy bar with lots of history and ghosts. it’s never been politically correct. and it’s never tried to be. for awhile it was like the star wars bar and full of the most amazing mixture of folks. hippies hanging with ranchers and everyone in between. it was a golden era full of music and camaraderie. underneath it still was what it was. some people just didn’t know that.

bar fights, dog races, goats & movie stars, all hanging out there. it was the 1st place I ever sang in public. my customers would wait on tables for me so I could get up and sing. I learned a lot of things there. met a lot of amazing people, made lifelong friends. met my husband there.

for me, the Buckhorn will always be ‘that place’. if you weren’t there for that time, that golden era, you won’t miss it. but for those of us who were lucky enough to be there before… and during. It’s hard not to be sad to see it go.

You can listen to the Podcast with Gabe Gomez by going to http://www.gabegomez.com/ click on the junk drawer and click on our name or go to:http://www.project1015.com/sound_bytes/view/category/the_junk_drawer/12/ even we learned things about us we didn't know!

ok... the paypal button didn't work. thanks for letting me know.
here's the info again. just shoot me an email if you're interested and we'll do it the old fashioned way.


Hello Everyone,

I want to THANK YOU ALL for the overwhelming positive response we got to the question of raffling off a House Concert.
Based on your response, we're going ahead with the RAFFLE!

The Details:

What You Get:

A Private House Concert with Jeff LeBlanc & Melanie Zipin.
In your home OR Gallery 400 will let you use their space.
You can invite up to 40 guests.
We will travel. (within reason)

The Raffle:

A ticket for the Raffle is $25.
The winner would have one year to use the Concert and set a date that would work for the artists, the winner and the venue.
(You can purchase more than one raffle ticket if you like!) There will be a limit of 100 tickets sold.

The Drawing:

The Drawing will take place at the Silver City Blues Festival on Saturday, May 23rd in Gough Park.
You need not be present to win.

Getting Started:

Those of you who want to purchase a ticket by email, just let me know.
Make sure you include your printed name, address, phone and email address to me.
Once you purchase I will send you your ticket(s) stub through email that you can print out or just keep as a receipt.

We will hand deliver tickets for those of you who live in the area, and would like to purchase a ticket in person. Or we can exchange by mail.


Please tell anyone you think might be interested about the raffle. We are trying to reach as many people as possible.

I have never done anything like this before but I am excited by the response and our ability to give something back to the people who want to support our music. I am very grateful!

Some people asked if they won if they could use the event for promotion or a fundraiser for their own cause, a private party or a thank you event for their customers or clients. Absolutely! Once you've won the raffle, you can pretty much use (us) your concert for whatever you want – within reason. You can even donate or gift your concert to someone else if you want.

I want to thank the Mimbres Region Arts Council for their support in this event and Gallery 400 for donating their beautiful space. It makes it a lot more accessible for people who want to have a House Concert, but don't have the room in their own home.

If you have any questions at all, please contact me!

Thanks so much for your support!
Let the raffle begin!

Happy Holidays!
Melanie


Melanie Zipin
melanie@melaniezipin.com
http://melaniezipin.com
http://myspace.com/melaniezipin