Greetings Friends,

It has been far too long since the last Deep Roots blog, but if things go the way I'm hoping they will over the next few months, I should be able to make up for that (and then some). I say this because we're expecting quite a few items of exciting news to arise in December and January.

For now though, I have three very encouraging developments:

1.  For those who haven't heard already, The Deep Roots Music Project is in the process of expanding, with our first expansion site up and running already at Roosevelt High School in North Portland.  The program at Roosevelt is being spearheaded by two outstanding and energetic teachers, Ko Kagawa and Richard Brown.  We're also expecting to hear any day now about a grant from The Regional Arts and Culture Council. The grant would help pay some of the costs required to get the Roosevelt program started. The 1st Roosevelt Deep Roots CD Release Party is on the calendar for May 14, 2007. Welcome aboard Roosevelt High.

2.  Between now and December 31, 2006, The Deep Roots Music Project is conducting an end-of-the-year fundraising drive. This campaign is a very important step toward ensuring the program's continued prosperity at both Reynolds and Roosevelt. In particular, we're asking that former Deep Roots students give back by pitching in with small donations.

If you've benefited through your involvement with Deep Roots, here's your chance to give back to the cause, and help keep Deep Roots alive for current and future students.

Every little bit helps, so if you can afford a donation even as small as $10, please follow the link below and use your credit or debit card to make an important contribution. We know it's rare that any of us has "extra money," but please realize that even the smallest of sacrifices can help a young student prosper and grow. Thank you.

Follow this link to: http://giveguide.wweek.com/ 

Once you're there, click the black triangle labeled donate now, and then look for the Deep Roots field and enter your donation amount.

3.  The long discussed licensing deal with Rumblefish is almost ready for its next step. That next step includes getting the contracts drawn up and then signed. After that, we'll be on our way. Tracking down all of the former musicians and students involved has definitely been a challenge, but also rewarding and fun, as it has been a real treat to catch up with old friends of Deep Roots. Now that so many of you are back in touch with the project, we hope you'll choose to stay connected and find ways to back for years to come.

That's all for now folks. Thanks for everything, and don't forget that the best way to stay informed about Deep Roots is to subscribe to the Deep Roots blog.

Sincerely,
Chris Gragg
Program Director
The Deep Roots Music Project

Hello Friends,

Most of you will be glad to know that I have returned safely from my 24-mile run across the Black Rock Desert (see the pictures I've posted), and I'm thankful to report that the whole adventure unfolded remarkably well.

Despite not sleeping much the night before (My crew of old friends, who were excited to see each other, raised quite a late night ruckus around the campfire), I arose at 5:30 AM on Saturday and had two very groggy volunteers, Andy Wachs and Andy Tabb, drive me to my starting point at the desert's access road.

From there, I was off on a 24-mile journey to the desert's other side. If you've never been there, and I'm guessing most have not, the Black Rock Desert is a 400 square-mile, dry alkali lake bed in the northwestern corner of Nevada. In most sections there is literally nothing there except miles and miles of flat, dry alkali mud, and an occasional scorpion or patch of quick sand. That provided a navigational challenge, as the lack of any trail, road, or notable landmarks along the way forced me to concentrate my full attention on a dark outcrop of rock at the desert's opposite edge all the while as I ran.

Luckily, it took me less than half an hour to get into a good running rhythm, and I managed to keep a reasonably straight line across all of that barrenness.

Running alone through the vastness of the desert was incredibly peaceful. Other than my two assistants (who visited in a truck every half hour or so to give me water and Gatorade), and a distant dust trail from another vehicle inching across the desert to the south, I saw no other signs of people the entire time I ran.

Eventually, I reached my targeted foothills and started up a silty 4 mile road that led me to my predetermined finish line. The running there grew extremely difficult, because I was tiring a bit, and also because the steepness of the hills I was climbing and the condition of the road were in stark contrast to the flatness of the desert floor.

With a little over four hours of running behind me, I finally reached the outcrop of rock that was my destination. The two Andys were waiting there with cold drinks and a ride to the hot springs. Soaking in those springs was just about the best thing ever.

Be sure to check out the pictures on my pics page. They'll provide you a good visual of the desert and my run.

So far, Deep Roots has received over $3,000 worth of pledges from generous Deep Roots supporters.  For your support, we're extremely grateful. The money will be used to accomplish our expansion plan. If you still have an interest in helping the cause by making a tax-deductible contribution, please note the mailing address and instructions:

Attn: Diane McDevitt
William Stafford Center
Lewis and Clark College
0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Rd.
Portland, OR         97219

Make checks payable to Lewis and Clark College, and enclose a brief note explaining your intention for the money to be used specifically for Deep Roots. Donations are tax deductible, and we will send you a tax receipt as soon as we receive your donation.

Thanks for all of your generosity and encouragement.

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog, and look for another installment of the Deep Roots blog soon.

Hello Friends,

It's been far too long a time since my last blog entry. Allow me to blame this recent silence on several unexpected twists and turns we've encountered along the road to Deep Roots expansion. I'll attempt to bring everyone up to date now:

1. On August 12th, 2006, I (Chris Gragg) will attempt to run 26 miles across the Black Rock Desert in Northwestern Nevada. That's right. 26 miles. In summer. In the Nevada desert.

Why would anyone in their right mind run a marathon distance across a hot desert in the middle of summer? Besides the fact that I'm just crazy that way, I'll be running to raise money for The Deep Roots Music Project. Plus, like I said, I'm a little bit crazy.

Over the next several weeks, I'll be collecting cash pledges from Deep Roots supporters. All of the money collected through my running effort will be used to make national Deep Roots expansion a reality.

If you'd like to make a pledge, simply write a check made out to "The William Stafford Center/ Deep Roots" and mail it to:

Attn: Diane McDevitt
William Stafford Center
Lewis and Clark College
0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Rd.
Portland, OR         97219

Donations are tax deductible, and we will send you a tax receipt as soon as we receive your donation.

From what I've been able to find out, a successful run would make me the first person ever to run this distance across the Black Rock Desert. If I survive the grueling run, I'll post some photos of the ordeal on the Deep Roots Myspace page, and also on the Deep Roots website (http://www.deeproots.com/Black%20Rock%20Run.htm)

2. For a variety of reasons, we have decided to delay our first annual Deep Roots Workshop for Teachers at Lewis and Clark College from summer 2006 to summer 2007.  This will allow us to secure more stable funding, and to bring in a truly qualified and committed cast of future Deep Roots teachers.

Right now, we're targeting Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland, Seattle, Olympia (WA),  Eugene (OR), Ashland (OR), Boston, Austin (Texas), Athens (Georgia), Asheville (NC), New Orleans, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Chicago, Boise, and several other US cities as potential sites for new Deep Roots programs.

If you know of a teacher in a city other than Portland who might be interested in implementing the Deep Roots project, please tell me, or have them contact me. Once we've trained the new teachers, we'll help them get money and provide the support necessary for each new D.R. school to keep their CD project going.

3. I'm continuing to work on the Rumblefish music licensing deal. There are a lot of people to contact, and plenty of serious work to get out of the way before this deal is completed and we're up and running. Nevertheless, I expect to have everything in place by early fall 2006. Please be patient.

4. The William Stafford Center at Lewis and Clark College recently committed $2,100 to help fund our Deep Roots teacher recruiting effort. This fall, I will be working for Lewis and Clark; identifying and recruiting the best teachers in our target markets, and raising funds for teacher training and curriculum development.

5.  The Deep Roots Song of the Month for July is "Love At First Sight," from the Deep Roots 4 CD. The lyrics were written by 2001 RHS graduate Israel Rojas Sanchez, with the music arranged and performed by Reynolds' own, Sideproject. Sideproject included longtime Deep Roots friends Hans Huffman and Jesse Bettis, also known for their work with bands such as The Wimsy Stevens. It'll be posted on our page until early August. Enjoy.

6. If you haven't already, take a moment to subscribe to this blog. It's the best way to ensure that you won't miss any important Deep Roots news.

Take Care Everyone,

CG

Greetings Earthlings. The time has come to announce yet another Deep Roots Song of the Month. This month's coveted distinction goes to the first song on Deep Roots 8, "English and Espanol," performed by one of our favorite Portland bands, Rubberneck. The tune, with lyrics by poet-extraordinaire Juan De La Cruz, will be playing on the Deep Roots page throughout June.

To honor Juan and his Rubberneckin' buddies for their outstanding achievement, Deep Roots is planning to contact the National Star Registry in order to have a star named after every last one of them. Group discount? 

Note: If you live in a place where it's too cloudy, or too smoggy to see the stars, or if you just don't like to go outside, you'll have to drop by our page and give the song a listen.

The Deep Roots Song of the Month for May is "Standing at the Edge of a Small Town" from the Deep Roots II CD. The lyrics to this song were written by Ken Howard, and then set to music and performed by Deb Talan.

In recognition of their outstanding song, Deep Roots is sending Ken and Deb imaginary gift bags, filled with all sorts of fun, exciting, and very expensive imaginary prizes.*

Each month I'll post a new Deep Roots song and put it up on the page for you to hear.

Do you have any Song of the Month requests for June? If so, let me know.

* total value of prize package depends upon the size of your imagination

Congratulations to this year's Deep Roots students on a fantastic Deep Roots 9 CD Release Party. If you weren't there last night, you missed a great show.

The music was excellent and there were familiar faces all around, with many Deep Roots Project past participants dropping by to show their support. Among the faces in the crowd last night were the Brammer sisters, Tara (DR 1) and Tawnya (DR 2), Ken Howard (DR 2), Raishawn Kairuz (DR 4), Racheal Kasprzak (DR 4), Tom Lundgren (DR 4), Conor Gilles (DR 2), Rhiannon Hurlbut (DR 7), Ciara Grande (DR 8), Rachel Jordan (DR 8), Amista Lombardino (DR 8), Jared Nishikawa (DR 8), and Jenell Davis (DR 8).

The show was highlighted by the return of two of Deep Roots' oldest friends, Ezekiel Goodrick (a senior student at RHS when he performed on Deep Roots 1) and Breanna Paletta (a lyricist on Deep Roots 4 when she was a senior).

Breanna and a friend, Chad Turner, played a three-song set which included "Punishment for the Innocent," a beautiful and haunting tune set to the lyrics of RHS student Nicole Ward that Breanna recorded for Deep Roots 9. Paletta's set was rounded out by a few songs from her current up-and-coming Portland band, Rye Hollow.  Check out their new album if you haven't already:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/ryehollow2 

The multi-talented and charismatic Zeke Goodrick had not been involved with Deep Roots since his student days. Still, those who knew him back then were not surprised at his incredibly strong performance at last night's show. Goodrick's booming vocals, stage presence, strong band, and well-crafted original songs made a serious impression, especially on RHS student Stephanie Anderson's song "Runaway." Definitely check out his band, The Kinder Scale, if you get the chance.

Earlier in the night, Deep Roots veteran John Henry Bourke started things off with an energetic four-song set, highlighted by the soulful tune "Breathe," which features lyrics written by RHS student, Nagisa Day. Wearing her trademark scarf, Nagisa joined John Henry onstage at one point to a raucous round of applause.

Another familiar face, frequent Deep Roots contributor Kris Kirkman, was up next, and Kirkman performed a powerful acoustic set of his own.  His performance of Thomas Myers' "Anybody Me" had the crowd mouthing the words by the second chorus.

Kirkman's former Purusa bandmate, Zach Hinkelman, took over from there. He kept the crowd going with his energy and excellent guitar play. A female vocalist (I'm sorry I don't know her name), added her beautiful  harmonies to the mix. Together, they kept the audience's eyes and ears glued to the stage, performing Megan Aust's "Finding Me" and some great Hinkelman originals.

Colorfield, the first full band of the night, brought their usual professionalism and showmanship, rocking the house with RHS junior Angela Baird's "Again" and several other great tunes.

They were followed by Deep Roots first-timer Ryan Andrews (of local band, Sidestar), who turned Sami Walker's strong lyrics into a very memorable Deep Roots song called "Radio Waves." I'm anxious to hear more of Andrew's music soon. This guy is definitely a talent that Portland should not take for granted.

Again, if you weren't there last night, you really missed out. If you were lucky enough to be there, drop a comment on our page to let us know what you thought.

Information on how to buy a copy of Deep Roots 9 online is coming soon.

(Subscribe to this blog)

Just in case you need another reason to love Deep Roots, now your Deep Roots songs just might help you get rich (or at least a little less poor).

A few weeks ago, I had a great meeting with the people at Rumblefish Music.  They're a music liscensing company here in Portland, and let me tell you, they absolutely rock.

When I showed up at the Rumblefish office for our first meeting, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't even know what music liscensing was. (By the way, it means that they want to get your songs in movies and on tv and get you paid).

Can you say Oscar?

First thing I noticed is that these folks at Rumblefish are good people. They respect artists and want to see musicians and songwriters get their just rewards. They're sincere, and enthusiastic, and they love Deep Roots.

In fact, they love it so much that they have agreed to add our songs to their catalogue and shop them for the big bucks. The tentative arrangement I've made with them would allow Deep Roots musicians and student songwriters to sign an agreement by which their respective Deep Roots songs would be shopped around, and if sold, the student songwriters, musicians, and the Deep Roots Project will split the proceeds evenly, three ways.

The best part is that Rumblefish will let the musicians and lyricists retain the rights to their songs. That means even after they pay you, your song belongs to you and you alone.

(And they gave me a really cool sticker too! No, I mean really cool.)

Of course, we won't even think about doing this without your written permission. We know some of you might not want to sell your song in this way. Most of the rest of us won't mind a little extra green in the back pocket.

I'll start contacting individual musicians and past student writers about this soon.

In the meantime, if you have questions, just let me know.

Rock On!

Hello Old Friends.

I'll bet you thought you'd heard the last of The Deep Roots Music Project.

Not a chance.

Deep Roots is alive and well.  Right now, we're focused on expanding to new schools throughout America. As part of that push, we want to track down old friends and find out what it is that they love about Deep Roots. If you are interested in helping, just submit your testimonial to the Deep Roots myspace mailbox, or send it directly to the new Deep Roots email address, deeprootsmusicproject@yahoo.com

If you've been out of the loop for a while, check out the deep roots website (www.deeproots.com) and myspace for news and updates.

I'll update the blog frequently.

Take Care Everyone.