Hi All, I have had a lot of requests lately for lyrics for Blue Northern Lights so here they are:

Blue Northern Lights Glenn Patscha/Ollabelle - Moaner Jones Music - BMI

Blue Northern lights
Cold prairie wind, Stinging you ears
It's howling tonight
Singing you songs of moving on

Sparkle and Snow
Crushing diamonds under your feet
St. Mary's Road
Leading you on a long way from home

Just say you want me
Just say you want me, even if it ain't true
Just say you need me
Just say you need me 'cause God only knows I need you

She gets in your bones
Rattles your windows when you're alone
Your soil turns to stone
The bottle don't help so you reach for the phone

Just say you want me
Just say you want me, even if it ain't true
Just say you need me
Just say you need me 'cause God only knows I need you

--------------------------

This song is a song about unrequited love written with images from my beloved, and often frozen, hometown Winnipeg in mind. My Mom used to live on St. Mary's Road. Thanks for all the kind words and interest in this tune...

Glenn


P.S. here is a live version of the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Ezpsc2ERU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49xth8_1lWw

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/arts/music/19gra...

A benign sense of déjà vu might describe the state of mind intermittently conjured by the songs of the Grateful Dead as performed by the American Beauty Project.

Long overdue.
We wish to pay tribute to 2 musicians who passed on last April but who will never be forgotten.
Our friend Sean Costello, a remarkably gifted guitarist, singer and songwriter who's contributions to the world of music will forever be remembered. We were lucky to have Sean play guitar with us on the first Ollabelle record. His guitar playing made the song "No More My Lord" shine endlessly as did his beautiful steel guitar on "I Don't Wanna Be That Man". Our thoughts go to Sean's family for the loss of their beautiful son.

Also, we want to remember the very talented Chris Gaffney, singer and accordionist with the Hacienda Brothers. We met Chris last year in Holland when we shared the bill with the Hacienda Brothers on a show in Oldenzaal at The Cobblestone. I remember how mesmerized we were listening to Chris' voice. We swooned! He was a great singer. We will always remember him.

RIP. RIP.

We have a nice page with a bunch of photos.
Go to;
www.ollabelle.blogspot.com
We have photos from Alaska and last years session, a video, some music and more.

Hey Everyone. We just got back from some good times on the road and we're now fasting and de-toxing,, very un-rock-and-roll.
Thanks so much to everyone who came out to support us. It means a lot. We will work on more recordings for you... yes we will! And you shall hear them.


So, we were in Cleveland at Nighttown, which was great. What a cool, small venue.. feels like we're playing for family out there.
We then went to Ann Arbour to the Ark. We love the Ark and we're not alone. It's an institution for great music and we're so happy to be part of it.
Our next stop was back down to Cincinnati. We played an amazing venue in the allegedly haunted Southgate House, an old mansion where it is said Lincoln once slept. This fascinating and historically rich place (technically in Kentucky but there were a lot of signs for Cincinnati {me silly foreigner doesn't fully understand}), has a wonderful room with an incredible sound and Sean, the in-house sound-guy did a superb job. I think Paste magazine named Southgate House on of the top 40 venues in the USA so they're not mucking about!
After Cincinatti we drove back up to Chicago where we played Old Town School of Folk (where John Prine got his start). It was a great show and thanks to the audience for indulging our Neil Young/John Prine tribute mid-set.
We then headed to Waukesha to play the first annual Waukesha Blues Festival. This was the first festival of what we hope will many and they couldn't have made a better chioce than to close the show with the great Mavis Staples. WOW. Oh my goodness. You don't get better than Mavis Staples. Especially with her new band. Playing freedom songs. Go buy her new record now.

Sunday we flew (with the usual delays, United, but they're better than NWA) to Edminton, for the Edmonton Folk Festival and just made it to our shows. It's a very cool festival there and is made more beautiful by the natural ampitheatre of the local ski hill. The great bands that day were Baka Beyond and Compadres.
Special thanks to Wendy Wilson, our awesome road manager.
Also, thanks to Rich, who recorded a bunch of the shows. We can't wait to hear them and share them.

Love,
Ollabelle

GLOATS;
Hmm... delicious food at Fiddlehead Cafe in Chicago (for a $ splurge). Great sandwich's at Ann Arbor's famous Zingerman's Deli (and thanks for the care package).
GRIPES;
All airlines in the USA suck. Whatever happened to service? And why punish musicians?

Okay, I think it is time to say "Enough!" How many lies, unnecessary deaths, violations of constitutional and international law, abuses of power and executive privilege, and lastly, outright disgraces to the people of America and the world must we endure before congress and the senate have the guts to do something about these ridiculous governmental abuses!

Yes, we are just musicians, speaking about politics again but first and foremost we are people who love this country and more importantly the world. Not just the world within the boundaries of the United States.

Please do something. Anything you can think of. Call a congressman or congresswoman, send e-mails to a senator, sing songs that reflect what you believe in, write a letter, a poem, anything. These arrogant, wanna be dictators still have 18 months in office and can do a lot more damage if we don't stay involved.

The current president and his "partners in crime" (literally) have created a culture of contempt in Washington, D.C. Contempt for the American constitution, its people, and the people of the world. They are blatantly stating that they are not accountable to anyone.

If these folks were baby-sitting and/or house sitting for you, odds are that you would have had them arrested. What would you do if they took all of your money and gave it to their rich uncles, left your home a complete wreck, destroyed your long standing relationship with your neighbours (unfortunately some of them died or were abducted during their stay without any reason) and family, neglected to take care of your children while terrifying them into hating whole portions of society, lied when you asked them why they did it and told you that you should be ashamed for accusing them of such things? By the way, when you went to check on the house and the kids they wouldn't let you in to see how things were going because according to them; "While they are there it is their house not yours. You don't have the right to even look in the windows."

What would you do? Do you have a right to be angry? If you do, enjoy it while it lasts...

ollabelle

We just got home from playing at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville with Levon Helm and his great band. We had such a ridiculously fun time. We got to share the stage with Levon and the gang, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Sam Bush, Fred Carter Jr, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Roy Parnell, Sheryl Crow... Needless to say we were over the moon. What an amazing place to play music and what a great audience.

It has been a great year for the band so far. We have been so honoured to be able to play with a bunch of our heroes. We got to play with Donald Fagen, Levon Helm, the fellas played with Springsteen at Carnegie Hall, We can't even begin to express our gratitude for these experiences.

We have also gotten to hear so much great live music recently; Los Lobos, Crooked Still, Uncle Earl, Randy Newman, The Duhks, Todd Snider, Tim Easton, and so many more. We are such live music fans that it seems like a dream to be able to hear great live music so often.

If this is all a dream, I hope we don't have to wake up any time soon...

ollabelle

It is about time that we go on record to definitively speak about who we are in this regard. We constantly get asked about this and the answer is always the same; No. Sorry to disappoint those who have made this assumption. This is not to say that there aren't individuals in our band that would consider themselves Christians. Our band however, has never intended to be a Christian band. We were brought together by a common love of soulful, honest music (from any genre, culture, or time) and a love for each other as friends.

Who are we?

We are a group of people that respect people's right to make choices in the many aspects of their individual lives. We believe that pursuit of truth in any form is a good thing. We respect all spiritual paths and believe that they are all equally important, as long as they don't negatively impact or supress other people's right to do the same. We believe in the importance of the seperation between church and state. We believe in the individual's right to love, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual. We are not pro-war. The list is long but we think you get the idea...

We are a group of individuals who all look at the world with different perspectives and beliefs who came together to play music. That's all.

Glenn

Ollabelle

The comments made a few days ago by the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard regarding the Democrats and in particular Barack Obama do NOT reflect the opinions of the majority of Australians.
I left Australia not long after John Howard became Prime Minister and I have seen nothing but continuing small-mindedness and fear-mongering as a staple of his leadership. I have continued to vote against his re-election but people get scared and fear is a powerful tool, look at the US election results in 2004.
John Howard is George W Bush's dogsbody (for the meaning of this word go to http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dog1.htm ), and he continues to defend Bush and his politics hoping for a scrap of recognition or a gold-star from his cowboy hero. Howard believes that Bush is fighting ther "good-fight" in Iraq and refuses, like some forlorn lover, to see the lies, corruption and the bullying of the US administration. Howard believes in Bush,, not the Australian people. Howard does not believe in justice or the rights of Australians.
For instance, the plight of David Hicks, an Australian man still being held without trial for 5 years in Guantanamo, is an indictment on Howard's pathetic refusal to upset the ego of his pal Bush. David Hicks, an Australian, has meanwhile applyed to become a BRITISH citizen so that someone will stand up for him. The British government will look after him and the Australian government refuses. This is absolutely shameful.
SO, for Howard to stand up a few days ago and say that a win for the Democrats in 2008 (especially Barack Obama), would be a gift to the "terrorists" is outrageous. It is embarrassing, foolish and it is exactly the small-minded, culturally-vapid, pathetic whining of a backwater, upside down little countryman that most of the Western world believes him, and now Australia, to be. John Howard has never had any vison for my country and he shames us in the eyes of the world.
Does this sound like someone you know, America?
It's time for a change in the "leadership" of our two nations.
-fiona