london, aeolian club
from a parcity of clubs years ago to a few really nice music rooms.
london is getting it on. one of the nicest pianos i have ever played.
hardly touch the keys and they leap to meet your fingers.
bells from the spheres
added to a list of new 'sensible' clubs.
that's the best word i can think of.

london to durham
southern ontario in all it's backroads beauty
soft autumn day
how many shades of wheat and browns and mauve

words aloud poetry festival
durham
teeny gem town
chinese restaurant that i would like to shoot a video in
dark wood, mirrors
everything walking distance
art gallery jam-packed with language-loving community
jemini, poet, sister
paul dutton, sounds-singer
me - i read 'clownliness is next to godliness' and 'architecture of bird', sang 'phoenix'
what a crowd, what a night, foggy, warm, stars, still streets, magical place
walked across wooden bridge over fast flowing water, they had white strung lights on bridge, which sparkled on water, no sign of man's ability to make things horrifically ugly. imagine a world where beauty was allowed to flower.
party at 'regency cottage', owner showed me house. circular on both levels - meaning you can walk around in a circle from room to room. centre of house is stairs, foyers.
(for sale - if anyone is looking for something very unique, artistic, can be b&b too.
oh yes, owners fred and judith - he is a antiquarian bookseller, letter press printer.
idea: make a day trip to durham to look at house and all the rare books.

tomorrow, workshop. then watch a poetry slam. i've never been to one. the b&b couldn't lend me their dogs for my bedroom, but they gave me a budgie instead. i wonder how early it wakes up. i can't even hear it breathing. 

today i did a workshop in a workshop
a piano restoration workshop
2 women who have apprenticed and taken this artform under their belt
the place is not beautiful, just a very satisfying hard-working environment
they are fine-tuned, aware of subtle difference between pianos. happy when some arrive happy when some leave. some of the piano they have rescued should just be featured as 'glorious art' even if they are no longer functional, that is how beautiful they are.

and perhaps here is a clue to the mysterious pull and power of pianos. they look like they are justing sitting there like any wooden thing. BUT they have a tension of 16,000 tons going on. to be clearer, imagine 11 elephants pulling the strings out to the right length.

the workshop i did was about song-writing. someone who was not a musician was so interested to hear 'inside musician talk'  that now she's going to go back to her musician friends to grill them. 'we never talk about these things!'

it snowed outside but i ignored it pointedly. i'm not ready.

i have been uncomfortable with my new guitar. it is made of carbon-fibre, not wood. ('blackbird'). it is small enough for airplane carry-on and sounds better acoustically than my little painted one (which is important for all the salons next year). i was wondering if there was a guitar shop in town when someone who owned a guitar shop came up. wha? people seem to be telepathic in this town. he took the action down on my guitar (made strings closer to fretboard) and put on strings with a longer sustain because it wasn't 'singing' properly. MUCH better. the audience was a mix  of people who knew me and others checking me out because of the publicity.  and though i could feel reservation, i could feel thoughtfulness and interested hearts.

this is an almost first class club/theatre in a cool little heritage town. musicians - put it on your touring maps.  (sound booth was not good enough - soundman had to lean out a window which was disconcerting.) especially intriguing here is the octagonal village centre. it felt really good. i like to study town layouts whereever i go.  some local performers who had recorded two of my songs for a cd called 'noted' opened the show. feels a bit like cape breton. good musical energy here, a tiny happening gem. goderich is great, goderich is good in bed.  met a lovely man with whom i could have been good friends had situations been different. kindredness is comforting. tonight's show was a different bale of hay than the 1st night. finding my footing. i think this tour will lead the third cd to water.  i think i'm losing it. i'd better report for duty. 'night.

first show ann arbor.
good spirits found their way to this first show.
my force field was not up yet and felt very vulnerable. and i was working hard to keep an even keel. so much to remember and bring together. people were very gracious and i think enjoyed the extra layer of watching a musician go from envisioning to real.

i saw my cd for the first time and i am thrilled with how it looks. sotoma did a beautiful job. people  had a chance to buy it before it is ‘released’.

and now, the second thing i want to say. i have lost interest in playing normal clubs. you stand outside the club, people look at display window and say ‘who’s playing tonight?’ poster is wrinkled and out of view. they shrug and walk away. the next day someone on street says ‘i love your music! what are you doing in town?’. half-filled clubs, dressing rooms with dirty socks under chairs, no towels to wash before the show, complaints that your rider asks for an iron and ironing board of all diva-ish things.  i don’t want to use up energy trying not to feel upset before a show. and now i don’t feel upset so much as it was a good reminder of how i have lost all interest in doing concerts in these kinds of places. so, no plans to play there again.  this very common club posture creates a dull, dying energy which i am more than ever happy to walk away from. and to walk towards  people bringing music out of the clubs and into their communities in a more efficient way. house concerts, salons. i accept all that this brings.
(note: the staff tonight were very caring, and apologetic.)

and now, my mind is swimming with threads waving in the air that didn’t quite get tied in tonight. my stomach hurts and i feel like i’m half jumping out of my skin, but i also know tonight was a good, important night and the perfect people sat in the dark room with me, helping me. and the future is bright.

so said the seventh rabbit.
goodnight.

(from my friend, marilyn bell, who works in a  daycare,)

I think I told you about Wolf:  he's 3, turning 4 in November.
There's another kid, Jamea, who is a special needs kid and she has
sort of a different look about her and different behaviours.  Anyway, here's
what Wolf said:

Wolf:  "I like all the girls."

Marilyn:  "Really?  That's good."

Wolf:  "Except Jamea.  She's not a real girl.  She's a pretend girl."

Marilyn:  "Jamea is real."

Wolf:  "No, she's not.  She doesn't have any vitamins."

Marilyn:  "What do you mean?"

Wolf:  "And she doesn't have a bum."

Marilyn:  "Yes, she does.  Everyone does."

Wolf:  "She doesn't."

Marilyn:  "Everyone has a bum.  Otherwise, they couldn't sit down."

Wolf thinks this is funny:  "She's still pretend.  We know that."

I can't change his mind.  Jamea has a totally normal bum.  Wolf says whatever comes
into his head.   His mom says he's still trying to figure out what school is.

i am on the east coast of canada, usa and if anyone would like me to shop for a quilt for you, i’d be happy to. let me know your budget, colour scheme, size and anything else and i’ll keep an eye out. especially on cape breton.

 


 

you will be able to order it around nov 12th at cdbaby.com and they ship super-fast. i wish i could send it out myself this time, like i did with Dragon Dreams, with free ambassador cds, but i will be touring.

BOOKMARK THIS: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Issa

(NOTE TO STUDIO PATRONS: i'll be sending you all 3 cds as gifts like last time, but unsigned and perhaps a little delayed but with lots of gratitude.)

 

(if you are not on my main email list, more news goes out there. sign up at http://www.issalight.com)

I am setting up a salon tour outside of north america.  I am mainly interested in something VERY simple - no promoters, agents, nightclub thugs. completely acoustic so no sound system needed. if you have a music room (creatively speaking) (living room, barn, kitchen) that will hold 20-30 music appreciators, that is perfect. this is all about the music.

send city, room description and questions to  issa@sheeba.ca

SO FAR:
JANUARY/FEBRUARY (NZ/AU/JAPAN)
wellington, NZ √
sydney, AU √
(and florida, USA √)

MARCH/APRIL (UK/EUROPE)
london, UK √
limerick, IRELAND √
edinburgh, SCOTLAND √

TO KEEP CHECKING NEW SALON LOCATIONS:
http://www.issalight.com/Issalight/TOUR_10/TOUR_10.html

 



ISSA HOME http://www.issalight.com
SHEEBA      http://www.sheeba.ca (experience self-determined pricing here)
FACEBOOK   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Issa-light/8899094959
MYSPACE    http://www.myspace.com/issalight
TWITTER    http://twitter.com/issa_light



take live music not for granted.

https://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleConfirmation...

https://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleConfirmation?dispatch=finalizeSale

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BETTY CD release Bright and Dark and elizabeth is alive and thriving!

If there is enough interest to host salons, i am going to do performances in australia/new zealand, japan and europe in the early new year. (february, march)

I am writing from the top of a hill in inverness california where ospreys maintain their fierce presence. I am here to do a private salon for someone's birthday/life celebration. having worked so closely with trees, limestone, quartz and tiny hardy wildflowers this summer in ontario, everything looks huge here. but one can see the same 100%  efficiency designs in the root systems, foliage, etc - just MUCH bigger. what an amazing world. and now the fog is lifting and i can see blue sky.
 
WOW.

- - -
 
NOW.

ISSA TOUR DATES ALMOST COMPLETE

these are the places where I will be performing on my 2009 tour. there are one or two more dates pending. because the right alternative venues have not revealed themselves in some cities i usually play, i will be sorry to miss the audiences there - though glad to leave behind some backwards, thuggish worlds. i have been patient and hopefully always gracious but time to move on. so, IF YOU DON'T SEE YOUR CITY, i hope that all adventurers will get out a train schedule and see your way to a concert somewhere you've always wanted to go. (or consider having an Issa Salon in your city - contact jim@flemingartists.com)

GODERICH, ON            Thursday, 11/05/2009
LONDON, ON            Friday, 11/06/2009
DURHAM, ON            Saturday, 11/07/2009 -Sunday, 11/08/2009
MONTREAL, QC            Saturday, 11/14/2009
RICHMOND, VT            Sunday, 11/15/2009 -Monday, 11/16/2009
VANKLEEK, ON             Sunday, 11/22/2009
BOWEN ISLAND, BC        Tuesday, 11/24/2009
SALT SPRING ISLAND, BC    Wednesday, 11/25/2009
DUNCAN, BC            Thursday, 11/26/2009
VICTORIA, BC            Friday, 11/27/2009
VANCOUVER, BC        Saturday, 11/28/2009
BERKELEY, CA            Tuesday, 12/01/2009
TUCSON, AZ            Wednesday, 12/02/2009
EVANSTON, IL (Chicago)    Thursday, 12/03/2009
PHILADELPHIA, PA        Wednesday, 12/09/2009
VIENNA, VA            Thursday, 12/10/2009
NEW YORK, NY            Friday, 12/11/2009 -Saturday,12/12/2009
CAMBRIDGE, MA        Sunday, 12/13/2009
TORONTO, ON            Saturday, 12/19/2009 -Sunday, 12/20/2009

+ show details: http://www.issalight.com/Issalight/tour.html
+ notes: solo performance
+ 'fellowship tickets' will be available online later (sheeba.ca) so you can bring foiks that would not normally have an opportunity to come to a concert.


shows will celebrate the release of my 2nd Issa CD. (more about that later!)
 

birds here and there
wind and waves in that direction
every bough you lower, peer through
new wonders
smelled bear once, i think
clearing moss
pruning dead branches
feel no resistance so continue
standing back, looking
waiting to seeth before doeth
little black snake with yellow band on neck
sleeping under a log
is that a smile? bend closer
didn't even wake up

filthy workclothes nightly
wearing clothes you can dirty is wealth
wipe hands freely, ah that's the life

lots of lemons in a bowl

a song coming to life

what about you?

CBC radio is having a Jane Siberry/Issa haiku party.
(they call it a contest, but ignore that. the coolest thing about people who like my music is that you do things for the fun and interest without necessarily needing to be motivated by prizes.)


deadline: TOMORROW AT NOON PST Thursday September 3rd.
email: earlier@cbc.ca

(5:12am on CBC Radio 1 in BC)
http://www.cbc.ca/earlier

watching a goose fly up towards a flock.
i was wrong, eventually they flew in different directions
specks by then

taking tickets at the local fair.

watching the horse pulling. (2 horse teams)

riding my bike fast down the dirt road.

flickering sun through leaves.

after heavy winds, a day of complete silence except for crickets.

tiny bird songs, like pin pricks.

stars scraping my heart as i lie on the rocks

sadness and joy mingling