Hey Y'all,

Exciting days. A few big shows coming up.

Mainly, though, I have a new album (there are some tracks from it on this page), which is now pressed (but I don't have that many copies).

I know this is so 1997, but right now you can only get a copy by me actually sending it to you, or by buying it at a live show. It costs $10 in Canada, $12 internationally. It is not yet available online. So... here's the deal:

You send your address and how many copies you want to evileggstar@yahoo.ca
I will then send you my address and you will send the required dollar amount to this address. And I will send you my CD! Romantic, non? Just like the good ol' days.

Hopefully the record will be available in various formats in the fall, but I don't know who's  putting it out yet. (Are you listening, NXNE delegates?)

I trust you are all keeping well, and I hope to see some of you out at shows!

xox

Leah

heya,

So there are some new tracks up from the freshly mastered album:
- Call It Something Else
- By the River (recorded by a pond on my laptop with the internal mic!)
(and I put Take a Camera and Truckers' Prayer up awhile ago)

New album release show: June 12 @ St. James Hall -- double release party with Corbin Murdoch & The Nautical Miles. Hope to see you all there! More info about the new record to come.

xo
L.

Hi friends,

I just uploaded some new mixes of some new stuff.
New mix of Take a Camera, new mix of Truckers' Prayer.
Also... new song -- it's a cover of Bob Wiseman's You Don't Love Me. I will only be leaving it up for a week.
Yay new album!

L.

Dudes,

Just thought I'd write a note and let you know that the first Abramson Singers album went into the mastering studio today and is being mastered as I write this. I am excited. I plan on posting some songs here before it's released, so stay tuned.

Yours,

Leah

Hello again from Vancouver.

I'm back from European working vacation. It was a blast, a crazy whirlwind, a learning frenzy, and many more adjective-laden verbs and nouns. I may post some pics in the next few days if I get ambitious (or stop being lazy -- it's film and involves scanning!).

Here's another charming list to keep you on the up and up:

What  I shall do with my time in the coming months (besides finish reading a novel by Henry James so I stop writing like an English nerd)
by Leah Abramson

1. Mixing and mastering the new Abramson Singers album! (I'll have help, don't worry.) Yay! Look for a release in the Spring.

2. Getting the Louis Riel Project with Lyn Heinemann (Portico) up and running. Songs about Louis Riel written and performed by us.

3. Dyad is recording a new album. (!) Slowly but surely we're chipping away.

4. There may be an exciting project happening in regards to my work at the women's prison in Abbotsford. It's in development stages. That's all I can say for now.

5. What? That's not enough? I need more projects? Well, sure. There will be a small Crooked Jades tour in America in February.

6. The songwriting mentorship I did last year with The Cultch is happening again this year, and I'll be mentoring along with Dave Gowans (Buttless Chaps) and Dan Mangan. Check out The Cultch website for more details. If you are between the ages of 14-21 check it out and apply!

7. And... I'm going back to school. For the millionth time. My goal is to finish a bachelor's degree by the time I'm 30. So ambitious, I know.

8. I'm trying to find a piano to put in my house so I can start writing choir music for real! Somehow a piano seems necessary.

That's all I can think of for now. My brain hurts.

Anyway, love to all of you in far away places (and near places because I don't leave my house enough to see you).

xo

Leah

Did you know that in Greek mythology Europa was a woman seduced by Zeus only to be turned into a snow-white cow after when he tried to hide his affair from his wife Hera? Then Hera sent a pack of stinging gadflies to sting her and she ran and ran all over... Europe.

Anyhow... all that to say that I'll be touring and avoiding gadflies for 6 weeks in Europe. I've posted the dates I'm doing with Dyad and the one Abramson Singers gig (with Tyson Naylor!) in Berlin, but there are too many Crooked Jades shows to list! So... you can check out the Jades myspace, or for a very complete and up-to-date list, check out Music Contact for details.

ps. My short radio doc for CBC's OutFront will be on CBC Radio One on October 23 at 8:43 pm. You can also listen on www.cbc.ca

Just a quick note to say that I'll be on CITR 101.9 in Vancouver this Thursday (Aug 28) from 9-11 pm. I'm pretty sure you can listen online at www.citr.ca. I'll be playing live and also playing some CDs of music I've been working on lately.

Here are some things happening in June (keeping with my beloved numbered list format).

1. Dyad plays 4 shows in 4 days, all in Vancouver (check events for details).

2. WEISER. That is the name of a small town in Idaho where I will go camping in a dusty field, play old-time music until 5 am and probably get a sunburn.

3. My pro tennis training will be complete (I'm playing doubles with Lyn from Portico).

4. Some new Abramson Singers tunes will be nearly done.

5. I will be one year older.

Hello y’all.

So I’m trying to figure out what the hell to do with my real website. For now I’ll try to post updates here. So here we go! (I do love using numbered lists.)

1. I’ve got a few shows coming up... check my events -- they’re listed. I’m playing with my all-star jazz-star band, The Abramson Singers, opening for the illustrious Bobs (Wiseman & Snider). Dyad plays in Victoria and at Lime near the end of the month.

2. I’m trying really hard to finish my OutFront radio documentary about my trip to North Carolina. I wish I could include all the interviews with amazing people (and all the music too), but sadly, cutting 10 hours into 12 minutes is a lot harder than I thought it would be (duh?).

3. There is Europe on my horizon. In the fall. In a few configurations... I will stay mysterious and cross my fingers.

4. I want to go on a songwriting retreat. I might see about WWOOFing for a few weeks. Nothing like fresh air and hard labour for writing tortured ballads.

5. I like lists that have at least five entries. Otherwise, why write a list?

A few years ago I was browsing in a thrift store when I found a nondescript little book, quite old, titled "The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky." (I can't remember if this was before or after I bought a fetching postcard of the famous dancer on a whim.) This sparked an obsession that's kept resurfacing and finding me over and over in the last few years.

I should note here that Nijinsky's diary was written near the end of his life from the St. Moritz mental institution. Part of the fascination of the book is looking into a madman's mind. As I now read his biography (written by his wife Romola), I'm understanding how artistic genius (or genius of any kind, I'd venture) necessarily lives on the edge of reason, and how precarious that balance can be.

I also think it's interesting that my other obsession, Louis Riel, also had a pretty crazy diary, and also (some say) lived outside of commonly held perceptions of reality. I am trying to figure out why I'm so obsessed with these men and their stories.

Last night was the Copperspine Records Sixth Anniversary Party. I can't believe we've been around for that long (I guess I've been around for the last 5, anyway.) Looking around last night I was really proud of everyone who's been involved in the community over the years, and proud of the fact that almost all of us are still around playing music with each other in some capacity, getting on with our lives but still committed to helping each other put out amazing music. It takes guts to keep making real music against all the pressures of the world (or maybe we do it to cope with those pressures). Props to Lyn from our newest band, portico, for organizing.

Check out Copperspine Records to hear music from all of our bands.

PS. The Abramson Singers (my resurrected band) had their debut last night, and I LOVE MY BAND! I want to buy them all neckties and cook them dinner.

Hello, and happy post-X-Mas/Pre-New Year's. I hope you're all getting through the season OK. It seems like a stressful time for many of you (judging from my interactions with the public that happen at work).

Anyhoo, just wanted to tell you that a new demo is available to download as part of a holiday compilation by Quinn Omori. The deal is that you get a great mix of music from Vancouver artists and you make a small donation to InSite, the supervised injection site in Vancouver. They do really important work, and this mix kicks ass, so go download it and make a donation: It Came Out Magical Blogspot

Some of you know that I like to keep project lists on here to keep myself on track with the multitudinous multitasking I regularly attempt. So here is an updated project list to keep away the procrastination blues:

1. Finish OutFront radio documentary about my summer North Carolina adventures.

2. Write songs for projects: a) Louis Riel Project
b) The newly reformed Abramson Singers

3. Organize volunteer music lessons project for women in the Abbotsford correctional institute. (Get in touch if you are willing to teach at least one lesson a month from March to June.)

4. Keep up with repertoire for Dyad and The Crooked Jades.

5. Figure out how to be a good songwriting mentor for Youth Week.

6. Learn more traditional Appalachian ballads.

7. Memorize "Tougher Than the Rest" by Springsteen.

8. Learn the fiddle!

9. Work on some poetry and fiction.

10. Try not to piss people off by being too busy and not calling anyone and then hiding in my room wondering what happened to my life.

What a strange 24 hrs.
It all started when I went to the Sally Ann bargain basement. I found this cute little yellow parasol that I thought my friend Sarah would really like. I also found Springsteen's "Tunnel of Love" on vinyl for 75 cents. In classic hermit style, I decided to stay home on a Friday night to decompress from my epic touring adventures. It's a good thing I did.

After a dinner of salad, brown rice and tofu (goodbye road food!), I opened the parasol and admired how it matched the paint in my kitchen. I pondered superstition and hoped I wasn't bringing bad luck upon my household. Later, I'm sitting in my room reading magazines and listening to "Tunnel of Love," feeling a little teary-eyed and heartbroken (how unusual), and I hear a really loud dripping sound coming from the bathroom. I share my bathroom with my neighbour, so I thought he'd just left the shower running (it's been known to happen). But this continued until I was well onto the B side, so I got up to investigate.

I opened the door and it was dark dark dark. The hallway light was off, the bathroom light was off, but there was just enough light to see water pouring out of the ceiling. My neighbour came out and ran upstairs to find the flood. I called the people in charge and cursed the yellow parasol. Then it started raining in my apartment and I ran for towels and buckets.

This morning I took a shower by candlelight and broke my hermitdom by meeting Ryder for breakfast and watching this classic video of Tougher Than the Rest