In This Issue April Rambles In Other News Quick Links Our Web Site Myspace Facebook Contact Us Spruce and Maple Music P.O. Box 9417 Berkeley, California 94709 laurie@laurielewis.com   Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

Dear Companions, I haven’t written for a long time, and some of you have been wondering what is up with us. We’ve been taking some much-needed time off to concentrate on other things. Todd Phillips has been hard at work in the recording studio, mixing up a storm. Craig has been home in North Carolina, teaching banjo and being with his family, and Scott has, as usual, been in the woods whenever possible.Tom and I had a fantastic Hawaiian tour, with time off to swim and snorkle in the ocean and lose my slippahs wading by a waterfall. We saw humpback whales, bottle-nose and spinnner dolphins, green sea turtles, and monk seals, to name a few of the larger species. Plus, we experienced the first 24 hours of a rainstorm that dumped 42 inches on the wet(!) side of the Big Island in 72 hours. It KNOWS how to rain there!   Now back home from Hawaii, I have been putting together a live recording of the Right Hands, which should be due out LATER THIS VERY MONTH! These guys I get to play music with are so great! Listening to all these live cuts makes me appreciate them all the more. I’ll keep you posted on the release date. I finally got a little bit of time to work in my much-neglected garden. The ground is warming up, and the earth smells lovely. I planted spinach, lettuce, parsley, one little ol’ Early Girl tomato plant, a yellow bell pepper plant, Romano beans, and fava beans. Of course, I’ll be on the road when everything starts ripening, and once again much of the harvest will go to seed or the neighbors. But it looks good now!

April Rambles

We have a few select dates next month, playing some of our favorite places, and a new one, as well. April 13 San Francisco Festival of the Mandolin Tom Rozum and Homerun Jethro (Laurie Lewis, Tony Marcus and Paul Shelasky) Croatian American Cultural Center San Francisco, CA April 17  Bluegrass Gold Concert Series Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands (Tom Rozum, Todd Phillips, Craig Smith and Scott Huffman) Sweetwater Station Larkspur, CA Info: 415-924-6107 This intimate theater, in beautiful Marin County, is a  great new venue for bluegrass and acoustic music. If you’re anywhwere within shouting distance, come by and see us and support this new home for bluegrass. The exciting new band Nell Robinson and Red Level will be opening thie show. April 18  Sutter Creek Theatre Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands Sutter Creek, CA Info: 866-463-8659  Another intimate theater setting, this time in a quaint and interesting Mother Lode town, with lots of shops and excellent hiking nearby. And wineries. This would be a perfect spring weekend get-away, so come early and stay late. April 19  Freight and Salvage Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands Berkeley, CA Info: 510-548-1761  Ah, yes, home again at the venerable Freight. They have actually started construction on their new home in downtown Berkeley, so our days at 1111 Addison Street are numbered. April 24 - 26  Merlefest Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands Also: Girls For Merle, with Alison Brown, Claire Lynch, Missy Raines, Sally Van Meter, Rhonda Vincent, and Laurie Lewis on the Watson Stage, with special guest, Doc Watson Wilkesboro, NC Info: 800-343-7857

In Other News: I am happy to report that Susie Glaze  has  a new CD, Green Kentucky Blues. I produced this recording, and am very proud of it. It features, along with Susie’s pristine singing, some of the stars of the Southern California bluegrass scene: Herb Pedersen (guitar), Patrick Sauber (banjo), Tom Sauber (fiddle),  Bill Bryson (string bass),  Dennis Caplinger (fiddle), Mike Witcher (dobro) and Rick Cunha (vocal), and some fine mando playing by Tom Rozum. There are a whole batch of great new songs by Rob Carlson, as well as beautiful renditions of songs by Jean Ritchie, Iris Dement, and Bob Dylan. Check it out! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. The Ahn Trio has just announced the release of their new recording, Lullaby for My Favorite Insomniac, on SonyBMG. I am very pleased that they have included an arrrangement of Solitary Singer taken from the version I recorded for my Birdsong CD. It sounds lovely with piano, cello, violin and a vocal by Czech pop star. Ema Brabcova.

Are You Connected to Mountaintop Removal?

There’s an interesting page on the ilovemountains.org website, where you can see if you are receiving power through your local electric company from this. And, yes, I discovered that my electricity provider, PG&E, deals indirectly with coal obtained through mountaintop removal in Eastern Kentucky. It happens to come from the area very near where one of my fiddle heroes, Curly Ray Cline, was born and raised. I guess it’s letter-writing time again. For first-hand stories from the front lines, check out Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Our Email Policy We never share our email list with anyone else, nor do we trade, sell or disseminate the information of any of our subscribers. Plant a garden, tend a tree, take a walk in the hills, listen to live music, vote for peace and school bonds. Walk softly, Laurie Lewis

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Tom at Alakai Swamp Overlook Hello, Hawaii, how are you? Laurie and Tom visit the Islands Feb 1, 7:30 PM Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum KMC Theater, Volcano National Park, Big Island, HI Presented by the Volcano Art Center Kilauea, Island of Hawaii. HI Info: 808-967-8222    Feb 2, 7:00 PM Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum Aloha Theatre Also appearing: The Voggy Mountain Ramblers A benefit for ARC of Kona Kainaliu, Island of Hawaii, HI Info: 808-323-2323    Feb 9, 7:00 PM Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum Kilauea Theater, Kilauea, Island of Kauai, HI Also appearing: Michaelle Edwards Info: 808-826-9230

The Latest on YouTube I keep finding new videos posted on the web and thought I’d share “Slow Learner” with you. This was released in 1994, but it doesn’t really seem SO last-century to me. You have to be quick to catch a very short cameo from my pal, Charles Sawtelle. Also in the video: Cary Black on bass, Tom Rozum on mandolin, Peter McLaughlin on guitar, and Rob Ickes on dobro.

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We wish you all a most excellent 2008, filled with friends, family, music, love, and the planting of trees. Thanks for your support! ~ Laurie Lewis

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	Dear Companions, It has been a wild year for us, with too much hectic travel to too many incredible places. I started to keep a journal, but it couldn’t keep up with me. Better luck next year, I say. Wishing you all an abundance of peace, joy, love, and wisdom (we need it)! Sincerely, Laurie Lewis Free Download! As a way of saying thanks  to you for listening throughout this last year, we are offering you a live version of “Diamond Joe” Happy Holidays! In This Issue Happy Holidays! December dates Prairie Home River Trips 2008 YouTube Treats
	December Appearances Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum will be playing Sunday, Dec 9, 8:00 PM, The Abalone Room Little River Inn Little River, Mendocino County, CA Info: 707-937-5342 This is one of the most beautiful inns on one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere. Enjoy a fantastic dinner at the award-winning restaurant followed by a concert. A wonderful quick get-away for you Bay Areaites! Saturday, Dec 22, 8:00 PM, Winter Solstice Holiday Party Featuring: Los Centzontles, Evie Ladin and Keith Terry, Danny Carnahan, Laurie and Tom, and a Special Guest with a Big White Beard Freight and Slavage 1111 Addison St. Berkeley, CA (510) 548-1761 Monday, Dec 31 Celebrate the coming of the New Year with us! It’s been a long time since we’ve played on this night, and a long time since we’ve been in Missouri. We couldn’t resist. First Night Columbia Columbia, MO A Prairie Home Companion redux If you missed us on A Prairie Home Companion on November 17, you can still hear the show by going to APHC Archives. We had a great time, and hope to get back on the show again. Our songs were “Your Eyes”, “Hard Luck in Heaven”, and “99 Year Blues”. And Laurie sang a sweet duet with Garrison on Jimmie Rodgers’ “Prairie Lullaby”, as well.   River Trips 2008 Tom and I will be going on two musical river trips this next year. They are: Tuolumne River, Aug. 19-23 Northern California Rogue River, Aug. 23-27 Southern Oregon Enjoy days spent on these wild and scenic rivers and evening spent with nothing much to do in camp except for listen to music and relax. As you can see, there is just enough time for a nice leisurely drive through beautiful country in between the two trips, and we invite you to jon us on both of them. For more information, call Echo River Trips at (800) 652-3246, or visit our river page   New YouTube Movies! I just noticed that someone has posted a couple of clips from a 1992 TV show, American Music Shop. It was a program featuring the IBMA winners and, in my capacity as Female Vocalist of the Year,  I am singing and playing fiddle along with the other 1992 winners: Sam Bush (mandolin), Alan O’Bryant (banjo), Gene Libbea (bass), David Grier (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle),  the Del McCoury  Band, Mark O’Connor (fiddle), and host John Hartford (banjo). Whew! Is The Blue Moon Still Shining? Weary Lonesome Blues Uncle Pen
	BUY FOUR, GET ONE FREE! Purchase any four CD’s from us and receive a free copy of Tom Rozum’s and Laurie Lewis’ Winter’s Grace CD! “Featuring Laurie’s wonderfully strong and expressive voice and an appropriately simple, tasteful backing. The songs are well chosen, with the initial track–The Messenger written by Mark Simos- a lovely, haunting peice that alone is worth the price of the album.” ~County Sales Newsletter “The song selection is exquisite, and fortunately there are no frosty snowmen, no white-bearded geezers in red outfits, and no grandmas getting run over by wayward reindeer.” ~Larry Carlin, Bluegrass Breakdown Offer Expires: December 31, 2007

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It nearly broke my heart to leave my tomatoes behind this last month. I came home to disappeared lettuce (I wonder what happened to it all), and lemons hanging off my little tree so thick that they look like Christmas ornaments.

The blackberries are hanging in thick clusters, and I keep imagining how a bear would like it back there right now. I can just see her, stripping the berries off the canes.

Multi-tasking in Canada

Here I am honing my newest skill, playing Chubby Wise’s kick-off to "Footprints in the Snow" while hula-hooping at the BC Bluegrass Week.
Photo by Lynn Dodson

A Busy Month

I took this photo of Tom cooling off in Waterfall Creek, just above the confluence with the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho last month. That trip already feels like it was last year sometime. It’s been an action-packed August, and it’s not even quite over. The Right Hands ventured into beautiful green steamy South Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. For a California girl, it was pretty exotic weather, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The Sioux River Folk and the MBOTMA Festivals both include a lot of old-time music, which I loved. Since I got home, I’ve been watching a DVD of the southpaw Missouri fiddler, Cyril Stinnett, and trying to decide which tune to learn first.

Bluegrass at the Beach was a great time, and it gave Scott, Tom and me a chance to play music with Noam Pikelny, Mike Witcher, Mike Bub, Fletcher Bright and the legendary (and rightly so) Roland White. That Noam never stops playing the banjo, which is probably why he’s so darned good at it. The weather was perfect, though after being in the Midwest, it felt a little chilly. I missed the big outdoor steam unit.

I always try and get a window seat when flying, and on our recent flight from Minneapolis to Portland, OR, I was surprised and alarmed to see that much of Idaho appeared to be on fire. It has been a terribly dry year in that part of the country, and the small fires that we saw when we were there last month have grown into infernos.We met some firefighters up from New Mexico while we were in the Boise airport. I cannot imagine what their job must be like, and the strength and courage it must take to pit yourself against such an opponent. My heart goes out to all those doing this dangerous work. And, luckily, we managed to get out of the Midwest before the storms and flooding hit. We are narrowly missing the disasters this year, and are thankful for that. Maybe I spoke too soon. I just felt an earthquake!

Your Eyes is #4 on the Bluegrass Hit Parade!

I just opened the latest issue of Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine to find that our little silly song, “Your Eyes”, continues to climb the charts. I am gratified and surprised to see that it’s getting so much airplay (in the rarified atmosphere of bluegrass radio shows, which is admittedly a pretty tiny segment of the airwaves). A great big THANK YOU to all the radio programmers for continuing to spin our disc!

Nina Gerber Live ~
Good Music with Good People

I am pleased to announce that I am included on Nina Gerber’s new CD. It’s a compilation of live cuts from the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival (aka KateFest). The song is "I’d Be Lost Without You," which we recorded at a workshop called "Backing up a Singer." I think that Nina had just been talking about the importance of not detracting from the singer’s presentation by playing too much or stealing the spotlight. Her beautiful solo made the audience clap over my vocal, so of course I fired her (no, not really!).

The CD has cuts from Jackson Browne, Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka, Terry Garthwaite, Greg Brown, Bruce Cockburn, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Solid Air, and Paul Kamm and Eleanor McDonald. I’m in most excellent company.

Speaking of Nina, we just played together at the grand opening celebration of the new Down Home Music on 4th Street in Berkeley last Sunday. What a boon for our town! If you’re in Berkeley, make sure you check them out. Their flagship store in El Cerrito has long been the best place to find roots music in the Greater Bay Area. 

Now, I am just home from North Carolina, and the weather there was amazing. The wildflowers were at their peak, and the new leaves on the oak, maple, hazel, and tulip poplar were breathtakingly green and tender-looking. Last week, Scott Huffman and I were out in the woods before dawn, watching the world awaken. We just don’t see sights like this in California!

Last weekend was MerleFest, in Wilkesboro, NC, and I heard too much great music with too many other people, and connected again with many friends. Highlights for me were the Infamous Stringdusters, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Alice Gerrard, the Lonesome Sisters, Crooked Still, Uncle Earl, and of course getting to play a set of music with Craig Smith, Scott Huffman, and Jeff Foxall.

Now back in the Bay Area, we have a whole new scenario to deal with, namely the closing of two freeways. Maybe a few people will rethink their commuting lifestyles. It’s going to be difficult for a long time around here. Time to get the bike out.

Take care,
Laurie

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Last April 21, we happily celebrated the birthday of fellow band mate for over a dozen years , Todd Phillips. Todd is a California native and a national bluegrass treasure, being an original member of recording bands that remain very important to our music: The David Grisman Quintet, The Tony Rice Unit, The Bluegrass Album Band, Psychograss, etc. We’re thrilled to have him on most of our own recordings.

Little did we know that on that same day (Aug 21) we would lose two colleagues that were also very important West Coast acoustic music figures…

Luthier John Sullivan, of Portland, OR lost his year-long battle with esophageal cancer. He was an excellent instrument maker, with a good eye for detail, always interested in working with players to make sure he could realize what they were looking for. Last Sunday there was a benefit concert at the Historic Wonder Ballroom in Portland. Tom Rozum, who owns a lovely Sullivan-made mandolin, took part in it.

In Tom’s words…
“With the sad news of his passing last weekend, the benefit turned into a tribute held in John’s memory, and what a tribute it was! For four hours, various bands took their turn playing their 15 minutes of music, each to honor John. Each act had at least one person playing their personal Sullivan instrument, and while watching the show, it became very clear how important John was to the Oregon music community. Meanwhile, on display downstairs were thirty or so of John’s guitars, mandolins and fiddles and a continuous loop of a 12-minute video documentary of John building a mandolin. The event ended with twenty five musicians, all brandishing Sullivans of some sort, playing Cherokee Shuffle. I for one, was blown away. Not only did those instruments do their part in the inspiration and making of great music, but they’ll do so long after we’re all gone. That’s quite a legacy for one man.”

Howard Larman, R.I.P.

On April 22, I received the following message from Ken Irwin:
“Howard Larman, the wonderful and knowledgable host of Folk Scene since 1970 passed away yesterday. Along with his lovely wife, Roz, Howard presented one of the best shows on the air programming a wide variety of folk music with multiple guests who performed on their show. Many bluegrass artists performed on their show over the years which brought folk music to the Los Angeles area and more recently to the world through the web. Howard was a gentle soul who loved music and the musicians who made it. This is a loss to all who knew him and to the folk and bluegrass communities.”

We have played on Folk Scene for Howard and Roz Larman many times over the last 20 or so years. Howard always made us feel at home and welcome, and we will miss his full-moon smiling face and easy conversation. We were looking forward ot seeing him this weekend. Our hearts go out to Roz.

Bluegrass Unlimited Cover

Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands grace the cover of the April issue of Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine. Chris Stuart wrote the feature story, having interviewed us last September in Los Angeles, when we played at McCabe’s.

Our song, “Your Eyes,” is currently #15 on the bluegrass radio chart in BU, and our CD, “The Golden West,” is at #13. We hope they are both on their way up!

Acoustic Guitar

Laurie is featured in the “Player Spotlight” in the latest issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine. The article, written by Kenny Berkowitz, is about songcraft, and talks in some depth about the writing of the music to accompany Wendell Berry’s poem, “Burley Coulter’s Song for Kate Helen Branch.” It also details what instruments Laurie plays and what kind of strings she uses, just in case you’ve been wondering.
While we’re at it, here’s what AG recently had to say about The Golden West:

Since the mid-’70s, when she helped
found the all-female Good Ol’ Persons, fiddler Laurie Lewis has
gracefully straddled the line between trad bluegrass and
singer-songwriter folk. Born and bred in the Bay Area, Lewis plays a
brand of Northern California newgrass that favors earnest, thoughtful
songwriting over breakneck instrumentals and breathing room over
density. Alongside traditional material by John Hartford, Jimmy Martin,
Bill Monroe, and Jimmie Rodgers, The Golden West includes three of
Lewis’ latest songs. Covering her favorite themes of love, friendship,
and mortality, from the light-hearted “Your Eyes” to the yearning
“Burley Coulter’s Song for Kate Helen Branch” (with lyrics by the
agrarian poet/novelist Wendell Berry) and the mournful “A Hand to
Hold,” Lewis’ writing is as wise as ever, with a warm, generous sense
of uplift. As always, her fiddle playing is sweetly lyrical, her
singing smartly passionate, and her band-flatpicking Scott Huffman on
rock-solid rhythm and gently playful lead guitar, Todd Phillips on
upright bass, Tom Rozum on mandolin and mandola, and Craig Smith on
banjo, with Linda Ronstadt on harmony vocals-is beautifully matched,
trading quietly intricate solos in service of the song and the singer.

Fiddler Magazine

Fiddler Magazine is a great tool for fiddlers, with lots of tunes and articles on styles from all over the globe. Visit them at www.fiddle.com

Myspace Page!

As a little gift, my friend Erin Inglish  created a Myspace page
for us. I don’t know how much of a gift this is, because it’s just one
more thing to keep me indoors on a nice day, when I could be out
pulling weeds in the garden. But.here it is! Please come visit us and
“friend” us, at http://www.myspace.com/laurielewis. There’s a great
video there, and some good tunes to listen to. More later…

I am curious what you long-time readers think of these new, spiffy-style newsletters. I am beginning to get more adept at putting them together, but I sort-of miss the ease of the simple email style of the past. Is it worth having all the links and photos? When we first started doing these, we got lots of positive responses, but maybe those of you who didn’t like it were just too polite to say otherwise. Let me know what you think.

In other news, Tom Rozum designed a wine label for our friends at Edmunds St. John Winery. The label is featured on the cover of their latest newsletter.  The wine is the 2006 Bone Jolly Ga