Cathy & Marcy's Song Shop blogs

Music Police!

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:16:29 -0700

Marcy Marxer is investigated by a police officer who is not sure it is legal to play an electric cigar box guitar on the steps of the Library of Congress. She avoided arrest and rocked out with the Guitar Boogie.

Come hear the cigar box electric guitar, sing and play along with us this Saturday, celebrating Arbor Day. We are planning a BIG band at the end with whatever the audience brings to play-washboards, spoons, shakers, you name it. It’s a FREE FAMILY CONCERT at 2pm.
Agricultural History Farm Park 18400 Muncaster Rd. Derwood, MD 20855

Next week:

CATHY & MARCY TEACH BANJO, UKE & GUITAR, CONCERT IN SEATTLE
4th Annual Dusty Strings Clawhammer Banjo Weekend, May 2-4, 2008

Instructors: Bob Carlin, Cathy Fink, Jeanie Murphy
Concert guest: Marcy Marxer
Weekend & concert registration 206-634-1662 (toll free 866-634-1662)?or by visiting web site at www.dustystrings.com.
Marcy will also teach private guitar or ukulele lessons on Saturday and Sunday. To schedule a private lesson, email info@cathymarcy.com

LA Scratch Academy & Musical Adventures in Los Angeles

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:34:11 -0700

LA Scratch Academy

We’re just back from wonderful trip to Southern California. 2 highlights were unlikely musical adventures. On Monday afternoon we spent 4 hours jamming with HAPA, a master DJ who started the LA Scratch Academy. We saw/heard him do an amazing piece at a pre-GRAMMY event and contacted him to see if he’d be in to collaborating. His first time hearing live banjo, mandolin and uke, our first time working with "beats" and the DJ collage tapestry. More will come of this., The Academy also runs a 6 week summer camp for kids & we’re hoping to participate in that adventure this summer.

Then, a studio session with our friend Mike Stein, who is a Cantor in LA (after 20 years fiddling and yodeling with the Navy’s country band, Country Current). Mike spent much of the summer in Uganda, recording music from the Jewish Community there. He brought home some amazing community music and is adding tracks to it in LA for future release. Two of his sons joined on bass & mandolin, both fine musicians. Kids, who came to our kids concerts years ago, grown up now and following in Dad’s musical footsteps. Another great day and musical adventure.

The Jesse Award

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:13:51 -0800

If ANY Award makes us proud, it is being appreciated by our fans-Jesse Silverberg, 5 years old, presented us with this award after the GRAMMY's. THE JESSE AWARD is the BEST!!!! Thanks.

GRAMMY WEEK 2

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:01:07 -0800

We had an amazing week of music, friends & education from Feb. 5-10 as part of the full week of GRAMMY celabrations. We even got to announce 15 awards at the pre-televised ceremony. That includes "And the GRAMMY goes to.....Barack Obama." Been quoted from NY Times to Washington Post for saying, "He's going to have to personally meet us to get it!

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Click here to view the GRAMMY WEEK 2008 website. It's got nearly 75 photos and a run down on the whole week.

On the way home, we made a quick youtube video at the Long Beach Airport of a banjo tune: Click HERE to see "Peruvian Flat-Police, Don't Block That Door" played on a Gold Tone CC mini banjo. Ukulele Fans may want to check out Marcy's youtube lesson on playing the 12th St. Rag, HERE and a great performance of it HERE. Played on a prototype Kevin Enoch Tradesman banjo uke. One youtube viewer commented, "Deposit made in smile bank!" Get that ukulele out now!

Coming Up: March 2nd- Arlington, VA
Encore concert of Cathy & Marcy with Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, 18 piece Big Band
FREE - all ages - 3pm -no advance tickets needed, doors open at 2:30
Location: Kenmore Middle School, 200 S. Carlin Springs Rd.,
Arlington, VA 22204

GRAMMY WEEK

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:28:32 -0800

We've been in LA for a few days enjoying the GRAMMY Week activities. Tuesday-Grammy Salute to Jazz. It included a fabulously talented group of high school musicians in a big band. Bill Cosby MC'd much of the event honoring Sonny Rollins and McCoy Tyner. Wednesday there was a concert and event centered on how music and social change are connected. We were especially impressed with a young DJ named Hapa who seemed to be playing an instruent as he carefully mixed voice, scratches, music and messages.

Wednesday & Thursday during the day we were at Berkeley Studios with our friend Mike Stein. Mike recorded some vocals for one of our upcoming projects. Friday we attended a GRAMMY TV show rehearsal at the Staple Center and hung out with students from GRAMMY U, talking about their future careers in music. And then, to the largest fundraiser we've ever been to, the MusiCares Person of the Year Celebration. MusiCares raises funds to help musicians in need. They honored Aretha Franklin and raised 4.5 million dollars. Great music, great tribute, great cause.

WATCH THE FIRST 100 AWARDS IN THE GRAMMY PRE-TELEVISED CEREMONY AT WWW.GRAMMY.COM, Sunday, February 10 @ 1pm pacific time (4pm eastern time). We are presenting about 10 awards early in the show.

CHECK OUR GRAMMY WEEK WEBSITE FOR UPDATED PHOTOS. WE'RE UP TO 33 and new photos added daily! gallery.mac.om/cfink2/100032

Kids Music- Having Fun

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:23:13 -0800

We're having a great week. New songs for families in the studio took up most of the week. This morning we launched our first "American Folksongs for Children" class at The Music Center at Strathmore with Betty Scott team teaching. Snuck in a banjo lesson with a 5 year old student. Now we're gettin ready for a dinner show/family concert of Woody Guthrie songs. Packing in the musical fun.

GINGERBREAD Again!

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:49:57 -0800

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope everyone's had great holidays. Before we forget some of them, check out the little website we made of photos from our 16th annual Gingerbread House making by
CLICKING HERE.

GRAMMY NOMINATION!

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:27:02 -0800

We are VERY excited to receive a GRAMMY nomination for the CD, BANJO TALKIN' in the BEST TRADITIONAL FOLK ALBUM category. It is our 13th nomination, and the support and good will from within the music community has been overwhelming.

IN 2006, we ended our summer of festival performances and jam sessions by recording 2 CD's of music on old time banjo: BANJO TALKIN' and THE OLD TIME BANJO FESTIVAL with 20 of our favorite banjo players. While recording those projects, Marcy got hooked on banjos-ALL of them. She started collecting and playing cello banjo, tenor banjo, banjo ukulele, melody banjo and plectrum banjo. She already plays everything else-guitar, mandoli, uke, hammered dulcimer, steel drum, flutes, percussion......

The combe of cello banjo and old time five-string banjo has become a favorite in our musical circles.

Both banjo CD's are available at www.cathymarcy.com

And, there are some wonderful, young banjo players coming up. More on them later!

ARMY BLUES JAZZ ENSEMBLE!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:12:19 -0800

What a treat to perform on Sat., Dec. 1st with one of the premiere Big Bands in the world! Music is the BEST thing the military has to offer. Learn more abut Army Blues HERE.

Columbus Washboard Co. - Musical Washboards

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:42:50 -0700

Last week, we took a detour on tour to the home of the Columbus Washboard Company. they've been making washboards since 1895. People STILL do laundry on their washboards, but they also sell tons of them for music. That's where the Cathy & Marcy Songshop Washboards come from, soon to be available on our website. We've already taken them to concerts and had a blast with audience members playing along. Well, we gave the folks in the factory a little concert on banjo and washboard. They were might impressed with Marcy's playing.

The tour was amazing-old washboards, old machines, a machine that puts the ridges in to the metal washboard belly, lots of cool designs and 5 wonderful women who run the place. Keep your eyes on THE STORE for availablity by mail, or just come to a concert!

Deborah Tannen performs with Cathy & Marcy

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:02:37 -0700

We were honored on Sunday, Oct. 7 to perform with NY Times Bestselling Author and Georgetown University professor, Deborah Tannen. Her most recent book, "You're Wearing THAT? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation" inspired us to consider a show together. Deborah's true stories about her life and the many women she interviewed are eye opening (and heart opening). Her books on communication are highly recommended. The show was special as we alternated between her stories and pearls of wisdom and us singing songs from the "PARENTS' HOME COMPANION" CD, as well as our own personal stories. We created that CD long ago to enjoy the humor, trials and tribulations of parenting through songs. It was very special to have Marcy's mother sitting in the front row. We hope to get another opportunity to repeat the show. It was a first time joint performance at the DCJCC's Literary Festival.

Peru & Kansas, Here We Come

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:58:47 -0700

We are embarking on separate adventures over the next 2 weeks. Marcy is headed to Winfield, Kansas, home of the Walnut Valley Festival and the National Flatpicking Guitar Contest. She's got a group of pickin pals to hang with, plans on making new friends and playing music in the campground around the clock. She's also going to be the FIRST WOMAN to enter this macho contest since 1983. GO MARCY!!!

Cathy is headed to Peru, where she and a friend will spend a few days in Cusco acclimatizing to the altitude. Then they'll join a group of adventurers from REI to KIKE MACHU PICCHU. Not the Inca Trail, which most hikers do, but a less used and of course, slightly more grueling path. She's been training and is taking a little Gold Tone Piccolo banjo to keep the callouses working!

So, tales from the adventures will end up here (and elsewhere) in a few weeks. Then, it'll back to touring, writing, producing, entering interesting stuff in this blog, etc., etc., etc. If you aren't on our email list, click fan club above and join so you can hear more details about the trips, upcoming concerts & more.

State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:56:38 -0700

Yesterday, we had a fabulous experience performing at the Capitol on behalf of the AFL-CIO and advocates of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The AFL-CIO, umbrella organization for the labor unions, has reached out beyond it's members to recognize the citizens who have lost jobs and benefits, lost access to union jobs and those families who simply can not afford to pay for health insurance. The program insures six million children nationwide, leaving nine million children without health care. Our reps on the hill are ready to pass a bill for ongoing and increased funding and president Bush has promised to veto it. In his view, everyone already has health coverage- emergency rooms.

We sang with about 60 kids, pre-school to teenage, and their parents. Then, we sang at a press conference that included seniors, children and many supportive members of congress, including our own rep-Chris Van Hollen, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We adapted the Jim Garland song, "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister", singing;

CHORUS
I don't want your millions, Mister,
I don't want your car and wealth
All I want is SCHIP, Mister,
So kids like me can have good health

I need shots and vaccinations
To go to school and learn my fill
But we can not afford a doctor
While citizens pay your doctor’s bill

I am one in seven million
Who’s parents lost their benefit
To see a doctor when we need to
Please support the SCHIP

So, what can you do? Write & call your congresspeople & the white house, insisting that SCHIP be refunded and increased. The vote takes place Spet. 30th.

And meantime, keep singing!

DinoRock Friends

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 11:46:53 -0700

In over 25 years of writing, singing and performing for family audiences, we have met hundresd of family entertainers. Amongst the VERY BEST are Ingrid Crepeau and Michele Valeri of DinoRock Productions. Over 20 years ago they created their first gigantic show, "Dinosaur Rock". They now tour 5 different shows and continue to inspire Head Start students and teachers with their workshops through the Wolf Trap Foundation. We produced 2 of their CD's, "The Great Dinosaur Mystery" and "Dreamosaurus" (a GRAMMY finalist!) on Rounder Records. Check them out at http://www.dinorock.com.

This photo was taken with some of their fans afer a special backstage tour! We love sharing great music with you. Check out something new......or something old that you haven't heard!

Dancing Outside!

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:56:19 -0700

It's been a whirlwind summer. 1600 miles in just the past 8 days! Marcy taped a fabulous new DVD with Pete Kennedy for Homespun Tapes on Electric Guitar Lessons for Kids. Should be out by Xmas. Then, we hightailed it to the Ola Belle Reed Music Festival in Lansing, NC. This little picture shows us (tiny) on stage playing and folks dancing on the wooden floor. Much fun! This week, we join Washington, DC artists for a sold out Tribute to Bob Dylan at Strathmore Hall, Bethesda, MD