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- July
17, 2008 - Eliza Gilkyson is donating her time and talent
at a benefit concert in support of Berkana House, a safe place for
women exiting the Federal prison system to use new tools to practice
fruitful and healthy community living. Eliza wrote a song in response
to a book written by one of the residents of Berkana House, an autobiography
of her life leading to imprisonment. The author wrote the book as
a healing tool for other women living in marginalized and traumatic
circumstances, and with the vision of offering inspiration to find
better paths to healing.
Date
August 1, 2008
Central United Church, 131 7t Ave S.W. Calgary Alberta.
6:00 pm till about 9:pm.
Tickets sold in advance to ensure seats and at the door on a "first
come first serve" basis.
For
more info, call Breanda Ingham, Coordinator at Berkana House, 403-462-6616
brenda.ingham "at" calgaryjohnhoward.org.
- July
1, 2008 - Eliza has written a song for Austin's beloved Barton
Springs, called "Wildewood Spring". As a way of dedicating
the song to the springs, she got together with Joe Ely and Jerry Jeff
Walker to record a special version, available only through the Save
Our Springs organization. You can get a free copy of the song by becoming
a member of SOS, or buy
the CD directly from SOS.
Dear friends, "Wildewood Spring" is a song about the
sanctuary that nature affords us, and the commitment it takes from
community to preserve and protect the wellsprings of life that we
take for granted. I hope you will enjoy this special version of
the song as well as support our friends at SOS while they do the
hard work of resisting rampant development and creating and enforcing
groundwater regulations that will preserve our children's inheritance
here in Austin.
Thanks for your ongoing support. - Eliza
- Friday,
February 29 2008
- Eliza's keynote address at the 2008 Folk Alliance is HERE
(requires Adobe
Reader). A link to a YouTube video of the entire speech will be
posted soon.
- 1
Special Event coming up:
- Join
Eliza, Tom Russell and Ian Tyson for the Cowboy
Train, Vancouver to Winnipeg, Ontario in October 2008
- Monday,
November 26 2007 - Eliza's Performance and Interview on Folk
Alley is available at NPR.org
- Last
Sunday, April 29
The final "Last Sunday" gathering of the season will focus on economic
justice, from the local to the global. For this final effort, the
three original co-conveners -- Eliza Gilkyson, Jim Rigby, and Robert
Jensen -- will discuss the economic injustice that structures the
world in which we live, the economic crises that we face today, and
what the future economy may look like.
- http://thirdcoastactivist.org/lastsunday.html
- March
2007: Craig Hella Johnson recently used my song, Requiem, with his
choral group, Conspirare, and the resulting CD was nominated for a
Grammy! I congratulate him and his group, and thank him for creating
a wonderful sheet music version. More info on his group can be found
HERE. Sheet music
for Requiem is available HERE.
- LAST
SUNDAY February 18th (2nd to last Sunday)
An Austin gathering of the secular and spiritual, the political
and the social -- with great music.
For the SECOND-TO-THE-LAST SUNDAY in February (sorry for the scheduling
shifts; the hall wasn’t available on the last Sunday this month),
the “Last Sunday” gathering will focus on war and empire,
featuring Butch Hancock, Jim Hightower,
and Ana-Maurine Lara, along with regulars Gilkyson,
Rigby, and Jensen. Our goal is to examine not only the current war
in Iraq and the ambitions of this administration, but the larger project
of dominance that U.S. policymakers have pursued in the last half-century
-- and the consequences of that for the world.
- Where:
Saengerrunde Hall, 1607 San Jacinto, next door to Scholz Garten.
- For
more information: 471-1990, rjensen"at"uts.cc.utexas.edu;
Third Coast Activist Resource Center, thirdcoastactivist.org.
- New
Last Sunday
event: Friday, December 29, 6-8 p.m (switched to Friday because
NY Eve falls on Sunday).
- Thanks
to all who made our first "Last Sunday" gathering in November a success.
We'll be back in December, this time on a Friday night, December 29,
(the last Sunday that month is New Year's Eve). In addition to the
regular lineup, we'll hear from rabble-rouser Jim Hightower, poet
Naomi Shihab Nye, and singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster.
- We
were a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who attended, the incredible
energy in the room, and the great suggestions. We're working on implementing
many of them for future Last Sundays, and two will be reflected in
the next gathering. First, the goal hasn't changed: To face collectively,
and honestly, the deepening economic, political, cultural and ecological
crises that we face. But one common suggestion was to go beyond analyzing
the problems and offer solutions. Discussion of that will be on the
agenda for December. Second, we are going to create space for the
small-group discussions that so many asked for. After the stage program
concludes, those who are interested will have the opportunity to divide
into smaller groups to get to know each other better and brainstorm
activities and actions. This reflects one central concept of Last
Sunday -- the answers won't come from the stage, but from the interaction.
Those who would prefer to mingle informally will have space available
too. We hope people working on progressive projects will bring information
about their activities. There is limited room for information tables
in the hall; anyone interested in making use of that space, please
contact Jensen at rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.
- Joining
us will be Jim Hightower -- national radio commentator, former Texas
Agriculture Commissioner, and author of books such as Thieves in High
Places. Jim was spotted in the audience at November's Last Sunday,
and this time around we're going to pull him up on stage to give us
a political report from his travels around the country. www.jimhightower.com
- Our
special literary guest for the evening will be Naomi Shihab Nye, the
San Antonio-based poet whose award-winning verse has been recognized
with Guggenheim and Lannan fellowships. Her most recent collection,
19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, was a finalist
for the National Book Award. Naomi was scheduled for the first event,
but an overturned semi on I-35 kept her stuck in traffic. This time,
we'll clear a path!
- Our
special musical guest in December will be Ruthie Foster, whose remarkable
hybrid of blues, gospel, roots, and folk music has established her
as one of Austin's top singer/songwriters. Described by one critic
as a vocalist "with the ability to wail like Mahalia Jackson or lightly
touch a note like Shawn Colvin," Foster creates live shows that are
rich with honest spirituality and emotion. Her new CD, aptly titled
"The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster," will be out in January from Blue Corn
Music. Anyone who has ever seen Foster perform knows the amazing energy
and passion she brings to her beautifully crafted songs. www.ruthiefoster.com
- Robert
Jensen will take a few minutes to answer the criticism that he was
a "dour academic" (hey, cut him some slack -- he's from North Dakota)
and Jim Rigby will expand on the connections between spirituality
and the materialism that is so deeply woven into the fabric of this
society -- an appropriate topic for the week after Christmas. I'll
also play a song or two.
- As
with the initial gathering, this is free and open to the public; we'll
pass the hat to cover the cost of the hall. Child care will be available.
For more information visit http://thirdcoastactivist.org/lastsunday.html
- When:
Friday, December 29, 6 - 8 p.m.
Location: Saengerrunde Hall (1607 San Jacinto).
Download a PDF flier of the event HERE
- In
Solidarity, the Nowar Collective
- What
Lincoln Foresaw: Corporations Being "Enthroned" After the Civil War
and Re-Writing the Laws Defining Their Existence
"We may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing its
end.
It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood. . . .
It has indeed been a trying hour for the Republic; but
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and
causes
me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war,
corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high
places
will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong
its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth
is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety
of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.
God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless." - The
passage appears in a letter from Lincoln to (Col.) William F. Elkins,
Nov. 21, 1864, taken from http://www.ratical.org/corporations/Lincoln.html
- Sunday,
November 26, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
I'd like to tell you about a new series I'm onvolved in here
in Austin: Last
Sunday
Last Sunday is not a political rally or a church service, not a literary
salon or just a concert. Instead, it’s designed to be a gathering
that brings all those elements together toward the goal of creating
space for people to make and deepen connections. Last Sunday is the
project of an ad-hoc group responding to a deepening sense that the
crises -- economic, political, cultural and ecological -- we face
in the contemporary United States and the wider world are growing
more serious by the moment.
As we grapple with these issues, many of us fear that institutionalized
religion and traditional political parties are inadequate to meet
these challenges. How will we build the relationships and organizations
that will allow us meet our obligations to each other and the world?
There are no easy answers, but the solutions will have to come out
of community, out of our commitment and connection to each other.
Last Sunday hopes to be part of that process.
The first evening will feature Grammy-nominee Eliza Gilkyson, the
Rev. Jim Rigby, author of the forthcoming The New Reformation; and
University of Texas professor Robert Jensen, author of Citizens of
the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity.
Special guest that evening will be Naomi Shihab Nye, the San Antonio-based
poet whose award-winning verse has been recognized with Guggenheim
and Lannan fellowships. Her most recent collection, 19 Varieties of
Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, was a finalist for the National
Book Award.
- The
event is free and open to the public. Childcare will be available.
Location: Saengerrunde Hall, 1607 San Jacinto, Austin, TX. More Info
HERE
- October
17, 2006: I have a new MySpace page up, take a look at http://www.myspace.com/elizagilkyson
- May
24, 2006: If you haven't received an email asking you to confirm your
subscription to Eliza's mailing list, please re-sign up because we
have started a new system and many emails did not make it on the new
list. Thanks.
- March
13 2006: This season has brought the terrible loss of the
president and founder of Red
House Records, Bob Feldman. We are all devastated by this unexpected
turn of events and wish all forms of blessing and solace for his family.
There was no one like Bob in the record business... he changed the
face of folk music, and was in many ways responsible for bringing
it into the 21st century.More than being a business partner and visionary
ally, Bob was my friend, as he was to all the artists on this label
and others. He was the kind of person you could call from the road
and talk about anything, from the frustrations of politics to the
wonders of being a parent, or to the challenges of committed relationships.
He was humble and honest and incredibly present. There is no one like
him, there never will be, and we will have to venture on now without
his guidance. I hope we can live up to the legacy, the hopes, and
the struggles he left us. - Eliza
 - September
30 2005: Requiem sheet music is here! Thanks so much to David
and Cheryl Jones for their quick and lovely work getting this done.
You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can get here.
- September
17 2005: We are so moved by the response to "Requiem,"
Eliza's hymn on her new CD Paradise
Hotel. We have had so many requests for the lyrics and sheet music,
that we have posted the lyrics here.
The sheet music should follow soon. You can hear the song at Red
House Records.
- August16
2005: Eliza was in Crawford, TX this Saturday, August 13
before her CD release party in Austin. She met Cindy
Sheehan and played a couple tunes at a rally there, including
her new song "Man
of God."
- August
2005: Paradise Hotel
is shipping! Call your local retailer or go here
to order it.
- July
2005: Eliza has just released a compilation CD of rare, out of print,
and unreleased songs, entitled RetroSpecto.
It's available here
or at her live shows only. It features over 20 songs from 1999 all
the way back to 1959, when she sang a Christmas song with her sister.
- Eliza
's CD "Land of Milk and Honey" receives Grammy nomination in Contemporary
Folk category! UPDATE: Well, she didn't win but was happy that Steve
Earle did!
- "A
little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over,
their
spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore
their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime
we are
suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and
long
oppressions of enormous public debt....If the game runs sometimes
against us
at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have
an
opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this
is a game
where principles are at stake." - written by Thomas Jefferson
in response to the Sedition
Act of 1798.
- -JANUARY
2005-
- Hello
Hello,
- I'm
sitting at my computer going through your emails to me and feeling
pretty darn grateful that I have made so many new acquaintances in
the last year. The depth, sensitivity and intelligence coming through
in your letters restores my faith in humanity, and boy do I need that
right now! Thanks so much to you all, including my new fans in Canada,
Europe, and the US, and of course those who have stuck with me all
these years.
- I would
like to just briefly address those who have written letters criticizing
my taking a political stance in the music and onstage. For the most
part THANKS for writing polite and non-threatening emails stating
your own views. I would like to just let you know that I appreciate
your thoughts and feelings, even when we are not in agreement. I write
about what's on my mind and in my heart, and these issues are occupying
my life now front and center. I have no desire to sit on the sidelines
and watch the Bush
regime hasten their Apocalypse, turning our country's surplus
into bankruptcy, our Constitution
into a farce, and our environment into a wasteland. However, I have
no expectations to convert everyone to my way of thinking. I prefer
to live in a country/world where people use their freedom to think
for themselves. I am an advocate of non-violent protest, but I feel
a strong desire to "normalize" dissent, to exercise this muscle that
will atrophy if ignored.
- I guess
for those fans who prefer my music without the politics, hang in there
(or push the fast forward button) , because maybe someday things will
be such that we can move on to other areas of interest. No one wants
that more than I do! Meanwhile I will stay in the trenches as long
as it feels right to do so, offering support and encouragement to
those who share my sense, and the last time I checked there were (at
least) 57,288,974
of us in the USA alone.
- All
righty then, the news is we're making a new recording , due out in
late May. Got a batch of new songs, can't wait to get them recorded.
Got lots of touring plans lining up with Cisco Ryder and Mike Hardwick,
including a comprehensive run across Canada, and a great tour coming
together in the UK for May with Jeff
Plankenhorn. El Prez is getting spiffed up for the task.
- Happy,
peaceful wishes for the new year ahead of us,
Eliza
- -NOVEMBER
2004 -
Ok I'm pulling out of my post election depression and going directly
to fear-and-loathing...I must admit I spent a few days on the internet
looking at property in Canada before I recommitted myself to the long
haul in the good ol USA. I'm going to hang in like a bulldog all the
way (I was going to say "terrier" but I thought that might be a red
flag for H'land Security). Are you in?
Just got off a road trip with Richard
Shindell, and I am a huge fan of his music now. I had his cd's
in the player for the whole run through the midwest. We also did a
number of shows with Tom Russell
and Andrew Hardin, 2 very
good friends, and we look forward to more of those opportunities to
merge forces.
The band had a great summer and fall, hit some new regions in El Pres,
Mike and Cisco and Plank wowin em all over. Had a killer lil run up
into Canada and the results are that we will hit the festivals all
across that gorgeous country next year. Thanks to all our new Canadian
allies.
I'm working on a new cd that should be out by next spring, including
a lot of new songs you haven't heard before as well as a cover of
the World Party song, "Is it Like Today" that so many people have
requested. Also, Cisco and I are putting together "Retro Specto",
a collection of old recordings that are either out of print or never
saw the light of day, going all the way back to the late 60's...dang
I hate to admit to the span of years.
We are also putting a tour together for the UK in May again with our
UK agency mARKO pOLO, this
time including more dates in Ireland. I hope that Jeff
Plankenhorn will do that run with me and open the shows again.
Thanks for going on the trip with us, for keeping us on the road,
for buying the cd's, for encouraging us every step of the way. You
give us hope.
- -Eliza
- July
2004 -
- Quick
update: We have "Land of Milk and Honey" T-Shirts for sale in the
store now. Stickers
are available as well.
- Also,
there is an interview with Eliza by Folkwax
that we have reprinted here.
- June
2004 -
- Hello
again. We've started off the new season with a new cd and a great
tour of the UK and Holland this spring. Plank
and I burned up some frequent flyer miles, and he was impressively
relaxed driving on the left side of the road. I was relegated to "navigator",
and I think we both agree that it was best to leave me out of the
driver's seat, as I have been driving waaay too many years on the
right side to change now. We also agreed that it was best to cough
up the extra dough for the "full coverage" insurance, which we thankfully
never needed (we won't mention the bounced curbs and misinterpreted
hiway signs). Our thanks to Graham Smith, Joanna Serraris, Pat Tynan
and Mark Ringwood for once again making sure that we were able to
reach out to old fans and new ones and make some magic happen together.
Thanks to all the folks that came to the shows. You made us feel welcome
and appreciated, not to mention the overwhelming support of our anti-war/Bush
stance. Hopefully the citizens of the USA will come around by election
time and replace this irresponsible crew of fanatics and liars.
- Speaking
of which, I'm not a politician, I'm an artist, and I know it's not
unusual for musicians to express their feelings in their work. I've
had a few people write in with negative opinions re my stance, and
I can only hope that they will find suitable vehicles for their own
forms of self-expression, other than hassling me.
- Ok,
enough already. I just wanna make some music, and that's what we intend
to do this season, so we're changing the oil on El Presidente and
starting to head out. See you somewhere out there I hope.
- -Eliza
- March
2004 -
Hello,welcome to our new website. I am really pleased with our "facelift,"
and only wish that changing my own look could be so easy and effective!
I want to thank Coral
Southwell for her years of creative web design and management
and for giving Cisco (aka phantompowers) a chance to try his hand
at the same.- Meanwhile
we are gearing up for another big run for the roses. This is going
to be an interesting year, with the undercurrent of politics affecting
everything we do, whether we like it or not! It is definitely not
a time to put our heads in the sand. Although I am not usually drawn
to "topical" issues (I'm more of an archetype freak), my new recording,
"Land of Milk and Honey," is an exception. I hope you like it.
We are looking forward to hitting the UK and the Netherlands for our
annual spring visit. And then we will pull the tarp off El Presidente
and put the pedal to the metal for the rest of the year in the USA.
I promise that our little band will be out there doing our part to
inspire people. See you out there somewhere in the land of milk and
honey, and remember to Register
To Vote!
- Eliza- December
2003-
- Hello,
I'm back, finally winding down a loooong touring season. We put a
lot of miles on El Presidente this year and we'll put on even more
next year with the release of my new CD, Land of Milk and Honey, due
out in March. Cisco, Mike and I have heard each other's stories more
than once driving back and forth across the US, and we have all watched
"Pootie Tang" enough to wear the tape down, not to mention each other.
My accelerator foot has got a whole new muscle, and Cisco, my new
road manager, is being worked overhard by his employer.
- Mark
Hallman and I are putting the finishing touches on the new CD. It
will include the songs you have all been writing in about: "Tender
Mercies," "Hiway 9", "Not Lonely," and others yet to be unveiled.
Some of you have heard the fabulous Woody Guthrie song "Peace Call"
at the Woody tribute shows. Our version of it is awesome, with Fats
Kaplan on fiddle, Rob Djersoe on dobro, and some special "guest stars"
sitting in and sounding like an angel choir. We discovered this song
in an old out-of-print Woody songbook while tooling around in Slaid
Cleaves' Blue Whale last winter, and its message of peace is more
timely than ever as we go into an election year with a real battle
on our hands to vote down the current regime and put a believable
leader into power. Any one of our current Democrat contenders would
do a better job than Bush at dealing with our national and global
economic/health/environmental/war crisis, a situation W has done more
to create than eliminate. I hope everyone is looking at ways they
can contribute to voter registration and vocal resistence to our president's
greedy, polarizing and dangerous agenda.
- OK!
Enough already.... let's get back to my favorite topic.... me. I just
want to thank you again for coming to the shows and for sending me
the e-mails.... which I have not answered! For now, there just isn't
enough time, so I thought I would answer a few that get asked a lot
right here in this letter, so here goes:
- Songbook
to be released this winter, with tabs for over 20 songs, mostly old
faves. Sign up for e-mail and we will let you know when it is finished.
- "Hiway
9" is definitely on the new recording, with a nice cameo vocal from
Slaid Cleaves. We hope to make it an anthem of resistance next year,
along with "Peace Call."
- "The
Ballad of Yvonne Johnson," the true story of a Cree woman's journey
to find herself through horrific circumstances, is definitely on the
new CD. Many of you have written about this song and I think you will
appreciate our new version of it.
- "Sleeper"
is my version of a Greg Brown song, from the Red House Records release,
Going Driftless, the Songs of Greg Brown. The proceeds of this recording
go to benefit breast cancer research and the connection between environmental
toxins and the growing rate of this cancer in women.
- We
will be touring the Netherlands and the UK in the spring—see
the calendar at the website, dates posted soon.
- I
am trying to get the rights back for Through the Looking Glass and
will release it myself when I do.
- Cisco
plays a wooden box called a "cajon." It's a South American instrument
that is very versatile; we call it a "kit-in-a-box." A lot of Flamenco
artists use them these days.
- My
apologies to the fans in Tampa... it was an unconfirmed gig that was
never on our books as far as I know. We will be back and will let
you know.
- We
will try to get lyrics posted online at some point... sorry, we are
a slow train!
- Thanks
again for the great letters. I read and enjoy them all.
Best,
Eliza
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