Monica Grabin: News/Journal

Ok, I'm really bad at this. I admit it. Just don't realize that it's been so long until it's been SO long. Gonna try a new approach, my "Rabbit, Rabbit" schedule. First of each month, or close thereunto, this gets updated. Ha!

There's actually quite a lot been happening. Bill and I hosted our last official Folk Club Song Swap last Friday. We're handing it off. And just today I heard of an old-timey jam being held each week in Portland, which sounds like something I need to do, so go figure. One door closes, etc.

Also, my latest Singing History CD, "HerStory" will be available very soon through CDBaby for download. The songs all have to do with women's history, and isn't that appropriate, this being the first day of Women's History Month.

I'll be starting a residency at McMahon Elementary School in Lewiston, Maine in a couple of weeks, which I'm looking forward to.

At the end of this month, Bill and I are off for a birding, visiting trip to Arizona. We went last year and loved it, so had to go again. Marty and Donna, we can't wait to see you.

For anyone who notices, there's a new picture of me on this website, taken at a Fiddle-icious concert in 2008.

And before I know it MerleFest will be upon us.

Keep an eye out here for new information about Singing History.

until next month.
monica

Since I last updated, lots has happened, one of the nicest things being my evening at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth, where I met lovely Violet the daughter of my host, Rachel Davis. They both made my evening especially fun. As did the hardy folks who braved the rather inclement weather to be there. We all had a great time, I think, and I hope we can do it again sometime. Thanks!

Oh, boy, am I glad to be home from our travels. I'm ready to dig in the dirt, sing in the studio, play on the stage, and practice, practice, practice. Our last trip was to Merlefest, and I returned energized and motivated to play. It's funny that seeing the most incredible instrumentalists doesn't just make one want to roll over and forget about it, but instead to make more music. I always find my head spinning with musical inspiration, and just need to keep working at it.

I have a couple of new gigs coming up. First, on May 23rd, the Brick Store Museum and I are presenting "Over Here and 'Over There!'" again, the show featuring songs and posters from World War One. It got a great response when we did it last year, and I'm really looking forward to doing it again.

Tentatively I will be singing songs of Americana at the Trolley Museum in Arundel on the Fourth of July, and then I will be performing songs of Maine history at the Thomas Memorial Library on July 23rd. It's located at 6 Scott Dyer Road in Cape Elizabeth and the phone number is 799-1720.

The garden beckons, the warblers are coming, the Red Sox are winning, the Democrats will have 60 votes, the Celtics haven't been beaten yet, and although the world is still in a heck of a fix, I feel hopeful for all of us.
hope to see you soon.

Well it's been a little crazy lately with the getting-out-the-vote drive but my candidate will be the next president of the United States and I couldn't be happier.

Now I'm really focusing on my upcoming concert at Huntington Common, Over Here and Over There. With posters from the Brick Store's collection and songs and stories, it should be a very interesting and entertaining hour. Please come and join us at 2 p.m.

Just a quick note: although it was a bit dreary and drizzly at the Fryebug Fair this year, it was warm, and the sun did come out for a little while and Dale Robin and I had a wonderful time. It's such a treat to be there every year, and then to ride the Ferris Wheel together. Bill, my long-suffering husband, took care of the sound and helping us load, for which we are always grateful.

it's getting hard to stay positive, in that it's tough to watch McCain go negative. But singing does help. I spent the afternoon just singing and playing banjo and guitar, enjoying the gorgeous weather and letting songs soothe the strains. Been working one afternoon a week at the Obama headquarters in Kennebunk, saying hello to people from down the street and around the country, all of them looking for stickers, signs, posters, anything. Had a woman in from Arizona who wanted pins, I think. They're hard to come by in her home state.

I'm also preparing for the concert coming up, Over Here and "Over There!" with the Brick Store Museum. The songs are great, but reading about the horrors of the first world war is not. I know the facts, but going over them is truly hair-raising. The posters at the Brick Store are great, though, and the program will be a lot of fun even though it's such a dark subject.

Dale Robin and I have a date coming up next Saturday in Milford, New Hampshire, the home of the singing Hutchinson Family. I've been a fan, if you can call it that, of the Hutchinsons for years. They were performers in the mid-nineteenth century who were like the Weavers of their day. I first discovered them in the 80s and have read all I could about them, including the wonderful books by Dale Cockrell. Their hometown was Milford, NH, so I'm planning to go early and spend a little time there, see what I can see.

Fiddle-icious concert dates are approaching and should be a lot of fun. Bill and I missed the last rehearsal so we're looking forward to Monday night.

The Sox are in the ALCS - tied with the Rays, and it should be quite a battle. This time last year I rushed downstairs at the start of a game, fell down the last 2 steps and ended up breaking my foot, which took about 9 months to really heal. Not gonna do that this year.

And back to the campaigns: let's all just try to remember that we share this country with people who disagree with us. Some of us are always unhappy and even angry about what our government does in our name. That's the way it is, but we can still be decent human beings toward each other.

HerStory was a great success at the Goodall Library on Thursday evening, and I'm happy to announce that I also did manage to create a new CD of the songs of HerStory. It's available at the moment in a home-packaged format for $10 but I will be getting it all spiffed up and shrink-wrapped very soon, when it will be posted at CD Baby, so either email me for the first pressing, or check it out on CD Baby in a few weeks.
The concert was a delight, and my thanks to everyone who attended and to the library staff for making it such a great evening.

One of my favorite programs, HerStory, which focuses on women's history, will be presented on September 18th at Goodall Library in Sanford at 6:30 on Sept. 18th. This will be a full concert, two sets with an intermission. I love the songs in this show and think others will too. To me, women's history is for everyone, since it's everybody's history as well. I don't really think you can separate out the different aspects of our country's life into women/black/men/whatever. We all went through it and are still going through it together. Still, the songs of the suffrage movement, those that show women's role in society, and those that just share women's feelings are pretty darn compelling, and I think you'll love them. As always, there'll be lots of opportunities to sing along and to share. Please join me. It should be a great evening.

Wonderful show from our point of view at Poland Spring, All Souls Chapel. The chapel is absolutely gorgeous, as are the grounds and the rest of the buildings, and we were made very welcome. Lots of people came out to see and hear us and we hope they had as good a time as we did. Thanks to everyone there for a lovely evening, and we hope we can do it again sometime.

Dale Robin and I have another performance coming up in Poland Spring on the 18th, which should be a treat. The Poland Spring Preservation Society sponsors a series of concerts at All Souls Chapel, which looks like quite a lovely venue. It's on the national register of historic places, and the $5 admission is used for the work the society does. We'll be singing up a storm, and you won't have to bring an umbrella. See you there.

boy, what a nice venue and set-up in Falmouth. The weather cooperated, the audience was enthusiastic, and the hosts were extremely gracious and competent. We really enjoyed ourselves, and we think everyone else did too. Thanks to Denise and everyone involved.

Somehow I managed to leave this off my calendar until now, but on Monday evening Dale Robin and I will bring Mom's Home Cookin' to Falmouth. The town has a summer concert series in Village Park, which is located behind Wal-Mart off Route 1. In case of inclement weather, of which we have been having a great deal, the concert is canceled. Please call 781-5253 to check if there are any questions.

Also, I had a wonderful time at the Scarborough Public Library in June. Everyone there was absolutely terrific to me and I can't thank them all enough. We had an appreciative audience of all ages, and we all sang and shared together. Great fun, and I hope we can do it again.

Yeah, I've been doing a LOT of birding lately. It's been a rather strange and slow year, but magical nonetheless. I love spring migration.

And I'm so happy to be back with old and new friends at Walton School. I had a great time with the 2nd and 3rd grades there last week and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow and Thursday.

I've been working very hard on my drop-thumb technique, which is improving, although I think I'll always sound a little like Grandpa Jones. I'm just a banjo whacker, there's no escaping it. But all I want to do is play banjo! Lots of fun.

Hope to see some of you at upcoming gigs. Please check out the calendar page for details.

My very best to anyone who takes the time to read this,
monica

Ok, nobody will really care about this but me, but here goes anyway: One year ago, I went to the Midwest Banjo Camp, which was terrific. At that time I swore to myself that within a year I would finally learn how to drop my thumb. I'm a frailer, you see, but have never learned the real clawhammer style, which requires one to drop their thumb down off the fifth string. Now, I don't know why, I but I could never get the hang of it, until last night. Maybe it's my new, delightful Nechville banjo, maybe the stars were aligned just right, but suddenly, I got it. Not to say I'm good at it, but I got the motion and feel so happy, and it's just one month shy of that deadline I set myself. So thank you, banjo gods, and on to more pickin'.
(Maybe it's because it was the eve of my name day. May 4th is the feast of St. Monica, patron saint of mothers. I was born on Mother's Day, quite a few years ago, b'day comin' up.) cheers.

A lot has gone on in the last four months, so time to do a little updating.

MerleFest
Most recently, I just returned from North Carolina and MerleFest, refreshed and energized and with a new banjo. I met the very nice folks at Nechville Banjos while down there and I'm afraid I fell in love with one of their instruments. It has a radiused neck, a tunneled fifth string, and the nechville helimount system and sounds and plays wonderfully. Thanks guys!!!
I've been playing a lot ever since my return. Seeing the Carolina Chocolate Drops again as well as Dirk Powell and Riley Baugus really got my old-timey nerves tingling. And I saw amazing sets by Marty Stuart and Levon Helm. Doc Watson looks a little older but his singing and playing are still amazing. I feel so lucky to be able to see him once again. Ralph Stanley was also there, complimenting his back-up personnel on their picking "they play it straight, like I like it." MerleFest is actually too much to take in, but what a thrill it always is.

Schools
In March, I returned to Yarmouth Elementary School to work with the third grade on Women's History and in April with the fourth graders again on slavery and the Underground Railroad. I have been in Yarmouth every year for at least 15 years, and it's always a pleasure. The kids are great and willing to jump right in. I always treasure my time there.
In April I also had the pleasure of meeting the children of the 4th and 5th grades at Minot Elementary School and had a great time with them teaching/learning about Indians of Maine and lumbering and shipping. I want to thank everyone there who made this happen, and especially Donna Berry, who was a delight to meet. I'm going to rant a little now: the Minot School has no music program, due to budget cuts. What an awful thing it was for me to get a letter from one of the children there saying that she was glad to have me come and that she hoped music could be provided like it used to be. Surely we can do better.

Norlands Living History Center
I was very sad to learn that Norlands in Livermore Falls lost its barn in a fire. Billie Gammon had contacted me recently to perform there this spring, which I will do, but how awful to hear of the loss. I hope anyone who knows of the incredible work that's been done there for the last 20 years or so will do anything they can to help them rebuild the barn.

Mom's Home Cookin'
Dale Robin and I have had some nice gigs recently too, which deserve a mention. One was at the York Library in February, which was well-attended and a pleasure on all counts. We shared the bill with Cormac McCarthy, who was his usual talented and irreverent self. Everyone there was great to us, and we hope to join their excellent series again.
Also, we performed at the Saco Coffeehouse in April. The coffeehouse was our first gig as Mom's Home Cookin' and therefore a sentimental favorite of ours. This was a great night, with exceptionally good people participating in the open mic.

Miscellaneous
The birds are beginning to come back, and I can't wait. I've been going out every morning but the deluge has not yet begun. It's coming, though. Bill and I went to Texas in March for the birds, and saw 115 species, 55 of them lifers for us. It was incredible to say the least.
The Red Sox are out of their recent slump, the Celtics finally got back on track against the Hawks, and all's right with the world sports-wise, for the moment.
I'll be better at this, honest, now that I'm home for a while.
Keep singing!
monica

Well, somehow I've let this slip for quite a while now, but my guilt has finally built to the proper pitch and here goes. The concert at the St. Lawrence was great, imho. Everyone involved really gave it their all and made it a wonderful evening. Dana's songs were great and Dale Robin's rendition of "True Blues" was a highlight of the evening. I got excellent feedback from everyone involved and hope to make this an annual event.

I'm busy now with learning tunes for Fiddle-icious, a local fiddle-all instrument ensemble that I've followed from the sidelines for a long time. Bill's taken out his old fiddle and started practicing again, and this will give us a chance to play together and meet lots of new musical friends. Tonight is our first rehearsal.

Dale Robin and I are realizing we've got to get started on a new Mom's Home Cookin' cd, but she's in the midst of planning for a solo effort right now so we'll have to be patient. It's coming, though. And I'm just working on old and new tunes and a new cd effort by the prolific Dana Pearson.

other than that, the only thing to say is: Way to Go, Pats! Looking forward to a perfect season on February 3.

We had our big rehearsal the day after Thanksgiving, and things are sounding really good for Thursday's concert. I feel incredibly lucky to have such a talented group of friends who are willing to work with me on this, and we all have fun and laugh a lot. I'm really looking forward to playing again at the St. Lawrence. It's a great theater, intimate and acoustically lovely. Come check it and us out!

Well, I'm a little delinquent in not writing this sooner, but I had a wonderful time up in Presque Ilse. Sonja Plummer-Morgan, the extremely web-savvy librarian who hired me was a delight to meet, and has a very slick avatar. The weather was lousy but we had a good turn-out and if the audience had half as much fun as I did I know they had a great time. Thanks to everyone up there for making me and Bill so welcome, and yes, I'd love to return.

Tomorrow Bill and I will head up to Presque Isle so I can do a concert up there on Maine history. I've never been that far upstate, and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we won't get any snow showers. the librarian and I have been talking since about this time last year, so it's great that we'll finally meet each other. Look out, Sonja, here I come!
At home, I've been working with Dana Pearson on his third (!) CD, and it's been just as much fun as the last two. If you've never checked out his work, do it. You can find clips at CD Baby. I think he's a great song-writer and we have some wonderful musician friends, so the whole package is pretty nifty. Dale Robin and I just finished a couple of concerts which were a treat, one in Andover, Mass., and one here in Kittery. Unfortunately, the afternoon of our Andover concert was gorgeous and also the Pats against the Colts, so turnout was sparse, but that doesn't mean the audience wasn't great and the venue is lovely. We had a fine time. The Kittery gig was for seniors and not open to the public, but what a delight. There were a lot of people there on a miserable, cold November day, and the place was very warm with good food, good vibes and good music. We hope to visit with them again.
Finally, I'm gearing up for the 29th, when we'll do our second and final CD release concert. It's been such a gas working with everyone and I'm honored to have another chance.
My broken foot is recovering enough so that I actually took a short walk today. It didn't hurt at all when I did it, but it's been a little sore since. Still, recovery is evident. And of course I'm gleefully looking forward to having my son Gabe home for Thanksgiving. I love it when all four of us are together, which is rarer than it used to be. btw, my daughter Brenna did an excellent job on a poster for the Portland show. kudos, sweetie.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I've finally recovered from the long nights of a great couple of series. It was a lot of fun, but Bill and I were seriously sleep-deprived. All worth it, though, watching that rolling rally through Boston again. I couldn't believe I was seeing it again so soon. My favorite moments: JD Drew hitting that grand slam, any time the roaring rookies came to bat, and watching Pap and Yuke dancing in Boston.

Other than the Sox, I've been busy practicing and choosing songs for the next CD release concert, and a couple of shows coming up with Dale Robin/Mom's Home Cookin'. (check the calendar) Also hobbling around on a broken foot. Not too serious, mostly just a big bother. should be fine in about a month. I broke it coming down stairs to watch one of the ALCS games. I guess I was in a hurry and I missed a step or two. ouch.

So, what to do now that baseball season's over...Go Pats!