Cindy Grayson: News

Here's to wishing all of you who celebrate the holiday a Merry Christmas and those who don't , well, look at it as a time of the year to set aside to show all those you care for just how much you care. Remember, comunication is 90% of any relationship and the rest is the ability to bend as a tree bends before the storm. Everything else is the resiliancy to spring back after the storms when the skies are clear again.
May the New Year bring you smooth sailing and many beautiful sunsets to come as well as the music to keep us all going.

I just found out that Dan Fogelberg died this morning at 6:00 am. It's so sad to hear that we've lost such a wonderful musician and talented and good human being. May he long be remembered.

Go to Tyler Paper.com and go to the religious section on the paper posted Saturday, Dec 15th and there is a wonderful artical about the concert with a great pictures of the musicians all standing together ( except Stan & me. I didn't know they were planing on taking one and Stan and I left.)
It turned out to be a great evening.

The tribute concert in Tyler for the recent Path CD " Rise Up" went very well. Most of the musicians showed up and we all had a great time playing a couple of songs each and getting to chat with musicians who normally are on the go and don't get a chance to visit with each other.
I got another gig out of it too for the 12th of January in Tyler again playing in a music circle with Bill Nash and James Michael Taylor. It's another freebee but I don't really mind at this point. No one in Nacogdoches wants to pay here either but this thing in Tyler is with good musicians and sounds like it will be a lot of fun.
I was very pleased with the performance Stan and I did last night. Both songs went smoothly and my voice did exactly what I wanted it to do for a change. I also got to see and chat with many of the wonderful musicians I've met in the last couple of years and the overall concert went over well. Neal Katz took us all through the evening very smoothly and ended with a performance of his lead song " Rise up " on the CD. I caught some one connected cornering him after the show asking him when he was going to do another show again so I'm not the only one who thought it went well. For those of you who didn't make it, maybe we'll see you at the next one!

I believe global warming is really getting to be a noticable thing. We aught to realise that all those things we have believed previously wouldn't happen in our lifetime, are happening. I have pictures of my yard with snow on the ground when my boys were small and running around in snowsuits. My youngest is 26 and in the last 20 years, I think I've seen snow here once or twice and none lasted more than 24 hours. We all need to start doing our part or our problems could start within the next 30. Our children will have to live with what we didn't think was important for us to do anything about because we were too lazy.

I actaully went to work this morning but changed my mind when I got there and came home. Working in the flowerbeds in 39 degree weather just is too cold.
Practice went great yesterday. I talked a friend,Jon Hall, who plays mandolin and guitar into coming out to practice to add some backup for the new Classic Folk Cd. It sounded good but we'll have to work on it because his instruments need to be louder. I couldn't hear then on the cd copy from practice, Stan make a cd copy of every practice so we can continue to work on what didn't go right when we get home. I'll have a couple of weeks because I have to be in Tyler next Sunday for the Path Tribute Concert.
Have a wonderful Monday and stay warm.

Check out the info on the tribute concert coming up in Tyler for the musicians who contributed to the new PATH CD . It's free but if you can, a donation of canned goods would be appreciated and there will be copies of the PATH CD availiable as well as the CD's of the musicians involved. Bring a friend and family and have a wonderful Sunday with all of us.!

I got to thinking about yesterdays entry. Visiting the Dunbar Castle in Scotland would be fun but I'm also a Blackstock on my father's side. I wonder if I have any distant relatives from that side over there? Just one of those things I think about every once in awhile.
I guess I'll consentrate on my gardening for the next year and worry about spending the time needed to finish the next two Cd's I've got in the works and not worry about traveling for awhile - although I did get an offer to go to Ithacca, New York next Feb.
Oh! All the possibilities!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Now- the only thing I can think of that I'd like for Christmas would be to go visit the family castle in Scotland, the Dunbar Castle, but if I'm lucky, I'll probably get to spend it with family & friends and hopefully get to play some good music and have lots of laughs - at someone elses expence , I hope.
Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one with family & friends with good food and a good strong drink and lots of laughs!

Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is almost here. I'm back to doing gardening in the flowerbeds for money. Playing down at the Cafe is fun but I'm not sure where it's going to lead, if anywhere. I lover playing but I'm getting tired of playing around here for free. I've got a few pictures of music at the Appleby Sand Cafe I will load sometime this week.
I really wish people,would quit telling me I need to play country to make any progress. If that's what I have to play, I'll just stick to doing portraits ( which I'm getting real good at too!) and gardening. I'm still going to play and I still have the two Cd's I'm going to put out although I've about decided that Stan & I will put them out together and put them all together at his place. I'm tired of booking & promoting myself and I'm not good at it. I hate people who blow their own horn. I guess I'll just keep making Cd's and putting them on this site and hope those of you that stumble on them, enjoy them.
Have a wonderful evening!

I have met more " musical wannabe's " lately. Some are endearing in their love of music and their emthusiasm is really catching for the sake of simply playing around with music. Other's are so needy in their attempts to be something they only dream of being and believe that if they talk it up to strangers enough that somehow they'll become that important some one they dream of being. All this I understand but I think I must have a sign somewhere above my head that says " tell me all about it" because I've meet several of these people lately, even the homeless man who came up to me a couple of time yesterday in Tyler after I'd finished playing and had to tell me about his experience with some important name and the wonderful restaurant they ate at. It's hard to be rude because in their own way, it's a compliment so you nod and smile and say how interesting it must have been and hope it's a short story so you can excuse yourself as gracefully as possible.
I've also been lectured twice in a week on the few songs of mine that I have yet to copywrite. I've got forms from 2002, when I first got back into music after a long break, so I guess I better do some research before my next Cd of originals gets made. It's amazing how involved the simple love of music and " the song" can be. The adventures would make and interesting book.

If you have any questions or comments on anything, please feel free to send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
cgrayson@cindygrayson.com
or
sylkie27@yahoo.com

It's funny how time seems to move faster as we get older. I remember when the summer seemed to last forever. So much time has passed so fast and I'm finally figuring out what I want to do when I grow up. Pretty much the same thing I wanted to do when I was a lot younger but now it's difficult to retain that wonderful level of imagination I had. I have a good feeling though. I'm close to finishing my next Classic Folk Cd " Celtic Seasoning " and I hope who ever listens to it enjoys it as much as I've enjoyed putting it together. The remake of the first draft has been fun as I'm having to do the harmony over my own melody ( which I'm afriad I won't be able to duplicate in performance). I've been doing a lot of thinking about keeping things as simple as I can. I'm even thinking about doing my own 2nd Cd of my original music. Stan has done some nice work at our practice studio. We'll see. So many ideas in my head and so many possibilities.

I'm not sure what the next day will bring and I've stopped trying to preguess it but I have faith that next year has got to be better than this year and if I happen to have at least another 40 years to explore some new paths on this hike of mine into tomorrow, hopefully they will bring music, art, a few chances for some good luck and a few good friends along with them.
Have a happy Halloween!

It's almost the first Friday of the month again and there will be shops open downtown until 9:00 pm again and music on the side walks. I will be out in front of the Heart Of Texas again and this time, I'll have my small P.A. hooked up this time and the main theme of music will be old folk but I'll throw in a few originals. Come and join the fun and let the shops know you care. That's Oct. 5th, 2007.

Get your new PATH cd today thru www.tylerpath.org or 903-597-4044! It the new East Texas singers & songwriters' tribute to PATH.
PATH ( People attempting to help) is the agency through which hundreds of people positivly effect the lives of thousands in need. As Mrs. Gertrude Windsor intended some 20 years ago, PATH has become a clearinghouse through which local congregations, businesses, schools and individuals help others. Instead of local congregations dublicating their mission programs, PATH is a shared social service agency, serving those in need on behalf of the religious community.
I have to say that Rabbi Neal Katz has done a wonderful job and the East Texas musicians helped without batting an eye. Call or email and see what I mean. It also helps a good cause. It's called " Rise Up" and includes: Neal Katz, Gordon McLeod,Adam Carroll,Beyond The Pale/Christy McLeod,Tim Chauvin,Juan Carlos&Jeana Urena,Lynn Adler,Randy Brown, Cindy Grayson ( Me),Plain Folks w/ Roland Brown, Miki Lynn,& Lindy Hearne. A collection of truely inspiring songs.

I wish I could say I had a lot of gigs lined up but I don't have a manager and I'm pretty tired of being my own booking agent and I hate blowing my own horn. No, I'm not giving up trying to play my music, I just don't have the time to chase it right now. I've been doing more Art but my bass player, Stan, & I are still working on a remake of the Celtic type Cd we were working on. Kat moved so Stan had me redo the whole Cd and I'll be doing my own harmonies. I've found some one who plays mandolin who said he'd love to add to it so I am excited. I'll be sure to post it as soon as we get it finished. I'm also looking into a couple I met in town who would like to take over the resoncibility for making copies of my Cd's so I won't have to do it here at my house
anyway, have a nice evening and I'll keep you posted.

I've been going through my personal collection of poems and thought it might be a good thing to share some of them.
Dream
I dreamed that it was yesterday
When no one was around
That I kissed you softly
And never made a sound.
So gently then I touched your head
Stood looking down at you
And in your face, you smiled,
I gave my heart to you.

I've given more thought to solo performing. Tonight will be, what I see as, my first real solo performance in quite awhile. I know I can do it but I've been trying to decide all morning whether I should take my small p.a. or not. I'll be outside on the sidewalk and I know that without a mic, my voice doesn't carry well and I'm not a" belter" - that's what microphones are for so - with that thought- I have put my p.a. in the back of my car and will go set up a little early to let it warm up. The shops downtown are all planning to be open late with their doors open to help improve sales. People will be invited to stroll the downtown area and visit all the shops. A few of the shops will have musical entertainment out front so I hope the crowd will be good sized and I hope they enjoy. It's FREE!

I have just recently givin my OK for my song " Lost In All The Wonder" to be included on a PATH CD which will be a compilation of uplifting songs from various artists from around East Texas area with Neal Katz ( who is himself an excellent performer and musician,) as the project coordinator. The CD will be distributed in late September 2007 during PATH Week. PATH is the organization" People Attempting To Help" and I'm very pleased and excited to be able to donate the use of any song of mine that might be used to help someone in these days of floods and hurricanes and other tragic happenings where even a small helping hand can do so much.
I'll keep you posted.

Here in East Texas, the summer has been unusually wet and the opportunities to play pretty slim but I am eagerly waiting the fall when the temperature cools a little and the music picks up. In the meantime, I'm open for offers and chances to play and I'm even practicing some. Most of my energy is aimed toward going back to doing solo shows so it'll be easier to travel. Hopefully, this fall will provide me with some new challanges and experiences that will keep me on my toes.
Have a wonderful month and I'll look forward to September and keep you posted.

It is the electricity in the air at the edge of a storm beneath the boiling clouds as they roll across the sky.
It's the feel of the wind as it whips across your face and it's fingers trace the wild strands of hair that fly in wild disarray, keeping time with the rhythm of life in it's most intimate throws of ecstasy.
It is the beating of your heart behind eyelids shut, letting loose the imagination of time in that split second before your breath escapes beyond the barrier between life and death.
It's our own individual dance of love and hate and the dreams that bridge the bounderies of our fragil existance. The undying ability to believe and touch the very essence of life with our fingertips. The vibration of our voices that reach into every soul of every life and realize the power and joy of that life.etc............


( Part of a short pros on" The Music Of Life" by Cindy Grayson 4/2007)

It is very apparent that summer is here. I played at the Blue Berry Festival this last weekend and there is no doubt that the people in charge of putting these things together are not musicians. I looked like a boiled lobster by the end of the day!
My friend, Kat and I have been working on trying to get the next Classic Folk Cd ready but Stan is hoping our Celtic fad will end soon so we can get back to the stuff we were doing. I assured him that even though I love Celtic music and would like to do a lot more, I haven't quit trying to prepare the pieces for my second Cd of original work. Unfortunatly, playing gigs are few and far between these days and I've been trying to get some work done in my art studio that will sell before I have to go get a job which will mess up all my time I'm trying to organize for art & music. Nacogdoches is particularly dead when it comes to making any progress in music. I'm allways available as a solo musician and will play when called on my own, even if I have to drive, as long as it pays something worth the effort I make to get there. I am hoping for something indoors or after dark though. I almost fried to a crackeling crunch this last weekend, and this is only the begining of summer! WOW!

My new singing partner, Kat Tree, and I are working on a new Classic Folk Cd which we plan on calling" Celtic Seasoning ". We've been working on keeping them as simple and untortured as possible and since we're both use to being solo performers, we've decided to switch off as to who sings lead and who sings harmony so I actually get to play with some harmony myself. The proof has turned out well so it will be available soon. I'll keep you posted. I have it in my car and listen to it a lot. I love Cletic music and plan on learning more.

Well, I got involved with the re-Opening of the Farmers Market downtown last month and they had us play all morning and part of the afternoon in the direct sunlight. It took my head 2 weeks to stop peeling! but we had a good time and the responce by the local people was good. This last weekend we had live music again and I got them to follow my advise and move the musicians in under the roof in the middle of the long line of vendors. It went over well and I spent the day helping man one of the booths and making sure things went smoothly. I also got to jam alittle. Thye're going to have live local music the 2nd Sat of every month as long as the weather will allow it and I've given them all kinds of ideas.
Next month on the second Sat. I'll be there in the morning playing and warming up and then I'm scheduled to play at the local BlueBerry Festival at 12:00 noon on the stage downtown on the backside of the tourist information center. They'll even have an awning put up which will be great because the East Texas sun can be brutal.
Come join us for the Blueberry Festival in Nacogdoches. It's the 9th of June and there will be lots of food, things to buy, fun things to do and live music all day. Blue berry pancakes at 8:00 am sure are good!