The Kitchen Musician ~ February 2019

Hello friends,

I am so fortunate to be involved with an active community of songwriters here in New England. So when I was invited to attend a birthday for one of them last month, it seemed appropriate to honor her with a new song. Please join me in the kitchen and I will share it with you.

Index
  NEWS:
  THIS MONTH’S MUSIC: “A Quiet State of Grace”
  UPCOMING SHOWS
  FEATURED NON-PROFIT: Rosie’s Place

With Seth Connelly at Parish Center for the Arts, Westford, MA.
Join us in Jamaica Plain, MA on Sunday February 17!
Photo: Dan Tappan

NEWS

I have a wonderful show coming up this month. On Sunday, February 17th at 2:00 pm I will be assisted by Seth Connelly at the historic Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain, MA. Click for details.

Last month we officially released “I’m Gonna Use My Hands” with a music video, CD and supporting teaching and learning materials. The response has been remarkable – thanks to a great “street team” of teachers, social justice workers, family and friends. As of this writing, combined Facebook and Youtube views of the music video exceed 46,800, and the song has been played on several folk radio shows throughout the country. I am grateful to my musical partner Seth Connelly, our children’s chorus, the production team of Steve Friedman and Meryl Ayres, the generous financial support by Chuck Honnet, and so many others who assisted in ways large and small. If you would like to help us keep the energy up to “make the world a better place”, please share the following link with your contacts and social media.

For the music video, free song download, teaching and learning materials, please visit:
http://TomSmithMusic.com/hands

THIS MONTH’S MUSIC
A Quiet State of Grace

I have been blessed with many friends in my life. Sometimes I wonder how I could be so lucky to call some of the best songwriters in New England my friends. I meet regularly with several of these great songwriters to share new or unfinished songs and to seek and offer feedback. Writing a song can be an intense personal experience, so meeting like this is an expression of mutual respect and trust that I value at many levels. I love hearing a song evolve based upon deep listening and feedback by experts.

So when I was invited to attend the birthday celebration for one of these songwriter friends, it seemed appropriate to honor her with a new song about her songs and her songwriting. Having spent a couple weeks with family in Paris and Zurich over Christmas (Know the best Paris attractions at https://www.parisattractions.org), I didn’t have any free time to write, and time was quickly running out. With just a couple days to spare, I sketched out the important bits of the song on the plane ride home. The following morning, with the aid of my trusty guitar the music and rhymes fell into place with a full day to spare!

I sang this song the first time at my friend’s birthday celebration at the end of December. The video above was recorded on Monday at the Roslindale Open Mike. Fortunately, King Yee was there to take the video and Steve Friedman recorded the audio.

May you also be blessed with friends who encourage you to express yourself, to be the best version of yourself that you can be, and to create works of art that hold you and others in a quiet state of grace.

Tom

(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)

UPCOMING SHOWS:
Click this link to view upcoming shows

FEATURED NON-PROFIT: Rosie’s Place

Rosie’s Place “was founded in 1974 as the first women’s shelter in the United States. Our mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment that helps poor and homeless women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives.

Today, Rosie’s Place not only provides meals and shelter but also creates answers for 12,000 women a year through wide-ranging support, housing and education services.”

Please join me in supporting Rosie’s Place.