Love and gratitude...

Thank you, Westchester & the Hudson Valley (and our friends to the
north, south east & west : ) for an amazing four years! To every musician who entertained us with music, thanks for sharing your gift of song. Friend me on Facebook to stay in touch-->

Please take a moment to send some love to our troops this holiday season...

My gratitude to Steve Petrone, Tom Furci & the WHUD staff for the opportunity to be part of a station that truly serves the community. I've found a new radio home, but I will never forget the experience of getting to know you and singing along to the Night Rhythms.


May your life be filled with sunshine, may your every wish come true,

may you find the sweet fulfillment in everything you do...
Catherine

Circles...

You've probably used or heard someone utter the expression, "we've come full circle." If you looked up the meaning, it would say something like: to complete a cycle of transition, returning to the point of origin. That really resonates with me right now, perhaps as much as walking up on this drumming circle a few weeks ago. The location is Wagner Park, not far from the World Trade Center site, we've referred to for nine years as 'Ground Zero.' This circle symbolic, almost a decade later, of a city and nation's resilience and suggesting that in the wake of our tragedies and differing points of view, we can gather together peacefully...with music. To all who lost a loved one on 9/11/01, a loving embrace for strength to carry on. To every brave person and dog who served at the site in the aftermath, a loving embrace of gratitude. To our uniformed Americans whose duty has been to face war as a result of the terrorist attacks, a loving embrace for your safety.


A boat may not travel in a circle, but it often returns to points we call ports. Friday night in our Night Rhythms Livebeat, we enjoyed the return of The YaYas to our studio.











Catherine Miles, Jay Mafale and Paul Silverman are as comically engaging as they are talented and we heard three tunes from their new album, Paper Boats.
I forgot my camera, but Paul (who has a way of capturing the inner beauty of people he photographs) was kind enough to bring his. : )

We heard the moving song, You Should Go, that includes the lyric that inspired the album title: 'folding up his dreams in tiny paper boats.' The Ya Yas are as accommodating as they are fun, and we heard their spin on the familiar tune We Danced Anyway...equally uplifting, and dare I say more brilliantly arranged than the original, that I love. If you heard The Ya Yas perform Third Girl from the Left, then you must be still singing it, because it's got a hopeful hook that echoes Petula Clark's Downtown.

The heart of Peekskill is where you'll find The Ya Yas this Friday, September 17th @ 8pm at the Bean Runner Cafe. (great food, warm atmosphere and the sound will be delicious!) You can also catch The Ya Yas at the Howling Wolf Family Folk Festival @ Lewisboro Park in South Salem, on Sunday, 9/19 @ 1pm or be at their CD release party, where admission includes a copy of Paper Boats, at the Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling on Sunday, October 24th @ 7:30pm. Find their full calendar and more music at their web home.

Two more Night Rhythms sails together...

See you on the water,
Catherine

"...wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings..."

Helen in Mahopac sent the Facebook note that asks you for fifteen songs you've heard that will always stick with you. : ) Helen had a great list and it's always a challenge for me to narrow things down when it comes to music. One of the songs I left off my list is, My Favorite Things. It's a sentimental kind of song for me because we played it when I was in my high school marching band. I guess this time of year always takes me back there in my mind, and I can't believe I forgot to add the song to my list. You may agree that the list of songs that stick with you really depends on the day and your mood. : ) If you had to add to the Maria von Trapp tune, what would you include? "... music & backyards & hand-knitted things..."(hat made with wool from Flying Fingers Yarn Shop in Tarrytown)

This week in our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight, we met Curtis Schmidt, and his gathering of players known as Curtis and The Dilettantes. We listened to the song, Farewell Old Friend, from the album Tales of a Traveler.
Curtis also mentioned that he plays bass in a band called Big Pedro and you can hear their sounds @ Wicked Willy's in NYC on Wednesday, 9/22 @ 9pm. Sail over to his site for upcoming local shows and to learn more about Curtis and his recording. Be sure to browse through the gallery of photos at the site--where you can witness the beautiful collaboration of local musicians, who are an inspiration in how they support one another in music.

One of the songs on my list of fifteen is this amazing Stevie Wonder creation where he sings:

"As today I know I'm living but tomorrow
could make me the past but that I mustn't fear
For I'll know deep in my mind
The love of me I've left behind
Cause I'll be loving you always."

Always,

Catherine

"If you want a happy ending..."

"...that depends, of course, on where you stop your story."

~Orson Welles

Hope the story of your summer has been like a book you don't want to end, and that you find what you need in its final chapters. Where'd the time go? It went by faster than a bunny eating a dandelion. >:-}

This week in our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight, had a chat with Alexander Craig about his band Ten Feet Deep. Their self-titled album is a lyrical and musical blast.

We listened to the song Cardinal Rule from the album, and here is the new video Alexander mentioned for the song Hands Down.

If you missed Ten Feet Deep's Danbury show this weekend, they're in the line up at M.E.A.N.Y. Fest 2010 with a 9/24 set at The Delancey in NYC @ 9pm. Visit their site or space for more about the band.

This summer seems to have gone by faster than this Vivaldi movement...
Create with music,
Catherine

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines...

Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes, is a British film from the 60's that begins with a history of flight. A vacation highlight and flight history lesson for me was visiting the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome recently. It's the kind of experience that takes you back in time with an entertaining air show and museum. If you're inclined to go for a biplane ride, it's a stunning view soaring over the Hudson Valley in one of these...

You can be part of the show and go for a ride in vintage wheels and check out the collection of barnstorming beauties!
Friday night in our Night Rhythms Livebeat, Susan Kane shared her songs and the inspiration for writing them.

We heard The Tale of Missus, from her amazing album Highway Bouquet.

Susan played a new song, Meryem Ana, that she wrote about her recent visit to Turkey and a place she felt moved by. We also heard my favorite song from Highway Bouquet, an uplifting celebration in Ring the Bells. Susan has an upcoming show at Urban H2O in Yonkers on Saturday, 10/16 @ 7pm with KJ Denhert and Lara Herscovitch sharing the stage. Keep an eye on Susan's site for dates and an ear there to hear more music from both of her albums.

Everybody's talking about the departure of summer...this will be a hard one to say farewell to...

Change, sing, soar...

Catherine

How far would you run?

Thanks to WHUD news anchor, Sue Guzman, for bringing this inspiring story to us. Have you heard about Guy Fessenden? He's a remarkable father from Hartsdale who is training to run 100 marathons in 140 days, beginning this September 19th in Savannah, GA and crossing his finish line in Los Angeles, CA on February 6, 2011. Let's wish him good health and success on his unimaginable and ambitious journey. We believe in you, Guy!

“The miracle isn't that I finished.

The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ~John Bingham

We moved our Hudson Valley Artist Spotlight to Wednesday this week and caught up with Professor Louie who's been performing shows in Italy this summer. He sent this neat photo of a floating stage in Venice...how cool is that?

We enjoyed the song Whispering Pines, from the album of the same title, recorded with his band Professor Louie & The Crowmatix. This weekend will be hoppin' with the highly anticipated summer event: Peekskill Celebration 2010 and you can dance to the tunes of Professor Louie & The Crowmatix Friday night, 8/6 at the riverfront in Peekskill from 6-9pm. Tom Furci will be your host. : ) Special thanks to Professor Louie for calling in for the interview before departing Italy and you can find his music and local shows at his web home. Quell'estate felice!

Summer's not a marathon, but it's sure zooming by like one...

Run with music,

Catherine

"Have a popsicle!"

...says the legendary Wolfman Jack to Curt in American Graffiti. Caught the end of the movie over the weekend--glad to be reminded of this sweet scene:
Guess you could say we were 'making up for lost time' from last week...tonight we met Rebecca Loebe in our spotlight. We heard her song, Mystery Prize, from the album of the same title.

Rebecca is performing at 12 Grapes Music & Wine Bar in Peekskill with Fred Gillen, Jr. this Wednesday evening, 8/4 @ 7pm. She also mentioned an October 12th show @ The Living Room in Manhattan and you can check out her calendar and hear more of Rebecca's music at her site or space. We talked about how Rebecca includes an origami fortune teller (also known as a cootie catcher) in the CD, so if you want to make your own, here's a fun modern 'how to.'

Hope you loved hearing the Don Henley version of this tune from the musical Guys & Dolls as much as I loved playing it tonight...

Sail with sound,

Catherine