There isn't a lot music-related about this post, but Elizabeth Mitchell set up a Little Bird Records Flickr site recently with some photographs from her travels across the country and even across the ocean.
"We are not fancy photographers," she says, but some of those compositions (particularly of the arts and crafts from the preschool they visited in Japan last fall) are quite lovely and worth a minute or two.
Back in the States now, Mitchell will be playing at NYC's Jewish Museum this Saturday with a special guest (hmmm... playing "Catch the Moon" and "Stop and Go"... now who could that be?...) and next month up in Bill's neck of the woods for a benefit show Bill helped organize.
Yay, Portland! (Video: "What Goes On" - Elizabeth Mitchell
Remember last week when I begged residents up and down the West Coast for video of Elizabeth Mitchell performing on her kids music swing up the coast?
Well, I'd completely forgotten she was also playing the Greasy Kid Stuff -curated Tiny TBA Festival in Portland. And luckily, Beth Blenz-Clucas was on the case. Thanks, Beth!
I totally want to learn that violin part.
Elizabeth Mitchell - "What Goes On" (Live)
Concert Series Abounding
A quick shout-out to Bill over at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, who's putting together a sweet little concert series up in Northampton, including Elizabeth Mitchell, Uncle Rock, and Aric Bieganek. (And maybe more.) See? This is why I like co-sponsoring shows with him. (Austin folks! Family Music Meltdown 2 is just 2 1/2 weeks away!)
An Open Letter to Residents of Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
So I've been getting newsletters from Elizabeth Mitchell on a regular basis talking about her late summer tour of the West Coast. I knew, therefore, that she was going to be singing with Renee & Jeremy earlier this month (Suni Paz in LA was a surprise) and Frances England and Charity Kahn this past weekend. I even knew (I think) that she was going to sing with Justin Roberts last month. (They sang the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning.")
What I didn't expect is that nobody was going to upload any video to the Internet. C'mon, people! I don't have one of those fancy iPhones or other cell phones with a camera in them, but somebody out there must've gone to the show with one in hand.
And now I hear that the lads from Recess Monkey are going to be joining Elizabeth on stage for their shows in Seattle this Saturday.
Seattle -- you can do it! Video! Video! Video! (Hey, I gave you, like, fiveRecess Monkey videos.)
(Note: Unless, of course, recording is expressly prohibited by the terms and conditions of the ticket entry. Then, er, forget I ever asked.)
How Did You Get Here?
Newly-shorn concert/potluck promoter Bill Childs recently wrote of his appreciation for the Replacements.
That discussion, along with comments in this Justin Roberts Pop Fly review about how people have "linked" me with Justin Roberts, made me think about musical antecedents and current influences. Who would be the most important musicians (of any genre) throughout your entire life -- the ones, even if you don't listen to them on a regular basis now, who profoundly affect who you listen to now and, heck, who you are, period? And who are the kids' musicians who have done the same?
My answers are after the jump -- hopefully yours will be in the comments.
New Music from Elizabeth Mitchell: "Green, Green Rocky Road"
Elizabeth Mitchell made another appearance on NPR today, this time on their podcast/newscast/somethingcast The Bryant Park Project. The visit was ostensibly to plug the new CD from Mitchell and husband Daniel Littleton's band's Ida, Lovers Prayers. Oddly enough, though, most of the interview is spent talking about that kids career, rather than the new CD. Anyway, go here to listen to the interview and to hear Mitchell, Littleton, and their daughter Storey sing "Green, Green Rocky Road," which Mitchell says they "just recorded (with a VERY special guest) for [their] next children's record." It sounds suh-weet.
Update: Watch a video of the live recording here.
Update #2: Mitchell reports in her latest newsletter that their "VERY special guest" with whom they sing the song on the upcoming album is Dan Zanes. As I said, suh-weet.
