house concerts and 21st century touring

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Message from Fran:

And the winner of the Cayamo Contest is…

but first, I want to thank all the hosts and artists who participated. I was surprised at how many expressed gratitude to be a part of the judging process. It’s a real testament to the spirit of house concert hosts.

One of the coolest things about this project is how many hosts were inspired to contact the artists they saw and heard, and that several bookings were made as a direct result.

This contest also helped a few artists finally take the advice I’ve been slinging for years - make an easy “house-concert-like” live video and put it up on YouTube! I believe these videos will serve you well beyond this contest.

Congratulations to all our finalists, especially to Roy Schneider, who had TWO videos voted into the top 5. Wow. There were so many great performances. See the Top 10 finalist videos.

And the winner of the Cayamo Contest is… Sarah Sample!

As the winner she’ll get:

• a cabin-for-two ($1936 value)
• to perform a 30-minute opening set during the cruise
• to be featured on the CIYH website
• $300 cash, and 2 CIYH T-shirts

Sarah’s Video of “Mercy Me.”

Upcoming Events and Deadlines:

• 12/15 $100 Cash Rebate on Booking Cayamo - the next 2 folks who book their cabin aboard Cayamo get $100 cash to spend aboard the cruise. Check out the photoshow from 2009 and get additional details here. You must email Fran to take advantage of this offer.
• 1/15 CIYH Discount for Folk Alliance (FAI) - Only $200! Folk Alliance takes place February 17-21, and is one of the most interesting things you can do all year. So much talent, so much fun, and a great opportunity to connect with artists and hosts.

Major CIYH improvements:

Behind the scenes, we’ve launched the “Host Neighborhood” and we are testing it in California. This allows hosts to connect with other hosts in their state, to collaborate, share ideas, block book, and anything else they care to try. I’d like to encourage our California hosts to test this area out, introduce themselves to the community, and provide feedback so that this new part of the site can be incredibly helpful and fun for you. Login as a host, and click on “Neighborhood” in the blue bar.

12 New CIYH Hosts: in ON, CA(3), CO, GA, IL, MD (2), NM, PA, TX
CIYH artists can search “member since 2009-11″ using the advanced search.

Also, we’ve removed about 12 hosts that are no longer active or taking an extended break, including Music on Magnolia, Melinda’s Home, Moveable Feast, Echo Park, Port Royal, ThinMan, The Outpost, MyBack Porch, Kikos, and Topp-Line. There is no minimum number of concerts a host has to schedule to be on this site, but we do ask them to update their status at least a few times per year, and to let us know if they’ve lost the desire to be a part of this community.

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

Allison Downey & John Austin, Amy Joleene Sullivan and the Whiskey Darlings, Barton Carroll, Brian Gordon, Carrie Clark, Dave Rowe Trio, David Berkeley, Double D Wranglers, Freedy Johnston, Garrison Doles, Jason Harrod, John and Rachel Nicholas, Jordan Tarrant, Liz Fohl, Louise Mosrie, Mark Duval, Mark Dvorak, Mighty Medicine, Rick Di Dia & Aireene Espiritu, stacy robin/Imaginary Friends, The Iveys, The Potter’s Field, Travis Linville. See them all here.

Featured Artists:

Check out this month’s featured artists, Peter Cooper, Bill & Kate Isles, and Anna Coogan.!

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!)

prattle on, rick…, Coco and Lafe, Joe and Vicki Price, Doug Spears, Brian Ashley Jones, Jeff Pearce, Wes Weddell, Mason Douglas, Drew Nelson, Tracy Jane Comer, SisterMonk, Tori Sparks, Jack Brown, Greg Trooper, Sonia Lee, Sky Nelson, The Stellanovas, Michael and Carrie Kline, Claire Roche, Red Peralta, Siobhan Quinn & Michael Bowers, Jason Wilber, John Batdorf

Schwag of the Month:

It’s a great time to thank your supporters and volunteers. Lots of color options and designs available.

Tip and Reviews for Artists and Hosts:

Artist Search Playlist: harmonies
Hit the play button on the first song, and enjoy!

Bulletins and Recent Posts:

• House Concerts Threatened in Raleigh, NC.
• Further restrictions on Visa apps for U.S. touring
• Dear Singer Songwriter

Artists log in here | Hosts Log in here

Please share this information with people you like. — fran

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New Holiday Cartoon: Fill in the caption - winner gets a free CIYH Tshirt!

Message from Fran:

I had wonderful time at the SERFA and FARM regional conferences in October, and met loads of new and talented artists. One of the highlights was eating apple cobbler with Michael Johnathon and Ronny Cox (Deliverance, Total Recall - “dahmit Kohagen, give da people da air!”) in Arkansas as Ronny reminisced about his very interesting life, and his fun gigs with Jack Williams. Michael J. once again delivered very poignant at inspiring facts about our tumultuous music business.

Thanks to Kari Estrin, Annie Capps, and all the wonderful volunteers who make these events happen, and to the attendees who send us home with great memories. If you are inspired by and engaged with CIYH, you should also consider joining FAI and participating in some of these events.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines:
11/9 Deadline for Video Submissions
11/6-8 FarWest
11/12-14 Nerfa
11/4-15 $100 Rebate on Booking Cayamo*
11/15-20 Judging For Cayamo Contest
11/19 FAI Official Showcase entry deadline

New Cayamo & Video Contest Developments

• Cash Prize increased - In order to properly thank the host/videographer, we’ve upped the cash portion of the prize to $300. The entire prize will be given to the winning artist, and the division of the prize money will be at their discretion.
• Video entry deadline extended to 11/9/2009.
• $100 rebate for next 3 bookings before 11/15. If you are one of the first three to book your trip aboard Cayamo between today and 11/15, and use referral code “CIYH,” we’ll hand you $100 cash at the start of the voyage!
• Check out the photoshow from 2009 and get additional details here. Cayamo!

Major CIYH improvements: House Concert Flyers - Improved!

A few months ago I asked our members for advice to make the HC flyers even more useful. Have a look at what we’ve done so far.

First, old events will no longer show up in “Our Next Shows” section.

Plus, you now have the option to:

• include the invitation video
• remove the yahoo maps link
• encourage people to forward the link to friends
• and, make the font size larger for your senior friends!

Hosts, log in and you’ll find these “Advanced” options just below the update button in your calendar edit pages. Thank you so much for your suggestions, we’ll be implementing a few more of them soon!

New CIYH Hosts: (artist members can search “member since 2009-10″ using the advanced search. )

17 New Hosts in NS, UK (2), AZ, CA (2), CO, MA, MD, MO, MT, NE, NY, RI, TX (2), WA

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

Adam Klein, Amy Dalley, Andy Cohen, Barnaby Bright, Daniel Lawrence Walker, David Newbould, Donna Ulisse, Dorian Michael, Evan J. Marshall, Gareth Davies-Jones, George Bancroft, Gloria Attoun, Heather Styka, IONA, Janey Street, Jay Howlett, JL Stiles, John-Paul R., Judy Wright, Kath Buckell& The Folks, Kim Kalman, Kray Van Kirk, Kris Roche, Lorie Doswell, Matthew Korbanic, Megon McDonough, Michael McNevin, Mokai, Natasha Borzilova, Petra van Nuis & Andy Brown, Phil Christie, PotnKettle, Richard MacLemale, RielyO and Molly B, Roger Freeland, Ryan Calhoun, Severin Browne, Shane Hines, Stefanie Fix, The Jack Stafford Foundation, The Starlings, The YaYas, Tom Goss, Wyatt Easterling

Look for these new artists here!

Featured Artists:
Angelo M., Sonya Heller, and K.C. Clifford
 

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!)

Steve Stern, Claudia Nygaard, Wayne Gratz, Mikey de Lara, Johanna Chase, Bill & Kate Isles, Tony Cox, Lojo Russo, Susan Souza, wm Alan Ross, Jimmy Keane/Bohola, Alan Rhody, Dennis Warner, Joe Crookston, Alex Whitmore, John Roniger, Jaime Michaels, Jackie Morris, Lauren Adams, Anne McCue, The Folk Collection - Ed Labowitz, Frank Blair, Brooks West, Jennifer Batten, Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott, Jane Eamon, Jan Seides, Jennings and Keller, Rupert Wates, Dana Hubbard, Joan Enguita

New Agencies:

High Horse Records, representing Wyatt Easterling and Chuck Suchy
Kathy Anderson of Hadley Music Group, representing Donna Ulisse and Natasha Borzilova

Schwag of the Month:

All I can say is Amen. And get one.

Tip and Reviews for Artists and Hosts:

Artist Search Playlist: Falcon Ridge

Top Acts of 2009, sort of.
Review: All Wood and Stones

Artists log in here | Hosts Log in here

Please share this information with people you like. — fran

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Message from Fran: Halloween fun!

This autumn and this newsletter provide many opportunities for us to connect - through conferences, a video contest/cruise, and even a cartoon! There is so much going on that I cannot recall ever being this far behind in my work. Very exciting times indeed.

First: Artist Video Contest

THIS MONTH… CIYH is having a house concert video contest for artists and the winner will win a cabin-for-two, as well as an opening set aboard Cayamo, February 21-26. This “music festival at sea” features performances by Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Steve Earle, and many others. Cash and prizes total $2200!

You don’t have to enter the contest to join us on this great cruise!

Second: Music Conferences!

House concert hosts, artists, agents, DJs, and other music industry folks gather to mingle, listen and play.
October 8-10 in Bolingbrook, IL
October 15-18 in Mountain View, AR
November 6-8 in Irvine, CA
November 12-15 in Kerhonkson, NY

Third: Fill in the blank

on the our latest Cartoon - Halloween House Concerts. We’ll give out CIYH shirts to the three best/funniest entries, and post the finished cartoon in a few weeks. Email your entry and please but “Cartoon Quote” in the subject.

CIYH Developments:

Sound Authors, an arts podcast/blog created by Dr. Kent Gustavson, is now regularly featuring artists from CIYH. They are off to a great start with interviews of Thom Bresh, Rosi Golan, Peter Siegel, Wayne Gratz, and Roy Zimmerman.

New CIYH Hosts: (artist members can search “member since 2009-09″ using the advanced search. )

26 New House Concert Presenters in ON, SK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, GA, MA, MD, MI, MO, NC, NY, PA, TX, UT, VA and Belgium!

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

Raina Rose, John Flynn, Bob Cheevers, Gumbo, Jeff Smith, Chris Marshall, Bryan Ragsdale, The Kelley’s, Cali Rose, Toby Ryan, Donna Colton + 1 Troublemaker, Eric Wilson, Noah Collins, David Leask, David Huebner, Kat Mulvaney, John Allaire, The Truebador, David and Roselyn, The Believers, Jay Pilzer, Tim Gleeson, Mario Pronovost, Charlie and Dana Hunt Black, Pezzettino, Camille Cortinas, Rhonda and Peco, Gypsy Dave and the Stumpjumpers, Alexis Normand, Vanessa Lively, Aoife Clancy, Dan Daniels, William (Chico) Schwall, Jodi Siegel, Putnam Smith, Neil Bradley Owen, Alfred James, Anna Coogan, S B Reeves, Steve Warner,

Look for these new artists here!

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!)

Jud Caswell, Spook Handy, Marshall Chapman, Laura Marie, Sue Carney - Musical Origins, Cara Luft, Sarah Sample, Hans York, Brad Yoder, Lynne Hanson, John Batdorf, Barb Ryman, Steve Mason, Arlon Bennett, Steve Deasy, Walter Strauss, Ian Ethan, Sonya Heller, Sally Spring, Janne Henshaw, The McKinney Washtub Two, Alice DiMicele, Matt Meighan, Dave Stamey, Matt Brown, Gabrielle Louise, Ralph Welton, Gary Laney, Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, Mark Wilkins, Truckstop Souvenir, David Gans, Katherine Rhoda

Recent Quotes:

. . . yours is one of the easiest most user friendly sites that I deal with when doing work for Ken O’Malley! It also makes a nice one-page press kit to showcase his solo work (I use other sites for the band). I even made a tinyurl www.tinyurl.com/kensolo that goes right to it. It is very useful tool when I am approaching venues and street teamers about a solo show. – Chris Wilson for Ken O’Malley and The Twilight Lords

—

I’m psyched to see you again this year! I’ve got plenty of guerilla showcases, so I’ll leave room for the other folks. But, I wanted to tell you that I did the room with you guys in Memphis last Feb and I got two shows out of it.  So, (note to the folks out there)… Don’t be upset if only two people come to your guerilla - there were only two at mine.  But they both had great venues and they both booked me. – Thanks for what you do Fran! – Joe Iadanza

—

Keep up the good work with Concerts in Your Home. Both Gabrielle and Beth Wood have gotten several shows as CIYH artists. – Sharman Petri, Gradient Light Entertainment

Schwag of the Month:

Artists: Submit your house concert(ish) video for a chance to win the trip/gig aboard Cayamo!

Here’s an example.

Tip for Artists and Hosts:

Speaking of ships, we’ve got a boatload of ugly going on. Many of our new artists and hosts have been slow to get their pages set up. Bryan and I are happy to help you get stuff uploaded. Just ask!

Artist Search of the month: Genre = Instrumental

Artists log in here | Hosts Log in here

Please share this information with people you like. — fran

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