house concerts and 21st century touring

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Message from Fran:

As we begin the new year, it’s very gratifying to take note of the progress we’ve made as a community. House concerts continue to provide meaningful and financially rewarding opportunities for artists, and a memorable way to bring neighborhoods and music lovers together.

I hope many of you are preparing to attend the upcoming Folk Alliance Conference, as it is the single best opportunity for us to meet each other in one place. Hundreds of presenters and many hundreds of artists will converge to share music, coffee, and sleep deprivation. I can’t wait. It’s our “host tip of the month” for good reason - and artists should take note as well. Remember to take advantage of the CIYH discount if you haven’t already gotten one some other way.

CIYH stats and developments:

At the end of the month we had 292 hosts and 440 artists. The site again had 17,000 visitors in 30 days. We added 12 new hosts and 28 new artists. We also removed 2 hosts due to inactivity. The latest project is a compilation CD to represent some of our best artists, and to introduce their music to the new folks who are discovering house concerts. It’s a real challenge to represent the diverse tastes of this community, but it’s a great way to spread the word. Look for the results at the end of January.

New CIYH Hosts: (active artist members receive these by email)

Boumel House Concerts, Learned Place, Roesch House Concerts, Rain Tree, Raf and Sioux’s, JazzVox, Duckpond at Dusk, Village Music, Just Milton Folks, and Susie’s House Concerts.

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

Amber Gaia, Angelo M., Austin Cunningham, Carolann Ames & Silverlake, Cher & Gene Klosner, Chuck Muldoon, Craig Lyons, Dave Boutette, David Serotkin, Dominic Camany, Dustin Overbeek, Emily Henry, Geoff Koch, Jefferson Pepper, Jerry Hannan, Joe Holt, Julie Blue, Kenny Schick/Basement 3, Los Dos ETC, Mark Radcliffe, Montgomery Delaney, Ralph Welton, Rex Moroux, Roy Zimmerman, The Father J. O’Brien, Trish Lester, and Vinnie James.

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

Eric Roberts, Tim Miller, Ben Wilson, Annelise LeCheminant, Buzz Cason, Christopher Ames, Jim Bianco, Shauna Burns, Vanessa Peters, Adrianne, Bev Barnett and Greg Newlon, and Bryan McFarland.

Schwag of the Month:

You can leave your Hat on - available in Tan or White.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s picked up an item or two from our little store. It’s a great way to get people interested in what you are doing, whether you play or host concerts. This hat is one of the more popular items.

Artist of the Month: The Calendar Bunch

Instead of one artist, this month I’d like to feature the artists who appeared most often in our CIYH calendars last year. Any host listed on our site can send us their events and have them listed for free.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all house concert appearances, because it is subject to us receiving schedules from hosts. However, it is interesting to see who’s popping up every now and then.

The artists with the most appearances in 2007 are:

Johnsmith, Fran Snyder, Jack Williams, Michael Smith, Cosy Sheridan, Corinne West…To see the numbers, and the rest of the list, it’s all here.

Host of the Month:

Keith Harrelson - Small Stages (Alabama)

Keith has been active in supporting live music for many years - one of those rare “acoustic” club owners who was really into presenting music, not just using it to sell drinks and sell food. Now he’s embraced house concerts in an unusual way, by forming a non-profit organization and reaching out to his former audience to create a network of house concert venues in his area. Read his story here.

Tip for Artists: How to Share the Stage - by James Lee Stanley

How many times have you shared the stage with someone, and were slightly annoyed by their eagerness to jump in before knowing how the song went? This is a great article about performance etiquette. Like I always say… “Jam all you like, but please preserve the vibe.” 8^) Read James’ post and and his other interesting articles.

Tip for Hosts: Attend Folk Alliance in February!

February 20-24, 2008 are the dates for the upcoming International Folk Alliance Conference. It’s a great way to meet other hosts and presenters, and to find new (and old!) talent for your house concert series. There are hundreds of artists performing, showcasing, and otherwise very accessible to anyone attending the conference. Find out more at http://folk.org, and read this if you would like a big discount (expires soon) to attend the conference.

Live Review: Vinnie James

This month’s Live Review sent in my Abiqua (A.K.A. - Fred Casteel)

When we resumed our series here at Abiqua’s this past June the tropical backdrop of the palm trees and the bird of paradises and the sparkling pool set for a perfect summer evening of food and Live Music!! With this beautiful setting we needed a performer that would be just as unique and dynamic. Vinnie James was my first choice. Read more…

Hosts! Send us your Rave Reviews of any CIYH performers.

Trivia Question:

Since last month’s trivia question was apparently too difficult, here’s an easy one. What are the dates of the 2008 Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis? Send your answers here…

One winner will be chosen at random from the first 10 correct responses. The prize? This lovely shirt.

This website is sponsored by: Artists!

Happy New Yeehaw! — fran

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