Cady Finlayson: News

Just back from the West Coast - the beautiful foggy Oregon beach in all its glory and a Seattle sunset over the mountains on the way to the airport. It made me want to miss my plane!

This is a busy month actually - Vita and I did an interview on the Backstage Gourmet show with PJ Grimes. It's a really cool show that features vegetarian recipes and global music. She also has a cookbook with recipes from musicians and others. I posted a photo of my Quinoa recipe on our photos page, and the link to the archived show so you can listen is http://healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveBSG.htm
I also did another interview today for a website (not yet launched) about New York City musicians, geared towards the underground scene. So I'll keep you posted on that.

Last but not least, Electric Green is now available for purchase at CDbaby in a limited edition (this is the only place to get a physical copy of the cd, except for shows www.cdbaby.com/cd/finlaysontanga (Digital copies at itunes amazon.com mp3s rhapsody and more...)

August is always a time of figuring out plans for the year (September always feels like the start to me) and I'm hoping to come up with some exciting projects for the fall...I'll keep you posted.
Enjoy the rest of summer- It sure is going quickly! -Cady

Just a quick note to announce that today I started the "Music Success in Nine Weeks" blog challenge! It's on my blog at http://celticfiddle.blogspot.com but I'm posting it here.

Friday, July 09, 2010
Music Success in Nine Weeks: Irish fiddler starts the Ariel Publicity blog contest


Today I'm starting the "Music Success in Nine Weeks" Blog Challenge. The book is written by Ariel Hyatt, who is a Cyber PR expert (Arielpublicity.com) and the challenge is to complete each chapter in the book and blog about it (the winner receives a publicity campaign from her company).I decided to take the challenge because I knew having deadlines and making a public statement would get me to actually do everything in the book, which is really the point (if any of you like to sit on the couch eating chips and watching programs on healthy eating, you know what I mean).
So here goes...

Chapter one is all about Getting Mentally Prepared. Setting goals!
I've read just about all the literature out there on goal setting, so I'm familiar with the stats (writing them down means your 10x more likely to achieve them/give dates and write them as if they're already happening etc. ).

So today I started on my list of 6 focus areas (the book offers several suggestions) and I went to Staples to get a notebook and colored pens so I can write them in pretty colors and post them all over. That was the fun part, especially because Staples has finally added a deep purple (my favorite color) to their color palette. Somehow writing in purple gives me confidence that my goals are reachable!

I did get a little overwhelmed on the lifetime goals - thinking about what you'd like to do in your whole life really brings up some complicated questions (why are we here, what is my purpose in life? how long am I going to live?), but luckily there are also short-term goals to balance those. When I started making my lifetime list (play music in Africa, hear Dolly Parton in concert, to name a few), I realized that it does help you see if your daily actions are going anywhere near that direction.

As far as the short-term goals, one of the things as an artist that we all need to do is "build a fanbase" (How many times have we heard that!), and my other more personal goal is to balance the music business work with the being-an artist/creating-part so I'll just start by announcing two of my goals...To be done by August 6th)

1. It is August 6th 2010 and I have 1,000 contacts on my reverbnation page (those come from everywhere - facebook, twitter, myspace etc. )
and 100 subscribers to my Fanreach newsletter which goes out once a month. Here's my newsletter signup if you'd like to be a part of it!



2. It is August 6th 2010 and I have written 2 more tunes to be licensed and scheduled a recording session to record them.
There it is, DID IT! I now have two of my goals officially in the universe for everyone to see.

The last thing I wanted to say about Chapter One of the book is that you're supposed to write down 5 positive things you do every day and keep them in a notebook. Two of them need to be career related, but you can include other things like exercising, etc. Not sure if getting up in the morning counts...

The day has only just started, but my first success is that I started the contest and am feeling hopeful and inspired to navigate that complicated creature called the music business.

Just back from Cleveland where I went with the pipe band (Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County). It's a memorial weekend to commemorate the fallen officers and it's quite an event. Parade, Memorial Service, Pipe Tattoo, seeing old friends and best of all, playing the violn with all those pipers.
It's really hard to put into words what an event this is, so
I decided to do a video about my trip - it's being edited and bleeped in sections! ...more on this later....

Also Vita and I got our first review for Electric Green.
http://lucidculture.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/cd-review-cady-finlayson-vita-tanga-electric-green/
If you know anyone near Fairfax, VA, send them to our show!
June 12th 2pm CelebrateFairfax.com

The Spotlight: Music from Ireland includes a tune from the Irish Coffee CD
http://oliverdiplace.blogspot.com/
and...the pipe band finished their cd (10 years since the last one!).
They will be selling it in Cleveland at our show there, and hopefully will have it available online soon. www.policepipesanddrumsofbergencounty.com I played on about 5 tunes, and the most popular one that I did seems to be The Gael. The audience always likes that one.

More on the Cleveland trip later!

I was interviewed on "oneminutehowtos" on "How to make an Irish Coffee"
I made several coffees to get it exactly right, so if you'd like make one your self and have it come out perfectly,check out this one minute interview

http://oneminutehowto.com/Shows/Shows.asp?464
The other big news is that the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County just came out with a new cd. Momma elephants wait an awfully long time to give birth, and this cd felt like that, since it has been ten years since the last one. After listening to it for the first time last night, I can say that it's well worth the wait. I did several tracks on it and of course there are a lot of pipes! It's not online yet, but I'll keep you posted. They'll be selling them at live shows for sure.

I'm playing with the Pipe Band in Cleveland this month and have decided to do a video diary of the trip...so you can be along for the ride.
-cady

It's here... Right in time for the big Irish music month.
if you're wondering what an Irish reel sounds like with a wah pedal, or how the bagpipes can blend with the fiddle...or what an Irish rebel song sounds like with a Rhumba...
check it out.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/electric-green/id353695970 It's also on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Green/dp/B0037B9FSM/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie= and coming to Rhapsody, emusic, napster and more.

It's an EP (10 songs) and we can't wait for you to hear it.



Here's our promo video for Electric Green from the youtube channel.

Clear your calendars!
Sat. January 30th
An all-day world music festival to benefit the American Red Cross Haitian Relief effort
See the flyer on the photo page
12noon to 8 pm
at Barard Ruskin Educational Complex
351 W. 18th St.
Tickets $10 at the door.
Cady and VIta play at 12:45 pm.

We have a title for our new cd, "Electric Green" and it is being mastered and polished and getting ready for you!
Best of all, it has a bonus track especially for St. Patrick's Day...and yes, it has pipes on it.
We'll keep you posted!
On another note, Cady just recorded with the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County and their long-awaited new cd should be done soon too.

We are in-the-studio working on a very special project that will feature some favorites from our live shows and some completely new electric tracks that feature Vita's expertise with the pedals...

and if you would like to check out some holiday music while you're waiting, check out our video clips courtesy of whereforearts.com

Here are the youtube links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-MBrE32nxQ (God rest ye Merry Gentleman)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmfSuU7YkXA (Away in the Manger)

Vita and I just got back from two folk music conferences: Far-West in Irvine, CA and Nerfa in Kerhonkson, NY. I'm not a runner, but I imagine that running the New York City Marathon feels about like doing two conferences in one week.
We hosted the Price of My Pig showcase, which was a lot of fun (pig decorations and everything) and the best part was that musicians Jeni & BIlly (www.jeniandbilly.com) wrote a song called Price of my Pig...that was a highlight for me.
Then on to the Nerfa conference in Kerhonkson....
This one was huge with a lot of people, a LOT of songwriters and a lot of food...
While there Vita and I were videotaped by the lovely hosts of whereforearts.com
and we are playing holiday music...so stay tuned for this...

The track Dunmore Lassies was featured in a video about Llynnon Mill, which is in the beautiful country of Wales (where I lived for 6 months as a child).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA0hgkZ9v3c

It's almost October already, the time is going like crazy!
Next month Vita and I will be attending the Far-West Conference in Irvine, CA. This is a chance to meet people involved in folk music on the West Coast - booking agents, musicians, house concert hosts, radio DJs, etc.
The big news is that Vita might take THE BUS from New York to California. No, he's not scared of flying, it's not a budget issue, he just wants to TRY THE BUS CROSS-COUNTRY. I don't know if he knows how big the U.S. is. I mean, we bought those buttons in Texas that said, "Texas is bigger than France", but that's just one state!
So I'll keep you posted on that one!
Enjoy the fall_
cady

I can hardly believe it's August already, the summer has been going full-speed. Vita and I did our first West Coast tour in July, doing shows in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and Portland.
We did a lot of new material, even sang a few songs, and it was great to play every night, I love that.
The week we came back we had a full-band show in MA, at the Blackstone Valley Celtic Festival, and that was a lot of fun. We met Irish comedian George Casey, who kept us all in stitches between acts. The place where they held the festival, Indian Ranch, has a lot of country concerts, so it was fun to see all the photos of country greats backstage. Plus they had these little tables with cowboy boots as the stands.
And then back to NYC, where I spent a week at the Mark O'Connor fiddle camp, doing a teacher training for his new method book.
It was inspiring to hear so many great string players all under one roof!
So it's been a great summer so far, but it's going too fast!!

Vita and I are getting ready to bring our new sounds to the West Coast.
We have two shows in Portland (July 15th noon at the Airplay Cafe and then that same night 6 pm. at Mississippi Pizza Pub). Then we'll be in Bellevue at Crossoads, (July 17th).
THEN
workshops at Dusty Strings Acoustic Music Store in Seattle (July 19th). www.dustystrings.com
and on Monday July 20th we'll do a local Seattle show right by where I grew up, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center...7p.m.
(free)

Check out the music page for samples of our new sounds!
and for those East Coast people, we do have a full band show in NYC before we leave -Thursday July 9th 6:30 pm at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden mvhm.org
(it is in Manhattan, not Mount Vernon)

AND July 25th up in Webster, MA playing for the
Blackstone Valley Celtic Festival

and July 30th for an outdoor show in Windmuller Park (Woodside, Queens)

This month, Vita, Tim and I are playing for/with students at the United Nations International School. They're having a barn dance, and the kids will play a few fiddle tunes with us, plus we'll do a lot of our own. Working with the students is always refreshing and we hope to do it at more schools in the future.
I am also in the process of booking a West Coast tour in July. Vita is off to Spain on August 10th, so we're trying to cram as much as possible in before he leaves. We have open dates around the Seattle/Portland Area for any last-minute shows, house concerts, etc. (just e-mail us if you'd like us to bring our music to your neighborhood)
and we put some new soundclips on the music page. These are samples from our live show, including our new "Heavy Metal" set.

You'll want to go to this! On Thursday April 9th, there is a spectacular Scottish show coming to New York City (Lincoln Center). It's called Scotland the Brave and will have the best of Scottish music with orchestra/choir/pipers/dancers/drummers, the whole experience all under one roof.
Visit www.scotlandthebravenyc.com for tickets or call Lincoln Center Box Office (212) 721-6500

ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Save $5 with code PLAY
Tickets to this one-of-a-kind musical experience range from $69 to $89

This spectacular production features a huge cast, including an orchestra, choir, pipe-band and drum corps, Highland dancers and Celtic fiddlers. The outstanding soloists include popular young tenor Greg Moore, who features on the best-selling SCOTLAND THE BRAVE DVD and CD, and Colleen Rintamaki, winner of the prestigious SOBHD Adult World Highland Dancing Championship at the Cowal Highland Gathering six times!

SCOTLAND THE BRAVE delights audiences of all ages with superb arrangements of traditional Scottish favorites by acclaimed conductor Sean O'Boyle.

ScotlandTheBraveNYC.com

Today in the NY Daily News there was an article about people that work during St. Patrick's Day (or month, as it seems to me!) and I was mentioned as a fiddler. You can check it out on page 21 of the arts section or online

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/03/15/2009-03-15_for_bartenders_irish_dancers_and_others_.html
So after buying the paper, I headed to the Brooklyn St. Patrick's Parade, which starts right where I live. Pipers, Irish dance schools and dogs wearing green hats. Even the horses had green tails. and of course I had a green bagel from Terrace bagels.

Tomorrow I have two shows (private) with Vita and then tuesday night we'll be in Lindenhurst Long Island at Fanelli's, 95 Hoffman Avenue.
Everyone says it's strange we're not playing at an Irish place that night, but believe me, it will be Irish by the time we're done.
fanellisli.com

Happy St. Patrick's!

Vita and I decided to go to Memphis for the annual Folk Alliance conference this year. It brings together a couple thousand people with an interest in folk music - from musicians to vendors to people that book concerts.
There is so much going on at this year's conference it may be hard to get away, but I'm hoping to visit Graceland while there.
Vita and I were close to Memphis on the Almost Heaven Tour and at one of the venues there was a really sweet older couple that did the catering. I asked them if they knew Elvis back then, and they said, "We know his parents. He was such a nice kid, he just got involved with the wrong crowd..."

It's already February and you are looking for something for your favorite person...
enough with the chocolate and flowers, you'd like something special ...
Well Vita and I decided we'd be part of the solution this year.
We are available in New York CIty and downtown Brooklyn to show up and play your favorite love song (instrumental version). We'll come to the venue of your choice - a restaurant, your home, your workplace, a retirement center, a hospital room. We'll brighten the day of anyone you choose (love interest, parent, friend...)
We're taking appointments all day long, so e-mail us if you'd like more information or to schedule a time.
e-mail: violincaddy@aol.com

I was in Seattle for New Year's Eve and we all made three lists.
1. Our regrets/disappointments of 2008
2.Our happy thoughts/successes of 2008
3. Hopes and wishes for 2009

Then we made a fire and burned the list of regrets.
It was a nice way to say... this is a new start and we are stepping forward.
Stepping forward with energy, optimism and hope...
Happy New Year!

In case you missed the whole play-by-play of the Texas trip on my myspace blog, here is the short version.
It was one of those trips where everything that could go wrong did (the festival was cancelled, my guitarist was stuck in Germany for our Sat night concert), but being a band that has a great time no matter what, we had a great time. We did a concert at St. Andrew's Church, a session at Fado's Irish pub, heard a great local band called Heybale, and bought buttons that said "Texas is bigger than France" (Vita, my guitarist is from France so we couldn't pass these up).
and I got to see my cousins that live in Austin....
so overall, not a bad trip.

Now that it's getting cold in NY, we have an outside gig in Downtown Brooklyn (wed dec. 10th at Court St. and State St).
They are having hot chocolate and a space heater so please come brave the weather with us.

and we'll be in Morristown, NJ Dec. 13th (at Sona 13) and back in Manhattan dec. 18th at a place with good strong coffee, called Think Coffee!

So those are the holiday shows...
I love the holidays and hope to play lots of holiday music in addition to the Irish stuff...

It's November already and my band is going to TX! We start out in Austin on Sat. November 15th playing a concert at St. Andrew's Church (check showdates page) and then we're off to the World United Music Festival which is in San Marcos on Sun. Nov. 16th to play the shortest set of our lives (30 minutes, it starts at 12:30 pm). There are all sorts of bands playing including Asleep at the Wheel which is a band I've wanted to hear live.
SO it should be an experience! We're hoping to hear some great music and taste some of that tex-mex food that I love also.

Then it's back to NY for a show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe (tuesday Nov. 18th). Hope to see you there!-cady

My longtime colleague, guitarist and friend Elkin Brown passed away this week. You may know Elkin from his beautiful guitar playing on all three of my fiddle cds. What you might not know is that he was a huge encouragement to me -encouraging me to write music, follow my own musical voice and create beauty. Plus he had an incredible sense of humour and was kind and generous. Elkin named the first tune I wrote (Humours of Granny White) after the road we drove down in Nashville every day trying to think of a name for the tune.
Elkin came to the West Coast to do a little tour with me, and that was one of the highlights - playing music with him several times a day. He made a big impression on my family, and even wrote a tune for us that he put on his own cd (the tune is called Planxty Finlayson).
Elkin thought the world of his family and he was a great friend. I remember when we recorded this tune called Blind Mary, there was a little mouse in the studio. It was a country mouse-the studio being in the woods and all, but I was terrified (I have always been scared of mice). Elkin very gently collected the mouse in his hands and took it outside - several times that day if I recall.
That's how he was - a gentle, witty guy with an incredible gift for music and poetry. It is such a gift to be able to play with musicians that get what you do and make it even more beautiful. Elkin was like that, and I'm so sad to lose that but so grateful that I had the chance to play with him.

It's September and It's coming too soon. I had a very laidback summer this year, and was getting used to not setting my alarm clock!
In the typical tradition of everything happening at once, Sept kicks off with the Pipe Band show (Sept 13th at Town Hall), a PIerce Turner gig, the start of violin teaching (UNIS) and a nice laidback appearance with Vita at the Carroll Gardens Farmer's Market.

As far as other fall news,
I am bringing the band to Texas in November for the World United Music Festival (Nov 16th) and we will also be doing a show in Austin (Nov 15th) as part of the Open Ears Concerts. It's always tricky to arrange all the details, especially since my bandmembers are not all in the same place that week (Vita is flying back from Spain). But we will soldier on, and I'm looking forward to presenting what I'm really excited about- a top-notch band. We'll have Marina Meyler singing, Vita on guitar, me on fiddle and Shane O'Sullivan on percussion.

It's almost here, I will be going to Swangathering Celtic Week in North Carolina. The last time I was in NC was with the Almost Heaven show, so it will be nice to be back. I'm taking Irish fiddle from Martin Hayes and Scottish fiddle from Pete Clark.
This should be fun!
and back in NY in time for our stint at Think Coffee Thurs July 24th 8 p.m., 248 Mercer St. by 3rd St. in Manhattan.