Melissa Greener: Sundry

On the road... I feel myself again. Full-up. Confident, alive, myself again. I sure hope to see you out here... XXX, mg

It's been several years since I lived in music city, TN. In my car. In the winter. I've been traveling through ever since then and each time my relationship with Nashville progresses to a new level of respect and understanding.

Thanks for all the songs, Nash-vegas...

- mg

www.melissagreener.com

Shows all over the eastern half of the country including an opener for John Gorka, some house concerts (open to the public) and a few business conferences...

... well actually my computer screen.

I've been holed up in my new eensy-weensy apt a lot lately, working on my new website, working on my fall tour, working on my new Cd... It's tough sometimes to think that I'll someday see the fruits of my labor. It's an awful lot for one woman to handle, AND be expected to pay the bills. What?! Pay the bills? Oh, yeah, it's already the end of the month. Again?!

For a couple of weeks now I've been scouting my new neighborhood for the best coffee. Turns out THE BEST espresso is a half a block from me! At least I got that going for me...

Well, I suppose I have quite a lot going for me these days. Thanks universe.

Winter is over, and I'm coming out of hibernation! I've got a few local shows coming up as well as a session in the studio scheduled for next month! Some exciting appearances this summer too at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and a few summer street fairs right here in NYC.

Stay tuned!

Melissa is currently hiding away in her apartment.

Meditating, thinking, writing, and sleeping.

There's really no telling when she will emerge, but fear not:

She Shall Emerge!

Hey Ya'll,

Yes, you're still "ya'll" notwithstanding my New York City residency.

Happy Turkey Day!

Hope you're all enjoying the increasingly apparent Holiday season. (that's "all ya'll's" for the Texans)

For those of you in the Tri-State, I've got a couple of local shows upcoming on *DECEMBER 5th and DECEMBER 10th*. Check out my Calendar Page for details.

Hope you're spending T-Day with those you love! Be safe, peaceful and postitive.

... and listen to some music!

xx - mg

Hello One & All,

I am very excited to announce that at the end of September, I will be relocating to NEW YORK CITY!!!

This is a One Year sabbatical opportunity that I could not pass up! I'll be staying in a groovy apartment in the historic East Village in Manhattan - THE center of bohemian culture, music, art, and life in the city.

Don't get me wrong, Austin, Texas is an incredible place to live! I'll be sad to leave, for certain. However, I am very ready for new artistic evolution, inspiration, and more diverse music business opportunities...

The Big Apple is waiting for Melissa Greener!


Your Fan,
MG

Aaahhhh....

I'm home. In Austin.

At 100 degrees, it's not exactly refreshing to be back in Texas, but it does feel good to get back to the everyday business of... well, business!

My travels this past month have been amazing! ...

I spent the first two weeks of August at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival on the west coast of "the glove". It was a truly unique and enriching experience - one which I hope to repeat next year!

My beloved G2 model 'Greenfield Guitar' got some serious lovin' from its daddy, Michael Greenfield at his shop in Montreal, Quebec. A little sand paper here, some new frets there... She's playing like a DREAM!!!!

Finally, I had a wonderful visit with my parents, brother & sister-in-law and most Eatable niece Maggie this past week. She's so cute that you'll get a cavity just looking at her picture!!

And now... on with the everyday world of people, concerts, and songs.

: )

Wow!

I just emerged from two weeks in the woods of western Michigan at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. It was an amazing experience, full of new friends, lots of spiritual 'woo', hard-ass work, mosquitos, cheezy grits, and AWESOME music on four stages!

I'm still in the midst of my August adventures, so there's lots more news to come! Check back for updates soon.

Best,
Melissa

Wow! I've spent the past few days immersed in an enthusiastic sea of music - coming from all angles! The deep wells of inspiration are collecting a reservoir for the next hot month in Texas...

The past two nights I opened shows for the amazing Patty Larkin - a singer-songwriter I've admired for years. It's difficult to express how much I learned these past couple of shows... Thank you Patty!

A few nights ago I rented two films: "Shut Up and Sing" - an empowering 'we shall overcome' documentary of the Dixie Chix' media trouble around the Natalie Maines statement re: George W.

Just tonight I sat down with the film "I'm Not There" - a creative nod (in 6 directions) to Dylan, who is represented as six different people/characters in various stages of his life.

I highly recommend holing up for a time with some good art! Nothing like it.

(:
:)

I'm back home in Austin after a long stint on the road. It feels great to be home, but now (dum, dum, dum) ...the real work begins. More info on my summer plans to come!

My third and final open-mic competition ended in another successful WIN at Boston's Lizard Lounge, hosted by the great (bottom heavy) Tom Bianci!

I'd like to thank each of the venues for putting on such terrific events:

Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA
World Cafe Live in Philedelphia, PA
Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA

I look forward to the next round of "mic-off's" upon my next tour through the southeast and east coast! See you all next time!!

- MG

Last night I participated in the "World Cafe Live - Philly Rising open mic competition". And I WON!!! Yippee!!!!

... A perfect end to a Monday night in Philadelphia, PA.

My tour through the Northeast continues with shows to come in New York City's East Village, and in Harvard Square, Boston...

Check out my calendar for info on the rest of my tour.

See y'all down the road!

- MG

*
You are visiting the website of the most recent winner of the Eddie's Attic open mic competition!

(it's actually slightly cooler than it might sound)

Thanks to Eddie, the judges, the Decatur, Georgia gang and all of the amazingly talented participants from far and farther. See you all again soon!

*

I just received my "official" certificate declaring that my song Same Big Sky is a finalist in the 2007 U.S.A. Songwriting Competition! It just so happens that you can purchase Same Big Sky on Itunes or, better yet, buy the entire CD Fall From the Sky with Same Big Sky on it!

(Available by clicking the "music" link and then the "purchase" link to your left.)

...I was a ceramic artist and Art Potter for about eight years.

I was on the path to 'making it' in the clay-art community, and I was fortunate to work with some of the very top in my field. Then the songs in my head began to get louder and louder...

Before I left clay altogether (winter of 2004), I was a resident artist with one of the most gifted, talented, gentle, loving, hard-working, creative, compassionate, passionate, light shining (I could go on!) people in the clay field or any other... John Glick.

John founded and has run Plum Tree Pottery in Farmington, Michigan since 1964. He has had apprentices, assistants, and artists in residence for a number of those years, passing on his great many gifts of energy, experience and knowledge to next generations.

The current issue of the publication The Studio Potter (winter 2007-8, Vol. 36, No. 1) features an article written by John entitled, The Evolution of Mentorship in which I am included as an Ex Pat to the vocation of clay work. Because the article does not appear on The Studio Potter website, I'm including my section of it here.

Thank you John for continuing to be a part of my life, and allowing me to be a part of yours!


"Melissa came from a strong clay program in Nova Scotia and began her work here with great enthusiasm. As I look back on our time together with the advantage of hindsight, I could say the signs of "differentness" permeated her work and her outlook from the outset. Melissa is now practicing in another creative field. She is an extremely talented singer/songwriter working to establish a career in the music field. So what makes her inclusion here meaningful? Isn't this a "failure" in the ongoing clay stories of my work with individuals at the studio? There was a time when I might have concluded that, given the outcome of this particular story. No more!

I am fascinated by the parallels in her approach to career development; they seem remarkably consistent with the ones I know. Did she learn them here? Maybe not. Perhaps she did benefit from being around the dedication to a personal venture requiring soul and sweat to make things happen. What potter doesn't understand that? Melissa has applied all those things with the results coming out of the speakers in my studio. I feel her success in my bones and heart, and while I cannot see it on a shelf or feel it in my hands, like a Rohr pot or a Kiefer piece, her dedication to forging highly person ideas is the same.

Melissa has taken her native talent with words and her beautiful voice and created herself as a storyteller of skill and sensitivity. Parallels? I see them when I watch her perform. Different form, but as fluid as a good drawing and as vital as a wonderfully fire-marked pot. Curious? See and hear Melissa at her web addresses.

///

Howdy everybody.

As many of you know, I am an endorsing artist for Greenfield Guitars - a small custom guitar-making operation in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Michael Greenfield is the magician behind the wood and glue. Here's an article on the master luthier that was recently published by the Montreal Mirror:
http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/012408/people.html

* HaPpY NeW YeAr! *

The ball may have dropped last night in Time Square, but it's in my court here in Austin, Texas and I do not intend to drop it myself this 2008. Great things coming up for the rest of the winter...

- I'm going back into the studio this January 6th with 'mon capitan', John Jennings to work on my upcoming album!

- I'll be touring throughout the Southeast this February/March, spending a few days at the International Folk Alliance conference in Memphis, Tennessee.

Much more on its way for the rest of the year... 364 more days to make it count!

Thank you all for listening so well, and for your continued support. I can't wait to play for you again. Wishing you a peaceful, joyous, healthy, and happy new year!

Bestly,
Melissa

*I've just gotten off the road from an amazing fall tour throughout the Southeast, East coast and Midwest US. Lots of great shows for new fans and old. It's getting quite chili up there... And now that I'm home in Austin, Texas too is wearing a sweater.

*I'll be in and out of the studio (Charlottesville, Virgina) this winter, recording a batch of brand new songs with my producer John Jennings!

*I will be playing a few select shows in the next couple of months, so keep an eye on my calendar page.

*Also, I'll be attending the International Folk Alliance conference this February in Memphis, Tennessee.

I just left Nashville where I spent a few days attending the Americana Music Association conference.... YowZers! Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Blue Rodeo, Ron Sexsmith, Jim Lauderdale, Gurf Morlix, Ray Wylie Hubbard... so many of my very favorite music people were there. I'm still in recovery.

It seems to be that I'm despising Nashville less and less with each subsequent visit. Could it be I have less to prove? I do certainly feel that I'm coming into my own true musical self. Why's it have to take so fucking long?

O.k. Back to the road.

***My Fall 2007 tour is well on its way... I've got dates yet to come in the Carolinas, Virgina, DC and Balitmore areas, Cleveland, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Madison and beyond... Check my calendar for a show near you.

***All new "GREENER" t-shirts are here! They're not just yet available for online purchase, but will be soon. Until then, you'll have to hunt me down on the nations highways.

***I'm sashaying into the studio in a couple of weeks to record a few new songs!

Last night I played the Hank Sinatra Songwriters Series. A quirky outdoor venue in East Austin. The stage was decorated in old-school Austin attire... Giant Armadillo, neon bar signs, etc, this is the Ultimate Austin music experience! Three camera men followed every word of my 45 minute set which was streamed live on the Texas Radio 1 website and will be podcast from the Songwriters Series website in about a weeks time. Thank you to Hank and Richard May for hosting me on the show and thanks to all who came out for the taping! As for the rest of you... I'll let you know when the podcast will air.

Have a great week!

- MG

Hello All,

Here are a couple of exciting announcements!

This Saturday night, Oct. 13th, I have the great privilege of performing at the Hank Sinatra Songwriter Series - filmed, edited and pod-cast from beautiful Austin, Texas. The show can be viewed on-line, from any computer in the world at the following link:

www.songwritersseries.com
Hank has been putting on "live, pod-cast" concerts featuring some of the very greatest Texas singer-songwriters. I'm honored to be invited to perform for Season 4 of the Songwriter Series.

All those in Austin are encouraged to come out to Hank's house on the East side to contribute "whoops, hollers, and whistles" from the live audience filming. The show is outdoors and BYOB. Also appearing on the bill will be Drew Tichnell and Amanda Lepre.

Saturday, Oct. 13th, 7:30pm
Hank Sinatra Songwriter Series
2407 Riverside Farms Road
Austin, TX 78741-4829
Directions

More Excitement !
I will begin pre-production on my upcoming album (follow-up to my first release 'Fall From the Sky') next month! Acclaimed record maker and music man John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter) will produce the project, due for a spring 2008 release.

For those of you who have made inquiries, nearing the end of the year I will be accepting Pre-Sales orders of the upcoming Cd from which new songs will be posted to my website WWW.MELISSAGREENER.COM and MySpace ("friend me"!).

Upcoming Fall Tour!
I'm lining up a fantastic fall tour that will take me through the heartland, Southeast, East Coast and Midwest United States. I'll keep you posted as my schedule develops, and you're always encouraged to check my website and my MySpace for the latest show additions, and info.

That's all for now. Tell all of your friends to get out there and support independent acoustic music!

Hugs, blessings and well wishes to you all.

- Melissa