Belatedly blogging about Sunday

Hello folks and folkettes,

We've been away from the computer for a couple of days (gasp, sputter... yes, really!), so we're very sorry to have not reported on our Halifax CD Release concert yet! (I'm sure 0.2% of you felt your lives were incomplete, right?)

We had a great time, and MaryAnn has created a great space at The Company House -- not to mention, the walls are painted my favourite colour! (Uh, red, for those of you who haven't noticed...) Our friend David Francey had already been singing its praises -- he sure wasn't wrong! MaryAnn and her staff are very welcoming, and helped get us settled and set up. And she has one heck of a sound person in Dexter -- we were SOOO impressed with him! He creates the neatest stage I've ever seen (not easy, with the two of us and our gazillions of instruments), and brought the sounds up really quickly. Not to mention the cello actually sounded like a cello (let me tell you, that's depressingly rare!), we could hear ourselves and each other perfectly, and the volume levels were actually human.

We got a little nervous at 2:55, when there were only three other people in the bar for our 3:00 show, but... as my brother-in-law Daniel says, Haligonians seem to work on "island time", so by 3:10, the place was much more full (phew!). I have to say, it's probably the largest number of minors that have ever been in this bar -- Lilly and Wyatt came, of course, but many of Tarah & Daniel's friends also brought their kids. They all did very well, especially as we neared their dinner time -- no meltdowns that we heard, but we did hear a very enthusiastic "YAY!!!" from young Max after every song. We need Max at every show, it does wonders for the ego.

The grown-ups did very well, too. :-) We saw Michael Loveridge for the first time since we played Mersey House about two years ago -- looking mighty fine, too! Plus a bunch of folks who we'd met on our April tour, and a few complete newcomers -- we're not positive where some of them heard of us, but it's great that (good) word is spreading. Word of mouth is always the best publicity, bar none, and we very much appreciate all the recommendations people give us.

And, of course, the obligatory food and beverage report... We headed back to Tarah & Daniel's after the concert for dinner with the kids. Some very yummy chili, washed down with red plonk-in-a-box.

That's it for now! We'll report back on what we've been doing on the intervening days off shortly. Hope you're all having a great Wednesday.

Alyssa

Singing for our supper -- and actually getting supper this time!

Hi folks!

[Bits of this are being copied from my "Adventures in Cello Land" blog -- apologies to those who read both!]

Thisafternoon, Don and I paid a return visit to "Sing For Your Supper", a songwriters circle led every Saturday by our friend (and amazing songwriter) Kev Corbett at The Carleton in Halifax. We got to do some of our solo stuff, which is rare these days, although we did cheat a bit and accompany each other from time to time. The other guest artists were Jadea Kelly and surprise guest David Borins (who is touring with Jadea).

It was a fun afternoon, and there was a larger audience there than we'd had the last time we played the series. We made some new friends, and made a new connection that might prove profitable in the long run... (not saying it out loud yet, I don't want to jinx myself!)

Kev gave us a copy of his yet-to-be-released CD, Son of a Rudderless Boat, which I'm really looking forward to hearing. Jadea and David also gave us their CDs, so we'll have some pleasant listening material on the road, for sure! This was the first time I had heard either of them, and it was a treat. Although David did a song about disliking women who drink whiskey... he promised me it was just a song. :-) I countered, of course, with Not Enough Whiskey -- dodge, parry, thrust!

Unlike last time, we actually got to stay for dinner -- The Carleton has great food, let me tell you! Don had the ribs in... some sort of brandied BBQ sauce. I had curried penne with shrimps and scallops, mmm-mmm, and a nice Australian Merlot whose name I've already forgotten. Hopefully Kev will invite us back a third time, so we can sample more of the menu. :-)

Actually, we might be heading back next Monday, if we aren't busy visiting family -- David Myles is playing that night. We saw him at Shelter Valley this summer, and would love to see a full night of him!

Well, I'm off to tuck my niece into bed. Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Just in case we haven't hammered it home -- our Halifax CD release is tomorrow afternoon at The Company House. We'd love to see you there!!! 3:00 pm, and a mere $6 -- that works out to less than a dollar per instrument you see on stage!!! :-)

Hope to see you there,
Alyssa

Alyssa has conquered the code!

Hello everyone,

I'm happy to report that it looks like the online store is finally up and running. Which means you can now purchase your copy of The Brights' Live Love Dream online at http://takenotepromotion.com/store/index.php?cPath=24.

We're letting fans and followers know about the store before announcing it to the general public -- both as a "thank you", and a hope that you'll be kind about any glitches you find. If you do have any problems, use the "contact us" page to let us know, and we'll fix it as soon as possible.

I'm now going to take my bleary eyes away from the computer for several solid hours -- yippeee!

Musically,
Alyssa

"Live Love Dream" now available online

Hi folks!

Online sales of Live Love Dream are now available via CD Baby. Please note this is a U.S. site and will charge you U.S. dollars - Alyssa's still struggling with the code, but there should be a site up VERY SOON that will accept Canadian dollars, Euros, whatevertheheck you want to pay us with. :-)

We'll let you know as soon as our online store is "live" -- in the meantime, you eager folks can check out our CD Baby page (there are also 30-second clips available of ALL our songs on that page).

Thanks, as always, for your support!
Alyssa & Don

CD Release Time!!!

Hi folks,

Only one more sleep until the day we've been gearing up for -- the CD release concert for our debut album as The Brights - Live Love Dream. We can't wait to share it with you!

For those of you who have miraculously managed to avoid my pestering until now... [ggg] We are releasing Live Love Dream tomorrow, Sunday May 3. Please note this is a *matinee concert* that starts at 2:00 pm - we wouldn't want you missing all the fun! The show takes place at Hugh's Room in Toronto - 2261 Dundas St. W., at Roncesvalles, just south of Bloor Street, near the Dundas West subway). Reservations are recommended for their fabulous Sunday Brunch menu, starting at noon - check out their menu online to get your mouth watering! Tickets are $14 in advance if you hurry up and book right away, or $16 at the door. Give them a call at 416-531-6604, or book online at http://www.hughsroom.com.

Copies of Live Love Dream will, of course, be available for sale at the concert release (we're bringing the Sharpies!), as well as some posters our friend Greg King is making for us, featuring the cover photo he took of us for the CD.

In the meantime, I'm spending today trying to get the final glitches out of our online store, so the CD will be available to all you not able to make it to the show. Keep your fingers crossed for my inner computer geek - I will let you know when the huge sigh of relief takes place (or when I start accepting tequila donations [ggg]).

Hope to see you at Hugh's Room!

Musically,
Alyssa