As a lover of land and nature my heart has been especially sore these past weeks as many wildfires rage across the western states. The Department of the West was inspired by so many places that are acutely suffering right now. And while some of the songs from DoW are elegiac in tone, I couldn't imagine seeing what we're all seeing now.
Nonetheless, there's no time like the present to do what can be done. I'm fortunate to have all my tools on hand to keep writing and playing and taking action where I can. Earlier this month, we wrapped up our most recent SIP the Bay Virtual Fest fundraiser/ This week, I resumed volunteering for an organization near and dear to my heart, and fledged another SIP project. I'm writing letters to potential voters in my down time. And I'm happy to say new music continues to percolate between it all. Plus I'm playing music live (safely distanced!) twice this weekend. Read on for details.
Wishing you well! Deborah
Upcoming Events
Friday Alameda Porch Concerts
6pm-7:30(ish) PST
Crossing fingers AQ stays in the Good range, we'll resume playing on the porch again Friday, Sept, 18 6pm PDT as part of the Alameda-wide series!
Sanchez Art Center 50|50 Show
10 Linda Mar Blvd
Main, West and East Galleries
Pacfica, CA 94044
I'll be playing a short acoustic set 5:45-6:15pm outside between the galleries. TICKETS
Introducing The Bay Station Eagle
While I’ve actually gotten off the island twice in the past week, my hyper-local SIP orbit inspired another hyper-local, writing-related (and somewhat old school) SIP project, The Bay Station Eagle (Bay St. & Eagle Ave. are two intersecting streets in Alameda’s Bay Station neighborhood where I live). Equal parts field guide and literary zine, the pocket guide-size print quarterly is reflective of my corner of Alameda island and features images and writing by myself and local residents. I was happy to pick up the first run from the printers today and start getting copies to contributors. Buy a copy for $5 via Paypal and I'll mail one your way.
In this issue:
Bay Eagle Community Garden
Waterfront Stories
Sourdough on the Island
Chasing Neowise
New Frontiers at Bay Station
& more
SIP the Bay 2 Wrap Up
Working on the SIP the Bay video project over Labor Day weekend gave us something to think about that wasn't the news, how hot and smoky it was, how many places in the West that I've known, loved, called home were under threat. Thanks to all the artists who contributed their songs and voices and to those who tuned in live. We raised several hundred dollars to donate to NAACP and California Fire Relief and were heartened again knowing so many folks are continuing to create amid everything.
Every night after we broadcast, we got out to the beach to catch the sunset, which, with all the added smoke in the skies, was dependably technicolor. On the last night, a large flock of pelicans flew low over our heads in silent, steady, V formation as we headed home. May we humans learn to work together so gracefully as we weather these times.
You can catch up on or binge watch our four-night SIP the Bay Mini Fest HERE
For the birds
One of trips afield this week was heading up to Marin to count hawks. This is my eighth year parlaying my once-upon collegiate raptor conservation work/studies into volunteering for Golden Gate Raptor Observatory during the fall migration. As you can imagine, an organization like this — a program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in cooperation with the National Park Service — could use all the support it can muster to sustain itself amid the pandemic and subsequent closures. If you’re like me and love birds, I invite you to visit the GGRO site and see what they're up to and then hit donate. Let me know you did and I'll send you your choice of one of my recent records.