Vampire Princess Released!

Long time readers will have noticed that this newsletter has been obsessed with The Vampire Princess for two and a half years. Soon we will move on. Right now we're in the thick of it, and you will either have to be patient with us a little longer, or maybe even get all hopped up about it, like we are.

Remaining September Release Performances Sat Sept 21 • Shelburne (afternoon) Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival • short sets 12:30 & 3:00 PM • 1611 Harbor Road • 802-985-8686 Sat Sept 21 • Burlington 8PM • $8 • full show • discount CDs North End Studio A • 294 N. Winooski Ave • 802-863-6713 Wed Sept 25 • Montpelier 7:30PM • $7 or buy CD Buch Spieler Music • 27 Langdon St. • 802 229 0449 Fri Sept 27 • Craftsbury Common 7PM • $10 • full show • discount CDs The Art House • 1376 N. Craftsbury Rd • 802- 586-2200 Sun Sept 29 • Chester (afternoon) 2PM • $8 adults $5 youth • full show 1st Universalist Parish • 211 North St (Rte 103) • 802-875-3257

 

Kick-off achieved!

Ob Friday the 13th our kickoff CD release performance went as planned, at Burlington's North End Studio. This is a really nice space, very near where we used to live, a short walk from two excellent Vietnamese restaurants. If you live in the area and haven't been, it's worth the trip. Low stage, comfortable seats, beautiful floor, tasty & inexpensive coffeehouse fare-- check it out. If you'd like detailed directions give us a call.

We had a good crowd-- thank you, those who came!-- on a very busy weekend. (Grace Potter posters everywhere you looked.) Folks liked the show, or at least they clapped really hard. But it's too many years in the lead-up, and we were too wired & full of opening-night jitters, for us to really know what was happening, or have nearly as much fun as they did. Seven Days was there, and we just got their review, more on that below.

By Saturday night, we had settled down enough to enjoy ourselves. The East Warren show was upstairs over the food coop , a very interesting and (once it filled up) acoustically charming community space, with a radio station in the corner. Hmmm.

We were relaxed and centered enough to change the order of material in a way that really helps the flow of things. A splendid time was had by all. Excellent home-made cookies and cider, too! They want us back, maybe for a live broadcast. What do you think?

This Saturday!!

Two appearances, afternoon and evening.

Afternoon. We're doing two 2 short "taster" sets at the Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival. There's plenty of reasons to go, animals to pet, a great event for kids, tons of local performers, a very vital local fall tradition now in its 35th year. Maybe not the ideal showcase for us-- lots of distractions-- but we like being a part of it, and really enjoy seeing our old friends. If you're there, please stick your head in and say hi.

Evening. Our final show at North End Studio A. We're coming back loaded for bear, with lots of good local publicity, and we fully expect to blow the roof off. If you live near Burlington or points north, and didn't come last week, you should go. And take a friend.

Hey, it's cheaper than a downtown movie. It's across the street and down the block from two great Vietnamese restaurants. If you'd seen us in Montpelier last spring you would have paid three times as much to get in. Coffee & brownies are a dollar-- where does that happen? CDs are discount priced. And, as the song says, we may never pass this way again.

Just hung up the basil to dry in our pantry. Froze a bunch of pesto, too.

First Review

Seven Days' arts editor Pamela Polston was in the kickoff audience. Her combined review of the show and the CD ends like this:

"What is really brilliant about this duo comes with such apparent ease that a listener may not consciously notice it: a masterful, finely tuned vocal interplay. His and her voices weave in and out of each other, sometimes doubling up for emphasis, creating a tapestry of sound that we recognize as a story. Their delivery is akin to that of an extremely tight jazz ensemble, in which the players know their parts — and their partners — intimately. For this reason, and for the uniqueness of what they do, Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder are simply Vermont treasures, and hearing their stories never grows old."

But you really should read the whole review.

Yesterday, Google alerted me that "Jennings and Ponder" was in the news again. You'll be amused to know why I wasn't too excited at first: I was expecting yet another update on the doings of football players. But it was Pamela's review. Much nicer!

 

BUY VP CDs In a few weeks these are available, both physically and as downloads, from our old friends at CDbaby.com. But you can buy them now from us, either at our shows or by mail. $12 includes postage for the duration of the launch. Call 802 223 9103, or email us, or write us, and we'll fix you up. We take checks, cash, and paypal. They're also for sale in a few local stores-- Crow Books and Phoenix books in the Burlington area, Buch Spieler Music and the Wayside Diner in Barre-Montpelier. More to follow.