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June 2007
Dear Friends,
From my "digs" here in Alabama, greetings! After constant road work since the end of April, I've finally had a chance to touch down and write. I have so much news! I'll try and keep things brief, but a lot has transpired since my last entry.
Meet Our Newest Member! 
I know a lot of you have been curious about our new mando/fiddle player and many have asked, so I'm proud to introduce Jason Thomas to you as the newest CLB member. Jason is a Toronto native, now residing in Orlando, Florida. Besides being a multinational awards winner and having all the chops, he's a congenial guy and we couldn't ask for better. From the first note together, it felt like "home" . . . groove is prevalent and we find ourselves moving to new musical levels. (Did I mention he speaks fairly fluent Japanese??)
Check out Jason's bio, or hear him on his MySpace page.
Europe!
Although Jason's Japanese wasn't much help, my two years of high school German finally paid off! Missy, Jim, Jason and I took the first ever CLB European tour May 1-7. We played six towns in six days - fairly exhausting! But the audiences at each venue were warm and friendly. Holland was pristine - almost unreal; Germany was like a storybook; and I cannot convey to you the kindness and enthusiasm of the audiences in Bratislava, Slovakia. My deepest thanks to our hosts, Karl Heinz Siber and his wife Anneli, who were generous, kind and amazingly fun.
A tour like that was a great way to break Jason in - we spent a lot of time together in close quarters. As Jim has been known to say, "Get to know me, I'm here all week!" But I can't think of a better way to throw a band into groove.
Here are some short videos I shot. Walk out with me onto the stage of the incredible Staattheatre in Oldenburg, Germany. And in the second video, you can almost smell the singed hair. Well, we always knew Missy was one smokin' bass player!
In the Studio
This month, we are celebrating Jim Hurst's new release, "Box of Chocolates". It's a collection of not-necessarily-related tunes - all of them endorphin-producing! I had the honor of singing a song on this project, and many of the compositions are Jim's. Box of Chocolates pinpoints his unique musical character and versatility. Check it out on his site! We are now performing two of his tunes from this project in our live show.
We're almost done with our new tracks for the "Crowd Favorites" CD. If I'm lucky, there will be a Fall release.
Missy continues her work on the upcoming project from "The New Hip". Click on her MySpace link to get hip to the New Hip.
Stream Our D.C. Performance!
This week, you can hear our D.C. Bluegrass Union performance on bluegrasscountry.org.
This was David Harvey's farewell appearance with us, on April 14. Here's the schedule (all times EDT):
A Mother's Boast
I would like to offer congratulations to my daughter, Christy, who graduates with honors and a 4.2 GPA from Hazel Green High School this month. After a summer cruise in the Greek Islands, she will attend Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee where she will begin to pursue a degree in theology on full academic scholarship. Congratulations, Christy! No daughter could make a mother more proud.
Upcoming Performances
- June 11-13
Grass Valley, CA
The CBA Music Camp - June 14-15
Grass Valley, CA
32nd Annual Father's Day Festival - June 16
San Luis Obispo, CA
The Live Oak Music Festival - June 17
Victorville, CA
Huck Finn Jubilee - June 24-28
NashCamp (Jim, Missy, Claire) - July 1-7
The Alaska Bluegrass Cruise
For additional dates, check the Schedule page.
IBMA Member?
Please consider us!
If you are a voting member of IBMA, please consider The Claire Lynch Band on your Awards Nomination Ballot for Categories 1-5 and 10. We've been touring the U.S. extensively and just returned from Europe, playing our hearts out and promoting bluegrass music, and we greatly appreciate your consideration.
And so...
The summer rush is upon us - we'll be at RockyGrass and Grey Fox, at our first Grass Valley appearance in California, at Live Oak, Huck Finn, on the Alaska Cruise, and more. Please come out for some summer fun with us! And thanks for letting us share our news.
~Claire
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