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archived News
March 2008 |
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In This Issue: |
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Winter and I have a love/hate relationship. I LOVE it because I get to spend some all-too-precious time at home. I HATE it because we're not out as much playing shows for you folks. But I guess to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose.
Speaking of purposes, the reason I'm writing is to keep you guys "up" on what's happening with the CLB! And we have some fun things in this newsletter - so read on!
Love and blessings,
Claire
First Few Gigs with Bassmeister Mark Schatz
We have a month's worth of gigs under our belt now, and we're already rockin' with Mark Schatz on the bass (as I knew we would!) As one of our fans from North Carolina said, "Mark was unbelievable . . . a fantastic addition and even though he stands to the back, he is definitely up front!" That's an understatement.
The audience and the rest of us in the band have been entertained with not only his bass finesse but with his with hambone and Appalachian dance skills as well. Do come see!
Fun on the Mountain Stage 
On February 3rd, we were invited to entertain on a syndicated radio show for National Public Radio called Mountain Stage. This long-standing show taped in Charleston WV has been host to many musical greats. We appeared with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Cherryholmes and Kieran Kane & Kevin Welch among others.
There are some new CLB photos here from Mountain Stage, and there are more on MySpace: check 'em out! More information about Mountain Stage can be found here.
Best Gig in Alabama!
Connecting with "the old crowd" in Birmingham
We had one of the most wonderful musical opportunities in the state of Alabama - the Hoover Library Theater Series had us in February 16 & 17. All the "old crowd" showed up - Birmingham and I go way back! It was lovely to re-connect with my old band mate and dear friend, Herb Trotman who owns Fretted Instruments - a place where acoustic musicians gather for picking on almost any occasion. Herb says, "I sometimes view myself more as a custodian for a rather large amorphous therapy group." But that's the way they love it! I hear rumors that Jim Hurst will be going there in April to teach a guitar workshop and perform a mini-concert.
And More:
BU Bump | EWOB Kudos | Elixir Thumbs-up | Comin' Up!
BU Bump: We've got a couple of good licks in Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine this month - Crowd Favorites and The Day that Lester Died are still moving up the album (#10) and singles (#13) charts. I'm told that it's rare for an anthology collection to even enter the charts, let alone do this well - so yay!
European World of Bluegrass has released its annual CD of bluegrass compilations. A recent CD review in Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine says that the CLB's performance of "Further in the Hole" is the best one on the entire project: "most polished and the one that grabs the attention and doesn't let go." Happy to be a part, and can't wait to go back to Europe!
Thumbs-up to Elixir: Once again, I've agreed to endorse Elixir Strings for another year - and proudly so! These are the working woman's wires! They last and last. So, that means I can bake biscuits and do laundry instead of changing my strings (j/k, as they say).
Comin' Up! Check out our schedule for some dates we'll be performing in the near future, as well as our Listeners' Comments page with some wonderful comments we've received recently from fans and friends. And watch your inbox in April for a super-fun contest challenging your creativity, with a very cool iPrize!
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