Barb Ryman: News

Many of you have be asking about my new song "Soldier's Daughter." It might be a while before I get it out on CD, but you can listen to it streaming at this link http://www.barbryman.com/music-61.html. And below is a YouTube video where I play it live at the Back Room concert in Great Bend, Kansas. Many thanks to Don Shorock for making this available. He also put 4 other videos up. Search YouTube for my name and you'll find them.
Also check out my Links & Video page where you'll find the infamous "Ode To Low Self Esteem" and a clip of my son, Tommy Ryman, doing some stand-up.

Iowa shows are coming up this week, and tune into KUNI radio, 7:00 pm central time this Monday. I will be performing in a live broadcast hosted by Karen Impola, “Live From Studio One”. If you don’t live in Iowa, you can still listen online at http://www.kuniradio.org/kunilive.htm

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, a time to be full with gratitude, and that I am....family, friends and music top my list. I so enjoyed the fall tours and am still recovering from three weeks and 5000 miles on the West tour. Thanks to all of you in SD, MT, WA, OR, CA , AR, NM, CO who came out for the shows. I returned to some favorite venues in South Dakota and Montana. Then shared the stage with some awesome guitarists at the Caterina Winery in Spokane Washington, Jonathan Nicholson and Michael Millham. I highly recommend their music. Did lots of showcasing at the FAR-West Folk Alliance conference in Vancouver, WA. It was great to see some old friends and make new connections. Did my first ever show in Monterey, CA, and then enjoyed 100 miles of gorgeous coastal highway before turning east for shows in the great Southwest...Flagstaff and Santa Fe. It was on this leg of the tour that I crossed 200,000 miles. I marked the occasion with a photo of my odometer and the views out the car windows.

Interestingly, 200,000 miles came as I drove rural highway 46/41 entering Cholame, California, the exact place where James Dean had his fatal crash...kind of eerie!! Fortunately, my little Toyota and I faired better than James Dean and his infamous Porsche. The mechanics tell me there’s at least 100,000 more miles in my trusty little Toyota....so tour on my sweet little vehicle. (I have discovered that complimenting and sweet talking my car really works!)

In Denver I performed at the D Note in the most diverse musical lineup of my touring career. I played after a local high school jazz band and was followed by an all girl post core heavy metal band, creepskope. I really enjoyed the metal band. We had a great conversation on issues of women in music and are now myspace friends. Another highlight was visiting the National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. They have the most incredible collection of old musical instruments. I thought I had died and gone to musical instrument heaven. By the way, I will be giving a noon show at the National Music Museum in February.

Below is a photo of winners at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, where I performed my winning song “Strawberry Pie”...great festival...great people...great fun!

Speaking of instruments and “Strawberry Pie” I finally purchased my very own ukulele so I can perform “Strawberry Pie” as it was meant to be presented. As you can see, I was given a quick lesson from my dog, Bear.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the little photo album with this newsletter. Things slow down this winter. I’m going to take some time to write, and will be giving some Midwest concerts in Iowa, Northern Minnesota, Kansas, and South Dakota. In January, I’ll head to Florida for warmth, performances, and the South Florida Folk Festival. Check the website for additions and changes to the schedule. Stay warm and remember Barb Ryman CDs make great holiday gifts! You can purchase them on the website at http://www.barbryman.com/products.html using Paypal
or at my favorite online CD store, CDBABY at http://cdbaby.com/all/barbryman

WINNER IN WINFIELD'S FOLK FESTIVAL NEW SONG CONTEST:
I’m very pleased to announce that my song “Strawberry Pie” won in the category of ‘Feelin Good’ song with the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield Kansas, I’ll be giving a stage performance on September 15 at the festival. This song is also being considered for the Showtime TV series, Weeds. The other name for this song is “Mary Jane” a natural fit, don’t you think!

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS:
Highlights of the summer included a co-bill with my son and stand-up comic, Tommy Ryman, at the historic Rising Star Mill. Between his set and the topical humor songs, there were lots of laughs had by all. Also did a show with some great percussion backup from my transplanted Minneapolis friend, JJ, aka Jennifer Jones, now in Milwaukee.

FALL TOUR SCHEDULE:
After a special hometown concert, I get very busy with touring, primarily around the Midwest, Northwest and Southwest. To my friends in the East...I know its been way too long! I hope to be out your way in Spring. I’ll also be at two folk conferences this Fall showcasing my music: FARM (Folk Alliance Midwest Region) in northern Illinois and the Far-West Folk conference in Vancouver WA. Check the Calendar for the full schedule.

TOURS:
I’m staying close to home this summer and playing some outdoor concerts and summer concerts series in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The touring begins in earnest in the Fall with shows in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nebraska. Winter plans are Southern US & Florida. Spring will be the East Coast.
LAKE HARRIET CONCERT:
I’ll be kicking off the summer with my favorite summer concert spot in the Twin Cities, the Lake Harriet Bandshell. Friday, June 8th, 7:30 pm is the date. Bring friends, the kids, the picnic, the family pet or whatever and come out for this free concert. The new CD, Earthbound, will be available at the show.

COMEDY:
I’d like to highlight a co-bill I’m doing with my funny son, Tommy Ryman. Now, I don’t mean I have a weird son, I mean he’s a very talented comic and we’re doing a show together at the Rising Star Mill in Nelsonville, Wisconsin in early August. We’ll also be part of a pride event this weekend in Pine City, MN (see schedule below). Go to the Links page of my website, http://www.barbryman.com/links.html, and hit the link to Tommy’s site. There’s also a link to his video “Girlfriend” which won 1st place in a Minneapolis short film contest. Also, go to the Music/Listen page and get this month’s free Barb Ryman download (more about this below), a comedy song that’s also on the new CD.

PROTEST SONGS:
As a songwriter, I’ve had a number of people ask me, with all that’s going on with the war in Iraq and our government, where are the protest songs? Well, actually there are thousands of protest songs being written, but unfortunately the big corporate owned radio stations and music industry are not playing them. Neil Young has a page on his site where he’s been gathering songwriters’ protest songs and listing them with a link to where you can hear them. There are close to two thousand songs listed. Mine is called “This Empire Is Falling” and it’s #180 in the rankings. Go to http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwsongspage.html. Find some that resonate with you and ask your local radio to play them. There is a huge voice of the people that needs to be heard and we can start making it heard in these kind of acts.

FREE MONTHY SONG DOWNLOAD:
I’ve decided as a gift to my fans to offer a free download of one of my songs each month. Go to the music page on the website, http://www.barbryman.com/music.html, and there will be a featured song you can download. I only ask that in return, you direct a friend or two to the download...its one more way you can spread the word about the music. It will change each month so check the website monthly to get a new download. You can also sample many other songs by streaming audio. And if you really want to support me as an independent artist, buy the CD....you get all the songs together as they were sequenced for emotional affect, along with lyrics, production notes, and all the lovely artwork. This month’s feature is “Spam Me” a parody on email spam put to the old Roger Miller song “Dang Me”...enjoy!

BOB DYLAN SYMPOSIUM:
Have you been to the Bob Dylan exhibit at the Weisman Museum? I highly recommend it. Last week, I had the pleasure of being a part of Bob Dylan Symposium. This was a 3 day international conference sponsored by the Weisman and the University of Minnesota. There were scholars in fields of English, literature, musicology, history, creative writing, cultural studies. There were poets, writers and music critics. They came from all around the world. Now I know Bob Dylan is a music icon, but I was blown away to find he is studied so deeply and extensively. I had know idea and I learned a lot. I was invited to be on a panel of Minnesota songwriters giving our perspective on Dylan’s legacy:




Included were Paul Metsa, Matthew Friedberger (out of photo frame), Dylan Hicks, Adam Levy, Barb Ryman, and Dan Israel.

PERFORMANCES:
I’m home for the Spring and plan to do some writing and catch up on a lot of music business. I am looking for Midwest shows to fill during this time, so if you’d like to host a house concert, this would be a great time to contact me at barb@barbryman.com and arrange that.

Summer, will involve a number of outdoor concerts in the Midwest and some dates in California. Check the Calendar schedule later for specifics. In the Fall, I'll be on an extended tour in Mountain states and Pacific Northwest.

Happy Spring
Barb Ryman

CD RELEASE OF EARTHBOUND:
A big thank you to those hearty and supportive Minnesotans who came out for the CD release despite the mega snowstorm! I know many of you could not make it and were planning to get your CD at the concert. Here in Minneapolis, you’ll find it in at the Electric Fetus at 4th Ave & Franklin or Homestead Pickin Parlor on Penn & 66th. Online, you'll find it at CD baby, http://cdbaby.com/cd/barbryman4 or if you prefer PayPal go to http://www.barbryman.com/products.html and click the paypal link. Both are safe & secure. You can also purchase by mail. Send a check for $15.00 to Renegade Productions, P.O. Box 24194, Minneapolis MN, 55424. We’re offering free shipping at this time.

February news: The new CD, Earthbound, is here and the Release Concert is February 25 at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Percussionist, Marc Anderson, and Bassist, Enrique Toussaint, will be my special guests. The Cedar is the premier Twin Cities venue for Folk and World music, and I’m delighted to celebrate the release with you at this fine venue. Reserve your tickets now at www.thecedar.org/tickets

Earthbound was recorded in St. Paul with engineer and co-producer Marc Anderson. It features 14 original songs, ranging from contemporary folk ballads to traditional, country gospel & bluegrass. Lyrically, it traverses the Earth, the heart, mysteries of God, politics, women, love, disillusionment, joy, and the whimsical. The CD also features Peter Ostroushko’s mandolin and fiddle, Adam Granger’s flat picking, Prudence Johnson’s vocal harmonies and Dirk Freymuth’s electric guitar. Percussionist, Marc Anderson, & bassist, Enrique Toussaint, also grace the album and will be accompanying Barb at the live concert.

Included on this release are the title track "Earthbound" a lively celebration of the creative process, "90 Years 28 Moves", the melancholic tale of an old woman who can’t settle down, "This Empire Is Falling", a challenge to the power elite and a call for change, "Song For the Mother’s Gospel", an archetypal questioning of the fate of God the Mother in the face of praises for God the Father, and in keeping with her gift for topical humor, "Spam Me", an adaptation of Roger Miller’s "Dang Me" bemoaning the woes of email spam.