http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html Holly Figueroa: News Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:55:10 -0800 http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#11
If you are like me, you are getting glimpses of the devastation in Haiti, and shaking your head, wondering what on earth you can do to help.

I have been selling clothes and instruments and trinkets to raise money for the new record (and I am still doing that on Ebay...here's my store: http://myworld.ebay.com/hollyoreilly

But two of my very favorite guitars from one of my favorite companies (Luna Guitars, which also happens to be one of my sponsors :-), I am going to sign, sell and give all of the money to help send medical supplies to Haiti.

The guitars are here:

Luna "Muse" Acoustic/Electric with built in tuner
http://tinyurl.com/yegd8nj

Luna "Phoenix"Electric Guitar
http://tinyurl.com/ydmkngv

It might seem like a foolish thing to do...I mean, I'm fundraising for a new record, after all...maybe I should be pocketing that money and getting a famous trumpet player or something.

I'd rather send along medical supplies to some kids who have lost a limb. These types of things put everything into perspective, if only for a moment, before we all get devastation fatigue again. (Okay. I'm a cynic. Sorry.)

***

You can still pre order the new record. Details here:

http://tinyurl.com/ydy35ta

And I have pasted them below, for your convenience.

I am also working on a benefit concert, and I am available to perform any existing concerts that are already happening.

I hope that you are doing whatever you can, even if it is sending good thoughts, to help the people in Haiti, and all over the world who are suffering.

Love,

Holly

http://www.hollyoreilly.com

***

$15-$99: A link to download an MP3 release of the new record as soon as it is ready. (This is basically a "what you can afford" level". I had a bunch of people email and say "Can I just send you a donation with nothing in return?" which made me think...it isn't that hard to email a link to mp3s. I was thinking about the "old days" when I would take a preorder for $25.00 for a physical CD, and actually lose money on the production and postage. But a link? Not that hard. Or expensive. The expensive parts are the manufacturing of CDs and vinyl. But...if there are no cds and vinyl involved...not that bad.)

$100: MP3 release of the new recording before it goes out to the public, AND immediate shipment of signed copies of the entire back catalog that is in print. (This includes "Dream in Red", "How It Is", and "Gifts and Burdens".)

$200: MP3 release of the new recording before it goes out to the public, AND a CD copy with artwork, lyrics, and all of the songs when the run is finished, AND immediate shipment of signed copies of the entire back catalog that is in print.

$300: MP3 release, CD Copy, AND, a vinyl 12 inch with the best songs from the sessions. (In other words: whatever will fit and still sound good, we will put on the record.) AND immediate shipment of signed copies of the entire back catalog that is in print.

You want to go above that? Email me. (preorder@hollyoreilly.com)

WHAT EVERYONE WHO PREORDERS above the 100 dollar level GETS:

At every level, you get your name in the credits as an "Executive Producer".

At every level, I will do a house concert for free in your home for you and your friends. (In the tri state area. That's WA, OR, CA. Other states may be added, depending on my continuing good health and tour schedule.)

At every level, you get access to a private site where you can hear the pre production demos, and hear how the record is going. I will be keeping a blog on this private site, and will post pictures of all of the folks working on the record during recording sessions. There will be mp3s on this site that will not be available on any CD or vinyl.

And since the song list is not completely decided on yet, if you preorder BEFORE FEBRUARY 1, you can send a song request for consideration.

There are two ways to pay:

PAYPAL: with a credit card, or with your paypal account, send a payment to

holly@cakerecords.com

(please select "gift", or paypal takes a chunk of the money, and that's no fun.)

http://www.paypal.com

OR

Send a check to:

Holly Figueroa
3601 93rd Ave
Mercer Island, WA 98040

**

I want as many people to be a part of this as possible. Making records is never about me, sitting in a studio in a bubble. It is more about me, thinking about you, and what you want to hear.

If I hear from more of you, more of you will get what you want.

Thank you for reading this all the way through. I really appreciate it. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. It took losing everything and getting a little bit of it back to kick my butt into action.]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#11 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#10
I am not speaking figuratively, metaphorically, or any other "ally". I mean...I lost my singing voice.

(Well, I guess you could say that I "literally" lost my voice, and that would be an "ally", but...you get the point.)

It left me at the Northwest Folklife Festival. While performing. I knew it was going during the first song, but I kept singing, thinking that it would warm up and get better.

But it wasn't warming up or getting better. It was deteriorating and falling apart, and I couldn't carry a tune by the end of the my set. I had to talk a lot and cover for the fact that I could not sing.

We left Folklife and came home. I fell asleep around 7pm, and slept until noon the next day. For days, weeks...my voice was gravelly and hoarse. I started getting scared.

For weeks before that, I had been having hand pain and stiffness in the mornings. It was worse if I played guitar or or did things like...make coffee. Do dishes. Basically, if I *used* my hands, the next day, I couldn't move them for a good long while in the morning.

I largely ignored this, thinking it was old age. My partner (a physician) assured me...not old age.

So, when I lost my voice, and went to my doctor with these symptoms, he sent me to a rheumatologist, who gave me all kinds of drugs for inflammatory arthritis. None of them worked. I then went to several ENT doctors who couldn't agree on anything, but one of them said this: that there was that there is a joint in our throats that can become swollen with inflammatory arthritis, and that was what was happening.

I asked, "How long will this take to get better?" The question should have been, "Is this ever going to get better?"

I started to think not, and I was not reassured otherwise.

I thought about all of the songs I wanted to sing but couldn't. I stopped listening to music altogether. When people asked me what I did for a living, I said, "Nothing."

I wasn't a musician. I wasn't a singer. I wasn't a songwriter. I was...nothing.

Before I was a songwriter, I used to sing, exclusively. Back in "the day", I was a blues and jazz singer. I started hanging out with songwriters and really liked them, then I started cowriting, and found out that I was okay with words. Then I started playing guitar (under duress), and writing my own songs, but I always kind of felt like writing songs was a lot of work, and I was okay at it...

But singing them...that was fun! So I would write just so I could go out and sing on the "folk" or "singer songwriter" circuit, or whatever they are calling it lately. And playing guitar...I don't really like it that much. It can be fun, but I'm not that great at it, and its hard when your hands don't work that well.

I said, (well, croaked) many, many times in the last 9 months: "If I ever get my voice back, I'm going to..."

And then there were a lot of things I was going to do, but none of them involved songwriting...and all of them involved singing my favorite songs, and singing my ass off.

In February (yes! next month!), Evan Brubaker and I will go into David Lange's studio and record many, many of my favorite songs. Some of them will be jazz standards. (think Billie, Ella, etc.). Some of them might be blues songs that will make you blush. (Just thinking about them makes me blush, and it is hard to get me to blush...) Some of them will be recorded with and by people you have heard of. Some of them won't. (And, okay, there will be at least one original song on the record, because I am simply fraught with hubris. There. I said it.) They will all be my very favorite songs. Because I have my voice back for as long as it is back, and that's what I want to do.

**
That was the preorder preamble. Here is the deal:

As I have done with my last 4 records, I am funding this project solely through preorders, only this time, what this record will sound like, and the medium it will be released on, will depend on demand.

The instrumentation and number of talented musicians we can afford will depend solely on how much money we raise between now and when the record is released. We will start with piano, drums, and upright bass.

After that, we will add instrumentation according to 1) what the song asks for, and 2) what kind of money is in the coffers.

(For instance: I hear strings and horns on some of these songs, but if the money isn't there...it isn't there. People don't play for free. Well...I play for free. But no one else does!)

It is mind boggling how differently music has made it's way around the world since 2007 when I released, "Gifts and Burdens". We could make this record and never produce a physical product at all, but could release it solely as MP3s. Or we could make only the CDs that are preordered. Or we could make a short run of vinyl for the folks who want to hear their favorite jazz songs the way they would have heard them 50 years ago.

So, instead of me having to decide, I'm leaving it up to you. Here are the levels, and what you get.

$15-$99: A link to download an MP3 release of the new record as soon as it is ready. (This is basically a "what you can afford" level". I had a bunch of people email and say "Can I just send you a donation with nothing in return?" which made me think...it isn't that hard to email a link to mp3s. I was thinking about the "old days" when I would take a preorder for $25.00 for a physical CD, and actually lose money on the production and postage. But a link? Not that hard. Or expensive. The expensive parts are the manufacturing of CDs and vinyl. But...if there are no cds and vinyl involved...not that bad.)

$100: MP3 release of the new recording before it goes out to the public, AND immediate shipment of signed copies of the entire back catalog that is in print. (This includes "Dream in Red", "How It Is", and "Gifts and Burdens".)

$200: MP3 release of the new recording before it goes out to the public, AND a CD copy with artwork, lyrics, and all of the songs when the run is finished, AND immediate shipment of signed copies of the entire back catalog that is in print.

$300: MP3 release, CD Copy, AND, a vinyl 12 inch with the best songs from the sessions. (In other words: whatever will fit and still sound good, we will put on the record.) AND immediate shipment of signed copies of the entire back catalog that is in print.

You want to go above that? Email me. (preorder@hollyoreilly.com)

WHAT EVERYONE WHO PREORDERS above the 100 dollar level GETS:

At every level, you get your name in the credits as an "Executive Producer".

At every level, I will do a house concert for free in your home for you and your friends. (In the tri state area. That's WA, OR, CA. Other states may be added, depending on my continuing good health and tour schedule.)

At every level, you get access to a private site where you can hear the pre production demos, and hear how the record is going. I will be keeping a blog on this private site, and will post pictures of all of the folks working on the record during recording sessions. There will be mp3s on this site that will not be available on any CD or vinyl.

And since the song list is not completely decided on yet, if you preorder BEFORE FEBRUARY !, you can send a song request for consideration.

There are two ways to pay:

PAYPAL: with a credit card, or with your paypal account, send a payment to

holly@cakerecords.com

(please select "gift", or paypal takes a chunk of the money, and that's no fun.)

Send a check to:

Holly Figueroa
3601 93rd Ave
Mercer Island, WA 98040

**

I want as many people to be a part of this as possible. Making records is never about me, sitting in a studio in a bubble. It is more about me, thinking about you, and what you want to hear.

If I hear from more of you, more of you will get what you want.

Thank you for reading this all the way through. I really appreciate it. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. It took losing everything and getting a little bit of it back to kick my butt into action.

Holly]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#10 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#9
For more information, see www.songwritingcompetition.com]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#9 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#8
Maddy is going to be 13 in April. My son will be 5 in September. When the crap did this happen?

I'm in school full time and working part time and its kicking my ass. I love it, though.

Not touring a lot, but am writing a bit.

I just put up a new song called "Fearless". Its a crappy demo I recorded on my computer, but you can see where I'm heading for the next record. It is at myspace.com/giftsandburdens.

Yes! I'm fine! No! I did not get my heart broken.

This is written for someone who felt like he needed to rush to commitment because he was afraid I might go elsewhere if he didn't.

Commitment cannot be made out of fear. It has to be fearless.

love to you-

xo
h]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#8 Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#7 into stockings??

(Technically, it depends on the size of the stocking...)

Normally, I'd send you to CD Baby, and I will provide those links
below, but one of my long time fans who is now a friend had a good
idea...

He emailed me and asked if I would sign a few CDs to give as presents
to his friends this Christmas. Much more personal than buying from
Amazon or CD Baby! I will even wrap and tag them. Yup...that's
right...signed, wrapped, tagged and delivered to your doorstep.

You can PAYPAL me at holly@cakerecords.com and let me know which
one(s) you want signed, and who to sign them to:

Gifts and Burdens $15.00
How It Is $15.00
Dream in Red $15.00
Live in New York City (cdr) $10.00
Three Chord Plea (cdr) $10.00

Or, a package of all five cds, signed, for $50.00.

You can also order by MAIL...just email me for details. hollyAThollyoreillyDOTcom

(The price includes shipping.)

If you just want to order cds and don't care if they are signed or
not, you can do that at CD Baby:

Gifts and Burdens
http://cdbaby.com/cd/figueroa5

Dream in Red and How It Is
http://cdbaby.com/group/figueroa

(Live in New York City and Three Chord Plea are out of print...you
can only order them from me, and I will hand make them for you.)

And, you can get tshirts, too!

http://www.cahootsmanagement.com/buy.html

Please order by December 10 to ensure delivery by Christmas!]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#7 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#6
Now here' the deal: If you are a voting member of the academy, I hope you will consider "Gifts and Burdens" when filling out your ballot. If you are not familiar with the record, please check out selected tracks at http://www.myspace.com/giftsandburdens, or contact jim@cahootsmanagement.com to obtain a copy of the full disc.

If you know a voting member, by all means sit them down and make them listen! I have no idea who else is in this category, but I am sure they are all amazing and deserving and I wish them all the best!]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#6 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#5 NPR's "All Things Considered", and has consistently been one of my most requested songs during live performance.

Sean Penn has directed a movie based on the life of Chris McCandless. The trailer is here:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=2038412085

A quote from the movie, "I read somewhere how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong."

I really identify with this statement, especially lately. The movie looks great...and Eddie Vedder did the soundtrack, with Charlie Musslewhite on harmonica...I mean...crap...the music alone is bound to be frickin' amazing. (The book is one of my personal favorites! I do hope this movie rox.)

Anyway, I put my song, "Dream in Red" up on my myspace page. :-) I hope you enjoy it...here are the lyrics. Hope you are having a great weekend.

xo
h

***

Dream in Red
H Figueroa, © 2000

five miles from salvation
came the end of the road
nothing but raging water and shifting sand
between you and home

I guess you knew that feeling all too well
like you'd never make your way
through the elements that seemed intent
on keeping contentment away from you

did you have some hope to hold onto
did you crave a little trust
did you wish that things could be different
with the ones you loved

there's no question you were strong
and now question you had to fight
but was your search for peace worth your life

did you dream in red and hope things would be okay?

looks like you were trying to make it home
work things out with your family
but late thaw and weariness meant you died cold and lonely

no one spoke a word, when they returned to where you died
no questions asked and none answered
no one understands why

because we all find some hope to hold on to
and we all crave a little trust
and we all wish things could be different with the ones we love

did you dream in red and hope things would be okay
but the hue grows deeper every day
so maybe in the end you could understand what
we don't know

maybe that kind of peace is worth dying for.]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#5 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#4 preparation for the show at the Tractor next Tuesday, April 17th.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/calendar/short-list/

If that makes you kinda wanna get the CD:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/figueroa5

Here's the link to buy tix before the show at the Tractor:

http://tinyurl.com/25nvnw

Another review from FAME:
http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p04210.htm

There is a video up of me singing "One More Time" from a show here on
Bainbridge Island on my myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/giftsandburdens]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#4 Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#3 this week. Yay! You can hear it at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8959839

(if you can't click it, go to npr.org and search "Holly O'Reilly".)

CD Baby has sold out of the record right now, but fresh stock should
be there by tomorrow at the latest...you can buy it at
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/figueroa5

And a request from me to you...I'd really like to play Bumbershoot
again this year.

http://www.bumbershoot.org/fresh-artist-picks.htm

So, if you'd really like me to play Bumbershoot too, and/or you
really want someone else you like to play, you can say so. :-)

And:

I'm playing at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle on
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
8PM (I'm on at 9)
Seattle (Ballard), WA 98110
w/Blame Sally
http://www.myspace.com/blamesally

I'm playing with Zak Borden on mandolin and Dan Tyack on dobro.

:-)

xo
h]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#3 Mon, 02 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#2
At first, I accidentally typed "lots of bi news" in the header, and
while appropriate in some circles, is not appropriate for the header
of this message.

I'm listening to Dave Matthews "Under the Table and Dreaming" for the
first time in maybe 5 years. It is amazing how much can happen in five
years. I have your cards and messages from the last few months on my
windowsill in my room/office. They inspire me every day to work hard
and remember I'm not alone.

As a huge THANK YOU for all of your help and encouragement and good
thoughts, I've decided to give my new CD, "Gifts and Burdens" away for
free at my Seattle CD release at the Triple Door on March 20.

Yup.

When you show up, you get a free CD. If you already have one, that's
okay. This new pressing will have lyrics inside and the songs will be
remastered. Oh, and the tracks will be listed right on the back. (Its
the little things, really.)

Tickets are $12.00 online, $15.00 the day of the show. A deal either
way, considering getting in PLUS getting a CD would be around $30.00.
Now you can have the duck! Yum! (or the tofu. Or two more martinis.)

Click this link to buy tix online:

https://secure.guestbridge.com/r.asp?siteid=89&day=20&month=3&year=2007&time=1170&showname=HOLLYO'REILLY(FIGUEROA)w%2fopenerRachelHarrington

or this one, if that link doesn't work:

http://tinyurl.com/35korp

What? You live in Guam and can't come to the show? (Why do I always
use GUAM? I don't know. I think it sounds funny. Maybe that's why.
GUAM. hehe. I heard on "The Beat" here in Seattle a couple of days ago
that something happens chemically in one's brain when they crack a
joke and it works...some type of adrenalin rush, which is why EVERYONE
is a comedian, right? I mean, take my wife...)

Shhh...don't pass it around, because there are only 15 left...but I
dropped the price of the new cd on CD Baby until March 20, or until
they are gone. :-)

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/figueroa5

And you can get it on Itunes now too:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=214610293&s=143441

or this one, if that link doesn't work:

http://tinyurl.com/2r82p8

OKAY, so here's the news:

1) I've accepted an endorsement deal from Luna Guitars! A
representative from the company came to my house on Saturday and
brought over a bunch of them. They are all gorgeous, and it was hard
to choose, but I picked out one of the beauties in the "Muse" line,
and it sounds AWESOME. Check them out: http://www.lunaguitars.com

2) I'm playing with a talented bunch of female singer songwriters on
a Carnival Cruiseship in August, and I want YOU to come along! Check
out the particulars here:

http://www.susansouza.com/kiss/kiss07_cruise.htm

And if you want more detailed, personal information, email me at
holly@hollyoreilly.com

Okay. I think that's it for now.

OH! One or two more things.

KBCS has put the new record in their library on "heavy rotation".
Yeah! KEXP has also added the record to their library, and KMTT is
playing it on specialty shows, but they need requests to play it. I
won't go on and on here again about how/when to request...but the info
is all on my site: http://www.hollyfigueroa.com/news.html

AND...I put some pics up of me and the kids on my site too...they
won't be up there for long, I just wanted you guys to see how well we
are doing. :-) :

http://www.hollyfigueroa.com/photos.html

I feel like I'm forgetting something, but it will just have to wait
until next time. :)

Love,

Holly

(PS...HOW HIGH was Dave? I mean...seriously. "I was there when the
bear ate his head...he thought it was a candy". Jesus. And that was
the single!!)]]> http://hollyoreilly.com/news.html#2 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Americana, Jazz, Blues, and Roots for smart people who like music. - Holly Figueroa - News