Pat Wictor

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Subscribe: https://patwictor.com
                  Wednesday, January 21, 2009

• Give 'Em Hope
  
• Ears and Eyes: What I'm listening to and reading
  

     -Froth and Scum, Ravi Shankar, and more

• Upcoming Gigs & appearances
  

     full calendar: https://patwictor.com
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Give 'Em Hope

I just saw the movie "Milk," which struck my heart and mind in the satisfying way that a great blues song does.  Like a good blues, the story takes place at the crossroads of suffering and transcendence.  The protagonist, like many a great  bluesman, is a sympathetic but morally ambiguous figure.  He fights despair and oppression, sometimes cutting a few corners, and never loses sight of hope.  Harvey Milk's message, repeated throughout the film, is "You gotta give 'em hope."

Townes Van Zandt once said (perhaps apocryphally), "There's only two kinds of music:  the blues, and zippity-do-dah."   Townes wasn't wrong, but I would only add that the blues, even the darkest of 'em, always includes hope.  As I write this in the glow of the inaugural festivities in Washington, I'm buoyed by a feeling of hope and possibility amidst the hardships ahead.  I think 2009 will be a good year for singing (and listening to) the blues, the music of both hardship and hope.

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Links:
Watch a trailer for "Milk":
http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/

More on the film, with links to articles on the historical Harvey Milk:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_(film)

Listen to Townes Van Zandt:
http://tinyurl.com/856yx4

More on Townes Van Zandt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townes_Van_Zandt
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Ears and Eyes:  What Im Listening to and Reading:
•-Music:
    David Wilcox, "Airstream."  
         Buy the CD:  http://www.davidwilcox.com/index.php?page=cds&display=1203
    Ravi Shankar, "Four Ragas."  http://tinyurl.com/7yar83
•-Books:
    Ann Patchett, "Bel Canto."    Buy the book:  http://tinyurl.com/7tmy7m    
    Andie Tucher, "Froth and Scum:  Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and the Ax Murder in America's First Mass Medium."  
             Buy the book:  http://tinyurl.com/9p26xe

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Upcoming Pat Wictor gigs and appearances.  
Full calendar details and links:  https://patwictor.com

January 24  Sellersville Theater 1894, Sellersville, PA   opening for Chris Smither
February 1  University Cafe, Stony Brook, NY  w/ Pete Kennedy
February 6  Down East Folk Arts Society, New Bern, NC
February 7  Down East Folk Arts Society, Beaufort, NC
February 8  House Concert, Apex, NC    w/ Mara Levine
February 13  Kick off Your Shoes House Concert, Topsfield, MA
February 14  Upton House Concerts, Upton, MA
February 15  Borderline Folk Club, New City, NY
February 18-20  Int'l Folk Alliance Conference, Memphis, TN
February 21  Hillside Cafe, Nutley, NJ
March 21  New Moon Coffeehouse, Haverhill, MA  opening for Garnet Rogers
March 22  Occasional Concert Series, Plainfield, VT
March 23  Private Event, Rutland, VT
March 29  Traditionsfest, Fair Lawn, NJ  w/ Tom Chapin, Christine Lavin,
     Abbie & Anthony, Gathering Time   more
April 3      Garden Stage, Garden City, NY  "Saints & Sinners," w/ Toby Walker
April 4      Glenside House Concert, Glenside, PA  
April 18   Stone Soup, Pawtucket, RI  "Saints & Sinners," w/ Toby Walker
April 24   6 on the Square, Oxford, NY
April 25   Heartland Concerts, Webster, NY
May 1     Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA  w/ Brooks Williams
May 2     Landhaven B&B, Barto, PA
May 14  Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA
May 15-16  Spring Gulch Folk Festival, New Holland, PA
May 16  Music at the Mission, W. Milford, NJ  "Saints & Sinners," w/ Toby Walker

More dates being added all the time!
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Until next time:  many thanks, and warm regards,

Pat Wictor
patwictor@earthlink.net

www.patwictor.com
www.myspace.com/patwictor
http://twitter.com/patwictor
www.reverbnation.com/patwictor
www.youtube.com/patwictor

• - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  

I'm now on Twitter--for brief thoughts in between newsletters:
http://twitter.com/patwictor

• Buy Pat Wictor's latest CD "Sunset Waltz" at
  

CD Baby.com: http://www.cdbaby.com/wictor5
Amazon.com:  http://tinyurl.com/Amazon-Sunset  
    and
iTunes:  http://tinyurl.com/iTunes-Sunset

Tell your friends to subscribe. Point them here:  https://patwictor.com

**I now give lessons and coaching in guitar, songwriting, song interpretation, and performance,
in Brooklyn and on the road.   Email me for rates and scheduling:  
patwictor@earthlink.net

Do you want me to perform in your area, in your home, or at your event?
Contact my booking agent, McShane Glover   tel. 410-268-8232, or mcshane@mcnote.com



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                        contact info
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ABOUT PAT WICTOR
Modern Man's Rob Carlson says, "He not only is a great guy and a great talent, but I believe he has, follicle for follicle, the best hair in folk music.

If you are interested in booking Pat Wictor, contact McShane Glover:  
tel. 410-268-8232, or mcshane@mcnote.com

• Bio: https://patwictor.com and http://www.myspace.com/patwictor
  
• YouTube Videos: http://tinyurl.com/2vpo6p
  
• Contact Pat Wictor directly: patwictor@earthlink.net
  

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