New tour info from Vienna Teng

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persisting1

Re: New tour info from Vienna Teng
« Reply #20 on: 3 Jan 2014, 01:26 am »
Quote
The newer stuff sounds more mixed for radio, and to busy. The first album was made for the audiophile.

This happens too many times when an artist loses creative control when signing to labels. Not saying this is what happened here, but I understand what you mean.

Danny Richie

Re: New tour info from Vienna Teng
« Reply #21 on: 11 Aug 2015, 04:20 pm »
New message from Vienna Teng:


Hello friends! Hope this finds you soaking in summer glow (or for my Southern Hemisphere friends, hope your winter has been cool and kind). 

I know it’s been quite a while since the last newsletter and this isn’t a full update, but I wanted to share some exciting news: Recently I've been back in the recording studio—this time to help create an album of songs from _The Fourth Messenger_!

http://thefourthmessenger.com/

In case you're in the "wait, what's that?" camp: this is the musical that playwright Tanya Shaffer and I created about a contemporary female Buddha figure, Mama Sid, and the investigative reporter who gets her to open up about her past. It sold out of its premiere run at Ashby Stage in Berkeley back in 2013, and we had lots of folks asking how they could experience it outside of a live performance...so Tanya has unleashed her creative-mastermind skills once again to produce a studio recording. And I'm singing the part of Mama Sid on the album—my first time performing in a theatrical role!

http://thefourthmessenger.com/the-inaugural-post/

I have pretty big shoes to fill, as some amazing theatre artists have portrayed Mama Sid on stage, including the great Annemaria Rajala (who's also a yoga teacher in real life!) and the fearless Cathleen Riddley. In fact, Annemaria and Cathleen are both part of this studio recording, along with several cast members from the premiere production (fierce & talented Anna Ishida, Reggie White and Barnaby James), along with stellar Broadway performers Cailan Rose and Pierce Peter Brandt and many other vocal talents. The ever-luminous songwriter/composer Noe Venable plays my mother. The list goes on. No pressure.

Oh, and I've been learning to, y'know, ACT (voice acting, anyway). If you've ever wanted to hear me lead a group through a guided meditation, sing as a six-year-old, get all hot and bothered in a lover's tango, or wail in raw grief, this is your chance. Thank goodness director Matt August (who helmed the premiere production) and Tanya were there to guide me through it, and that I got to emote to orchestrator/music director Ryan O'Connell's fine arrangements. Producer-engineer Brad Dollar and all at Zoo Labs have been absolutely top-notch too.

You can trace our progress in the studio on Facebook, including pics from Aims tour photographer Karen Shih:
https://www.facebook.com/TheFourthMessenger

and pre-order the album on Gumroad or Bandcamp:
https://gumroad.com/thefourthmessenger
https://thefourthmessenger.bandcamp.com/

The album is slated for release on October 27. I’ll be doing two album release shows in the Bay Area in early November, with special guests from the recording cast. The show will be almost all _Fourth Messenger _songs, followed by a meet-and-greet and CD signing, then an all-request solo "afterparty" set for those of you who've enjoyed the December show tradition.

SATURDAY 7 NOV 2015: BERKELEY CA - FREIGHT & SALVAGE
http://freightandsalvage.org/vienna-teng-7

SUNDAY 8 NOV 2015: MILL VALLEY CA - THROCKMORTON THEATRE
http://throckmortontheatre.org/event/vienna-tang-songs-from-the-fourth-messenger-album-release/

More to come!

Much love,
VT

Danny Richie

Re: New tour info from Vienna Teng
« Reply #22 on: 11 Jul 2016, 01:36 pm »
New info.

Now it begins. Vienna Teng's 1-week West Coast tour. If you are in Vancouver, the Pacific Northwest, or Northern California, go. You will thank me. Tickets to some shows (Seattle and Stanford, at least) are in very short supply, so act fast.
Shows:
Vancouver, BC July 10 - today!
Seattle July 11
Portland July 12
Sacramento July 15
Stanford July 16

Danny Richie

Re: New tour info from Vienna Teng
« Reply #23 on: 24 Jun 2017, 07:27 pm »
New update 6-24-17

[http://www.nymf.org/festival/2017-events/fourth-messenger]

Hello my lovelies. As usual, it's been a good long while. I hope
you're thriving, surviving, savoring joy wherever you find it, being
brave—all that good stuff.

I'm sitting in the hallway of a rehearsal studio in NYC, after the
first full read-through of _THE FOURTH MESSENGER
[https://www.facebook.com/TheFourthMessenger/]_ for the NEW YORK
MUSICAL FESTIVAL
[http://www.nymf.org/festival/2017-events/fourth-messenger]. Over the
past few hours I've gotten goosebumps, teared up, burst out laughing,
and felt my heart reach out in all directions at once. And I'm now
camped out in the hallway, as a symphony of noise pours from the other
rehearsal rooms, mulling over what just happened.

It's strange and wonderful to listen to something partly of your own
creation after some time away, immersed in other things. It allows you
to be tricked into hearing it as though for the first time; the ego
momentarily forgets you were ever involved. (The ruse is harder with
my solo stuff, where my voice is inescapable.) When I was in the thick
of the writing of this piece, the world premiere production in
Berkeley, and the album recording, I had to live in fix-it mode: does
it work? What do we need to adjust? What are our options? And to be
honest, sometimes I'd just get down on the whole thing, out of
exhaustion or frustration: you know what, whatever. Let's leave it. It
is all that it's going to be at this point.

But today I sat in the room and just listened, innocently. And what
struck me is how remarkable a story Tanya has woven, together with her
many collaborators, and how relevant it feels in this moment. It is a
story about a Buddha figure, but to me it's as much about how you
build a bridge across an unbridgeable divide. What do you do when
someone has caused you irreparable harm, for their own good reasons
that they don't regret? What does it mean to participate in a greater
movement that asks you to subsume your personal needs, or other
callings? How do you lean into the discomfort of reckoning with your
responsibilities as a human being? The two main characters begin their
journeys in their respective bubbles—as most of us do. As they move
on collision course, a cynical taste for scandal and a yearning for
real community drive the action in equal measure. That all feels
timely, too.

Of course the version of _The Fourth Messenger_ I heard today _is_ new
in many ways. The pacing is tighter, the plotlines intersecting more
elegantly than I remember. The funny bits are funnier. The speech
patterns and idioms for several characters feels more authentic.
There's a rewrite with a new musical reprise near the end that makes
total sense (why didn't I think of that, years ago?). And just as
we've been lucky to have a superb cast, creative team, and crew for
every incarnation of this musical, the group for this New York run is
no exception. I'm particularly dazzled at the moment by Samia Mounts
[https://www.instagram.com/p/BVpzWPShO9G/], who plays Raina with a mix
of ferocity, humor and tenderness all her own, and who also happens to
host a fascinating podcast called Make America Relate Again
[https://www.makeamericarelatepodcast.com/]. Life-imitating-art
casting is awesome.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN NEW YORK JULY 18-23, OR CAN BE, I REALLY HOPE
YOU COME SEE IT. (Daveed Diggs from _Hamilton_ says
[https://www.facebook.com/daveedDdiggs/posts/10155596419686015?pnref=story]
you should too, which leaves me a bit starstruck.) On any given night,
chances are I'll be in some nearby seat in the Acorn Theatre, taking
it in with you.

Love,
VT

Danny Richie

Re: New tour info from Vienna Teng
« Reply #24 on: 23 Sep 2022, 03:17 pm »
I know, this is an old thread, but I have some new updates for those of you that love Vienna Teng.

If you haven't caught one of her shows then catch one if you can. She is really good.

I got this email from her today:


Hi Danny,

It's been a moment. Years, really. I'm very grateful you're still clicking on my messages.

I'm writing you because I'm returning to music!

We've just confirmed several tour dates for October and December. I've upgraded my home streaming setup and will be playing monthly informal shows from my living room. There are new songs in the works, coalescing bit by bit.

I’m also finally getting around to recording and releasing "We've Got You." If you haven't heard that one live yet, it's a pair of songs in different styles and from different perspectives, that I wrote to be playable simultaneously. A ready-made mashup, if you will. A musical expression of holding two truths in your head at the same time.

There’s a new way to support me in doing all this: Patreon, where you can become a patron of my work. For now there's one membership tier: $5 / month. In addition to monthly patron-only streaming shows from my living room - starting this Saturday - you'll also get early access to anything I release publicly.

That's all for now. As ever, I would love to hear how you're doing. I am terrible at replying, but I always read every word.

Love,
VT

Show calendar (* = monthly streaming show for Patreon members)

*Saturday, 24 Sep @ 14:00 EDT - Live @ Home #1​
Tuesday, 25 Oct @ 20:00 EDT - Cambridge, MA: Club Passim​
Wednesday, 26 Oct @ 19:00 EDT - New York, NY: Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2​
*Saturday, 29 Oct @ 14:00 EDT - Live @ Home #2
Saturday, 29 Oct @ 20:00 EDT - Washington, DC: The Hamilton​
Sunday, 30 Oct @ 19:30 EDT - Annapolis, MD: Rams Head On Stage​
*Saturday, 19 Nov @ 14:00 EST - Live @ Home #3
Friday, 16 Dec @ 20:00 EST - Ann Arbor, MI: The Ark​
Wednesday, 28 Dec @ 20:00 PST - Berkeley, CA: Freight & Salvage​
Thursday, 29 Dec @ 20:00 PST - Berkeley, CA: Freight & Salvage​