[tasar]

We have a consensus....the "Dosey Doe" is a premium venue...guys, this is a place where the Texas Two-step and Square dancing are nightly sightings ...

[Danny Richie]

Update from Vienna Teng:


Hello my dear friends:

I just woke up from a full night's sleep in my own bed. Words cannot describe how fantastic this feels. It's been a while.

It's been a while for excellent reasons though: after taking finals (at the business school) and midterms (at the environmental school), I boarded a train (greener than flying, but boy is it slow) to New York, to spend spring break writing new music and playing a string of joyous, soul-restoring shows with the one and only Alex Wong. It's a blessed, balanced life and I'm so grateful to have it. Could just use a few more naps.

Before I dig back into studying today, here's some news about upcoming shows, new music and interviews, et cetera:

-------------------------
UPCOMING SHOWS

L.A. we're headed your way this Friday! It's a long-overdue return and a tardy mailing-list announcement; my apologies. Can't wait to play the Bootleg Theater, where all the cool kids come through these days. Then Sunday we head north for two shows at Oakland's venerable Yoshi's jazz club/Japanese tapas joint. I'm already hungry.

The Weekend Warrior tour continues through April and May, including a solo show with student string ensemble in Grand Rapids (April 9), a traipse through Texas and some first-time visits to lovely venues in the Midwest. And August belongs to Germany, with more dates to come!
       
http://fburls.com/0-4TDrNW4r/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522

% duo with Alex Wong (otherwise solo)

% MAR 11: LOS ANGELES, CA - Bootleg Theater
% MAR 13: OAKLAND, CA - Yoshi's (2 shows)
APR 1: THREE RIVERS, WI - Riviera Theatre
APR 2: GREEN LAKE, WI - Thrasher Opera House
APR 9: GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Calvin College (w/student string ensemble!)
% APR 15: DALLAS, TX - Rock House Films
% APR 16: HOUSTON, TX - Dosey Doe in The Woodlands
% APR 17: AUSTIN, TX - Stubb's
% APR 29: GRASS VALLEY, CA - Center for the Arts
% APR 30: SANTA CRUZ, CA - Rio Theatre
% MAY 20: OMAHA, NE - 1200 Club @ Holland Performing Arts Center
% MAY 21: MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
% MAY 22: EAST LANSING, MI - East Lansing Arts Festival

% AUG 9: íESTRICH-WINKEL, DE - Rheingau Musikfestival
% AUG 10: KíLN, DE - Altes Pfandhaus
% AUG 12: KASSEL, DE - Kulturzelt 

Follow @viennateng_news on Twitter and get updates as shows are added:
http://fburls.com/63-L2JnVW02/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522

Detailed tour calendar is always here:
http://fburls.com/0-4TDrNW4r/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522/

-------------------------
A SONG IN ONE DAY: DUBWAY DAYS ON BREAKTHRU RADIO

Last summer I got to reunite with fellow songwriter Ben Arthur (from the 2004 Modern Troubadours tour) and the excellent crew at Dubway Studios (where we recorded part of _Inland Territory_), to make the premiere episode of DUBWAY DAYS, their brand-new video series on the creative process.

The premise was to write, arrange and record a song in a single day. How'd it turn out? You can judge for yourself in the final installment...

http://fburls.com/54-0cJpAcGj/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522

-------------------------
NPR'S CALIFORNIA REPORT, EARPHORIA INTERVIEW

A couple of interviews I did a while back have aired recently:

A short piece about the song "City Hall" for NPR's California Report, in conjunction with current developments in the same-sex
marriage debate.
http://fburls.com/75-xEWU3I43/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522

A longer session with Earphoria.fm [8], complete with a cappella snippets of songs I grew up with, from backstage at the Outside Lands
festival in 2008.
http://fburls.com/20-sd5JoRM2/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522

-------------------------
COVER SONG ON KERRIGAN-LOWDERMILK ALBUM

Along with the Dubway Days session, last summer I also got to meet up with musical theatre composers Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk, to work on a re-interpretation of a song from their show _The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown_. It's now the opening track on their new album, _Our First Mistake_. You can listen to "Say The Word" and other songs from the album on the Kerrigan-Lowdermilk website ("My Party Dress" is my personal favorite):

http://fburls.com/79-ndoMCu1C/t/s/txt/cid/711003/sid/89369522

-------------------------
Thanks as always for reading, and for listening.

Much love,
VT

[jimdgoulding]

^^^^
Wow, $82 a pop, I paid $20 last year show in Dallas (front row seat)

Think I paid $22 to see she and AW at Nia Moves in Houston, a yoga center by day.  I imagine Nia Moves would host her again in a heartbeat.  Don't think Dosey Doe is the best place she could play, atmospherically or acoustically.  Need somebody to find you a good venue next time, Miss Teng? The Houston Audio Society or The Songbird Society can do that for you.  Just let me know.  Glad to help.

[dvenardos]

Thanks for posting Danny, I had to update my email address on her list. I am going to try and make it to the Friday show. 

[mhr]

Hi Danny,

Not to hijack your thread.

The woman that has caught my attention is from the UK.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at the radio station when this was recorded.

Different voice and style, equally compelling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT8ImfZJwMc&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAGL9gxhdHM&NR=1


Enjoy,

MHR

[grubyhalo]

Heard her voice (saw her video) for the first time yday and was mighty impressed! I'm hearing a voice with soul after a long long time!


P.S: Apologies for the OT

[Danny Richie]

New update:

Hello my friends:

At the beginning of the month, Alex and I wrote a little song using his waterphone, a wineglass and a whiskey bottle, called "The Breaking Light." The lyrics were written in a mad rush just before going onstage in Brooklyn, so we were navigating entirely by feel--one of those songs where the conscious mind isn't sure what it's about, but something tugs as the words go by, sung out loud.

Then we landed in L.A. a few weeks ago to sobering headlines: aftershocks, spent fuel rods, crowded floors without heat. "We should do something," Alex said. "How about we record the new song as a benefit single?" And with help from sound engineer Jamie and the gorgeous audience at Yoshi's Oakland, faithful taper/webmistress Michele Santiago, and the wonderful Eddie Jackson in the mixing studio, it's now on Alex's Bandcamp site for download.

LISTEN TO "THE BREAKING LIGHT" HERE:
http://alexwong.bandcamp.com/track/the-breaking-light-live-at-yoshis

Donation for download starts at $5, but feel free to give as much as you like. All proceeds benefit Direct Relief International (http://www.directrelief.org)--many thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who suggested effective relief groups working in Japan, and who've already raised more than $2,300! Note: we'll be sending all donations THIS FRIDAY, so download soon...

Everywhere I turn there's kindness and generosity. It's a turbulent world out there, but full of people reaching out to one another...it's an inspiration. Thanks for listening.

Much love,
VT

-------------------------
UPCOMING SHOWS

% duo w/Alex Wong (otherwise solo)

APR 1: THREE RIVERS, MI - Riviera Theatre
APR 2: GREEN LAKE, WI - Thrasher Opera House
APR 9: GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Calvin College _w/student string ensemble!_
% APR 15: DALLAS, TX - Rock House Films
% APR 16: HOUSTON, TX - Dosey Doe in The Woodlands
% APR 17: AUSTIN, TX - Stubb's
% APR 29: GRASS VALLEY, CA - Center for the Arts
% APR 30: SANTA CRUZ, CA - Rio Theatre
% MAY 20: OMAHA, NE - 1200 Club @ Holland Performing Arts Center
% MAY 21: MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
% MAY 22: EAST LANSING, MI - East Lansing Arts Festival

% AUG 9: íESTRICH-WINKEL, DE - Rheingau Musikfestival
% AUG 10: KíLN, DE - Altes Pfandhaus
% AUG 12: KASSEL, DE - Kulturzelt

[Danny Richie]

New e-mail update:

Winter's greetings!

I write to you from snowy Michigan, with thoughts of comfort and joy and a partridge in a pear tree—and a humble plea for your help. In brief:

* I've written a musical!
* It's a collaboration with award-winning playwright Tanya Shaffer, along with many other brilliant, hard-working people in theater.
* Now we're raising funds for the premiere production, and you can help get us there. (Psst: there are rewards involved, too.)

http://fburls.com/56-F6bubwGZ/t/s/txt/cid/796969/sid/89369522

Here's how it all started...

THE FOURTH MESSENGER

Way back in 2006, playwright Tanya Shaffer sent me an intriguing email: she was working on a piece that re-imagined the Buddha as a woman in contemporary times, hiding a mysterious past. It would be at once epic and intimate, comic and profound, investigating what it means to be both enlightened and human. Oh, and she'd always imagined it as a musical.

"A Broadway show about meditation?" I thought. "Buddhist teachings set to song-and-dance?" It sounded like pretty tricky terrain. But the story felt beautiful and important, and there's nothing like a challenge...

"I don't have any experience writing for musical theater," I told Tanya. "I'll have no idea what I'm doing."

"I've listened to your songs," she said. "I know you have it in you."

Now five years, several staged readings, countless drafts, lots of head-scratching, intense discussions, late nights and sudden epiphanies later, we have a musical called THE FOURTH MESSENGER. And its power has continually surprised me. In reading after reading, both audience and actors have come up to tell us that this is something special. It's not just good storytelling, they're saying; it goes beyond memorable songs. Something transformational is happening here.

So now we want to bring it to a wider audience.

We've decided to raise $80,000 to produce a four-to-six week run of "The Fourth Messenger" in early 2013. We hosted our first fundraiser in July and raised $35,000 in contributions, bringing us almost halfway to our goal.

Here's where you come in: we're raising the rest through an online IndieGoGo campaign. A generous donor has promised to match each contribution dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000. That means if you give $10, we get $20, if you give $50, we get $100, and onward and upward! The donor will deposit the matching grant every time we pass a $1000 benchmark, so you can watch online as our tally grows. Because we're fiscally sponsored, your gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. And of course, we've got perks that we'll send you for various levels of contribution.

http://fburls.com/56-F6bubwGZ/t/s/txt/cid/796969/sid/89369522

It doesn't take a village to bring a musical to life—more like a small nation. Thank you for being a part of ours.

With endless gratitude,
VT (and TS)

-------------------------

P.S. UPCOMING SHOWS

Advance tickets for December 30 are SOLD OUT! Since it's still weeks away, the Freight has added another show the night before. Spread the word, bring your friends, and we'll get the room good 'n cozy both Thursday and Friday.

**LIVE VIDEO STREAM** Can't make it to California? You can watch the whole thing in real time at Concert Window for a small fee. Wonders of technology. http://fburls.com/19-UzhxLdwb/t/s/txt/cid/796969/sid/89369522

I'll be playing solo and taking requests for old stuff, unfinished stuff, covers and so on. It'll be just like old times at Red Rock Coffee Company, minus the espresso grinder.

THU DEC 29: BERKELEY, CA - Freight & Salvage
http://fburls.com/79-LVDTU1oU/t/s/txt/cid/796969/sid/89369522

FRI DEC 30: BERKELEY, CA - Freight & Salvage
http://fburls.com/66-5Ldcbwwh/t/s/txt/cid/796969/sid/89369522

Details, as always, at
http://fburls.com/63-936vrv1g/t/s/txt/cid/796969/sid/89369522
----------------------------------------
Vienna Teng sent this email to info@gr-research.com
Questions? Contact vienna@viennateng.com or Vienna Teng, c/o Deep South Entertainment, PO Box 17737, Raleigh, North Carolina 27619, United States

[celebrat]

hey while this is not live, I came across this link at the Tupelo Hall website. I have not tried this yet but I noticed Vienna Teng is on the schedule. Check it out.

http://concertwindow.com/folk-subscribe/schedule

Tupelo is a small venue I have a food concession at. I get to see great live music for free. Actually I get paid. How bad is that 

[Danny Richie]

A new e-mail from VT:


Happy almost New Year! Hope your holidays so far have been as festive, restful, reflective or fruitful as you want them to be...

Just got back from Yosemite National Park (no snow, but still plenty of good phone-camera fussing to be had). Now I'm packing the car to head up to Berkeley for soundcheck at the Freight & Salvage, and thought I'd mention a few things as you wind down your 2011:

* LIVE STREAMING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW'S SHOWS
* DREAMING THROUGH THE NOISE SONGBOOK PRE-ORDER
* PERSONALIZED LIVE ALBUM BOOK TO SUPPORT KIVA MICROLOANS
* THE FOURTH MESSENGER UPDATE: WOW! LET'S KEEP GOING!

-------------------------
LIVE STREAMING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW'S SHOWS

It's going to be a full house both nights at the Freight & Salvage! A few tickets are still available at the door (Friday's will be standing room).

Geography or post-Christmas pocketbook making it tough to join us? You can watch the whole thing in real time at Concert Window for just $3:

http://concertwindow.com/thefreight

(Note: you'll need Flash 10+ and decently fast internet. See the Concert Window FAQ for technical requirements.)

THU DEC 29 & FRI DEC 30: BERKELEY, CA - FREIGHT & SALVAGE
http://www.thefreight.org/node/2070
http://www.thefreight.org/node/1839

-------------------------
DREAMING THROUGH THE NOISE SONGBOOK PRE-ORDER

David Beattie's done it again! After months of painstaking work, he's completed the piano songbook for Dreaming Through the Noise. This was a particularly challenging one, since I wrote this collection of songs with ensemble rather than solo piano in mind; this book showcases David's arrangement talents as well as his keen transcribing ear. Hope it brings much enjoyment to all of you fellow piano players, singers, and human-powered home karaoke systems.

Pre-orders ship January 20.
http://viennateng.portmerch.com/stores/product.php?productid=18023&cat=281&page=1

-------------------------
PERSONALIZED LIVE ALBUM BOOK TO SUPPORT KIVA

As winter semester kicks off at school, I'll be looking for new ways to procrastinate on job interview prep and schoolwork. What better way than to scribble notes to you and your friends—and support a smart nonprofit at the same time?

Through the end of January, the good people at Port Merchandise will be taking orders for personalized copies of The Moment Always Vanishing book: the collection of photos, essays, and fan artwork that accompanies the 2009 live recording I made with the multi-talented Alex Wong.

$15 of each book sale will fund loans through Kiva, a great nonprofit that connects micro-lenders like you and me with small business owners around the world. (Fun footnote: turns out Kiva founder Matt Flannery listens to my music and comes to Bay Area shows whenever he can—thanks Matt!)

http://viennateng.portmerch.com/stores/product.php?productid=18003&cat=321&page=1
http://www.kiva.org/about

-------------------------
UPDATE ON THE FOURTH MESSENGER: WOW! LET'S KEEP GOING!

I had no idea, my friends. Within 24 hours of my last email, over $10,000 in donations came in to support the premiere production of our musical The Fourth Messenger. Within a week, our IndieGoGo campaign reached our initial fundraising goal of $20,000! Tanya and I are thrilled, humbled, and incredibly grateful. Thank you so, so much.

For a new theater production, this is wonderful news on so many levels. First and foremost, it means there's an audience for this work—we're excited that this has struck a chord with so many of you! It also takes pressure off future fundraising efforts, such as grant-writing and hosting special events, and allow us to focus more of our time on refining the actual artistic product. Finally, if we can sustain this momentum, we may be able to devote resources to ensuring a life for this piece well beyond the initial production—making studio-quality recordings of selected pieces, for example, that we can later submit to theaters and festivals around the country.

All of which means: we still need your help spreading the word and meeting our full production budget! After meeting our $20,000 benchmark, we still have another $25,000 to raise before we reach our larger goal. The more of that we can raise via IndieGoGo, the more we can focus our efforts in 2012 on making the musical itself the best it can possibly be.

Note: DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE. You'll get a receipt from our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, for the amount of your donation minus any perks you've opted to receive. 

Again, heartfelt thanks to all of you who've already generously given your support to this project. We truly couldn't do this without you. So glad you're on this journey with us!

http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Fourth-Messenger-FA

Purchase securely here:
Amazon: http://fburls.com/32-xXeMo561
iTunes: http://fburls.com/34-6PcrpmV3

[Danny Richie]

Another e-mail from Vienna:


Greetings from tornado country. (Camping out in the downstairs bathroom last night, I finally understood Twitter's true usefulness.)

When the storm finally settled down, I headed back to the piano to practice for the show this Saturday.
"Wait—what show? Where?"
My living room, and you're invited! I've chosen school over touring lately, but you can still catch me performing on StageIt, a great live online concert service. Tried it out back in February and had a splendid time—thanks to all of you who joined in the fun!)

Once a month from March through August, I'll perform a solo show from home on StageIt. The first shows will each feature one album; then I'll move on to more unusual stuff, including completely on-the-spot improvised material.

The full series calendar:
http://www.stageit.com/viennateng

By individual show:
17 MAR: SONGS FROM WAKING HOUR
http://www.stageit.com/vienna_teng/songs_from_waking_hour/7619

14 APR: SONGS FROM WARM STRANGERS
http://www.stageit.com/vienna_teng/songs_from_warm_strangers/7620

12 MAY: SONGS FROM DREAMING THROUGH THE NOISE
http://www.stageit.com/vienna_teng/songs_from_dreaming_through_the_noise/7621

9 JUN: SONGS FROM INLAND TERRITORY
http://www.stageit.com/vienna_teng/songs_from_inland_territory/7622

7 JUL: COVERS AND RARITIES
http://www.stageit.com/vienna_teng/covers_and_rarities/7623

4 AUG: NEW SONGS AND IMPROVISATIONS
http://www.stageit.com/vienna_teng/new_songs_and_improvisations/7624

All shows start at 6:00PM EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME and run for 30 minutes (the maximum allowed, though I promise I'll always play a good long encore). 

TICKETS START AT JUST $1 and may sell out quickly, so get yours in advance if you know you'll want to tune in. Hope to see you online!
http://www.stageit.com/viennateng

-------------------------
UPCOMING TEDx PERFORMANCES

I'm honored to be invited by not one but *both* schools I've attended to perform at their TEDx conferences this year. Lineup and ticket info have yet to be announced for either, but here are the dates if you're curious:

30 MAR: TEDxUofM http://tedxuofm.com/
19 MAY: TEDxStanford http://tedx.stanford.edu/

-------------------------
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Because a business student thinks in bullet points:

* Will be staying in Michigan after graduation and moving to Detroit. It's an exciting, challenging place right now, and I love the friends I've met who make their home in the city: artistic, entrepreneurial, generous, fearless people. I go where I find inspiration, and Detroit is a rich source. Also having a great time leading the Revitalization & Business Initiative at school: http://www.revitalizationandbusiness.com/

* Will be spending this summer working at McKinsey & Company. I admit I was skeptical about management consulting (what is that exactly?), but turns out there are few better training grounds for learning how to problem-solve on a big scale: http://www.mckinsey.com/Client_Service/Social_Sector

* "The Fourth Messenger" got an incredible gift of life through the IndieGoGo campaign—profound gratitude to everyone who contributed, and look for a personal thank-you from Tanya and me soon! We're meeting for another intensive editing/writing workshop in May, and will try out new music at a fundraising dinner at Savory Thymes on May 20: http://www.tanyashaffer.com/latest.htm. The premiere is set for Jan-Feb 2013 at the Ashby Stage in Berkeley, CA.

* Serving on the board of directors of the local food co-op, trying to build a stronger connection with the student population in Ann Arbor. Just helped get a university grant to open a grocery kiosk on campus promoting sustainable agriculture.

* Attempting to spend this year tracking my day-to-day habits: sleep patterns, food and exercise, how often I lose my keys, etc. (Apparently there's an entire subculture of geeks who do this.) Maybe I can use the data in an artistic project somehow...

Love and unseasonable weather,
VT

[Early B.]

I know I'm arriving late to the party, but I "discovered" Vienna Teng a few months ago after reading this thread. I ran out and purchased the Waking Hour CD. Awesome material, and I'm very picky when it comes to female vocalists. Add my name to the list of AC Teng fans. I'll keep an eye out for her live concert appearance in my neck of the woods.

[minisq]

I'm a big fan as well, and if you check out her FB page you will see she is starting to broadcast some live acoustic stuff from her house...i think there is one tonight. She is performing her first album live.

woops..i see danny already posted this info...sorry.

[woodsyi]

Tracked down her second album, Warm Strangers, released in vinyl in Holland and placed an order for 15 Euros.  Not sure what the shipping will be.