Tuesday, February 28, 2012

March News

I have sure been having a lot of fun with my music activities.   The outreach available now through the internet is fantastic and enables independent musicians like me to be visible and find people who like my music.  My CDs are up on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and other spots, and I have had sales as far away as Quebec, Germany and Bolivia.   I have been getting radio play in the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and a quite a few stations here in the US.     And I am getting some nice press.   Here is a link to my most recent review, from Indie Showcase in Australia: http://www.indieshowcase.net/index.php?topic=983.0     (When you get there, scroll down the page.) 

I have updated my website  and will be doing more work on it in the next couple of months.   My biggest priority now is learning video and animation (so that I can go viral on YouTube, YES !!).    I have been improving my music-making skills, studying fiddle with Chad Manning (I am so lucky !!), working on my guitar chops, adding in a bit more harmonica, and learning foot tap accompaniment  (Thank you, Ray Bonneville:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOwdBM554us&feature=related !!)   I just took a workshop from Pierre Minn on the infectious foot tapping that Quebecois fiddlers do .   (Check out this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUHXOkp5BmQ&feature=related )

Of course, I am having fun playing with my  Don't Look Back buddies (John Bidwell, Brian Bloom,  Richard Moore, and Dale Scott J and we  play out about once a month.   Also having fun working up songs with Zoe Carter and Maria Kersey, and with Dorcas Moulton, and I am playing out some solo.  Between performing and rehearsing, and all the jam sessions there are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am getting more than enough playing in.   (I have been seeing a physical therapist to help me with the ravages of fiddling and guitar picking.  Too much fun can be grueling.)

Not writing any songs at the moment and it will probably be awhile before I have new ones to share, but I hope to have some videos up on YouTube in a few weeks.   I'll let you know.

I hope you are doing great.   If you have any feedback or any  favorite stuff you want to share, I would love to hear from you.

All the best,

John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever . . .