Carsie Blanton: Inform

Fiddles & Frets
At the Appel Farm Festival, I was interviewed by Ray Naylor, who hosts an internet radio program called Fiddles and Frets:
http://www.live365.com/stations/raynaylor

Fiddles & Frets Interviews can also be found on Podhoster: http://raynaylor.podhoster.com/

Check it out!

The NewSong contest is a national songewriting contest that's been going on for years. I just found out I'm a finalist in the regional round for the Northeast (winners of the regional rounds go on to the national round). The finals take place next Sunday, June 17th, at Joe's Pub in NYC. Wish me luck!

Got two full-length articles this week in several local papers: the Ticket, which runs in local papers in Montgomery, Chester and Bucks Counties; and the Doylestown Intelligencer. Both reviews were extensive, thoughtful, and very favorable! Thanks!

It's official: I'll be playing both Appel Farm Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival this summer! Come out to see me, along with Joan Armatrading, Amos Lee, Leon Redbone and other fantastically talented people.

I have videos on youtube!

Ain't So Green is now on itunes. Go here to see it in the itunes store!

Details http://www.newsongfestival.com/contest/

I just decided to post a song (new or old) every month on the "music" page along with a little story. I'll make it fully downloadable for its celebratory month, and post the lyrics as well. Enjoy!

I was just pleasantly surprised to fund myself among the likes of Billy Corgan and Franz Ferdinand on the website of the lovely Mr. Patrick Fraser, photographer extraordinaire. Go to http://patrickfraserphotography.com/index2.html , click "Music", and find my thumbnail to get a little stardust. Thanks so much to Patrick for his extreme generousity - he plucked me up at the Joshua Tree music festival in 2004 and extended and offer to shoot me, free, any time. What a dude!

If you bought a copy of "Ain't So Green", I am officially endorsing that you make copies and give them away! Here's my only request: when you burn copies, use a sharpie to write my name, the album name, AND my website address on the CD. That way, if anyone wants to buy one, they can find it.

If you make three copies, and want to make more, please consider buying another copy first. If you can't afford it, don't worry about it. But if you can, please do!

I don't like to play in bars, because they don't let in the youth, and people are drunk and drunk people don't listen very well. I am not "big" enough to play in sit-down venues, and well-attended coffeehouses are few and far between. My solution is as follows:

A house party tour! Playing house parties is fabulous; people listen, I don't need a sound system, and I get to have good, contactful conversations with my audience during and after the show. Here's my offer: If you can find 20 or 30 people to attend, and provide food and a house, I'll do my best to come play at your house. The only other variable is transportation, and depending on where you are, I may be able to cover it myself. If you can pay for it, I'll come.

Now, I don't know if this is interesting to anyone, but if it is, let me know! Email me (check the "contact" page) and we'll discuss it.

I am here in VA, doting over my boxes of CDs, which are real material objects in the physical world! Check the photo page to see the cover.

Hey y'all, I entered the Plowshares Singer-Songwriter competition last week, and I'm a finalist! Plowshares (www.plowsharesmusic.org) is a coffeehouse in Philadelphia, and I'll be performing there on 3/18/06 to a panel of judges, along with nine other finalists. Wish me luck! And, if you're in the area, come on down and cheer for me!

The graphics are finally together and at Oasis (the manufacturer I'm using. www.oasiscd.com). The album will be pressed on Monday 11/21! There is a 17-20 day turnaround, so I can expect them by early Dec. I am planning my Eugene release in January.