I am so excited about my new project, an all-female band of all-star proportions! The Daphnes will be playing our debut concert at the swanky Sorrento Hotel on March 7th. We’ll be playing 2 sets of original material starting at 7:30pm.
The Daphnes are: Monica Schley, harp/vocal;
Julie Baldridge, violin;
Lori Goldston, cello;
Anne Matthews, vocal
The following week, The Daphnes will be at Egan’s in Ballard. March is Women’s History Month. We’re playing a bill of Women in Music Thurs. March 12, 9pm with the amazing jazz duo Syrinx Effect:
I guess I’m one of those people who like a Top 10 List – what can I say?
2014 was a pretty decent year. It had some fun pockets of rising high, but it also had the plunges. These may not be the best photos of the year literally, but the sentiments that go along with them are. Also, they’re not numbered in any particular importance.
Weddings!
I played some lovely weddings in 2014, solo harp, or with my cellist friend Maria. This is a photo that I use on my new promotional postcard, taken by Malcom Smith.
wedding harpist
Therapeutic Bedside Music I began Level 2 in the Harp for Healing Program to become a Certified Clinical Musician (CCM). Right now I play weekly at Highline Hospital in Burien. 2015 is the year I’m looking for paid work in this field. I look very forward to bringing therapeutic to hospitals, hospices, nursing homes and elsewhere and having folks get in touch with me about having harp come to them!
Songwriters Showcase
Back in February I played at Egan’s in Ballard with a small group of three other songwriters. I was immensely pleased to be on the ticket with Cynthia Alexander, Cynthia Marie and Camelia Jade & Mike Antone.
Songwriters Showcase
Stephen Goes Back To Painting
When I met my husband 10 years ago, he was a full-time illustrator for print advertising, magazines, books, and fine art. Since that time the market for his work has taken a deep plunge and he’s moved to web design, consulting, logo design, marketing… the whole package deal for start-up and small businesses. One of those businesses in early 2014 was Majdor. This client wanted him to paint a piece for the cover of the home page, as well as design the website and other marketing materials. It was wonderful to watch him create art again! Zephyr thought he did a good job too.
Stephen Goes Back to Painting
Birthday Recording Session
My Early-March birthday comes at the armpit of winter. The time when snow gets ugly and melted, when the sky constantly drizzles, and when there is only a faint inkling of crocuses starting their accent. It seems like the world is so dull. By February, I begin to feel trapped by winter – but then I turn the calendar and my birthday saves me! With its celebration of cake and kinship, it truly feels like I survived another year! This year, I went to Carkeek Park with my friend Julie Baldridge and picked up flotsom garbage from low-tide. Then, we came back to my place and did a recording session. It was a fabulous day.
Carkeek Park Feather
Goodbye Franklin Cat (2007-2014)
Franklin left us the week before Halloween. Franklin (aka Good Buddy, Buddy, Bud, Frank, FranKitty, Franklin Delano RooseKatz) is really really missed. He was slighted his nine lives! Troubled with several health problems, we just couldn’t fix his collapsed lung. He was such a special, gentle cat – never a swipe, claw or hiss. He went out to “In A Silent Way” in the end. We took this photo the day before he died.
Goodbye Franklin Cat
Now I’m Fine
I am honored, thrilled and left with a loss for words about how grateful I am to be a part of Ahamefule Oluo’s Now I’m Fine. With four amazing shows in early December, we sold out On The Boards before we began. Reviews were terrific and to make maters even more exciting, the album (which I also recorded on this summer) was simultaneously released and has been attracting a lot of positive attention. I didn’t even realize it, but this photo below was chosen to be the cover spread of On The Boards’ season booklet.
Photo of the year (in my opinion!) for Aham Oluo's "Now I'm Fine" (L. to R. - Monica Schley, Evan Flory-Barnes, Bryant Moore, Ahamefule J. Oluo, Soulchilde Bluesun)
Port Townsend Getaway
This is sort of personal, but my husband Stephen and I haven’t had a childless getaway in four years. There’s a lot of reasons for that, I won’t share, but I wanted to post this photo because it captured a certain bliss and spontaneity we’ve been able to retain for 10 years.
Love Port Townsend
Drumming at Folklife
Space Needle. Cute kid on a drum set. Folklife Festival. This photo kicked off summer.
Neighborhood Shot
I took this on a random day in the fall, after spending all day cooped up practicing or working on the computer or being mom in the house, this was my 15 minutes to break away outside alone! The afternoon lighting was eerie and peaceful and made me feel very content to live in Seattle, my rainy home.
There is much to be thankful for, and three things I’ve got gratitude for are these upcoming concerts. The month kicks off with a big 4-day show!
Photo of the year (in my opinion!) for Aham Oluo’s “Now I’m Fine” (L. to R. – Monica Schley, Evan Flory-Barnes, Bryant Moore, Ahamefule J. Oluo, Soulchilde Bluesun)
Comedian/musician/captivating storyteller Ahamefule Oluo leads a team of talented musicians in a grand-scale experimental pop opera about keeping it together. Drawing from darkly funny personal stories about illness, despair, and regeneration, Now I’m Fine ranges from intimate to epic, featuring a 17-piece orchestra and a spectacular cast of performers including Okanomodé Soulchilde, Samantha Boshnack, Josh Rawlings, Evan Flory-Barnes, D’Vonne Lewis, myself on harp and many more. Get your tickets now if you plan to come! All four nights will sell out!
“…a master storyteller who has somehow managed to cram approximately 56 tragic, awkward, hilarious, blistering lifetimes into his 30-odd years.”
– The Stranger
AHAMEFULE OLUO is a composer, comedian, and trumpet player. Oluo was the first Artist-in-Residence at Town Hall in Seattle. A longtime writing partner of comedian Hari Kondabolu, he has performed nationally with bands including Das Racist and Hey Marseilles, and is a fixture in the local and national comedy scenes. His garage-jazz quartet Industrial Revelation won the 2014 Stranger Genius Award in the music category.
$23 | $25 WEEK OF SHOW https://ontheboards.secure.force.com/ticket/#details_a0SF000000AcgZ9MAJ
Take a magical stroll through a botanical garden. Krukenberg Botanical Garden is hosting a Solstice Stroll through their forest wonderland – LED lights strung on trees, sipping hot cider and yours truly playing harp under covering in a meadow. Gnomes live here! Family friendly.
“Harp Carols” is a self-produced CD celebrating Europe’s music of 15th – 19th Century holiday season. Songs like “Lo How a Rose” “Carol of the Bells” and “Greensleeves” will transport you to a place of ancient calm. I’ll be playing from this Christmas album as well as new original songs for harp + voice.
Last year, I released a full-length album “Harp Carols” for the Christmas season. This is an album dedicated to my mother Nancy, who had been asking for something like this from me for over a decade – what a wait!
I’ll be performing the album songs live in December (more on that coming up). CDs will be available at a number of gift shops during the Holiday Season, but if you just can’t wait…
“Harp Carols” is a collection of ancient noels on solo harp and features clarinetist Rosalyn DeRoos on the last song. All songs are traditional Christmas carols except track 7, an improvisation on Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane,” and track 10, “Journey to the Magi,” an original tune a la Alice Coltrane with influence by the T.S. Eliot poem. “Harp Carols” celebrates Europe’s music of 15th Century – 19th Century holiday season and will transport you to a place of Old World calm during this winter’s busiest month.
I’ve also been in the studio recording for my own album of original songs, practicing with a bunch with lovely women with gorgeous harmonies (with my little girl running around between us). Its been a pretty amazing time.
Here’s a photo album.
He's got some 'splainin' to do Sam & MeHarp ChartIn-Studio Selfie at Macklemore & Ryan Lewis'
Julie Baldridge and I recorded a handful of song last spring on my birthday this year. She’s a violinist friend I’ve been playing with for a decade, but she recently moved to San Francisco. We hadn’t played together for quite a while, but all in a short span of time, she was in town, we made plans to play, and on that day I said, “Hey, would you like to record this?”
Most of what we came up with was improvised, like this song – “For Elsie”
We also recorded a song I had previously written, “In the Shadows (of Enchantment)”. I was so pleased. Julie followed the harp so well, but of course she would – just moments before I pressed record she said to me, “half of music is listening.”
What have I been doing this past month? A month in the life of this mama musician looks something like this:
Wednesday – Bought a violin bow. It was a hot day. Zephyr didn’t want to go to the music store, but then I couldn’t get her to leave. Afterward we visited the library. Tuesday – Biked across the University Bridge and got stuck when it was up. Watched tug boats, sky and water ripple while I waited. Later on, I worked on a new song about polar ice melt. Monday – Only one student to teach today. She wanted to work on “Jingle Bells” again, even though its the end of the school year. Sunday – Played the second annual harp/piano duet concert with Josh for Mother’s Day… “Georgia On My Mind” and “Love Theme from Spartacus”… Four hours went quickly by… Saturday – Afternoon photoshoot at a bar with tons of make-up and big hair. Colors were purple and gold. I wore a gown and the men wore three piece suits, except for Soulchile who looked like an Egyptian pharoah sprayed with gold.
Photo of the year (in my opinion!) for Aham Oluo's "Now I'm Fine" (L. to R. - Monica Schley, Evan Flory-Barnes, Bryant Moore, Ahamefule J. Oluo, Soulchilde Bluesun)
Friday – Visited a friend for astrological assistance with clairvoyant tips: Words are not my strong suit right now. I should focus on non-verbal communication like playing music. Fair enough. Thursday – Motherhood at the beach. We had a picnic of hummus and bread, berries and juice. Tide was low and we collected stones and shells but threw them all back in the Sound. Wednesday – Heard an inspiring concert at The Chapel Performance Space. The moon was full of springtime blossoms. Tuesday – Invoiced clients and did paperwork. Monday – Learned the difference between a contract and an invoice. Sunday – Went on a date downtown with my hubby to hear friends play a jazz concert. The Teaching was our wedding band. Saturday – Happy Anniversary to us! Its the year of iron. We bought a new car!
Friday – Purchased new sheet music, “Mad World” for an upcoming harp/cello wedding. Thursday – Recording session on a warm day and stayed remarkably in tune most of the time. Earlier in the day, my family and I attended a school picnic to celebrate May Day. Wednesday – Edited soundfiles from a live concert last winter and uploaded them to Soundcloud.
Tuesday – Rehearsal in the living room with Anne, learning new songs and harmonies. Monday – Day job at the office. Taught students. Ate vegetarian meatballs. Sunday – Told Zephyr a “story from my head” about a lost dragon who gets stuck in a cave at high tide. A boy passing in a boat hears the dragon crying and they make friends. In the morning, they make a passage when the water is low. Saturday – Played a Catholic funeral mass. Friday – Played a Chinese Buddhist gravesite funeral, then played a gay wedding in a conservatory with the mayor officiating.
Thursday – Negotiated contracts and updated my website. Wednesday – Sent paperwork to hospital for therapeutic bedside music. Tuesday – Had the landlords over for Mediterannean dinner and guilt-free fruit dessert for our lease renewal. Monday – Woke early and journaled. Went to an African dance class and rehearsed harp/cello duets with Maria. Sunday – Took the ferry over to Bainbridge for a healing harps summit and had a glorious time eating and playing music all day. In the evening: rested.
Next month, May 20th, my long time friend and collaborator, Julie Baldridge, and I are playing violin and harp duets.
This is a Private Concert at a Women Only Spa, The Hothouse. Live music soundtrack to a relaxing soak!
To reserve your place at this concert, send email to deliciousviolin@gmail.com
We offer two shows:
Early show is 7-8:30 pm
Late show is 9-10:30 pm
Space is limited to 14 women for each show due to the size of the space, $20-40 sliding scale donation is requested
Sometimes, I write fan mail. Yes, I do! Who doesn’t like positive vibrations? Last year I wrote to Regina Specktor. No response. Of course, I don’t really expect to hear back from these busy full-time artists that don’t know me. That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised this week when I heard back from someone I reached out to!
I wrote to Claudia Schmidt, seasoned singer/songwriter and prolific folk and jazz recording artist from the Midwest. Here’s my email to her below and her thoughtful response:
January 6, 2014
Dear Claudia,
I came upon your music by pleasant surprise. To me, it was magic really. If you don’t mind indulging me here, I’d like to share the story with you.
It was this last October. I was in the car in the middle of the night. I had just dropped my husband off at Sea-Tac airport so he could fly to New England and move his mother into assisted living. It was an emotionally heavy departure and a surreal feeling to be awake and functioning at 4:30 in the morning. Our 2 ½ year old daughter was in the back seat, barely awake, piecing together the family tree aloud with her little baby voice. It was still pitch black as we drove north to our Seattle home. Then, around the curve of 1-5 the lights of the city appeared. I was listening to KEXP and your song “Persephone’s Song” came on. That song was exactly the journey of that drive for me. Persephone and Demeter, the mother and daughter. The black departure into the unknown underworld.
As a harpist, hearing the harp played always catches my ear. I turned up the music. I wasn’t sure if you were singing and playing? Who is this harpist? What is this song? I was hypnotized. We girls were quiet in the darkness as we listened to you sing “I need my rainy days.” We were on the edge of our own rainy days, the ones that make Seattle iconic, as the onset of another Pacific Northwest winter would soon begin.
Since that wee morning, your album “Bend in the River” gets plenty of play in my house. My daughter fondly, and simply, calls you Claudia, as if she knows you personally. Your voice is a familiar friend, kid friendly, and inspiring to this mama. Thank you. I love how my little child runs around the house singing “there’s a racer inside me, I can’t slow her down!”
If I may ask, I would be very pleased to purchase any arrangement you have of “Persephone’s Song” – it would be a great gift in fact.
Blessings this new year,
Monica Schley
Seattle, Washington
mother & daughter
… and the response…
January 7, 2014
Dear Monica,
Thank you so much for the lovely letter. You really took me into the scenario! My friend Andrea Stern, a Mpls. musician, played on that. I will ask if she has a chart that I could make a copy of and send you. I’m glad you found the song. I still sing it often.
As it happens, I will be in Seattle on Sunday April 6 at the Royal Room. It’s a bit later show than usual, they had an event already. So I won’t start till 8:30pm, a late start for my peeps these days! …. And I hope you can come (I promise I will do Persephone for you). I am also celebrating the release of a new Red House CD on that trip. Lots going on! Be well, and I hope to see you soon.
I am so excited to announce that my first full-length album “Harp Carols” is now complete for this year’s Christmas season. This is an album dedicated to my mother Nancy, who has been asking for something like this from me for over a decade. You can download it for $7 or purchase the disc for $10.
“Harp Carols” is a collection of ancient noels and features clarinetist Rosalyn DeRoos on the last song. All songs are traditional Christmas carols except track 7, an improvisation on Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane,” and track 10, “Journey to the Magi,” an original tune a la Alice Coltrane with influence by the T.S. Eliot poem.
