B and L Music: News

Check out Bill's new Culture Corner for musician interviews, comic escape, and perhaps the occasional cultural observation.... 

WE AT THE BUTTONWOOD TREE THANK ALL THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO OUR SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER ON SATURDAY AT THE HALFINGER FARM! So many folks are in support of The Buttonwood Tree, showing it in a variety of ways. I felt it important to share the good news and brilliance of the people who were instrumental in our first fundraiser of 2010, held Saturday, May 22nd at the Halfinger Farm in Higganum. As the executive director of a nonprofit arts organization, I rely heavily on volunteers to assist NEAR (North End Arts Rising, Inc.) in implementing our mission. “Many hands make work light” was clearly evident Saturday when people came together to create a wonderful event that was just perfect in so many ways. Jen and John Halfinger offered to host a fundraiser for NEAR on their farm property, instead of doing their usual annual Open House. When Bill and Lorraine of The SophistiCats offered their musical talents to support our cause, the plan began. They performed in 2 bands Saturday, the other being Tractor NV – offering rock classics in addition to the jazz of The SophistiCats. Ted Paulsen and his group, B Flat Tin Hat, donated their time as well, playing some lovely jazzy music in between those two groups. Overall the music was superb – it was varied, light and refreshing. The sound quality was terrific, thanks to Bill’s SophistiCats who set up the system early in the day. I’d like to thank John and Jen, and their son Alden Halfinger, for sharing their awesome farm, and for growing such amazing plants.They were so easy to work with and have been supportive for a long time. People were truly impressed with the quality and variety of flowers they grow. It truly turned into a great family day as so many children found joy in playing together in simple ways like climbing trees, in the sandbox, with the toy trucks, with the chickens that roamed freely or petting the mini-donkey, Dominick. Parents got to chill while the children played happily – it was just a perfect day in so many ways, I was really feeling the love folks were sending out that day! Thanks to all of our friends who came out and donated – buying plants, cds, food and raffle tickets! YOU make it possible for us to continue our mission! We were able to net $800 to continue our NEAR mission! Thank you to our dedicated, generous, kind-hearted and energetic volunteers for this event: Tom Hahn, Barry and Dottie Ten Eyck, Terri and Martha Johnson, Mikayla, Meghan Woolley and Cheryl Wescott. A huge, heartfelt THANK YOU to the musicians who donated their time and CDs: (The Sophisticats) Lorraine & Bill Liswell, Steve Hodgetts, Lou Chatey; (B Flat Tin Hat) Ted Paulsen, Jose Miguel Pasini, Chris Graves and Joe Harris and (Tractor NV) Lorraine & Bill Liswell, Kevin Gallagher, Frank Busse and Louis Chatey. Our food sponsors: Typhoon Restaurant, Cold Stone Creamery and Karen Swartz, gave us palatal delights that enabled folks to spend the entire afternoon just lounging around enjoying the perfect weather Mother Nature provided. Our sweet gratitude to you! Our appreciation to Mallove’s Jewelers, Marshalls, Stop and Shop, The Lutz Children’s Museum, The New Britain RockCats, Anne Saunders and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Annie Grenier for donating our raffle items. Thanks also to Liberty Bank for printing our posters, designed by the Ted Paulsen Marketing Group. We are grateful for the support of the community and look forward to serving you in the future. Upcoming special events include a WINE TASTING with Richard Kamins on June 4th and a Belly Dance Show on June 9th. See those dates for more info. Share us with your friends! Peace, Anne-Marie

Hello Friends!

We are excited to announce that our new CD, "Wisdom's Pearls" has finally been released! Yes, this is the same one we recorded with Frank Vignola and Rich Zukor in June of this year. You can hear song samples on our MUSIC page, and you can purchase the CD through CD Baby and a few download sites. You'll find direct links to our CD at various vendors on our LINKS page.

Thank you for your support!

Lorraine & Bill

Hello Friends!

As you know, we've been busy incorporating original songs into our repertoire and planning to record a CD of our compositions. Our dream was finally realized in June! It started last summer when Bill approached internationally renowned jazz guitarist Frank Vignola to ask if he'd record with us. It was March before we finally gave Frank a recording of our songs and we were delighted when he liked what he heard and agreed to join us. The recording session took place at Signature Sounds in Pomfret, Connecticut on June 11th, and drummer Rich Zukor joined us as well. Together we recorded six of the songs on our CD.

Rich and Frank perform and record together in two groups, Gypsy Grass and The Frank Vignola Quintet. Check out Frank's site at www.FrankVignola.com and prepare to be dazzled! Frank’s virtuosity is astounding. Rich is an exuberant percussionist, playing the djembe with his own personal style and providing dynamic rhythmic accompaniment. Rich also performs with the groups Dave’s True Story and Lipbone. It was truly a memorable experience to play with musicians of such a high caliber. Bill was smiling all day!

A few days later we were joined by drummer Lorne Entress, a gifted musician and producer. Lorne added captivating percussion and solid rhythm to five of our compositions. To learn more about Lorne, see his website at www.lorneentress.com.

Total time in the studio was 6 days for recording and 3 days for mixing. Studio engineer Mark Thayer was wonderful to work with-relaxed and lots of fun too! Mark offered many creative ideas that added to our sound and helped us produce a high quality recording. Next step is to take our recording to the talented Jim Chapdelaine who will do the mastering and then our CD will go into production! We expect the CD to be released sometime in August. Song samples have been uploaded to our Music page so you can get a sneak preview. We would be delighted to have you listen, share your comments in our guestbook, and share our excitement! Sincere thanks for your support!

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Bill and Lorraine have been busy with several musical ventures.
Lorraine has been composing songs in many musical styles for the past 4 years, and in the past year Bill and Kevin have been creating outstanding instrumental accompaniments for those compositions. As a team, the three of them have created some truly pleasing original works in the jazz, gypsy, Celtic folk, and rockabilly styles.

This spring we plan to record a CD of all original material. The studio is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, we'll enjoy our Connecticut gigs, playing summer concerts all around the state, and also weddings and private parties.

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Check our calendar and come on out and listen!