Beth Wimmer

Photos   CD-Shop   Song-Shop   Live Shows   Biography   Press   Beth's Blog   Guestbook   Links   Contact   Home

	heading west... Posted: Aug 7, 2010 hey all... i have a new place with my honey, i'm working on a painful new song, and i'm riding my new bike over hills, through woods, and over streams... and i'm really excited about traveling back to the states next week. going to see family, beaches, dear friends, my sisters' cafe, attend the 'old home days' in the park... eat some home made ice cream at the excellent home made ice creams stands in new england, paint my toenails on my mama's country porch... surely will have some lobsta at markie's at the beach, sink my feet into the sand at the atlantic, find some sea glass... and i'll play an all acoustic, intimate gig at Rhythm Cafe, August 21. then when i fly back to europe, i'm bringing my mom with me for a visit here! love that! life is sweet. love and miracles, beth very excited... & AmericanaOK Radio! Posted: Apr 17, 2010 hey all, i just finished my two-week marathon, nightly, smoky-bar, high-energy gig at Stueblibar in St. Moritz! lots of fun, LOTS of sing-along, some challenges - like drunk person insisting he can sing, leering over my shoulder 'trying' to harmonize along - but resulting in whiny puppy sounding background vocals! but all's well that ends well and i think everyone, including me, was very happy. :-) now i have two weeks to prepare my sets, my self, my suitcase -- and hit the road for Wales, Scotland and Holland on my May 2010 "Miracle Girl" tour. i am thrilled and already SO grateful to the many people, venues, and new friends i've made while booking this tour. it looks like i'll be playing with, and staying with, some very fine people! my BIG thanks and howdy to Tom Fahey at Scotland's AmericanaOK! Mr. Fahey's music labor of love,Now That's AmericanaOK Radio, in partnership with CMR Nashville has added my "Miracle Girl" CD to his April playlist, along with so many marvelous artists! Tom plays some FINE Americana music available 24/7 worldwide, and he tells me "Miracle Girl" is being well received. big smile! :D okay, i gotta get to bed before midnight tonight. bright and early tomorrow i'm helping some darling friends move from their apartment down four sets of old, wooden stairs. happily their lovely, new apartment is on the first floor. ;-) Music & Miracles, beth xo UK's 'Net Rhythms' Digs "Miracle Girl"! Posted: Apr 5, 2010 UK's 'Net Rhythms' Digs "Miracle Girl"! by Mike Davies, Net Rhythms UK, March 2010: "Being confronted with a blurb that describes her as "the conscious person's Renaissance Singer/Songwriter. A strong & sensitive Artist tuned into living peacefully in today's uncertain world", immediately prompts me to expect some sort of New Age dippiness. However, the CD having arrived with payola in the form of a Swiss bar of chocolate-enrobed Ovaltine biscuit, I’m predisposed to give it a chance. Thankfully, the soft shuffling opening title track quickly dispels such fears, revealing the Boston born, Switzerland based Wimmer to be more in tune with the Americana of Lucinda Williams with a warm, relaxed, slightly twang-smeared huskiness that’s drawn comparisons to Chrissie Hynde. It’s a winning introduction and she proceeds to cement our new relationship over the course of the following nine cuts, from the equally easy rolling Ten-Four through a ska-country bouncing Lover From Last Summer, a bluegrass streaked Dreams Bring Me Down and the fragile folk balladeering My Name Is Love to closing bar room guitar slinging Nashville rocker Self-Righteous Son Of A Bitch where she shows she has the sass to match the sweet. Topped off with a dreamy, piano waltzing cover of Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break Your Heart, it deserves to win her wider attention and build on the positive reviews for her Live Within Live Without 2003 debut. Released in Europe at the end of last year, two tracks found their way on to the end of year Top Ten of Glasgow based Radio Six International. I’d be surprised if at least one didn’t figure on the Radio 2 list in nine months time. Even without chocolate bars." ~"Miracle Girl" by Mike Davies, 'Net Rhythms' UK European Radio playing "Miracle Girl"! Posted: Jan 28, 2010 I spent a little time last night looking at which Radio Stations and Programs in Europe have been playing songs from my new release "Miracle Girl"... and wow, what a list - i am blown away and so pleased. Great big thanks to these very creative and appreciative DJs in Europe! i have been in touch with most of these folks, and they are real people... music lovers, hard workers, and kind, passionate souls... SCOTLAND: Tony Currie's - Radio Six, Glasgow (TWO Beth-songs finished in the TOP TEN RECORDS OF 2009!) NETHERLANDS: Gerrit Vermeij's - Muziekvenster Marthijn de Wit's - Tuesday Night Americana Music Club Peter van Zeijl's - Folk En Zo Bert van der Wijst's - Peelstar Country Club Peter Kranendonk's - Blue Heaven Radio Johanna J. Bodde's - Radiogirl Bart van der Pol's - Acoustic Rain Ries Verwijmeren & Johan Braat's - Country Express Rein Wortelboer's - PeelGrass Michael van Bruggen & Robburt Lieberwerth's - Landslide Gerrit Caspers' - GoodNoise Paul van Gelder's - Americana Radio GERMANY: Gerd Stassen's - Hillbilly Rockhouse Friedrich Hog's - Free FM Martin Smit's - Next Big Thing (BEST OF 2009 Podcast!) Rolf Hierath's - Hillbilly Jukebox FRANCE: Mike Penard's - Radio ISA Christian Maraillac's - Blues News Jacque DuFour's - Rockin'Boy Saloon DENMARK: Herbert Fischer's - Bonanza Radio Benny Sorenson's - Skagenexpressen, Tiger FM Herbert Fischer's - Over There PORTUGAL: Frederico Fonseca's - Diana FM BELGIUM: Hans Hanegraaf's - American Music Raymond Swennen - Radio FM Goud ITALY: Massimo Ferro's - Highway 61 Radio Roberto Rossi's - Mystery Train MACEDONIA: Vasja Ivanovski's - Mojo Alt SWEDEN: K103's - Pa Veranden's Playlist with so much appreciation and anticipation and inspiration, i say thank you... Music & Miracles, beth You can order Beth Wimmer's "MIRACLE GIRL" here. my 2009 experience ~ 2010 plans... Posted: Dec 20, 2009 Thanks to the wonderful Next Big Thing podcast and blog, by Martin Smit, NextBigThing-Podcast & NBT-Blog, and to a few other terrific, online outlets for indie-musicians, my “2009: Year of Adaptation” has flowed with a bit more ease. The ‘adaptation’ has been my adjustment to the most monumental change in my life to date: from a busy, energetic life working three part-time jobs to make ends meet and support my music career in warm, sunny Southern California, USA to… living in the crisp, snow-kissed Alps of Europe, working solely as a musician, singing late into the smoky nights, sleeping away the mornings… and learning another language – German! And if that weren’t enough of a huge change, well, my relationship status went from single (however creatively inspired by the elusive LOVE) to involved; in a deep, growing and soul-satisfying love relationship with a wonderful man. The only challenge that this has presented is that in my present, contented and peaceful state of heart and mind, I am not writing as many songs… seems the fire and feelings of love in turmoil had presented more muse for my songwriting. But I’m working on this. ;-) I’m letting the beauty and humor of this new, fulfilling love, along with the more-crucial-than-ever news of the world provide inspiration and depth for my new songs. This past year I’ve enjoyed lots of positive play and attention for my ‘Miracle Girl’ CD, and so in 2010 watch for a new Beth Wimmer CD! i plan to record in summer with a charismatic and highly talented group of musicians from Italy that I had the delight and privilege of playing with in 2009! Thanks for reading… I wish you all Love, Creativity, Balance and Sweet Music in your hearts, beth Nice review for MIRACLE GIRL by Belgium's "ROOTSTIME" Posted: Oct 20, 2009 Hey all... here is a recent "very positive" review, i am told, of my album 'Miracle Girl'. published by www.Rootstime.be (BELGIUM - targeting the rootsmusic-lovers in Belgium & the Netherlands). written by Valere Sampermans. if any of you out there speak Dutch and would like to translate to English for me, let me know... ;-) October 2009 ~ by Valere Sampermans for Rootstime - "Miracle Girl" by Beth Wimmer Beth Wimmer is een zangeres die haar roots heeft in het Amerikaanse New England maar nadien sinds meerdere jaren in Los Angeles woonde van waaruit ze gestaag aan haar muzikale carrière werkte. Ze is langzaamaan populair geworden in Europese landen als Zwitserland - waar ze momenteel ook woont - en in Italië en Duitsland waar ze steevast enkele dagen doorbrengt tijdens haar Europese tournees. Volgende keer zou ze zeker België en Nederland aan haar reisschema moeten toevoegen want deze muziek kent ook in onze contreien een trouwe aanhang. Haar singer-songwritercapaciteiten etaleert ze uitgebreid in de tien tracks die werden weerhouden voor haar nieuwe album “Miracle Girl” dat ze samen met David Raven heeft geproduceerd. Als producer werkte Raven in het recente verleden ook al samen met o.a. Norah Jones en Nancy Sinatra. De liedjes over hoop, humor, liefde en menselijke warmte vormen een coherent samenhangend geheel en werden op melodieuze muziek gezet waarbij de invloeden uit het country- en folkgenre duidelijk herkenbaar aanwezig zijn. Qua stemgeluid doet Beth Wimmer soms denken aan Lucinda Williams en in de song “Ten-Four” roept ze bij ons zelfs even het beeld op van Chrissie Hynde van ‘The Pretenders’. Het uptempo countryrocknummer “Lover From Last Summer” gaat er bij ons in als zoete broodjes maar dat geldt evenzo voor de meer klassieke tearjerkers als “Miracle Girl”, “I Couldn’t Do It”, “O My Brother” of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”, een song van Neil Young en de enige cover op deze mooie cd. Dat Beth Wimmer ook over een behoorlijk grote portie soul beschikt valt dan weer te beluisteren in “Dreams Bring Me Down” en “Self-righteous Son Of A Bitch”, een onvervalste rock’n’roller die als afsluiter van dit album wordt geserveerd. Die swingende stijl was overigens nog veel sterker aanwezig op haar vorige plaat “Live Within Live Without” uit 2003. Beth Wimmer blijkt dus een dame te zijn die van meerdere markten thuis is en daarmee kom je dezer dagen heel ver op de podia in het Europese muzikale landschap. ~Valere Sampermans *** “Beth Wimmer is a lady with soul in her voice and love in her heart on the album ‘Miracle Girl’, reminiscent of Lucinda Williams or Chrissie Hynde. She demonstrates that she can deal with different music styles which will bring her on several stages in Europe and in home country America” – www.rootstime.be Miracle Girls Songs on The Next Big Thing Show! Posted: Sep 10, 2009 hello again my dears... i know you just heard from me, but more has happened that i wanted to share! i'm happy to announce that Music from my Miracle Girl CD and my commentary on my music and songwriting are featured on the "Next Big Thing" International Music Podcast, by Martin Smit in Germany, as of yesterday! i'm so delighted and honored to be included in the 09/09/09 Edition of the "Next Big Thing" Podcast! Martin puts together an inspiring collection of artists, along with their intimate comments on their music - what a service! :) i highly recommend streaming the podcast while you're at your computer or in your office -- all the music from this month's episode is really wonderful!! i hope you will listen - i am thrilled with it. from Martin Smit, of "Next Big Thing", Germany: Greetings all, the new NBT podcast 9th Sept 09 is up featuring great music from Melody Klyman, HuDost, Doug Folkins, Beth Wimmer, and more... Click on http://nextbigthing.libsyn.org/ or http://nextbigthing.libsyn.com THEN... Easy Instructions... Right click on the "Pod" icon next to the title "Mad Butterflies and Gentle Trespassers" to "Save Link as... MP3" OR simply click on the "play" arrow on the little grey & white radio console display, just to the right of the title, to listen right away. Martin of "Next Big Thing" has also written a review of Miracle Girl and here is the link to enjoy his review... Miracle Girl, Beth Wimmer-CD Review i find Martin's writing both poetic and provoking. he made me more intrigued with my own songs - ha! :-) i thank NBT hills and heaps for their kindly attention to my music... with so much gratitude... Peace & Harmony, beth **New!: Publicity, Europe - Peter Holmstedt, www.Hemifran.com **TO ORDER MY CDs... CD Baby~Beth Wimmer Luscious Gig - Sept. 4th in Verceia, Italy! Posted: Sep 9, 2009 just back this week from a bellissimo time in Italy last weekend... my first gig with full band here in Europe was a concert, Friday night, in a small sweet village called Verceia. Verceia is about an hour's drive south of the Swiss border, nestled at the foot of the Italian alps. my new band-mates, Massimo Gini on guitar and bass, Damiano della Torre on guitar and bass (they take turns), and Pablo Leoni on drums, and i were set up on a custom built wooden stage at lake's edge, under the night sky, bright full moon. train tracks on one side of us, and lake and late-evening, summer-sun-soaked mountains on the other. it was a magical evening! about 300 people in the village came out and listened, swayed, danced along. i was in heaven. played 10 of my songs and 7 or so sweet cover tunes... it was SO great to play with a band again! and i LOVE playing with Italian musicians! haha - food is SO important to them. it's essential to have a good meal together before every show. ;) and wine flowing... met a bunch of the people after the show, all excitedly speaking italian at me. needed a translator. :) it was awesome. i had such a great time with these lovely musicians that i spontaneously stayed another 24 hours! the next day, enjoyed a robust meal complete with guitars being strummed and songs sung at the lunch table... home-made mushroom polenta from Massimo's aunt Lidia... then an afternoon garden jam session between the apple and pear trees. and in the evening i attended their next concert. saturday night my guys backed the gentle giant, wonderful Italian singer~guitar player Silver Pozzoli. a long-white-haired, kind-faced, big-voiced singer, well known in italy from so much great music he'd made in the 80s... they put on a tight and energetic show, though the wind nearly blew them all off the open-air stage on the football field! i took pictures and helped a bit - as much as Italian gentlemen musicians would let me help. it was a special experience. another gig to come, with the band, on September 18th in Gordona, Italy - then another to follow on October 1st - i don't know where exactly. ;) but i'm grateful. this friday, September 11th, i am playing a solo, 3 hour evening at a hotel in Grindelwald, Switzerland. i've never been to this region, so it will be a new experience... a good gig and they feed me a nice dinner and breakfast the next morning. chocolate croissant, bitte und danke schoen... :) and friday night i shall play my version of Bruce Springsteen's "Empty Sky" - a strong and sadly honest song of loss inflicted by the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001. eight years ago... Love and harmony... ~beth **New!: Publicity, Europe - Peter Holmstedt, Hemifran www.Hemifran.com TO ORDER MY CDs...Beth Wimmer - CD Baby star songs... Posted: Jul 24, 2009 i learned recently that every star has its own sound, its own personal song. the star sings it clearest, strongest song when it's at its brightest... then the star sings a lower tone when it is waning. one day when the sun is finished, it will be a white dwarf. but even a white dwarf has a song. My CD 'Miracle Girl' Gets NICE Review from Musical Discoveries... Posted: Jul 15, 2009 MusicalDiscoveries.com has reviewed in the past year both my latest CD, "Miracle Girl", and my "Live Within Live Without" CD, and they've said some real nice things. i want to thank them for their in depth look at all the songs, and for their time! on their site, they've published both reviews and posted my photos - though they were encouraging me to let them post the nude, self-portrait from the inside cover of "Miracle Girl", reminding me that i would sell more CDs that way. i say let the music stand for itself, the naked is on the inside because that's where i like the naked to be. :) haha. thanks to Audrey Elliot, and to Russel Elliot of MusicalDiscoveries.com! and thank you everybody for reading... so here are both CD reviews, Miracle Girl first...and since i don't think i ever posted the Live Within...CD review, it's below for good measure. love loves soul, xo ~ beth FOR THE FULL Review of 'Miracle Girl', use this link: http://www.musicaldiscoveries.com/digest/digest.php?a=viewr&id=858 SNIPPET of 'Miracle Girl' CD review by www.MusicalDiscoveries.com... (25 May 2009) Miracle Girl picks up where Live Within Live Without left off. Again, Beth treats listeners to her unique blend of Americana and folk with a touch of rock - and a lovely cover of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." Her songs are infused with lush vocals and guitar laiden accompaniment. Her luxuriant voice mesmerizes the listener, wanting more and more. She tugs at the heart strings with her songs of humanness, hope...This tapestry of human emotions is beautifully woven and quite captivating. FOR THE FULL Review (if you can believe...there IS more:) of 'Live Within Live Without', use this link: http://www.musicaldiscoveries.com/digest/digest.php?a=viewr&id=833 SNIPPET of 'Live Within Live Without' CD review by www.MusicalDiscoveries.com... (15 November 2008)...she opens this emotive album with "Situations." Beth's alluring vocals are down-to-earth and filled with wonderful fervor. The marvelous violin by Mark Indictor complements the flowing melody, in addition to the hammond B3, lending a sumptuous feel to this track. "Move On" has a rockier edge in this song about self-realization. Beth shows her expertise in telling her story with a sensivity and humanness. The title track, "Live Within Live Without," has a great psychedelic feel with its folk/rock roots. "With Our Eyes Closed" has a catchy percussive melody that has great hooks. There is a warmth that envelops her vocals shown throughout this entire set of songs. She can handle many genres, and has a special affinity to her gorgeous country-infused folk as in "Hey Babe." There is an honest simplicity that she delivers with confidence. She continues in a similar vein in "Lose My Way," permeating this track with slide guitar and her beautiful vocals. "Saturated" heightens the senses. Beth's soulful tones and folk/rock sound are explosive here. She continues to show great sensitivity in "Calling All Hearts" and "Hard." The latter song has marvelous mandolin, mandola and violin accompaniment that pervades this piece. Combined with her clarity of tone, this song is a true winner. You can definitely "feel your sensations run high from within." Her soulful rendition of "The Wheel" carries a straight-to-the-point feel. Country sounding "Holdin' Out" speaks of hopes and dreams of a love relationship. Beth exposes a vulnerability and intimacy of feelings that tugs at the heart. She concludes with the flowing "Every Time." This song of human setbacks and hope is spirited and beautifully presented. Beth Wimmer certainly deserves top kudos for this lush and savvy album. Live Within Live Without has a free spirited feel, exploring love lost and love found. She has definitely found a connection with her gorgeous vocals and sweeping melodies. She exudes a richness as a vocalist, songwriter and guitarist that leaves the listener wanting more and more. She has a new release entitled Miracle Girl that has also been well received. Her music comes from the heart and heightens the senses. --Audrey Elliot in New York for MusicalDiscoveries.com TO ORDER MY CDs...please click here: http://www.CDbaby.com/cd/Beth4 thank you! ~beth Hotel California - in Switzerland! Posted: Jun 30, 2009 since i was a teenager i have loved the song Hotel California. it's just a cool song, no matter how you slice it... last thursday night at my gig in Stueblibar (St. Moritz, Switzerland) was THE night, if any, that i should have had an entertainer's video head-cam mounted and running! it seemed my audience was provided by Central Casting of Hollywood. i had the crowd's immediate attention at first strum, even through the din. their personal conversation and their antics during my playing were quiet and polite - and after every song i played, the folks of all ages were smiling, applauding enthusiastically and nodding, awaiting the next song. they didn't even smoke too much! i write this because i have learned that the bar-gig scene here can be unforgiving. it's mostly fun, yes, it's good experience, yes -- but there are nights where i can go all night and feel like i've just played my heart out to a room full of zombies... but thursday night - a model audience. then in walk the F.C. Basel (Swiss, of course) Football team. Tall and handsome, rugged... and, even drunk, also polite! they added a secure and appropriate dose of testosterone to the scene. the evening was a pleasant twilight zone... how lucky can a female bar musician get? i was delighted that i actually knew and could play (to the best of my ability) nearly every song requested by the appreciative and well-behaved audience. as the night went on, the bar guests became louder and sloshier, but still, so damn nice! the head Football hunk tossed a 50- franc-bill into my tip jar! next request, from table 2: Hotel California by the Eagles. sure, no problem. the room further transformed as i sang the first line, "on a dark desert highway..." the crowd ROARED with delight!! women screamed their approval in my direction, then their gratitude into each other's faces - one dropped to her knees as if a long-awaited medicine was just delivered to her dying village! the men hugged and held on to each other, single fists in the air like they'd just won the war! individual patrons threw their hands up to the Gods as if some deeply personal prayer had been at long last answered. and even the heavy-metal-loner dude, with spikes on the shoulders of his jean-jacket, pulled the ponytail out of his long hiar and banged devotedly away to the beat! i did not have to sing the song. they sang it for themselves, and to the heavens! alcohol inspired? yes, probably... but no matter how you slice it, Hotel California is just a cool song. :) great gigs in Herisau, Switzerland! Posted: May 26, 2009 i reveled in my experience of playing music last weekend in a small Swiss town in spring... saturday afternoon, sauntering through a sunny valley village, riderless horses pass by. white and violet lilacs present their sweet treasure at every garden corner, and wildly offer themselves along the railway. i cross the tracks, fresh pulled lilacs, and step across a shadowy cobblestone alley. come into a sun soaked backyard and the inviting aroma of baked potato for saturday's supper. sun goes down late in the evening sky, floats like a farm-fresh, orange egg-yolk over the train station. and at the top of the lazy hill i tune up my guitar in the square and cozy Chaplin's Pub. no stage for me, and my backdrop is the giant-framed, handsome face of James Dean, under which he reminds us: "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." the night sky darkening, i begin to strum and sing for the flashing eyes and lively smiles on the faces of the carefree folks, satiated with saturday, in Herisau. temporary relapse - painbody songs... Posted: April 18, 2009 a couple months ago i posted a blog called "old songs new memories" (something like that)... i was remarking how an old song that used to mean a certain time, place, smell, person to me, was now bringing in new feelings and beautiful new memories. cool. but then i just experienced the power of the memory again -- this time in the strength of the painbody memories... i was listening to my Itunes, on shuffle, and Anne McCue's song "Hellfire Raiser" came on... and it got me in the gut. i absolutley love that song, but... i suddenly found myself longing for pain... longing for living in santa monica again, driving around the town with all the windows down, music loud - singing "Hellfire Raiser" at the top of my voice... and wondering, wishing and worrying at the bottom of my heart. i actually missed the wishing and worrying! my, how dramatic, tragic and interesting it was when my day to day was the mind-chatter, thinking, "will the married man call tonight" or "will my out of town lover come this weekend, or should i call my boy-toy in the valley...?" who will be with me? with whom should i be? what am i doing? i would just go home, make a salad for myself, then work on some songwriting... but my mind would just keep working, trying to figure it all out. what's best for me vs. what do i want right now. i became aware, as "Hellfire Raiser" played on, how much has changed, but how parts of me have stayed the same... i became worried about myself that i was longing for pain again... then i thought that perhaps this was normal. :) don't worry, just...let it come and let it go... next song that came through the speakers was "Here Comes the Sun" (perhaps needless to say, by the Beatles.) and you know... i listened, i listened...and i couldn't hear or feel anything old. only the moment. all felt right again. i looked for my friend, Pain, but he was gone. i breathed deeply and reached high with my hands for the sun. appreciative of this day... grateful for the experiences, accepting of the painbodies. most grateful for the path i am on... "but tomorrow may rain so, i'll follow the sun..." (lennon/mccartney) things i've won... Posted: Mar 29, 2009 pascal and i were talking about things we've won... i thought i was not the lucky type, but i realize how lucky i am, really. all my life... age 8: a giant jar of jellybeans when i guessed the right amount inside! i ate them all. age 10: a giant, aqua-colored stuffed lion at knotts berry farm. i tossed a wooden ring onto a stretched bottle-neck. and i was in bandages at the time, after my car accident. i brought that lion on the airplane with me, back home to massachusetts from california. a proud moment. also age 10: a free pizza at "jimmy's famous pizza and miniature golf" in north andover, mass. get a hole in one on the last hole, and you get a free pizza! i did. 10 years old was a lucky, and unlucky, year for me. age 12: a contest at school where you hang from a bar, elbows bent, hands facing forward, gripping the bar, chin above the bar. i hung there longer than any other student in the school. i won stiff hands, achey shoulders, and a lot of respect from the boys and girls for that one. age 17: i won a ricoh photography contest that i entered via my high school - won a 35mm ricoh camera -- for my high school. they were nice enough to let me use it my senior year. age 18: i won the annual poetry reading contest in my high school - i read a poem about cancer, written by my mom's friend, kate drury. i won a book of poetry by john greenleaf whittier. age 25: a braided-garlic decoration from a kitchen store that had newly opened in burbank. oh joy, oh rapture! nearly forgot about that victorious moment. age 27: second place in a talent show, in pasadena, california. i sang bonnie raitt's 'love letter' and came in second over an all too large array of dancers, singers, comics, breakdancers... i was the only white girl in the house. i won a gift certificate for a restaurant. age 32: a $25 gift certificate from trader joe's, for trader joe's. i ran through the store yelling "i won, i won!" - boobs bouncing, like a crazy lady on the price is right! running and yelling in the store was more exhilirating than actually winning the 25 bucks. three years ago: lucinda williams tickets, in a radio call-in contest. i took dierdre with me cause we can't get enough of lucinda. a joyous occasion! two years ago: first place on american idol underground (an online song contest) for my song 'self righteous son of a bitch'. i merely won fame and fortune for that. nothing else. pascal looked at me and told me he won a pair of sweet, gold earrings for the girl he had a crush on when he was 10, at a school carnival. then he told me his biggest win ever, was when he won my love. oh my heart! he is beautifully poetic, deeply soul-centered. ich bin eine glückliche frau! what have you won? Love, and good luck, beth old songs, new meanings... Posted: Feb 25, 2009 Our sense of smell is one of our most sensitive and reliable senses for bringing back strong memories... remember dad's aftershave, your grandmother's tomato sauce, or maybe the smell of cigarette smoke mixed with your mom's perfume... but i think the next, strongest memory-making sense is our sense of music. a song that you haven't heard in an incredibly long time can bring you right back to where you were when something important happened - right back to where you were standing, what was around you, who you were looking at - and the moments unfolding during that song left vivid, beautiful imprints, or sometimes scars, on your heart or in your mind that are relived when 'that song' comes on the radio... and that's really fascinating and wonderful. even though those song-memories can tear you apart, stop you in your tracks and make you cry all over again... there's a purpose for everything. but yesterday i felt something new, which is always a treat. these days and nights for me are so fresh, so bright and unusual, that an old song now brings something completely new. i've made such big changes in my life, my location, my heart, my thinking... that yesterday when Rolling Stones "Moonlight Mile" surprised me, crooning sublimely through my stereo while i baked a pumpkin pie, my heart swelled up into my throat, and new tears spilled forth. and it wasn't the old sadness, the old melancholy scene. the song was simply bringing me back to last week, and "Moonlight Mile" became the new soundtrack to our silent, moonlit, frozen-serene, gloved-in-mittened-hand walk through the snow, in the middle of the night. my cup runneth over with brand new memories, new imprints of joy, and fullness of heart. and i am so grateful for fresh, new memories to complete and complement the story of the old scenes, that still live on in my mind. important memories... Posted: Jan 22, 2009 i was just in the shower and i think i was thinking about nothing when suddenly, sweetly, the very first moment that i heard pascal say his name to me poured back into my mind. when he introduced himself...looking clearly into me, the way his name sang from his lips, the smile in his cheeks, the candlelight flickering in his deep brown eyes, and the timbre of his voice rising just above the din of the room, the smoke in my nose...all the senses of that moment became so clear to me again. and i decided, 30 minutes ago, to never ever forget it. i will experience it again and again. then i asked my brain, with some help from my soul or something, to remember other moments like that...really important ones. when i first met someone extraordinary, or first heard some sweet important word from a person now so dear to my heart and life. my mother. now: i think in my dna or somewhere in my body are many many stored memories. and if i were to have an early-life regression i could remember more. but tonight what i let myself remember, then lingered in, and then promised myself i will never forget was this: her laughing voice calling, "Come on - Come on! Come!" sing-songy above the chaotic splashing and laughing of other children, and with such unbridled excitement that i summoned my courage and desire to dog-paddle through the choppy, deep-dark lake water to her! i was 3 years old, being taught how to swim by my mother! how grand! we were in lake attitash - amesbury, massachusetts. the hot sun on our heads, the water cold and earthy in my mouth. my mom was beautiful, and wet, and calling me to do my best and come to her. this was much more of a personal journal entry than a blog - but i have been so peaceful for some time...i really don't write in my journal any more. so with all these sweet moments surfacing, well, i share them... here's to our health, and sweet strong memories! and here's to so much hope -- and good, clean, honest work ahead of us all in this world. Love, beth my Gods...this New Year. Posted: Jan 6, 2009 very big sigh. heavy heart. i want to wish everyone a happy new year. i want to say and mean and make happen all the things i love to say and wish! happy, beautiful new year! may the new year bring you more Love than your heart can hold! wishing you Peace and Prosperity! and i really really wish those things. and i believe in those things. but things are harder than ever. worse than ever. sadder than ever, more tragic than ever. deadlier than ever in the world. in gaza, in greece, in africa, in bangkok. in indonesia, in the arctic and antarctic. the weather is deadlier, the money is tighter, but the weapons are more, and the people are needier. and bush is stupider. i deeply deeply wish for Peace, for Tolerance, for Food, Energy, Health. i meditate, i pray. i feel really terrible about all that is going wrong. where is it all leading? i shake my head quickly, it's a nightmare. there's a pit in my stomach as i stare at my food tonight. what is going to happen? i hope i hope that it is leading to some sort of Light, some beginning of a Global Resolution will begin! i know there is hope. humans are amazing that way! so, happy new year! may we all do our best to Love one another so big and so full and complete, that it helps to literally radiate Peace and healthy things into the atmosphere. and let's please donate what we can and give time where we have it, to those who need it much more than we. Love, beth singin' in switzerland! Posted: Nov 17, 2008 i am nearing the end of my two-week nightly gig at the movie-scene-worthy Stublibar in St. Moritz, Switzerland. (i wish for my script-writer friends to experience this!) lately i have been paying tribute to Barack Obama in my songs. besides my own songs, i play favorite songs of the locals here. so in 'Country Roads' by John Denver, i sing, "country roads...take me home...to the place...i belong...Barack Obama...mountain mama...take me home..." and then there's... "Sweet Home Barack Obama....where the skies are so blue..." the people love it and they are congratulating me and the US - they are very happy with America's choice of president this time! i mentioned "movie-scene-worthy" Stublibar... here are some little gems: Five Swiss soldiers walk into Stublibar, they order beers, drink them, order another round, they are listening to me sing above the din of the crowd. the biggest, burliest one (think Burt Lancaster) approaches my stage. my brain to myself: "oh no, he's going to ask me to play something by Metallica." no no. tall, rugged soldier-boy says, in gentle, broken english, "entschuldigen, (excuse me), you are nice. can you for me play 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow?" ah, regretfully, i don't know the chords. his brother then asks, "then how about 'Killing Me Softly?" i couldn't resist that one, so sang it a-cappella, and to my delight everyone joined in! such SWEET soldiers!! no wonder the Swiss don't do war. they'd rather drink beer and sing sappy songs together. :) a big macho German dude sitting with his friends began mocking me as i opened my set that night with Van Morrison's 'Crazy Love'... but a few songs later he was really into it. i think i won him over when i played 'Come as You Are' by Nirvana. he then listened, hooted, and applauded after every song i played. end of the night, 2am, he searched me out in the crowd and approached me with earnest. i leaned in to hear him, thinking he's going to tell me he enjoyed the music... nope. he asked me if i would call him a taxi home. apparently i look like the transportation expert in addition to the musical entertainment. good swiss trash! Posted: Oct 30, 2008 i did my first trash picking in switzerland yesterday. for two days i have walked by this chest-high dumpster and noticed a drawer... a heavy looking (and it is) wooden drawer, sort of looks medieval, with a red velvet, plush interior. a big, dark, heavy wooden drawer with an old handle on the end (turns out, both ends) and decorative useless metal rivets and findings on the sides. i needed that drawer!! for 2 days i walked by it, eyeing it, but there was always someone near enough by to see me pick the trash! and there's something about the people here... they are really nice, but i get this feeling that they are generally rule-followers - and i'm not sure what the rules are... SO - last night i walked up to Stublibar bar to see Casey Jones play (a great singer and player from memphis, now living in europe) and he is a sweetie. in fact - he fixed my guitar yesterday!! the wire inside for my pickup connection had become severed, possibly from my hard-cased guitar's trip down the mondo-escalator in zurich!! anyway, casey and i went to a toy shop, he found a 9volt do-flicker with a wire - he stripped the old wires, connected to the new ones, covered with elec tape, etc - BUT I DIGRESS. SO, since i would be soon walking up the quiet street toward Stubli-bar where my treasure, i hoped, still lay in the dark but safe looking dumpster, i brought a big shopping bag with me and this time no one was around and i got my first dumpster dig!! my first trash pick here in swanky st. moritz!! and the drawer is SO great!! and i needed it - it is an integral part of my office as of this morning!! it is now my inbox, my outbox - my papers of all kinds now fit neatly in my red velvet lined medieval drawer which has the name "Briciola" and a skull and daggers drawn on one side of the dark wood with crayon. pascal inspected it carefully and approved, and pointed out that it did indeed used to be a treasure chest, a box for special things, lid now long gone. "Miracle Girl" from the Alps to California...and back! Posted: Jul 2, 2008 My dear friends...how are you?? I hope this note finds everyone well and enjoying the summer! I'm pleased to announce: My new CD "MIRACLE GIRL" is ready for release!! PLEASE COME TO MY CD-RELEASE SHOW on July 10th in Santa Monica, CA!! (details below) Hey everyone! I have just returned from 5 weeks perfectly spent in Switzerland, playing music at "Stublibar" - a lively and loved, wooden ski-bar in the Swiss Alps! I played 6 nights a week in a vibrant, crowded, smoky, oft-crazy bar. it was an absolute blast, on occasion quite a challenge, and really a privilege and pleasure. this place became special to me. what i learned: ~ 60+ cover songs including favorites: Country Roads by John Denver, Sweet Home Alabama, Hotel California... also Me and Bobby McGee, Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire and Walk the Line were huge, and Bob Marley's Three Little Birds brought down the house. Those songs cured all in the Stublibar. They also loved my new songs Ten~Four, and Dreams Bring Me Down... Lover From Last Summer, Saturated, and Move On! (Self-Righteous S.O.B. was a little too aggro for them: methinks something was lost in translation -- they didn't get the tongue in cheek of it). :) ~ that the young men there love to stand on tables, dance, and take their clothes off - with no financial incentive! ~ that 2am is still early in the evening. ~ that Sambuca shots work great as a throat-soother. ~ that drinking beer and champagne while singing makes me burp a lot. not convenient. ~ that my fingertips have an endless supply of calluses for my calluses. ~ that the cigarette smoke smell eventually comes out of the wood of my guitar if i let my guitar air out long enough. ~that it is okay to shove a large, toothless, drunk man off of my stage - he most likely will not get hurt. ~ that it is perfectly acceptable to dismount from my stage by stepping over onto the bar and walking down the bar-top over beers and patrons (instead of the more commonly used method of - using the floor). ~ that i could make a new family of friends in a small, after-ski dive bar in Switzerland! having said all that - i am going back next month!! but before i go... MY NEW CD "MIRACLE GIRL" IS READY FOR ONE AND ALL!! PLEASE COME TO MY CD-RELEASE SHOW!! THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2008, 8PM @ SANTA MONICA BAR & GRILLE 3321 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, California, 90405 with Billy Watts by my side on electric guitar! (cross street is just west of Centinela, near the 10 fwy) (310) 453-5001 www.smbgrocks.com free show! PLEASE COME - i look forward to playing the songs for y'all, and to seeing your beautiful faces - it will be my last opportunity to see many and most of you for a long time! SO LET'S PARTY!!! and - I am thrilled to celebrate the release of my new CD "Miracle Girl"** - my latest collection of songs of Love and Brotherhood. Conceived in late 2007, then recorded and birthed all within 5 weeks total gestation period in April/May 2008. **With my favorite playmates: David Raven producing and on drums, Billy Watts playing tasty-good guitars, and Taras Prodaniuk making it stick with his perfect bass lines. Additional production and special musical appearance by Daniel Nahmod. Photography and design by Beth. with huge Love and appreciation for your talents, enthusiasm, Love and support all these years!! happy independence day!! xoxo beth the latest from St. Moritz Switzerland, and my current Set List... Posted: May 29, 2008 My gigs at the Stublibar in St. Moritz Switzerland are going great. i am loving it, even though it is taxing on my voice and sometimes my energy. many interesting people passing through town, then the locals are there almost every night, and almost every night they get wild and crazy. i have learned soooo many songs - more than i learned in the states. i have a couple of regulars now that i let get up on stage with me and sing... a young man, Sandro, likes to sing Nirvana with me, and the young and beautiful Christine likes to sing Country Roads. everyone sings along, it is hysterical! and now, on a couple of different nights, when i take my break and the bartender plays deejay, the men get up on the tables and take their clothes off - two nights now of very nearly naked hot guys dancing on the tables!! lucky me, i had my camera on one of those nights... if i accepted all the drinks people are trying to buy for me i would be sloshed every night. instead i drink my tea with lemon, and water with lime and fresh orange for my voice... and when my sweetheart comes in when his work is through, i sit with him on my break and have a beer or sambuca. he is the most amazing man, we share a beautiful and powerful connection... it's like we have known each other before and before. i am a lucky woman. we have taken long walks - around the lake to another little lake in the woods...long talks. he is swiss - he is teaching me some swiss-german, and i teach him more english, though he speaks four languages or more. he is very well spoken and runs deep, has some strong and interesting beliefs, great at expressing himself. it is a special time... okay - back to the bar and my gigs... of course i play my original songs, to which the people are now singing along with somewhat - they actually request Saturated, Move On, and Lover From Last Summer... my S.O.B. song does not go over as well, maybe too aggressive and too many negative name callings...not as much animosity here among the sexes. :) So then, alles gut... Here is my current Cover Song set list - it's so much fun! Tom Petty - american girl, runnin down a dream, a face in the crowd, free fallin, learning to fly Blind Faith - well all right Johnny Cash - ring of fire, walk the line Lucinda Williams - greenville, drunken angel, something about what happens when we talk, right in time, can't let go, still i long for your kiss Van Morrison - wild night, crazy love, brown eyed girl Bob Dylan - knocking on heaven's door Rolling Stones - wild horses Lynyrd Skynyrd - sweet home alabama John Denver - country roads, annie's song The Clash - should i stay or should i go AC/DC - you shook me all night long Janis Joplin - me and bobby mcgee, mercedes benz (a capella) Dusty Springfield - son of a preacher man Tracy Chapman - talkin' bout a revolution Cranberries - linger Aretha Franklin - natural woman Oasis - wonderwall Nirvana - come as you are Pink Floyd - wish you were here Eagles - hotel california it's a blast... i am learning so much. as i said, i am lucky. i Love the life i have created and found here in the Alps. Peace and Music, beth update from Der Schweiz Posted: May 17, 2008 hello Loves... thanks so much to all of you who have written to me. great to hear from you. to answer a FAQ - the weather is about 60 degrees daily so far, varying from drizzly rain to sunny and lovely. hopefully it will just get nicer as the season progresses. nights are cold... but clear usually. walked home from my gig last night - yes, at 2:30am - and enjoyed the solitude, quiet, with waterfalls coming down the hills in between houses. wow. it is about a 15 minute walk from my apartment to my gig at the hotel. last night was my first night playing and it was fun, and hard at the same time. the cig smoke was tough. it did not bother me too much at the time, but could not get to sleep even after a nice hot shower at 3am... could still smell the smoke - probably in my mind, but... so, did not sleep much last night. there were many appreciative listeners at the show last night, and also many appreciative drunk men. it was my first night, did i mention that? the big crowd pleaser is john denver's 'country roads' - i had them all singing along! things to note... i thought my guitar had a problem - a rattling sound. turns out it was a piece of chocolate chip cookie inside of it. who knows how that got there. :) met the italian musician, glauco mason, who finished in the stublibar the night before i began. very nice man, does mostly cover songs in his heavy italian accent. we talked over dinner here at the hotel. talked about music, romance, his family, my family - got along great. but now he has gone back to italy (2 hour drive for him). but before he left, he was kind enough to show me the set up of the sound system, and he also has lent me his music stand which i badly needed - in exchange for my CDs... and what he also decided was fair exchange, when i took my outer sweater off, he exclaimed "nice a-teets!" and gently pushed me against the wall and put his tongue in my mouth. those italian men are the same everywhere. i guess he took it to heart when i said i am the kind of woman who prefers the man to make the move, when we were talking about gender roles. i did not mean him!! too funny. all is well, he is gone. i see lots of people walking their dogs - the dogs bodies are quite full sized, long hair with full buttleruffs (the term my friend kevin created for the hair - or not - that hangs down past the dogs butt at the back legs), but all the dogs have tiny little stumpy legs!! what gives? i would have thought that for a wealthy ski resort village i would see more purebreds, less mutts. have only seen one cat so far - hope to see more. no homeless cats here like there are in Rome. good for the kitties... lots of birds chirping constantly. the meals i am being served here at hotel schweizerhof are incredible. five course meals every night, delicious wines and coffee... very fine dining...i mean, it is perfect food - and not too much, like the crazy american portions! the table is set with at least 8 pieces of silverware for me. good thing my dad taught me to work from the outside of the table settings, inward. i am trying to at least appear cultured and european. i am being treated very well by the wait-staff - they are super sweet and fun. my fave is 23 year old daniel... who placed my perfectly cooked, beatifully displayed pike-perch (fish) meal in front of me last night and said to me "i have found nemo". :) my apartment - i am liking it. it is home for now. big rip-tear on the ceiling in one spot... strange. but from my bed, lying down, it appears to be a giant heart. so that is nice. okay, gotta go get outside today and get as much oxygen (at 6000 feet here in the village) as i can before i breathe in tonight's dose of poison. i Love you guys - how are YOU?? xo beth Miracle Girl heads to Switzerland! Posted: May 11, 2008 so, my to-do list has been head-spinning... i am leaving for switzerland this tuesday, may 13 - for 5 weeks. my friend jordan got me a gig over there, in st. moritz, playing solo at a lovely hotel 6 nights a week for 4 1/2 weeks! i've never been, and how lucky i am. very cool. so, i realized i needed to record more music, and take it with me on the road (or in the air and the alps, as it were)... so, enter Miracle Girl, my new 10-song CD!! i am Blessed once again to have some of THE finest musicians in los angeles, nay, the world, on my new record. david raven producing, engineering, drumming... billy watts playing electric and lap steel guitar. taras prodaniuk playing bass. my new CD - Miracle Girl - was essentially recorded in four weeks time, i designed the artwork and layout (so have mercy), and it is right now in manufacturing. i'll receive them in switzerland next week, then when i come back (if and when) to california, i'll have a bunch more... so, watch for a CD release gig and celebration in so-cal this summer! i am going to try to get some of the new songs up and into the website here today... here goes nothin'! thank you for reading, for caring, for sharing... just thank you for your support and your Love. i can feel it from here, right now... Love ~ beth singing to a stranger Posted: April 29, 2008 i was heading home late last night after a recording session with david raven, in hollywood. i was stopped in my car for some time at a red light. a homeless man - or a broke one, out at 2am hoping for money from any single soul - was just outside my window, standing around at the stoplight. he smiled, waved, asked for money, called me pretty lady... i think i had about $3 in my wallet, and honestly, after giving a dollar every week to j.r. near my post office, i just was not in the mood. instead i rolled down the window and began singing to him. i was listening to Lucinda Williams' CD, "West" -- the song "Learning to Live". so i crooned to the man who looked handsome under his dirt and rags. i sang, "i'm learning how...to live....without you...in my life". he said, "me too, beautiful." me (singing): "i made the best...of what you had to give..." he: "i got nothin' to give you sweetheart." me: "all i have left...is this dimestore ring." him: "lemme see it, is it worth anything?" me: "i'm learning how....to live." he: "me too and you just warmed my heart." ...mine too. we connected and it had nothing to do with money. people are so human underneath their "inhumanity". the more civilized folk are often the more assholized ones. Love and Peace ~ bw retreat, resurface, and sing! Posted: Mar 4, 2008 hello Love, thanks for reading... i'm just back from 10 days in beautiful Moab, Utah - Arches National Park - where i participated in a musical, spiritual, hiking, intro-and-outro-spective retreat hosted by my friend, singer/songwriter Daniel Nahmod. i was immersed in the millions of years-old natural beauty of the near-gravity-defying red rocks and arches, slot canyons, off the beaten path trails, the colorado river, pristine snow, lively streams, lovely deer, gazillions of stars... all topped with whipped cream clouds and a full-moon-eclipse-cherry. the experience was awe-inspiring and utterly breathtaking. and though words cannot truly describe it, i am obviously not at a loss for them... the retreat went really, really well. it was a privilege to be there with the many lovely and truly awesome people. we engaged in life-changing conversations, sang, danced, laughed... went for several intense and invigorating hikes - one through "fiery furnace" in Arches Nat'l Park... it was exquisite, filled with ancient, timeless beauty, standing on 150,000,000 year old red clay soil - beheld 1000 year old juniper trees...and a 7,000,000 pound balanced rock. made me feel like a weightless baby next to them. i soaked in all the breathtaking beauty around me, journaled a lot and quietly played my guitar every night before bed... working on, for myself, releasing my attachment to hope that 'things', and people, will make me happy, and looking at letting go of my fears of being unappreciated... i am feeling the sweet release of attachments and... just let what comes to me, come to me... seems easy, but it can be elusive. it is simple, but it takes practice. so i'm practicing. now i'm home in sunny santa monica, california -- and moving forward in my life with refreshed appreciation. and although i could easily move to Utah and become a hiking guide and bus driver, i will next play some shows in california and see how that feels. with Love, beth guaranteed anti-depressant!! Posted: Jan 2, 2008 oh my gosh!!! if you are feeling at all down... just listen to The Police - "Canary in a Coalmine" (off of Zenyatta Mondatta). it works unbelievably - hidden, magical endorphins within the music... then chase it down with "When the World is Running Down You Make the Best of What's Still Around". my suggestion, turn it up AS LOUD AS YOU CAN STAND IT! and concentrate on Sting's basslines... :) music is the food.... Peace out. beth January One Posted: Jan 1, 2008 once again it is a new year...filled with promise, excitement, beauty seen and unexpected, music, Love, laughter... my intention for this year is to express fully - to do, write, and sing everything i was meant to be, to express, to communicate. i commit myself to putting mindful and whole-hearted effort into my callings - my music, my art, my relationships...and to continue taking care of my body and my mind and soul... my commitment is to let myself, my Love-filled heart, dance ahead through life, and to shine my light as brilliantly as i can possibly shine it! if i am holding onto anything that doesn't serve my commitments...please may i let it all go, and let myself flow into the biggest Love i've ever known...the Love that is inside of me. i am indeed grateful for this day...i am truly grateful for this moment. it is a gift. i am most fortunate... "ring out the old, ring in the new, ring, happy bells, across the snow: the year is going, let him go; ring out the false, ring in the true." - alfred lord tennyson. thanksflowing... Posted: Nov 19, 2007 happy thanksgiving to all who are reading this, and to all who are not. many Blessings are wished for you... i know i am Love, i know i am Loved...i know i am growing as long as i'm flowing...in the giving of thanks, in the giving of breath and Love, i am flowing and growing. i am so grateful for my family, for my friends, for the Love in my heart...for my creative abilities, communicative power, for music, for flowers, for food, for my body, especially my body - it makes all those other things possible. happy thanksgiving with Love and Peace. ~beth Music + Art Posted: Nov 3, 2007 hey friends, it's been some time since i've written, even with so very much on my mind, in my heart, through my eyes and ears... mostly i've been so very busy - with music, with photography, work and play, with friends, family, alone time, silence, busyness, chaos. i've been taking more time to reflect and meditate, i'm finding it's Peaceful time out of mind and helps me to stay in Love with my life and all the people coming in and out of it. this coming monday evening, november 5th, i have the privilege of playing some music and showing my artwork at the elegant Air Conditioned Lounge in Santa Monica...details are in my 'shows' section. please come and enjoy the evening with me and many talented local artists and friends...hope to see you there. i wish all to be well in your world - drop me a line and say hi... Peace, Love, beth my goodness! Posted: Jul 12, 2007 hello dears, holy smokes! (is that an oxymoron? no...maybe not). the discriminating listeners of American Idol Underground have rated my song "Self Righteous Son of a Bitch" at 1 (that's Number One out of hundreds) this week in the Rock (and Roll) category!! go to this link if you wanna see for yourself that i'm not makin' it up! :) http://www.idolunderground.com/Pages/Charts/ChartDetail.aspx?GenreID=11 Love and Gratitude, Please and Thank You, beth good feelings...bad feelings... Posted: Jul 7, 2007 i've been feeling sooooo good...wrote a new song this past week that has found me in such a positive place of power and acceptance. went to my favorite, essential yoga class friday early evening, breathed like breath was going out of style (which it is), sweated the sweat of the serious... celebrated a birthday after that, with some friends... then went to the market for one thing on my way home, talked with some interesting people there, got in my new car... driving home safely, and out runs a cat right in front of me, which i hit and kill. i killed a big, beautiful boy cat last night. i put my hand on him, apologized to him, and stroked him while he died. and i cried and cried. i know things could be worse...and are worse in so many places. but i am very sad about it... no matter what, i keep letting go, and i look to the Light for my Love... 615Music in Nashville grabs Beth Wimmer songs! Posted: May 25, 2007 May 25, 2007: 615Music.com, based out of Nashville, has signed two of Beth Wimmer's original songs to their reputable library. Many thanks to Robert S. Williams and 615Music. To see Beth's listings, visit: www.615music.com/core/cd_list.cfm?id=1019 Make it a great week! Best in Music ~ Peace, beth Self Righteous Son-of-a-Bitch is #7 on American Idol Underground! Posted: May 25, 2007 Hey this is fun - Listeners on American Idol Underground have rated Beth's "Self Righteous Son-of-a-Bitch" as #7 of the Top 50 Rock songs this week! Thanks, people! www.idolunderground.com this evening - it's now my birthday... Posted: Mar 27, 2007 i think so clearly in the shower. i need pen and paper in the shower. i'm so clear-headed, when naked and wetted. i feel things clearly in the shower... a little poetry this evening, the eve before my birthday. i was not looking forward to my birthday this year - i was letting stuff, silly stuff like: 'how can i have exactly what i want right now in my life all the time', bother me. and i was making life wrong for flying by and taking me with it. but - after the news i've received lately: brilliant people i've listened to, hugged, and laughed with, losing their lives and leaving behind their little children...which then reminds me of all the brave and interesting and sweet people i've never touched nor seen losing their lives to wars, famine, disease, oppression... now i'm reminded how privileged and blessed and quite grateful i am to be celebrating another birthday. i'm here and healthy and it's midnight on march 27th, lovely california time. ahhhh damn. life is so beautiful and full of so many achingly lovely things - and it is so fleeting and delicate. be here now and live. not super original, i know, but super true. so, living: try it on, adjust the fit and wear it. your specialness and vibrance and sexiness and originality will shine through if you really really wear it. happy birthday to me... :) life makes me happy... "Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." ~ Henry Miller what i'm eating and Elliott Smith Posted: Feb 21, 2007 i'm Loving my dinner. i made a totally random meal - sauteed onions and carrots with tofu seared in amino sauce, then i spread it over a bed of romaine lettuce, added feta, slivered almonds and raisins...and my darling trader joe's sesame soy dressing. wicked healthy and really really yummy. so i sit and eat...and listen to elliott smith's 'xo'. and it's blowing my mind. again. always... taking it in nice and loud. ...and how i Love the 2nd track, 'tomorrow, tomorrow'. i listen to every sound and every second of it and i think 'how did he do that'. it's so beautiful. then i think, 'how could he do that?'...decide to end his life this time around and the way he did it. that hurt must have been unfathomable. it feels right to hurt sometimes, but i can't even imagine that... then track 3, 'waltz#2' is the finest waltz my heart has ever heard. now i'm onto track 5 and i hang onto every note again. the piano break in the middle is so simple yet so... last verse coming up: "the first time i saw you i knew it would never last. i'm not half what i wish i was. i'm so angry i don't think it'll ever pass. and i was bad news for you just because i never meant to hurt you". i hear him sing that, i imagine i know him, and i cry. i wish i could have met him and helped him. awesome that he expressed it all though, before he left. gotta express it all before we go. "i'm never gonna know you now, but i'm gonna Love you anyhow." ~elliott smith changes all around... Posted: Jan 23, 2007 Change is constant, and that is constantly happening in my life and all around me. People are showing up, people are leaving... My Loved ones are succeeding, and some are being hurt and then bouncing back resiliently, stronger than before. i Love seeing that. My challenge is to keep up with it all...my friends, family, myself and my mind and body, my music, my photography...with grace and ease, with effectiveness and Love, with an open heart and mind with which to see and feel the inspiration all around me. Every new year people say 'this is the year', and i think...'no, it probably isn't, cause what year really IS THE year??' ...but if we dream it, and if we envision it, and if we ACCEPT it, then, i guess...this IS the year. but first...THIS is the MOMENT. and moments are really all that we have. God Bless... MLK Posted: Jan 15, 2007 "If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live." ~ Martin Luther King Jr. i'm working on it Mr. King...i can think of one thing, so far, i'd die for...so i'd like to say i'm on the right track of this living thing. and in the meantime i'm waking up each day (at some point) and doing my best, even though at times it doesn't feel like it...i know i'm doing it. it's too heartbreaking, how much sadness and angst and anger and hatred is practiced in the world today - now more than ever. i see we make strides and i feel so good about that, then i see the huge steps backward, daily, as a race, a human race... it's the little, good, Loving people who make such a sweet difference day to day...you know who they are...thank God for them. i was trying to think of something inspiring to say...but i'm coming up small in the scheme of how large this Life is...be and teach Peace. let Peace teach and be... a happy and healthy new year. Peace. hard, but so good...nothing is better... Posted: Nov 26, 2006 than Loving, feeling so deeply, exchanging it, saying it, nourishing it, telling it, not speaking a word... it's hard to Love someone who is so far away...when you want them so close there is no space between you... then it's hard Loving someone so closeby you can feel them...but you don't hear from them. i feel pained for someone so beautiful, but so afraid of the power of Love that is available. but i will keep writing about it, feeling it deeply. i wouldn't want to be any other way. thank God i like my own company... :) musically, i've been writing a lot. not playing so many shows. this time of year i just Love going to others' gigs, parties, homes... and i Love staying at home on a chilly evening with my cats and my candles, and my guitar. awesome internet shows continue to support and play my music. they are so sweet to me. i'm going to mention them all, cause they are all so worthy of praise and mention: seems like every other day, www.artistlaunch.com lets me know that my songs "move on" and "self-righteous s.o.b." are charting, and featured...and my profile is often on their home page. thanks so much to Paul and Paul at artistlaunch.com and www.freeworldradio.com! the lovely and talented 'Nette continues to spin my songs on her show, www.netteradio.com, based out of her studio in dallas. she plays inspired, unsigned women from piano to punk! and 'Nette is a sweet musician in her own right: www.edenautomatic.com many thanks to Lazlo of www.lazlosden.com, based out of new jersey. Lazlo continues to play my music among some of the finest musicians ever. so nice to be included by someone with such great taste! next is Martin, live from Germany, and his nextbigthing podcast: www.nextbigthing.libsyn.com. Martin includes my song "move on" again and again on his fab podcast! and he is such a sweet-heart too! then, thanks to Dave at www.nessmp3.com. nessmp3.com is based out of Scotland, and my songs are doing well - have been in the top 20 on several occasions now. :) Also their live broadcaster "Retrosmith" has included my "lover from last summer" in his first podcast on podbean and says very nice things about my music. thanks Dave and Retrosmith! and last but not least is my darling Les Lewellyn, based out of alabama. Les continues to feature my music on his various podcasts, which are #1 out of millions: the Chill Pill show, and No Man's Land podcasts: www.preyinglizardmusic.com/podcast.htm. i cannot thank Les enough for his support and encouragement. he has become a dear friend... Love and gratitude to all of my friends, fans and family. Music, Life and Love are privileges that i will never take for granted. i promise to open my heart to the world, and open the world to my heart. Safe and Happy Holidays to all... God Bless you Isgo, i will miss you and never forget you. Peace, beth from nashville to venice... Posted: Oct 6, 2006 Hooooweeee! my, what a week it's been! just got back from Nashville where i had the best time ever – hearing music, playing music, making music. bein' good and bein' bad. my first trip there was ever so fortifying. had a blast thanks to playing some songs at Billy Block's Western Beat, then at BBKing's Blues Club for another set of tunes later in the week. (many thanks to billy block, and michael oneill for puttin' me up there). saw some smokingly beautiful music...james mcmurtry, anne mccue, randy weeks - to name some of my favorites... the music just kept spilling over me like warm honey. gosh-damn. :) and it helped that i was being held up and swayed with. that was fun. came back to cali to the festivities of the abbot kinney street faire in venice, CA, where i was fortunate enough to play a set of my tunes with my dear billy watts on electric guitar before thousands of people! what a fun, extremely warm, festive venice day! the sun on my back was baking my behind and that felt so nice! thank you so much to all my friends for coming out and diggin' in with me. so, my song 'self righteous som-bitch' is a finalist in the Dallas Songwriting Competition... wish me luck - more on that later. can't wait to see you again... beth Son-of-a-Bitch songs continues to connect... Posted: Aug 31, 2006 hello my friends... i've been feeling a bit...quiet for some time now. but you know, a closed mouth gathers no foot. but alas, the storm is coming - and i'm here & there, playing with music and life. so here's my latest musical news, and please know i invite you to write back and clue me in on what's new with you. after all, i have missed you. hope this note finds you well and enjoying your summer... * my song about an honest look at an unhealthy relationship, Self Righteous Son-of-a-Bitch, is currently a semi-finalist in the Dallas Songwriters Association 2006 Songwriting Contest. woo-hoo! wish me luck and cast some good-mojo thoughts to the judges. 'Self-Righteous' also recently finished in The Unisong Intntl Songwriting Contest in the Top 20 finalists of the Alt-Rock category. * this Sunday, Sept.3rd, i'm happy to be featured playing live for the multi-cam, streaming video broadcast of V.K. Lynne's Bare Bones 5. the effervescent V.K. Lynne's music-video show is brought to us by Flashrock.com and its very cool. find out more on v.k. lynne's myspace page (she's in my top friends). i'll let you know when the broadcast is up online and where to find it. * Sept 13th and 19th find me in fine company playing songs at Billy Block's Western Beat show on Weds, Sep.13th in Hollywood, CA at Highland Grounds, for Billy's 15-year-Anniv show, and on Tues, Sep.19th in Nashville, at 12th & Porter, for Billy's 10th year hosting Western Beat in Nashville! COME OUT and see these unparalleled Western Beat shows - they are the bomb, filled with kind people and incredible Americana talent from all over the country. more details below and at www.westernbeat.com * October 13th (Friday) and November 9th (Thursday), i'll be playing 45 minute acoustic sets at Gayle's Perks, in Northridge, CA. 9028 Balboa Blvd, 91325 i'll give you more details as the shows get closer (or see my website or myspace page for more info). * October 29th, Sunday night, i'll be at Synergy Cafe Lounge for an intimate, acoustic evening there along with some wicked-cool, talented friends - making music and merry. * my songs are featured regularly on Preying Lizard's Chill Pill Podcast show. Les Lewellyn hosts a supreme, eclectic choice of #1 weekly podcast shows. he is a GREAT d.j., with an acute appreciation for the myriad of quality, unsigned bands and music in the world. www.preyinglizardmusic.com/podcast.htm * please, please go see An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's presentation film on the crucial truth about what's happening with our planet. it's playing for FREE on Tues, Sep.26 at the Santa Monica Pier, CA, outdoors and under the night sky. www.santamonicapier.org www.climatecrisis.net * also special thanks, as always, to www.netteradio.com and www.lazlosden.com for their continued support and airplay. xoxo thanks so much for reading, and for spanning time with me. manythanks and muchLove, beth Self Righteous Son-of-a-Bitch Top 20 finalist! Posted: Jul 7, 2006 Hey there, i hope all's swell in your world. i thought i'd let you know the latest in my musicworld: My song, Self Righteous Son-of-a-Bitch finished in The Unisong International Songwriting Contest 2005 in the Top 20 finalists (in the Rock-Alternative category)! Woo-hoo! My guess is it probably would have been #1 if it were an all-female judging panel. :) The ladies seem to connect with that song especially, though it does strike a certain chord with the men... :) Anyway, i'm grateful, not bitter. really. So that was kind of neato. www.unisong.com A huge thank you to my friend Les Lewellyn of the band Dixie Lizard! Les continues to champion my music with his innovative internet radio shows and podcasts. Please visit his website at www.preyinglizardmusic.com Les plays my music regularly, alongside today's best indie music, on his weekly "Pirate Radio Indie Soft Rock Show", and on his daily podcast, "The Chill Pill Show." www.preyinglizardmusic.com/podcast.htm and Les has a brand new channel at TowerPod (yes, Tower Records sponsored) with his weekly podcast called "Preying Lizard Eclectic Pod." Les has wonderful taste in music, and he is putting forth amazing energy and effort into getting unsigned music out there and appreciated. All Les' shows are all riding high at number one on Google. That is just too cool! Also big thanks to Annette of www.netteradio.com 'Nette continues to play my songs on her fine radio program! 'NetteRadio is a weekly 2-hour internet radio show that is dedicated to promoting unsigned women musicians. Hosted by Annette Conlon from rock band Eden Automatic, the show broadcasts live each week from their studio in Dallas, TX. Tune in Wednesdays from 8-10 Central Time (6-8pm pacific) for the LIVE show. www.NETTERADIO.com and you can CHAT while listening at www.netteradio.com/chat.html and that's a fun little trip in itself. Just 2 weeks ago, 'Nette played my song "With Our Eyes Closed" - that song was a virgin to radio till she got her hands on it! :) Oh - I recently played an extraordinary solo show at David's Tavern in Newburyport MA! (June 25). The audience and energy were the BEST! i grew up in MA, so i was just thrilled and touched to see so many familiar (and looking mahvelous) faces from my old haunts (like...school) out at my show. Thanks so much to leslie and dave, richelle, diane, tim and jody and the gang, mi familia, maria, sue, pamela, valerie, all the new faces, everyone else, and the amazing staff at David's Tavern for welcoming me - what a great night! (David's Tavern, 11 Brown Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950. 978.462.8077) And lastly but most importantly - please, please go see Al Gore's riveting presentation on the Earth and Global Warming. "An Inconvenient Truth" is confronting, yes, but still there is hope if WE ALL act now. We need to. www.climatecrisis.net. Love and Music, Please and Thank you, beth disappointed yet blessed... Posted: Apr 11, 2006 and i call myself a writer...i feel like a mere typer these days. and i hadn't typed any greetings for far too many days here on the ol' website. with myspace messages, emails, thank yous (which i'm grateful to have reason to write), follow-ups, more follow-ups, giving my word, using my words, reading your words plus lots of other words... anyway, point is, i don't feel i've had the chance to be creative of late - to be quiet, attentive to the moment, creative and free. i shall be. i'll keep you posted on that progress. NEWS NEWS NEWS...let's see: my song "Live Within Live Without" is in the Top 10 best songs of www.Broadjam.com in their Rock/psychedelic genre! that's neat. thanks to all the Broadjam members and their generous listening and support. i have a new friend via the internet who is super-sweet and talented. his name is Les Lewellyn, he's living in Dothan, AL and he is a huge Lover, supporter, and maker of independent music. he has my music on his edgy and insightful music website and on his radio show this week! on www.preyinglizardmusic.com/pirateradio.htm Les is also one of my friends on myspace - his profile is Dixie Lizard... and I'M on myspace at: www.myspace.com/bethwimmer it's crazy and fun! i've found some really great music on myspace, and met some very interesting people from far, far away - it's pretty amazing. two wonderful internet radio broadcasts have been featuring my music pretty regularly: ~on tuesdays and thursdays at 5pm-PST, 8pm-EST, the refreshing Lazlo has a phenomenal online radio show: www.upstageradio.com to listen, or www.lazlosden.com - out of new jersey! ~on wednesdays, 6-8pm PST on www.netteradio.com LIVE on www.RenegadeRadio.net oh, the lovely sounds 'Nette plays - live from texas! my music is also on these great music sites: www.limelightradio.com www.freeworldradio.com www.broadjam.com and the KAOS Music Department at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA www.kaosradio.org kaos_music@evergreen.edu request line:(360)867-KAOS so there's all that...thanks for reading! i have been playing gigs and writing tunes...and trying to stay healthy and happy in a world which can make no sense and alienate and infuriate. i can't believe how much we (the people) are willing to take - with this current violently crooked administration, with the man trying to sell us everything, and with society and even our own peers asking us to compare ourselves and sell up...sell up. i generally do not wax political...but i guess i needed that. i feel better now. Peace and Music. Love, beth Beth's 'Situations' enters Broadjam's Top 10! Posted: Mar 3, 2006 hey Lovers, fighters and harley riders... i know you’re out there – and i hope everyone is doing as well as can be in these strange days of divinity and deception. thanks so much to everyone for coming out to my Temple Bar show last week – what a great night that was! i had a blast, and i am so grateful and inspired by your support and your warmth. during this time of acceptance speeches, i want to thank Broadjam and its members and listeners, at www.broadjam.com, for their support! – my song ‘Situations’ has made it into their TOP 10 in the Folk-Alternative category...it’s been there for four days now – yeeha! now, here’s what’s cookin’ for my tunes in the land of internet radio-play: Two, fine internet radio programs have been playing my tunes pretty regularly! – such swell folks, i’m grateful: Every Wednesday, www.netteradio.com (6-8pm PST, 8-10pm Central time) the darling host ‘Nette plays some outstanding female artists, from piano to punk. ‘Nette featured my heart-achey ‘Calling All Hearts’, on her valentine’s show. this show is based outta Texas, check their SHOWS page for rebroadcasts. And every Thursday on Lazlo’s Den, on www.upstageradio.com (5pm PST, 8pm EST) Lazlo played my song ‘Every Time’ last week on the 23rd, amidst some very fine, well-Loved artists. i was honored. ya never know what Lazlo’s gonna play, but he seems to have taken a shine to my music, bless him. also, be-friend him on www.myspace.com/lazlosden i’m playing more live shows on the near horizon (is there such thing as a near horizon?)... this Monday, March 6th, at the LAMN (LA Music Network) Jam!! @ The Scene, 806 E. Colorado St. Glendale CA 91205 7-9pm 818.241.7029 Free, all ages! i’ll be playing 2 songs, (as will several other musicians), then receiving critique on my songs and performance from industry professionals. (not sure which industry they’re from – maybe the steel industry??) and FRIDAY March 10th at Genghis Cohen!! 740 N. Fairfax Ave. L.A, 90046 8:15pm, $7, playing a 45 minute set of acoustic music. (no critique necessary) 323.653.0640 www.genghiscohen.com please come and be with me at Genghis Cohen! especially all you hollywood types who never seem to make it to the westside. :) i Love you guys. catch you later! Peace, beth radio airplay for beth! Posted: Feb 14, 2006 hey kids, happy valentine's day to all you Lovers - and damn that valentine's day for all those who hate it! (see how diplomatic i can be)?? so, my music's getting some attention from internet radio and college radio stations - yay! friends, please contact me if you need help with accessing any of these sites, or choosing a 'player' to stream through...it can be confusing if you're not so computery inclined (like me - i prefer wood and strings)! here's a list of online features and radio airplay happening for beth wimmer music: my CD, LIVE WITHIN LIVE WITHOUT, is being featured on the front page of www.ArtistLaunch.com. Artist Launch is a great site for discovering new, independent music! browse away...my CD will be up there for a few days. Artist Launch has added my song “Move On” at No 10 on the playlist of their internet radio station Enchantress Radio at http://www.artistlaunch.com/enchantressradio. The station features the music of outstanding female artists including Etta James, Michelle Branch - and now me. :) KAOS Music – Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA www.kaosradio.org. request line: (360)867-KAOS on “Lazlo’s Den” Thursdays at 5pm PST/8pm EST. Lazlo's Den airs on www.upstageradio.com. on Gatorzilla3000, DJ for *** BUZZ *** Yesterday's Music Today http://www.live365.com/stations/gatorzilla3000 on www.Limelightradio.com based out of New Jersey. they’re playing my song “Lover from Last Summer.” request it whenever you want by visiting their site! on... D'Art Radio "Where Indie Music Hits the Spot!" http://www.dartradio.com on Eric’s podcast of indie music, ‘Amplified’ - http://www.amplifiedpodcast.com. on www.netteradio.com LIVE on www.RenegadeRadio.net Wednesdays 7-9PM PST/8-10 PM CT From piano to punk the best unsigned women's music from around the world. (Rebroadcast on Free Radio Jackson http://www.live365.com/stations/aaronchilds Saturdays 2-4 CT) ...and more to come. i'll keep you in the soup. thank you so much for your support. Love, beth Creating myself... Posted: Jan 20, 2006 i can create myself, i can control myself, i can think positively...i know the universe sometimes works in reverse...the only way to get it is to let it be. new lyric idea...just had to put it somewhere. hope you are enjoying a healthy new year so far, with ease and creativity abounding. i have a bunch of shows coming up, i'm psyched about them. each one is important, thrilling, empowering, humbling...and brings me closer to true Love. i would Love to see you there. spanning time...we're spanning time... xo for all. bw happy hopeful new year Posted: Jan 10, 2006 greetings in this new year of 2006. here we go into the future!! watch out for the past, cause it's looming ahead...but i invite you to put it back where it belongs, in the past, and create something new for yourself and your life in this moment, and the next, and the next... last time i logged, or blogged in to write something to you all, i was overwhelmed by man's (and nature's largely, though quite likely karmically brought on by man) inhumanity to man. (tho i should be p.c. and call it HUman, not just man...in all fairness to all the fine men out there). but i digress... anyway, i (as were most of you) was devastated and shocked by current events. and we're living in the most difficult of times. i had mentioned i would write again when i thought of something i could do. well, i'm still overwhelmed, but i did "do" some stuff which may have helped in some small way. i donated. time, money, and energy...to MuchLove animal rescue, to AIDS Project LA, to Project Angel Food, to Union Rescue Mission, to Amnesty International, and to my 93-year-old friend Marygrace Gordon who is very weak and lonely (among others). my secret desire is to drop out and join the Peace Corps and drop back in somewhere, unknown, and get my hands filthy and worn. but i have many desires i don't act on (thank God). my commitment, however, is to be an integral part of creating a world in which there is Love, generosity, and compassion happening for humankind (and animalkind) in every corner of the earth. i intend to do this through making myself aware of what's going on in the world, writing proactive letters to the people in "power" who speak for the rest of us, and by making money to share with the masses less fortunate. and by being a positive, open, supportive person on all levels. and of course, i have a continued commitment to making music that makes a difference - to me and to others. i hope to move and inspire people wherever i go. and to rock out!! or rock on! just plain rock, baby. happy new year. with Love and gratitude. beth this difficult world. Posted: Oct 20, 2005 October 20, 2005: unbelievable! all the tragedies everywhere! pakistan’s earthquake; guatemala’s hurricane and mudslides, small Mayan villages covered under 20 feet of mud; the U.S. east coast flooding; new orleans...more hurricanes on the way! my God, there are some huge spiritual-physical purifications happening in the world. understandably so. i looked online today and read that the Arctic ice caps are 20% less in mass than they were in 1978. they are melting at a rate of about 8% every decade. that’s got to be due to global warming, and in turn continuing the cycle of the warming, and i would think it’s changing the very earth and the atmosphere. i’m no scientist but i’m not too dumb either. :) it will be astonishing, i'm sure, to see what major catastrophe(s) i may see when i’m an old woman...or long before. yikes! it's time to do something. be more involved. i'll let you know what i come up with - there are so many avenues one can take. i hope you and yours are well in your corner of the world. Love and Light, beth mid-September Posted: Sep 14, 2005 Hello friends: If you haven't already done so, please go to redcross.org to donate for hurricane katrina victims! i urge you to help, help is and will be needed for a long time to come. ...feeling melancholy these days. so much sadness happening to people. it's everywhere. usually i'm inspired to be a better person by every injustice and hardship i'm aware of...but this time i'm just too tired and saddened by it all. i just want to lie down and go to sleep for a few days... but, i know i have nothing to complain about. i am blessed, i am safe, i am well. i believe challenges happen for a reason...just not sure what it is this time. i wonder if anyone has any idea what the reason is. my friend meredith is asking for help with the animal rescue organization she works closely with. 'MuchLove' needs volunteers and supplies of all kinds to help with the influx of displaced and orphaned animals that are hurricane katrina victims. please go to Muchlove.org to help. next time i write, it will be something funny...to help relieve the stress of life. let me meditate and levitate and graduate to a lighter place. Namaste, beth First greeting from beth's new home-site. Posted: Sep 1, 2005 Hi friends, and thanks for visiting my new website. I hope this day finds you well and counting your blessings. Heartfelt condolences and Prayers of Healing go out to all of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Please help: Besides donating money, needed items and/or time through RedCross.org to aid people in the beloved South of the USA, music lovers can go to www.CDBaby.com and browse through the many cds by artists (including me) that are currently donating all of their proceeds from their sales to the relief effort for the hurricane victims as well. A wonderful idea put forth by CDBaby - thank you Derek Sivers. Please share your thoughts with me in the 'talk to me' section. More to come...