2011 – 2012 Gigs and Activities

The last three months of 2011 included opportunities to play out at Open Mics around Boston, with no gigs planned until August, when Nourish Restaurant in Lexington, MA hosts a night of "Mel Green & Friends"...

Appearances at the Lincoln Open Mic solo, and with friends Amy Lohman and Brad Meyer were a lot of fun and new three-part harmonies with them were great fun, sounded really good and inquiries when the new group would appear were asked. Very encouraging.

The beginning of 2012 was quiet, and now almost half way through February, I'm mulling over new directions, and ways to introduce songs that American audiences have never heard, including songs by my old friends from South Africa... this was brought about by an invitation for a couple of future radio shows which will center on music from the "hidden Years" when South Africa was blocked by an embargo that encompassed not only economic sanctions but also cultural.

Meaning: a lot of wonderful music was never heard beyond the borders of South Africa, and its a shame that it never was. I credit my old friend and colleague in folk music, David Marks for his never-yielding endeavours to make this period known to the world. (Visit 3rdEarmusic.com)

Every so often, I pull one of those old'ish South African songs out of my songbag when taking part at an Open Mic...  find it rather interesting that Americans tend to give the impression that they may be just a bit too xenophobic... that is, in my opinion they know very little about countries which have supported the USA in some way or other over the last century or two. South Africa was, and is still a resource for raw materials, especially mined ore. Gold, uranium, copper, and other rare metals to name a few. 

I sang "Mountains of Men" (about the gold mines) and "Shiny Fairy Gold" (about an old diamond prospector) by South African songwriter, David Marks recently at the Lincoln Library Open Mic to a hushed and interested audience.... and in the future I will present a few more by him and other writers, who never saw the limelight beyond South Africa's shores.

Watch this space for more.

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