What News? August
(terry gonda newsletter)


terry's Eighth Notes

Ahh summer...this is the first real summer weather I remember in a very long time. Thank goodness for air conditioning however. I hope you have not been too uncomfortable!

Recording...
I've actually been writing a bit...very different, very cathartic stuff. Just recorded a new one this weekend. We'll see what makes the cut. I've done a bit of recording as I mentioned in past newsletters and will be doing more over the next few months. Day job has been rather...well...VERY demanding. Good news is that I have some support in the PR end of things. More to come as news develops. I now plan for a spring release. I know..you've heard that before. :)

Some playing around...
In May I was one of 8 finalists at the first Susquehanna Music and Art Festival emerging songwriters contest in Maryland. An incredible location. Low attendance numbers, but that's not unusual for a first time festival. I loved the mix of performers. I also have to make a plug for Groovelilly. If you haven't heard of them...check them out! Look for this festival next spring. The picture below is from the "Gospel Hour" on Sunday morning. Kim and Reggie Harris, Terri Allard, Terry Gonda (in yellow with signature vest, leading "Amazing Grace"), Tom Prasado-Rao, Lisa Beth Weber, Greg Greenway, and David Roth.

tg at SMA

I came and did a couple of songs and had a great time at the annual music show/fundraiser at the Church of the Holy City hosted by Rev. Renee Billings-Machiniak again this year. A great community.

In June, I performed at Vic's Music Corner, in Rockville, MD opening for Jeff Lang (Australian). He's lovely. An incredible guitar player. Made some new friends and converts to folk music and then, on three hours of sleep, Vic, Reba, our friend Sue and I flew out to Colorado for Steve and Kristin Clark's wedding. I've never been to a more perfect wedding. Outside in Estes Park in a mountain forest clearing...hummingbirds, butterflies...the works. I mention this because it was a true folkie event. In addition to being my "folk" brother, Steve is a mover and shaker in the biz and runs a house concert out in Lyons Co. Many of those in attendance were from the folk community. Also, on the night before, the couple hosted an open mic where all got to get up and do something for the couple. I sang a nice little song and then along with a friend of Kristin's, skewered the couple with a parody of Closer to Fine written in the previous hour. Life is good. They are a most wonderful couple.

In July, I had the pleasure of sitting in with a man whose voice melts me to my toes...he's also my great buddy--David Mosher. I sang on David's last CD and he was kind enough to invite me along. He and Kitty Donahoe performed for a fundraiser for the Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, MI

I was honored to sing at a memorial service for a most incredible man-- Mike Saboe. I wish I could explain to you how inspired I was by the stories shared during that service. Oh...that's right, I'm a songwriter...perhaps one day I will try. What I will say, is that he learned how to live each day to the fullest and encouraged others to do the same and be the best they could be. To reach for their glory. I felt nudged by Mike to sing the song I wrote last Autumn, "Calls You By Name", at the end of the service, for the message contained within is exactly how Mike lived. I included the lyrics in an earlier newsletter. If you missed it, they are here.

I may be busy with engineering work, but I do find ways to blend my separate lives...I just got back from a week up north (upper peninsula MI), where I sat on a stool and played on the shore of Lake Superior for my own enjoyment and then later played a few songs for some engineers from the US, Germany, UK, and Israel at a picnic. I do live a very interesting life. Now I'm off to the UK to attend and play at the Greenbelt Festival for the third year in a row. Then back home for the Arts Beats and Eats Festival in Pontiac MI.

As always, keep the house concert option in mind. They are soooo easy to do and it is more fun than you can imagine. Bring this music to your home and your friends. You don't have to start a series. You can just commit to one.

Schedule

Aug 24
Cheltenham, UK
Greenbelt Music and Arts Festival
8:45-9:30 pm
Performance Cafe Stage

Labor Day Sep 2
3:00-3:45pm
Pontiac, MI
Chrysler Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival
Anti-Defamation League Stage- At Lawrence and Saginaw.
Bring a hat if it's sunny. We learned that last year! Come early...the food
choices are extraordinary--seriously. And there are very nice art booths
to wander around.

Happy Summer,
tg

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