2.23.14 Equality Cabaret, Marriage Equality in Marriage! 

Some days the hope & the love & the anything is possible flows so abundantly you don't know whether to cry or laugh or scream or kiss whoever is closest to you. WOW! This is one of those days.

Thank you to all who made Equality Cabaret: Making Marriage Equality a Reality possible! Special thanks to the Jim Toy Community Center & Cynthia Dunitz for all of the organizing work!! And what a thrill to share the stage with such phenomenal artists like Vienna Teng & Nervous but Excited. Stay up to date on how you can make a difference with the ongoing struggle for Marriage Equality in Michigan at HERE

2.22.14 BUY LOCAL Song update 

The original 'Buy Local' video (posted 12/4/13) had 15,000+ views in 2 months! It was taken down by YouTube earlier this month for allegedly violating YouTube's terms of service. We're still trying to understand what this means & are appealing to hopefully have it reinstated. In the mean time we are reposting the video.

I continue to be overwhelmed by the incredible generosity & enthusiasm of the 14 participating musicians, 40+ area businesses & organizations & the hundreds of supporters (individuals, organizations, businesses, media outlets) across the country who have helped spread the word! There is so much positive energy that continues to build & this is one small, though incredibly frustrating speed bump in the wider movements of community supported culture, localism, and sustainable commerce! Thanks again for all of your support!! Much love, Chris

12.7.13 BUY LOCAL premiere, release, buzz, press, 8,500 views 48 hrs in!! 

So much to catch up on! An absolutely beautiful night on Wednesday night at Frita Batidos to premiere the "Buy Local" music video. We had two showings, a packed house, and the community spirit was in full effect as we enjoyed the video & amazing food & drink together. Thanks so much to Eve & her crew at Frita for hosting us!! The video went online 5 minutes after premiere and it has been a wild ride since. 

Completely overwhelmed & heart fully melted by the response to the "Buy Local" video in these first 2 days. We're rocking 8,500+ views right now!!! The journey has reinvigorated my belief in community both here in Ann Arbor & with my broader community around the country & world. For me personally, the project has truly been about 'supporting my friends & neighbors' and trying to envision a healthy, balanced sense of commerce that fuels culture & community. Thank you, all, for helping spread the word! I've heard of listening parties, the video making biz/org newsletters, bands sharing on email lists, ShopLocally.com covered it, press by Damn ArborMLive.com & CBS Detroit, and of course so many of you sharing via fbook, twitter, and word of mouth! Let's keep it up!! Share it, like it, comment on it, spread the word on blogs, discussion boards, to your media contacts, tell your grandmother...grandmas seem to really like this...I think that's a really good sign! 

11.30.13 Buy Nothing Day, Buy LOCAL, and a future of balanced, healthy commerce 

This kind of ethic, vision, personality, and commitment to community shared so eloquently by the folks at Literati Bookstore is one of many reasons why I'm so excited for this "Buy Local" project! I am mindful of the devastating effects of unfettered capitalism, consumerism, and greed on the earth, workers, consumers, and communities alike. There are so many scholars, poets, preachers & teachers through the centuries who have spoken to that so clearly...from the current Pope to Ghandi to St. Frances of Assisi. Many people, including my dear friend Samuel Seth Bernard, lifted these concerns up yesterday by observing Buy Nothing Day rather than Black Friday. Let us hold these lessons close and help them shape our behaviors in the recognition that truly every dollar we spend is a vote for the future that we & our children will inhabit. Let us speak for a future of balanced, healthy commerce that is vibrant, kind to its workers, community focused, concerned for the earth, and breathes into being a more sustainable & living economy that values culture, community, and sustainability. -chris

From Literati Bookstore facebook post, Saturday 11/3013.
Most everything we do, we do with local small businesses:-Our T-shirts and totes are printed by VGKids, an Ypsi-based printing company
-Our cards are all designed by Ann Arbor artists
-Our bookshelves were re-purposed from Borders Store No. 1, or custom built by a local carpenter
-Our mugs were printed by Underground Printing
-Our bookmarks and some mugs were designed by Alisa Bobzien, a local artist
-Our window displays and were hand-painted and constructed by Samantha Schroeder, a local artist
-Our sign, coming this week, was designed by Oliver Uberti, a local designer, and built right here in Ann Arbor by Grafaktri

When you shop local, more of your money stays local. But more than that, it's also been a great way to meet new friends, neighbors, and keep alive what we love about Ann Arbor.

Happy Small Business Saturday!

7.28.13 Oregon, Song & Story Festival, & Steve Kinzie 


What a wonderful week of renewal, love, & community. Grateful for a beautiful reconnection/reunion with my Mutual Kumquat/Funkalicious brothers Nome McBride & Justin Peterson; special times with old friends & family; and such love & openness amidst sharing, singing, & camping together over the week from the whole Song & Story Festival family. Thank you all!!!


A highlight among highlights was getting to play bass with Steve Kinzie during his concert. I love this man. As a 10 year old he trained me in mediation & how to transform conflict on the recess playground of Laketon Elementary. As a teenager I looked up to him in awe as one of my favorite singer-songwriters. In college I studied Conflict Resolution with him at the University of Laverne. Over the last decade I have called him mentor and dear friend. What an absolute joy to share the stage! For those of you who don't know Steve check out stevekinzie.bandcamp.com!! We're only in Utah on our way home from Oregon & we've already listened through his new album 'Openings' at least 4 times...absolutely gorgeous.

6.29.13 More BIG News!! A Prairie Home Companion!!  

Checking 1 off my songwriter's bucket list!! Still wrapping my head around the fact that 2+ million folks are going to hear a tune ('Was it You') that Seth Hendricks & I wrote tonight on A Prairie Home Companion. Wow! No, I'm not performing...BUT soooo honored that my good friends Joy Kills Sorrow recorded the tune on their new EP. Tune in to your NPR affiliates at 6 tonight or 12 noon tomorrow. And check out their tour schedule...east coast in coming weeks...can't miss show!

6.25.13 BIG NEWS!! "Song for the Veggies" to be adapted into children's book!! 


Thrilled beyond thrilled to announce that I am working on a children's book adaption of my "Song for the Veggies" with the very talented artist Kay Guyer!! The seeds were scattered by several friends & fans almost 5 years ago and although its taken a few years, those seeds have vigorously germinated and Kay & I are committed to water, weed, and sing to our lovely seedling of a project with care & intention all the way through to harvest.


We are brainstorming many exciting ways to share this project & our love for veggies, the earth, and community with the world...hopefully in an engaging, beautiful, and imaginative way! But first, we are exploring printing & publishing options. Neither of us have done this before so we humbly ask for any advice, suggestions, brainstorms from our community. Many thanks & stay tuned for updates on the project in coming months! In the meantime check out a few of the illustrations from the upcoming book...


 

6.1.13 New gigs, new press, new concert videos! 

Well, it's been way too long checking in here. I hope your gardens are growing, you've had your first swim of the season, and the cookouts and campfires are raging. Some great new press has been rolling in for Beautiful and some exciting gigs have been booked for this summer & fall.  I'm really excited to share a few videos from a very special show at Arbor Vitae in Ann Arbor this spring. The talented sound/video genius Dave Schall of Dave Schall Acoustic captured the evening that featured The Sweet Insurrection band of Brennan Andes (bass), Mike Shea (drums), Ross Huff (trumpet), Alekos Syropolous (saxaphone), Seth Hendricks (vocals) and Drue Gray (vocals). Coming out of the dark and melancholy of winter, for me it was a night full of healing, hope, and vibrancy. It was a cozy evening shared with some beautiful people and I'm excited to share these videos and invite you in to that space as well. 

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12.14.12 "There are no words to express this horror." 

"There are no words that can express this horror."

When I heard the news of the school shooting today my heart felt an all too familiar sense of sadness and hopelessness, for this story as tragic and unbelievable as it is, has happened before, and I fear, will happen again. I looked up the video that our good friend Katie Cummings made inspired by our (Mutual Kumquat) song, "Blacksburg," in reflection to the tragic shooting several years ago in Virginia. It had been a long time since I watched this, and I watched it today with new eyes, tears flowing.

"Count the dead
shout their names
they will not be forgotten
these deaths will not be in vain
we all feel pain
we all have dreams
separation an illusion
we're in this together
you and me..."


11.22.12 For the Ancestors 

Thanksgiving 2012:
I am so eternally grateful for having known Phil & Louie Baldwin Rieman, Kenneth L. Brown , Ken King, Mike Brown, and Lori Waas. On this day of thanks, I am deeply humbled how these 6 passionate & visionary individuals impacted my life and the lives of so many others. Each in their own way built inspired, creative, and engaged communities wherever they were. I think of each of them often, in my music-making, farming, activism, friendships, and more than anything how I see their spirits and legacies living on in their loved ones. I know that for many of us who have experienced the loss of family or close friends, holidays can be a bittersweet time. I know for myself, holidays will never be the same since my beloved Aunt Louie and Uncle Phil died in a car accident on the way to our family's Christmas gathering almost 4 years. Although they are missed so, so much, my heart bursts with gratitude for the times that we shared and the full lives that they lived.

All 6 of these beautiful people were strong supporters of my music making. In different ways they supported & encouraged me to keep playing, keep writing, and to keep performing. That was so incredibly humbling and meant so much to me, because each of these folks were such mentors and inspirations for me. In the weeks and months after my aunt & uncle passed, I knew a song was being born. I knew that it would be rooted in African soil, where my aunt & uncle spent many years working & living. I also knew that it would need to capture the immense grief that my family & many friends were experiencing while at the same time lifting up the hope, celebration, and goodness of life that I knew Louie & Phil would want in such a song. It was the most difficult & challenging song I've ever written. There were many moments where it felt like too much and that it wasn't going to happen. It took several years to come fully to life, and in that time Ken King, a visionary farmer/musician/community builder in the Ann Arbor area and my dear professor/mentor/friend Ken Brown also passed. Both of their deaths also came way to early and they left huge holes in their communities and immense legacies that their friends, families, and communities continue to live into. As I and my communities were experiencing these new waves of grief, the song, "For the Ancestors" was finished. I performed the song for the first time at the 2011 Song and Story Fest amidst 150 good friends, many of them who had know Phil and Louie as well as Ken Brown. Two of them, Mike Brown and Lori Waas, were hearing this song for the first time it was performed while also hearing me play for the last time, as each of their deaths were to come in the the following months. Both parents of some of my closest friends, they had themselves became dear friends of mine as I learned to appreciate each of their strength, passion, and love of family, community and the world.

Over the course of the last year, a group of incredibly soulful & talented Ann Arbor musicians as well as some of my Mutual Kumquat bandmates helped bring the song to life as 1 of 10 songs on my first solo record, Beautiful. And most meaningful of all, my dear cousins (Phil and Louie's children) helped record background harmony vocals on this song. I am so, so proud of how it came together and I remember each of these 6 people who touched my life so deeply every time I sing it. 

Today I lovingly remember Phil & Louie Baldwin Rieman, Ken Brown, Ken King, Mike Brown, and Lori Waas. I send out huge prayers and thanks of love & gratitude to each of their families and to others who are going through similar journeys in their own families.. I continue to grieve the loss of each of these incredible folks, and honor and remember their lives & legacies with the light and reverence they shared so freely with the world.