"It Shoulda Been Pete" and "Too Big"

I just have to share what may have been the most amazing afternoon of my life. I went to the weekly peace vigil that's held in Wappingers Falls, that Pete Seeger often attends. He was there today, and asked me again to sing my song "Peace Pilgrim" (second song on my CD). I didn't bring my guitar, so he accompanied me on the banjo and joined in on the chorus, as did the dozen or so other demonstrators. I was so awed by the thought that Pete was playing and singing my song that to this minute I'm not sure I remembered to sing all the verses.

Then Caitlin O'Heaney, bless her heart, who lives in Beacon and is a good friend of Pete's, asked him if I could sing him my song about him, "It Shoulda Been Pete." I had sung this song at the last "Water Not Weapons" hootenanny at the Yippie Museum Cafe, which is where Caitlin heard it. Joel Landy's intrepid high school students recorded the entire hootenanny, which can be accessed in four parts at Joel's web site,
sing freedom


I was the first performer in part three, which you can view by going to

this site
The second song I did on the video was "It Shoulda Been Pete." I'll talk about the first one in a minute. Anyway, Pete somewhat reluctantly agreed to hear it, and couldn't help himself -- he played along on the banjo, with a broad smile on his face. When I finished, he said, "I have to admit it -- it's a good song!"

I had been reluctant to direct anyone to Joel's video previously because I had heard from

Paul Kaplan
that Pete had personally called him and asked him to take Paul's song praising Pete off of You Tube. But now I feel I can at least direct a few people to this; it's not like it's on You Tube...yet...hopefully Pete won't object.

Here are the words to "It Shoulda Been Pete":

It Shoulda Been Pete (c)2009 Pat Lamanna

I heard the news the other day, it took me by surprise.
They said Barack Obama had won the Nobel Prize!
But, isn't this the very same man who sent more troops to Afghanistan,
And tortured prisoners in Baghram, and threatened to invade Iran?
So all that I can say is...

Chorus: It shoulda been Pete, it shoulda been Pete,
Gettin' that call from Oslo, it shoulda been Pete. (Spoken): Re-peat!
It shoulda been Pete, it shoulda been Pete…

I was so happy on that night when he won the election.
But that was just a year ago; and what has he done since then?
Please don't think me coarse or rude, but isn't this the very same dude
Who watched as Palestine got screwed, and Bush's black sites continued?
And all that I can say is...

Chorus

I'm willing to keep an open mind, someday he might deserve this.
But why not give it to a guy with 90 years of service?
Who taught the whole wide world to sing "My Rainbow Race" & "Dr. King"
And "Sailing Down My Dirty Stream"? Each time I hear that banjo ring,
All that I can say is....

Chorus

The past is past, what's done is done, there is no turning back.
But now we know what we must do: put pressure on Barack!
With letters, phone calls, emails, tweets, and demonstrations in the streets,
We'll use the lessons learned from Pete, build victory out of defeat,
So we won't have to say...
Chorus

Now, as to the first song I sang at that hootenanny, it was called "Too Big," and here are the words:

TOO BIG
© 2009 Pat Lamanna

When you whine and you cry that you’re too big to fail
When your Board of Directors is carted to jail
When you don’t make a damn thing that anyone needs
That’s when you know you’re too big to succeed.

When you write all the bills that the Congressmen pass
When you’ve got the World Bank to cover your ass
Your profits and bonuses, all guaranteed,
That’s when you know you’re too big to succeed.

Bridge: How do you know you’re too big to succeed?
When your only value is unabashed greed
And you don’t know who suffers, and you don’t care who bleeds,
That’s when you know you’re too big to succeed.

When you don’t have to worry that the markets will crash
And you think the whole world is for dumping your trash
While plains turn to desert, and icecaps recede
That’s when you know you’re too big to succeed.

Bridge

When the people wake up and they open their eyes
And they look all around and they start to arise,
And they keep right on rising till everyone’s freed,
That’s when you’ll know you’re too big to succeed. (Repeat 3 times.)

Radio Head

Happy New Year!

On Monday, January 4, 2010 I drove out to the Pine Hill Community Center for an interview with Terry Doyle of Imprint, an Internet radio show. My show will be aired the week of January 24th. For the exact schedule, visit www.imprintradio.com.

I’d met Terry at NERFA, the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (http://nerfa.org) conference in November. I was sitting at the Peoples Music Network table; he was tabling nearby. I gave him one of my CDs. A few days after NERFA, I got an email from Terry: Pat, I like the sound and feel of your CD…I’d like to line you up for an interview for the ‘imprint’ program in the near future.” (I should mention here, I print out all the positive feedback I’ve gotten about the CD and file it in a folder marked “CD Project Feedback.” When I’m feeling down it’s great to read through it all.) It took awhile to work out a day that was good for both of us, but finally here was the day.

Driving out to Pine Hill was a joy. Pine Hill is a tiny town off of Route 28 just 10 miles past Phoenicia, the town where Camp Woodland was located. I always love to drive to the Catskills. On this day, there had been a rather serious snowfall the day before, so it lay still white and enchanting on both sides of the road. The roads themselves had been plowed and sanded with red dirt that stuck to my tires and the bottoms of my boots, when I walked through the parking lot. Along the way I stopped at Bread Alone, my favorite bakery, for a loaf of organic mixed grain.

Terry was waiting when I arrived. We spent about an hour chatting before getting down to the 18-minute interview. Terry had chosen three good songs to play and had come up with some great questions. It went smoothly, I thought, and I said most of what I had wanted to. (I did forget to plug Peoples Music Network, but that’s the only regret I have.)

I’ve been doing whatever radio I can, but I guess I’m not doing the shameless self-promotion bit as I should be. Oh well, I have a day job; this is a hobby and I can do (or not do) what I want.

Good news

Two good things happened this weekend. One, I went to the peace vigil that takes place at a major shopping intersection every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Sometimes Pete Seeger is there, sometimes he isn't. I go when I can, whether he's going to be there or not (I almost never know anyway). Well, this time he was there, and there was an entourage of about 10 folks with him (one wag refers to them as "Pete-ophiles -- they only show up if he's going to be there). One of my friends had recorded "Peace Pilgrim" and "Stories" just for Pete to listen to. She played "Peace Pilgrim," and by the second chorus, Pete was singing along!

At 2 p.m. our custom is to gather around a tree and sing a few peace songs before parting ways for the week. This same friend asked me to sing "Peace Pilgrim." Pete played along on the banjo, and once again sang on the chorus, and praised the song as "beautiful." I gave him the CD; he was amused that there was a quote from him on the back. At someone's request, he played "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy," which, alas, is still relevant.

Oh, and three people bought my CD, on the strength of the one song I played!

Then I got an email today. A friend had been at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Bennington, VT and had heard Cindy Mangsen cover "Stories"! This is quite an honor to me because I think very highly of Cindy Mangsen and her husband, Steve Gillette (www.compassrosemusic.com).

So it's been a great weekend. I know there are ups and downs in this business; I'm just glad for every up.

CD Release Party, and NERFA

My CD Release Party was on the afternoon of Sunday, November 1, 2009. I was extremely fortunate that many of the people who'd performed on the album were able to attend and back me up. Only the violinist and harmonica player were unable to make it. About 30 people came, some from a distance -- and gave me a standing ovation! My first one ever!

I had each of my backup performers do a song of their own. That took some of the pressure off of me and I think made it a more varied, and therefore enjoyable, concert. The other performers seemed to feel I was doing them a favor, but really it was a favor to me as well. I'm really glad I did it.

I sold about 17 CDs that day. I'm not keeping track as well as I should, I suppose. I have 1,000 of the things. I doubt I'm going to be running out. But I should keep some sort of track so I'll get an idea of when I break even. I figured out that I'd have to sell about 366 of them at $15 each to break even. But I did give someone a discount -- she wanted ten, for Pete's sake! How cool is that? Another person bought 6, and another 3. That's when I really feel like my music must be making a difference. I expected my friends to buy it for themselves, but I didn't expect them to be buying copies to give away to people who don't know me. A good feeling.

Speaking of Pete, I gave Pete Seeger one at a rally we were at together but he left it behind when he left the rally. I hope that was a mistake. I'm going to try again, though he may really not want it. I know he gets a lot of unsolicited music, but we stand together at the peace rallies many Saturdays so I thought maybe I was different. But maybe not.

I went to NERFA this year for the first time. It was daunting. I'm not ready for the level of shameless self-promotion in evidence there. I just feel blessed to have a day job that can support this habit. There's no way I could make a living off of this if I had to hustle like that. I give folks a lot of credit who do music for a living, and I do what I can to support them. There sure are a lot of great singer-songwriters out there.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you all have as much to be thankful for as I have.

The first two weeks

The album came to the UPS location near me on Thursday, Oct. 1. I picked it up, because the thought of 1,000 CDs sitting in my driveway while I was at work was disturbing. There were only five boxes; I thought there would be more. But, it was a fairly minimal package, so it didn't take up much room.

I listened to it. Then after awhile I stopped listening to it. I sent a whole bunch away -- to friends, family, radio DJs I know. I let some people know it was out, and the checks started coming. People are buying it!

I brought it to a few gigs and open mics, and sold a couple that way. Not as many as I'd hoped, but still...each one is a big deal still! I'm getting lots of good feedback. It feels good, but I remind myself -- those are my friends; they have to say nice things. Anyway, slowly, little by little, it's getting out there.

If you want a copy, send a check made out to Pat Lamanna for $15 to 27 Meyer Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. I should also be on CD Baby eventually, but not yet.

Now I'm getting nervous

You may notice, these posts are getting further and further apart. I feel like my life is going to change when the album comes out. (And when I let everyone know that I have this blog.) And the album has been shipped -- and will be here in a couple of days!

I'm having a CD release concert on Sunday, November 1 at 2 p.m. My friends who helped me on the album will back me up on some songs, and do some songs of their own. It will be a blast!

And I'm starting to make lists of all the people I'm going to send the album to when it arrives. I have to stock up on mailers, and stamps. I'm going to have to learn how to post songs to MySpace. I'm going to have to learn a lot of things. As if learning to play guitar, write lyrics and music weren't enough.

Do I not sound happy enough? Should I be more euphoric? Or is this normal?

I've decided: it's normal.

We Will Survive

Well, now that you have the lyrics, here's what's been happening:

The master CD and the artwork have all been sent to Oasis, and I'm waiting for the final product to be delivered.

Meantime, I went to Summersongs (www.summersongs.org) the last weekend in August and played my song, "We Will Survive," to great acclaim. My dear friend David Beede video'ed it and posted the video on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUr5Pmww7Ok

On September 11, I attended a David Roth concert. He and Penny Nichols, founder of Summersongs, both praised the album. What a wonderful feeling! They are both such excellent performers themselves, I felt honored to hear their kudos.

Now is the waiting time, till I receive my treasure.

I scheduled a CD release concert for Nov. 1 from 2-4 p.m. Many of the folks who played on the album will be there to back me up, and they'll also play a tune of their own.

Don't know what else to say. It's all very exciting!