Whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

We are closer and closer to the new cd. I'll tell you what, childbirth isn't as hard as making a CD!

We will be at Airshow tomorrow (friday 1/26) mastering the cd with Charlie Pilzer, engineer extrordinaire and super musician in his own right (a Grammy winner, no less!) and then we're just waiting for the lovely Amy to finish the cover...and we're done! More or less.

Thanks again to all of you who have contributed to this effort, we could not have done it without you! And no small thanks go to our various partners who have put up with vast amounts of &^@%$# while we were doing this!

Ok, you get the idea. It is going very well though...Rowan and Henry and Brooke have spent days now mixing (can you see the blood coming out of our ears?) and really, it all sounds quite nice

Well, REALLY, it sounds GREAT!

We are all very excited about it now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

just keeping you posted!

There were several people who wanted to contribute to the cause (see
the 'news' page on our website) but wanted to do it through PayPal.
Well, your dreams are now reality! Tinsmith is slowly moving into
the new century and now we are PayPal enabled!

If you are interested in contributing to our trip to Memphis (for
which we will list you on a banner at our showcase and also on the
NEW cd), just send me an email (brooke@tinsmith.net OR
tinsmith@tinsmith.net) and tell me how much you would like to
contribute. I will then 'invoice' you via email (it will be from
tinsmith@tinsmith.net I think) and voila! Solvency! We so
appreciate the donations we have received already, and believe me, no
gift is too small...every dollar helps!

For those of you who are more solvent yourselves and are interested
in investing in the new CD, we are offering returns starting at
.30/CD for a minimum investment of $200, up to a return of $6.00/CD. If you are intrigued by this, drop me a line: brooke@tinsmith.net

Thanks so much for your ongoing love and support!
Tinsmith

Wow! We are so grateful to all of you who are helping us attend Folk Alliance! As many of you heard, we were invited to play there in February, which is a VERY exciting opportunity...but also VERY expensive. Thanks to those of you who have already sent checks, and to those waiting for PayPal...bear with me! It's coming soon : )

Thank you all so much, we appreciate your support, your confidence in us and your generosity!

All of us wish you a beautiful, happy, healthy New Year...
love from
Tinsmith

Well, I know you are all wondering what on earth happened to Tinsmith....we've just been working very hard on the new album! We are still together, still playing, still recording (!)

But we are almost done - hooray! The new album is in the mixing stage and sounds great. Some cuts you will be familiar with from "The Flash Lad" ep, but most are new: Bolts & Locks is on there, and Thousands are Sailing...two big favorites at our gigs, as well as many more.

And we have exciting news: we were selected to play at the 2007 Folk Alliance conference in Memphis, Tennessee. Since that happens to be the last week of February we are going to have a nice little tour, Memphis to Dallas, Tx for the North Texas Irish Festival the first weekend in March, with a stop in Little Rock, we hope, for a nice concert series there.

Here's the one hard part about Folk Alliance - we pay them to play and the bill is pretty hefty, around $700 (phew!). We would be grateful for any assistance that anyone can give us on this front, in return for which, we will list you as a supporter at our "performance alley" venue.

Any takers? Contact Brooke at brooke@tinsmith.net or at 540-675-3601

This is our next big step, help us take it!

Ok, I know this isn't about Tinsmith, but those of you who haven't had the pleasure of hearing Quicksilver are about to get a second chance - this is from the emial I recieved from them today:

Wednesday 25th October. Our final gig is another much anticipated
return, this time to Focus Music, Rockville Pike Maryland. We had a
great time here on our first trip to the States and are delighted that
we have been invited back to O'Briens Bar and Grill for a fitting
finale to our tour. For more details call Scott Moore on 301 309 0983
or David Spitzer on 301 424 2161.

THEY ARE FABULOUS! Hard to describe the level of talent and taste and skill and ..... well you get the idea. And they are really fun and REALLY funny.

be there!

As per usual, Potomac Celtic Festival was a blast, only more so. The music was especially good this year, with Grada, Matt & Shannon Heaton, Laura Cortese, Coyote Run, Iona....TONS of really good players, poets, bards and dancers... AND my all-time favorites, Le Vent du Nord.

Le Vent du Nord is a Quebecois band which includes Benoit Bourque - formerly of Matapat - and super fiddler, founder of Quebecois record label Roues et Archets and all around nice guy Olivier Demers. And it goes without saying that any band with a hurdy gurdy player of the caliber of Nicolas Boulerice and a guitar player like Simon Beaudry is a band you must see. Hopefully some of you in the DC area got to check them out when they played the Institute of Musical Traditions, but for those of you who haven't heard them yet, go to their website at www.leventdunord.com. And then if you still haven't gotten enough Quebecois music, check out www.rouesetarchets.com, Olivier's record label of all Quebecois music (the site is in French...but the order form is available in English).

It was really brought home to me this year at PCF how very much festivals of this size - really all festivals - rely on volunteers: Those loving and dedicated people who do all the grunt work, put up tents, pick up garbage, pick up musicians (different?!?), supply food, comfort, wo/man power, sound equipment, water, band aids, kleenex.......

You get the idea.

Tinsmith would like to specially thank all the volunteers at PCF, and all the festivals we are fortunate enough to perform at, for their dedication to the music...WE APPRECIATE YOU!

We would also like to thank all the sound technicians at this year's festival, all of whom went above and beyond the call of duty (and pay) to supply us with beautiful sound amplifications with no hassles! Thanks guys!

And last but not least, thanks to all of you who come out every year to listen and support all of us -
we play for you

love
Tinsmith

It is kind of like a soap opera you know. Recording that is. The only difference is that in the Tinsmith soap opera of the never ending recording:


nothing happens



at all



but in fairness to all of us slackers in Tinsmith, we've all had a huge amount of real life going on lately. So, I vow and solemnly swear to NEVER EVER AGAIN predict the release date of any CD that I have anything to do with. There. Perhaps that will appease the Gods Of Recorded Music. Let's hope so.

That said, we are slowly plugging away at the thing (very tentatively titled "An American Wake") and hope to have some kickin' guest artists join us on it too....(but me, I'm not committing to anything as I don't want to piss Them off again!)

So for all you loyal fans who are oh-so-patiently awaiting the new CD, bear with us a little longer. We do believe that the wait will be worth it!

Hello all,

June is turning out to be a busy month for us. Potomac Celtic Festival is coming up fast...and for all you faithful PCF goers PLEASE NOTE: The festival is usually the second weekend in June but this year it is the THIRD WEEKEND IN JUNE due to conflict with some other large festivals in the area. That's June 17-18 for you calendar-oriented types!

The weekend after Potomac Celtic we've got two exciting gigs, both on June 24th. At 1pm we'll be playing at the Mountville Folk Festival in Middleburg, Va. This is a show run by our friend Andrew McKnight - a fantastic singer-songwriter - and should be alot of fun. He gets a huge variety of performers and packs us all in at his beautiful farm. It'll be a blast and you get great value for your entertainment buck! Details are at a rudimentary website: http://www.myspace.com/mountvillefolkfestival and if you want to go, email Andrew at: southernexposure@adelphia.net for directions.

THEN, the evening of June 24th, we will be playing a house concert at the gorgeous house-in-the-woods of Barbara Ryan and Bernard Argent of the band IONA. The concert starts at 7:30pm (in Fairfax Station, Va), admission is $15 which includes snacks and soft drinks, but you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnics. Call Barbara at 703-426-1450 or e-mail ionavoice@pobox.com for directions.

I hope we get to see you at one or all of these great Virginia venues!

We just put up some new new music for yal to listen to and download. There's one track from the 'Flash Lad' EP, higher quality versions of all the older mp3's, and a couple of preview tracks for the upcoming 'An American Wake' CD.
Enjoy!

Say it over to yourself again......."wolftrap"

Doesn't that sound great?

Even better, say "Tinsmith is playing at Wolftrap"

Because we are!

Now say, "I must go online and buy tickets RIGHT NOW"

Do you sense a hidden message here?

The subtle hidden message is....

TINSMITH IS PLAYING AT WOLFTRAP AND YOU SHOULD BUY YOUR TICKETS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Details? Right here:

Tinsmith opening for
Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne
The Barns at Wolftrap
Wednesday March 15, 8pm
Tickets: $18
http://www.wolf-trap.org/performances/show031506.html

But seriously, we are very excited about this gig. Any of you who have been to the Barns know that it is a truly wonderful place to hear music, and those of you who haven't should really find out! Plus, Niamh (pronounced "Neeve") Parsons is a fantastic singer with a lovely repetoire. Other Irish singers are better known in this country, but Niamh deserves to be one of them...come hear her and find out what you've been missing.

Well thanks to those of you who have sent us album name ideas. Some are .... odd. Ok DiMatteo - you win for strange/cool though: "niaga su"

get it?

try it in the mirror. I thought that was kinda fun.

Well pbtttthhhhttt to you too. So we were BOTH bored that day!

Work continues apace on the new album. Maybe we'll just release it serially, like Dickens did with his novels! Look, he's famous right? Why not us?

That said don't forget to check out the schedule page for upcoming gigs...St. Patrick's day is around the corner after all!

January has certainly been a month of hibernation for us. We've been slowly working on the new album. Ok, did I SWEAR that it would be out by the first weekend in March? Hmmmm.....maybe not. However, we are all very excited about it, it is sounding very good and it won't be too much later than that (I hope!). I hate eating crow. It's really only good with a really fine burgundy and I can't afford it right now!

We've been struggling to find a name for this album...usually they come very easily, but this one is fighting back. I came up with numerous names while doing a boring drive to Richmond but they were all shot down. Cretins. Hey, what's wrong with "Stairway to Tir-nan-Og"?!?! That said, no obvious contenders have come up. Any ideas?

We are dedicating January and February to the album (and day jobs too sadly) so no gigs, but March is already busy for us...New Deal Cafe for the first time in ages - that will be fun. Also, North Texas Irish Festval again hooray AND our very exciting opportunity to open for the great Niamh Parsons at Wolftrap. Check the schedule page for more details.

Work is progressing apace on our new album!

No one believes me, I know, but we will have it in hand by the beginning of March!

We'll get some preview cuts up on the website so you can hear it

Hello to all and happy holiday of your choice! Below is some sad news, but also an opportunity for us to help a friend:

From: Dannythedoyler@cs.com

Dear Friends,

Here I come again putting on the "poor mouth," as they say. It is not for myself but on behalf of the extraordinary Scottish songwriter Andy M. Stewart.

For some years now Andy has had serious back problems which in recent months have grown worse which necessitated the cancellation of his Oct - Nov '05 USA tour. This was a grave financial blow, as you can well imagine. I do not know the full extent of his illness and Andy is not the kind to lay his troubles on other people.

I understand he will have a serious operation that will leave him incapacitated for some time. In the meantime he essentially has no job and no income. I need your help.

We all of us, or most of us, sing some of Andy's marvelous songs. Could we between us put our minds together and see if we can come up with an idea or ideas to raise some funds for him.

I have already received a most generous donation on his behalf. Danny O'Flaherty, who recently lost his pub in New Orleans, and who is himself in straitened circumstances, has donated $2,500.00 from the O'Flaherty Rescue Fund I organized here in DC. I am adding $500.00 to it and a bank cheque for $3,000.00 will be on its way to Scotland on Monday morning, to brighten Andy's Christmas.

We all know intimately what a precarious, unsteady, hand-to-mouth profession we practice and how difficult it can be to just get by. Andy is now going to have a very hard time simply getting by which is why I am writing in the hope that we can rally round and help a wonderful talent who has given us such great songs to sing.

I would be gratefull if you would please forward this appeal to all your fellow folk musicians and any of your audience that might be sympathetic.

Please make any cheques payable to: Andy M. Stewart and send them to me at 10836 Moore Drive, Manassas, VA 20111, or if you wish you could send them directly to Andy. Let me know and I'll forward his address.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas, lets get together and make Andy's a warm one. By the way, he is not a great man at the e-mail but it would be nice if you sent him an encouraging message: andymmusic@aol.com

Have a great Christmas and many of them,

Slainte, Danny Doyle.

PS. What would you think of putting together a CD of Andy's songs sung by others, including ourselves. Each artist contributing a track would buy say 50 copies to sell at their gigs with the monies going to Andy. If you think this would work please let me know what Andy M. Stewart songs you have recorded and I'll look over the titles and we'll get the ball rolling.

So we have lots of exciting news!

We have started recording the new album, which we GUARANTEE to have out by March (stop laughing! We will, really!)

For our friends in Texas, we will once again be playing at the fabulous North Texas Irish Festival March 4-6 2006

And a little closer to home, we will be playing the Barns at Wolftrap on March 15th, opening for Niamh (pronounced "Neeve") Parsons, who you should all come and hear because she is really wonderful.

Cool, huh?

Hello Tinsmith fans!

For those of you in Virginia, we finally have a gig in that beautiful state!

See us tomorrow night, Friday November 11 at the Colonial Tavern in Fredericksburg, 9-11pm - so you have time to get there after work (and so do we)

see our schedule page for more information

Do you know of any really cool musicans who aren't well known? We thought we might do a casual "Tinsmith Pick-of-the-Month" sort of thing.....

There is so much good music that this month (or maybe this is officially November's Pick) we have two. Rowan and I were very fortunate to open for one of them, Quicksilver (Hilary Spencer & Grant Baynham). What an amazing duo! They are from England and were VERY English in their delivery and humor (of which there was an enormous amount!). We laughed so hard I was afraid there would be an accident. And when we weren't laughing, we were marvelling and the superb guitar playing (Grant) and equally sublime vocals (Hilary). The only downside for Americans is that their albums don't convey the things that make their live performance so fantastic since they lack the spoken intros...but they are talking about doing a DVD, so watch their website:
http://www.grantbaynham.com/quicksilver/quicksilverindex.htm

The other supergroup is a duo that I saw at the Cincinnatti Celtic World Festival: Dempsey and Broughton. Kevin Dempsey plays guitar (and some other stuff on their album) and Joe Broughton plays violin (and some other stuff on their album too). I have to say though that the way I heard them was this: I was being a booth monkey (selling stuff) at this festival and our booth was at the main stage. This amazing music started happening and I stepped out to get a look and see who it was. Imagine my surprise when I found that what sounded like a five-piece band doing high-energy Irish, Middle Eastern and Eastern-European tunes and songs was actually two guys (and not really young guys either - move over all you teenage Irish supergroups!). The highlight for me was when Kevin broke a guitar string and as he changed it (really fast!) Joe proceeded to play a several-minute improv on "The Irish Washerwoman", changing keys seemingly at random but with amazing facility and virtuosity and making it all sound both musical and easy. Crazy. And then, as soon as the guitar string was on and tuned, they launched without pause back into the breakneck Middle Eastern tune they had been playing when all this started.

Their album "Freehand" is wonderful, though quite unlike the music they played at the festival. It is much more low-key and more jazz/contemporary folk but is really lovely and Kevin's voice is to die for. They do have another album - their first, "Every Other World", which I haven't heard. Check out their website too:
http://www.dempseybroughton.com

It's finally here!

The nights are cold, the days are beautiful, geese are flying, trees are turning color

AND, best of all, it's time for

ROWAN'S BIRTHDAY BASH!

It's very special this year as our own style-hound & chick-magnet is turning 30! Join us November 5th at the College Perk for a joint show with our good friends ILYAimy to celebrate.

Also in November, we'll be appearing for the first time at the Colonial Tavern in Fredericksburg, Va. Finally all you Virginians can come see us without crossing a bridge (shudder!!!). Hey, we've got some new music, make sure you get out and see us!

And using my crystal ball.......gazing far, far, far into the future......I see.....us freezing our butts off playing FIRST NIGHT EASTON! No, not really. I think we'll be inside, but Easton is a lovely town and they do a really fun First Night.

See you soon!

And here's a thought....

Did you know that Rowan & Henry play with other bands as well? Rowan is part of the fantastic and exciting band ilyAIMY. You can check them out at www.ilyaimy.com and hear them as well as see Rob's very cool artwork. Henry also plays bass with Dulcie Taylor, a wonderful guitarist, dulcimer player and songwriter (not to mention one of our favorite people all around). Her album "Mirrors and Windows" has been named one of the 12 Best Recordings of 2004 by Soundstage, along with CDs by such artists as Brian Wilson, Wilco, Los Lobos, and Peter Mulvey. Her website is www.dulcietaylor.com

Well, summer was just so horribly hot that I hibernated in my cellar and avioded as many responsibilities as possible, including updating the news! Sorry. But with the return of decent weather, I'm back online.

Tinsmith has some very fun gigs coming up in October, and for those of you who live out in the Shenandoah Valley, you can see Brooke live and solo! I'll be splitting the bill with Lorraine Duisit (of Trapezoid) at the Bleu Rock Inn in Sperryville, V. These dates are all in the beginning of the month, so get out your calendars and see our schedule page for details:

October 5
Tinsmith - the duo (Brooke & Rowan)
Focus Inn - Rockville
Opening for the amazing British duo Quicksilver
Price: $12/15

October 8
Tinsmith - the trio (Brooke, Rowan & Avril)
Shenandoah Coffeehouse Series
Leesburg, Va
Price: $10

October 13
Brooke Parkhurst splitting the bill with Lorraine Duisit
Bleu Rock Inn
Sperryville, Va
free

We were lucky enough to see Andrew McKnight at the Naked Folk Festival.....that is, we heard him. And we saw him too. But only selected bits of him....oh, hell. You know what I mean.

Anyway, he has very kindly asked us to play the Shenandoah Coffeehouse Series on October 8th in Leesburg, Va. Should be fun!

Check out their website at:
www.shenandoahacoustics.com/scs

We were lucky enough to see Andrew McKnight at the Naked Folk Festival.....that is, we heard him. And we saw him too. But only selected bits of him....oh, hell. You know what I mean.

Anyway, he has very kindly asked us to play the Shenandoah Coffeehouse Series on October 8th in Leesburg, Va. Should be fun!

Check out their website at:
www.shenandoahacoustics.com/scs

You know...we're not in it for the money. We're in it for the stories.

Of course you must know that. If we were in it for the money we'd be playing country music and wearing outfits that match. Instead we play at nudist resorts. We'll eat out on those stories for years!

We had a great time there...Avalon is a truly beautiful place and the audience, staff and vendors couldn't be nicer (or more naked, most of them). If you want to hear the stories though, you'll have to show up at another gig. What about....Frederick?!? A fine town to play in. And the Westside Cafe?!? A fantastic place to play. Come hear "Tinsmith-light" (lite?) - that's just Rowan & Brooke to you Tinsmith novices:

Tinsmith - the duo!
The WestSide Cafe
1A W. 2nd Street
Frederick, Md 21701
301-418-6886
http://www.myspace.com/WestSidecafe
Price: $free

PHEW!

Ok, it's hot.

Really, really hot.

Fortunately, you can come see us soon in the nude (that's you, not us) at the Avalon Nude Folk Festival. No kidding. I'll tell you what, if it stays this hot, I just may be up there in the buff! This is, however, a very venerable and reputable festival with many fine acts besides Tinsmith, and we hear that the facilities are extremely nice - so why not? Come join us in Paw Paw, West Virginia on August 13-14. http:////www.avalon-nude.com/musicfest.html

See you there!