BLACKBIRDS: News

I'm selling the new CD "Stop-time" directly to avoid any middle-man profits. The full $10 goes to Invisible Children. If you would like to order a copy, send a check made out to "Invisible Children" to:
Mike Slajchert
Fenwick
505 Washington
Oak Park, IL 60302

"Stop-Time" is in the final production stages and should be available within a few weeks. This was a solo project. I chose 12 tracks (plus a hidden bonus) using a lot of the feedback sent to me about the pre-production versions of the songs. I suspect i could have fiddled around with things for another month or so, but I finally decided to call it a day.
I've also decided to sell this CD independently, with all proceeds going to Invisible Children, and no middle-man costs. Details will follow.

Matt Scharpf has agreed to help out with another benefit concert for Invisible Children, the organization which helps rebuild schools for AIDS orphans, former child soldiers, and other children living in the war-zone in Uganda. The date is Friday, November 14, and it will be held once more in the acoustically-wonderful Fenwick Auditorium. More information will follow.

A few new tunes are appearing these days. I'm always really happy to hear your feedback, as I assemble the playlist for the new CD. If you've been listening, some of the songs have changed radically, as I've listened to some suggestions, and in general tried to eliminate things that sounded good at the time, but, in retrospect, really sucked.

Good news (at least for me); after about a half-year, the Blackdog Studio is back up and running (literally "up", as the studio room has been relocated to higher ground - about 6 inches worth - the better to withstand any rogue Chicago storms that might invade the basement locale). It's probably a good thing, it has forced me to remove a couple of years of clutter and put things in better order. The acoustics are also better overall, though there is still no cure for the mariachi band down the block that likes to play outside until 1 AM, the CFD and CPD sirens, and our new dog, who likes to drop large chew toys onto the hardwood floor above my head, ordinarily about 4/5ths of the way through a good track. Short of shooting dogs, Mexicans, police, and firefighters, concessions must be made. Anyway, four new songs are in the can, though not sent out for post-production yet. Enjoy and download the early versions. I hope for a new CD in about 2-3 months.

Mike Slajchert and Matt Scharpf (formerly of "Jamestown"), along with special guests, will perform a benefit concert on Friday, April 25, at 7:00 PM, at Fenwick Auditorium, 505 Washington, Oak Park. A $6 donation is requested. All proceeds will benefit Invisible Children, a national organization of young people dedicated to helping other young people in Uganda who have been displaced by civil war, orphaned, or pressed into service as child soldiers. (see www.invisiblechildren.com). Invisible Children merchandise will be available for purchase.

"Blackbirds" music on download.com just passed the 10,000 listen mark, putting us 10th out of all singer/songwriters all-time (on the same page as Joni Mitchell and Janis Ian for you old folkies out there who might remember them).
"Onle Love Survives" continues to be in the top 40 nationally on garageband.com in the acoustic genre, and 6th on the Chicago charts overall.

After many, many months, we finally have a new original tune, "Good Night." My back is finally cooperative enough to allow me some studio time. Our songs are approaching 10,000 listens on Download.com, and "Only Love Survives" is in its 5th month on the Garageband.com acoustic charts, currently coming in at #36/770, and #2 overall on the Chicago city charts for all genres.

After many, many months, we finally have a new original tune, "Good Night." My back is finally cooperative enough to allow me some studio time. Our songs are approaching 10,000 listens on Download.com, and "Only Love Survives" is in its 5th month on the Garageband.com acoustic charts, currently coming in at #36/770, and #2 overall on the Chicago city charts for all genres.

After a few months of forced inactivity due to herniated discs I blame on The Police, I was finally able to spend a bit of time in studio over the weekend and did a couple of things for kicks: "Waitin' on an Angel" because I love it, and "Cinnamon Girl" to see if I could still do it. I've got snippets of about five other things on my handy-dandy MP3 recorder waiting to turn into songs, so we'll see about that soon.

If you're looking to rock a little on August 18, you can help a family in need. This isn't a Blackbirds appearance, but several very good friends are working hard on this:
Tim Shelley is THE Chicago Southsider. A beautiful wife, 2 most excellent kids, and a 30 year mortgage.

Last year Tim was struck with Viral Meningitis and encephalitis. On Set. 23, 2006, Tim was rushed to Holy Cross Hospital. He could barely walk, couldn’t talk, and they did not know why. His condition worsened. Over the course of the next 5 months, he was switched to McNeil Medical Center, lost his job, and lost his company provided medical insurance.

He spent 5 weeks at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago downtown for rehab. He spent the next 2 monts spending 6 hours a day in Physical Therapy at RIC in Willowbrook.

On the positive side, Tim, Wina, Mark, and Steve met and were helped by courtless wonderful people. With God’s and a cast of thousands help, Tim is doing much better. He is actively looking for full-time employment again.

The friends and relatives of Tim and Wina are going to have a
Funraiser for the Shelley Family
Day: Saturday, Aug. 18th Time: 6PM til llPM
Where: St. Richards Parish 5032 S. Kostner, Chicago
$25 per person (must be 21)
Pop is included: BYOB (always drink responsibly)

Music by LACK OF FOCUS http://home.comcast.net/~lackoffocus/

Excellent food, great music, lots of fun and dancing.

If you would like to help the cause, we are looking for raffle items or donations.
If you would like, come out to enjoy yourself with the rest of us.
It will be a great night, supporting an excellent cause.

Thanks for your help, and God Bless!

For more info http://homecomcast.net/~lackoffocus/Schedule.htm

Or call Kathy Filipiak @ 773-776-1307 or Mike Michor @ 708-301-0416

Two Blackbirds tunes now appear on the Global Music Project website, an organization that promotes the preservation of music in areas of the world where there are no musical resources. Bands from around the world have donated material that may be downloaded from the website for a $1 (or more) donation to the project.
Go to the links page if you're inrerested.

All songs on all CDs are available at iTunes, but there is another site you might be interested in called PayPlay FM. They sell their tunes for $0.88 instead of the standard iTunes $0.99. In addition, there is no required software (like iTunes) so the whole procedure is really, really simple. The address is
http://payplay.fm/blackbirdsmusic3

Molly's '07 was a great success; more money going to Rwanda and a great party! Good to see many old friends.
Thanks, and see you again soon!

The date for the Molly Malone's concert for Dr Cohen's work in Rwanda has been set for June 2, Saturday, from 9-12. More info will follow. Meanwhile, we have been signed by A&R Select from LA, which will promote the music in various media outlets. The five new songs are appearing on the SoundAid website to help raise funds for Heifer.

We have added a new feature to the website, "Blast Mt Music", for those who want to download single tunes instead of buying CDs. On the Home Page you will find an icon for "Blast My Music" which will list all the songs available for individual purchase at $0.99 each. Eventually, we hope to upload the bulk of our catalogue there so you can pick and choose. As usual, profits from this venture help women and children in Rwanda; we receive (I think) $0.67 for each download. It's a secure site, and you can use any credit/debit card for purchase, once you establish your account.

One door closes and another opens... Claire will concentrate on school and work, so won't be recording with us anymore. Her pristine vocals will be missed greatly. However, Blackbirds has a new member - Jasmine Quintana. Jasmine is a professional dancer already and is currently finishing her last year at DePaul, where she has pursued interests in music, film, and modeling. Check out our new track, "One"; there will be more to come.
In other news, "Requiem for a Friend" finished 8th out of almost 800 entrants in the Sony open competition on Americanidolunderground.com, by far the highest acoustic number. "Edge of Town" continues to be 1st out of 201 in the Big Push Folk II on that site. "Deficits of the Heart" has been picked up by a British weird-cultural-arty-subversive website - http://www.smallfish-online.net/ - and is appearing on their "radio" feature, though they seem to be on vacation right now. Soundaid.org continues to raise money for Heifer and is growing all the time. We're happy to be among the first artists to appear there.
Hope your holidays were relaxing, fun, and blessed. Happy New Year and thanks for listening.

Claire's beautiful "Icarus" just surpassed 1,000 listens on download.com. Blackbirds remains in the top 5 in the Contemporary Folk category (though I've kind of neglected that site.) Meanwhile, we continue to hold the #1 and #2 slots (out of 201) in americanidolunderground.com Folk competition, and also #2 in the open Sony contest (out of 770). Thanks for all your help.
"Soul Tattoo" has been re-mixed and can be found at the top of the Music page. Thanks for the "oohs" goes to Enza, Grace, and Torrie (recorded in the Bell Tower).

As always, thanks for listening

As of today, we've got the top song in the folk category in Big Push 2, plus 3 others in the top 6. It's very early, as the contest runs until April, but thanks for your support. In the Opne category (Sony) contest, we've been holding in the top 10 out of 500, but that one's tough because there's so many entrants and so many different types of music, acoustic not necessarily being one of the most popular.

The Sound-Aid project now includes a jukebox feature to play continuous music. 100% of the proceeds from this project go to Heifer, so it's a good place to visit and pass along to friends. We're happy to have been on the site from early on as it continues to grow.

The first 2 Blackbirds CDs have been added to "Flash" Radio, a station in Belgium! So whenever you're there...
"Edge of Town" finished first in the "Groovebox" competition on American Idol Underground. Thanks for the votes.
Nothing new is coming down the pike right now, but I will be adding some cover tracks to the music library shortly (Like "Eye of the Hurricane"). I'll recrod those tracks people usually ask for when I play for download.
Thanks again for listening.

Mike & Claire