BLACKBIRDS: News

A huge THANK YOU to all the folks who packed Doc Ryan's on July 22; we raised about $2,000 to help Fr. Barkmeyer in his ministry to our returning troops. We also had a hell of a good time. Thanks to Matt, as usual, and to all who helped with the nuts and bolts, especially Brian Sullivan and his staff.

Radioindy has awarded Blackbirds with their Grindie Award for excellence by an independent musician/band for 2010. http://www.radioindy.com/Blackbirds/

Mike Slajchert and Matt Scharpf will be performing at Doc Ryan's in Forest Park on July 22 from 6:30=10:30. This will be an all-ages show benefiting the work of U.S. Army chaplain Father John Barkmeyer, a fellow South-Sider, as he works with returning vets or those between tours. Father John spent 4 years in Iraq and is in a unique position to help in the difficult adjustment period faced by those coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan. Admission is $20; Doc Ryan's full menu will be available, if you want to grab dinner there.

All songs on the new CD are now available as individual downloads at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/blackbirdsmusic4
Eventually, they'll be picked up by all the usual download suspects - iTunes, Napster, etc.

"Endlines and Punchrhymes" has been released on CD Baby - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/blackbirdsmusic4
The digital version will be following shortly, and then move to iTunes, Amazon, Napster, etc.

The new CD, "Endlines and Punchrhymes" has been shipped to the distributor, CD Baby, and should be available for purchase online within the next couple of weeks.

The new CD "Breaking and Entering" and the previous CD "Stop-Time" can now be ordered directly online, avoiding the hassle of writing a check and mailing it. If you have a PayPal account, you may order both by visiting the products page and clicking the PayPal buttons for each CD. I hope this makes things easier for everyone.

The new CD, "Breaking and Entering", will be available in the next couple of weeks. I have decided again to market directly to fans, rather than go through a 3rd party such as iTunes or CDBaby. Profits will once again go to Fenwick Campus Ministry's efforts.
Sarah Boyle joins the cast with a beautiful performance of "One More Year", while Dee McElhattan, Sam Grams, and Julie Samuelson join her in backing vocals on "We'll Get By" and "While You Were Sleeping."
Ordering information will be available shortly.

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