Soul of the Song - BLACKBIRDS - News

News from Afghanistan

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

I received a wonderful e-mail from a soldier stationed in Afghanistan and thought I'd like to share it with you all:

Your song soldier has become sort of a anthem with myself and others soldiers in my infantry platoon who are deployed in Afghanistan. I love the true message it brings and I hope that you would let the next group you play it for know much it means to us soldiers of the Oklahoma Army National Guard.

I instantly fell in love with your music, I am a huge Townes Van Zandt fan as well as many other singer songwriters and appreciate your sound as it inspires me to continue to play and write. Again thank you for your music and please continue the awsome work you are doing for the children of the world.

Jared Bain

This means a lot to me, especially now that I'm an Army "dad".

Benefit show

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

We've scheduled a new show at Doc Ryan's on August 26; please refer to the events page for details.

There will be new music appearing in the near future. Many of you already know about my wife's cancer and her death on June 21. This has kept me out of the studio for a long time, ad I'm nearly ready to get back in.

THANKS

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

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.

Blackbirds receives award

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

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

Benefit show July 22

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

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.

Digital release

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

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.

New CD released

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

"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.

"Endlines and Punchrhymes" to be released

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

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.

New options for online ordering.

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

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.

New CD release

Sat, 16 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

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.