Battle of the Bands, Sacred Harp Style?

While nothing can touch the awesomeness of the Denson book, a little change is character building. So to that end, we are having a special singing Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the All Saints Chapel. We'll sing from the Cooper book (loaners available), Norumbega Harmony (bring yours if you have one), Eclectic Harmony (loaners available), and whatever else you bring enough copies of for us to sing. We'll break after an hour for a light supper/hearty snack. Bring something if you can, but don't sweat it if you can't. Just come heavy laden with all your tunebooks.

Golden Gate '08

Will says:

     "I've put MP3 files of the 2008 Golden Gate Singing at:

     http://entish.org/sh/gg_2008/

     Unfortunately, only the afternoon session was recorded. Still, enjoy!"

Thanks, Will!

Here are some of my trademark bad photos:

Tenors!



Jessica leading:



More tenors!



Connie leading:



Lara leading:



We had a lot of wonderful visitors from out of town, and Shelby passed on something Charles said that I thought was really apt: "This is what it looks like when people are cooperating." Thanks for a great singing, everyone!

MP3 files - Live EP?

Hello, friends - - I cut up the recording, so it was mostly just the music, & I think it makes a nice little "Live EP". I think we sound great.
You can download them as mp3 files here.
-James

Our KUSF show!

Will from Kalamazoo, Michigan recorded our appearance on M. Theo's KUSF show Classics Without Walls and had it posted on his web space within minutes of our completing the show.

He writes:

Hello all,

I stayed up too late listening to you all sing on KUSF tonight (till
after 2 am Michigan time!)

I recorded the show and you can listen to it at the following URL:

http://www.entish.org/sh/KUSF_Sacred_Harp_2008.m4a

There are a couple of minutes of non SH music at the start, and a bit
of static in the middle, but you might be glad to hear what it sounded
like.

Good job on the commentaries, by the way.

Thanks, Will!

I thought it went well too; thanks again to David for arranging it.

What are you bringing to the potluck?

The Golden Gate Singing is upon us (this Saturday!), so it's time to start cooking!

I mean that literally, of course. We live in the Bay Area, a place rich in amazing food. I mean, there are already strawberries at the farmer's market! So how are we going to impress our guests, foodwise?

Some thoughts and suggestions:

-Main dishes are always needed! Salads and side dishes are always welcome, but every once in a while a potluck happens that is nearly all salad. Bring a main dish! We want everyone to be well fed.

-Delicious desserts are key.

-Casseroles are traditional and always go over well.

-We tend to be heavy on the fats and starches and less well represented in terms of meats and vegetables. Bay Area singers tend to lean toward vegetarian food, which is fine and reflects our local culture. But I challenge you to think beyond the potato gratin. (Not that a potato gratin would go unwelcomed!)

-The more food the better.

* * * * *

A call for ingredient awareness:

We tend to think of foods as containing the obvious. Like Fig Newtons, we would suspect, are made up of equal parts fig and Sir Isaac Newton.

But thanks to the corporatization of food production, this is rarely the case. "Foods" contain ingredients that are only technically edible. Things are processed together that you never thought possible. You look on the label of a packet of cookies and it says things like "may contain traces of prawn powder." And first you are shocked that cookies could go with prawns, and second you are shocked that prawns come in powder form. (Unless you know from Asian food, of course!)

Most of the time this isn't a big problem (well, actually it's a giant systemic problem that we can afford to ignore in the short term).

But some of us have -- shall I whisper it? -- food allergies. Because if you are allergic to prawns you can't go eating cookies with wild abandon anymore. Woe!

When I mention food allergies and cross-contamination, a lot of people treat me like I am trying to suck all the joy out of life. Trust me, I am not. In fact, being aware of ingredients helps prolong my life. And nobody is telling you not to cook with whatever you want or eat whatever you want. But it can't hurt you to be aware of what's in your food. Because... do you want prawn powder in your cookies?

For instance, bread presents a big problem for me because it's often processed with nuts. So any time I eat out, I find myself asking the waiter if that delicious bread is nut-free. I usually get a "you are crazy" look from the waiter along with a "well, I imagine so."

Imagine away, waiter-dude, and see where it gets you. For instance, I would imagine that cake flour was totally vegan. But as you see, that is my imagination.



Now, many vegans wouldn't bother with the risk of eating a trace of dairy, because that teeny tiny trace will not send them to the ER. Not so for those with serious food allergies! Ignoring that stuff is not an option -- even if you survive the reaction, every reaction you have makes the allergy worse and makes it more likely that you'll
croak next time. Not good.

Once again, I'm not asking anyone to change their cooking habits; I'm just trying to increase awareness of just how widespread the common allergens are. (As an informal experiment, you can check out the chocolate selection at your local grocery and try to find some that is genuinely nut-free.)

Know what's in your food! It's good for everyone.

Shapenote on KUSF's Classics Without Walls

Several local singers will be appearing live on Monday, April 21 on KUSF's Classics Without Walls, hosted by Mark Theodoropoulos. We'll be talking and singing. The program runs from 10 to 11 p.m., so tune in -- or better yet, come along. Contact David for more details.

Golden Gate job update, once more

Here's the job list, now up to date! We still need a few people for registration...

• Arranging: Betty


• Secretary: Linda and Cindy


• Finance committee: Mark and Inder


• Chaplain: Jim


• Resolutions


• Set-up
  
  
  
  • Supervising (if you are not sure what to do, ask her!): Susan
  
  
  • Cindy
  
  
  • Inder
  
  
  • Betty
  
  
  • Lara
  
  
  • Terry M.
  
  
  
  


• Clean-up
  
  
  
  • Supervising: Susan
  
  
  • Betty
  
  
  • Gretchen
  
  
  • Peter
  
  
  • Lara
  
  
  
  


• Registration: Rebecca and ...
  
  
  
  • 8:30-9:30 Philip
  
  
  • 9:30-10:30 James
  
  
  • 10:30-11:45 ??
  
  
  • 11:45-12:45 Peter
  
  
  • 12:45-2:00 ??
  
  
  • 2:00-3:00 Mark
  
  
  
  


• Hospitality: Carolyn


• Public Relations: Chris, Hal, David


• Refreshments: Terry B.


• Supplies: Carolyn and Cindy


• Green committee: Carolyn


• Social: Philip and Inder


• Food: Shelby and Jill


• Location: Carolyn


• Betty will make name tags and bring pins