Happy July! With a wonderful June of great gigs, traveling and another new music release, July brings more!
Good news on a new show – I’m performing at The Concert of Colors with the Don Was All-Star Revue with Scott Dailey and a dazzling lineup of incredible artists! Join us at the Detroit Institute of Arts Sunday evening July 21st from 8 to 9:30 pm. The details are here at https://dia.org/events/concert-colors-don-was-allstar-revue-peace-love-and-understanding This is our 5th time performing with Don and the Revue at the Concert of Colors and we’re honored and grateful! It’s free admission at the DIA Film Theatre, too! https://www.concertofcolors.com/
Also, at the end of the month our new song “I Will Rise” will be released on all digital platforms and will be part of the CD/album we’re putting together this Fall. The new YouTube video is almost finished and will be out the first of August, too. I wrote “I Will Rise” a bit ago, and am grateful to have it recorded at Inner Door Music. It was included in a PBS film in Detroit for “Those on the Front Lines of Cancer” and performed at The Pink Fund Breast Cancer Dancing with The Survivors’ show as well.
Check for “I Will Rise” here at: https://carolynstriho.hearnow.com/i-will-rise Featuring vocals and piano from me, Scott on guitar, bass and vocals, and Lauren Johnson on Drums. Mixed at Third Man Records Cass Corridor Detroit by Warren Defever. Drums at Pearl Sound Studios with Chuck Alkazian, Canton Michigan.Give it a listen and download if you can July 31st! Thank you !
We thank so many stations for the airplay! It’s really appreciatedxo
There is the new release on Bandcamp as well with Detroit Energy Asylum – if you read this far, you should really check it out if you can. It’s called “Landslide of Life.” What an album, and I’m so happy to hear that it’s out on Detroit’s Orchide Records. https://detroitenergyasylum.bandcamp.com/album/landslide-of-life-82-22
And grateful to be writing, as it has been 11 years since I had breast cancer. Sending strength to those fighting cancer, and all my best.
It’s summer and I sure miss performing! Postponements are now going into 2021 and remote teaching this spring was sure new for teachers and students. I was proud of my students. Now summer is here with so much anger, outrage, illness and lives in danger. It’s hard to write with gushes of emotion then silence.
There’s good news in that I’m about to record an entire new album which surprises me. But it’s been a very strange year and I’ve written new songs that are in demo form now. I’m excited to be able to record even without an entire band. The restrictions with covid 19 are so necessary and yet people still want to “break out of them” and go against wearing a mask or caring about each other. With the virus of racism and police brutality against Black people, too, these have been sad times.
Carolyn at home going out on the street! May 2020
And in recording the new album, I thought it’s time to finally get “I Will Rise” done, which I had started to write after The Women’s March in early 2017 (and 2018). We knew from the start that getting that so-called president out of office would be best. I felt like I had an idea which came to fruition last year with The Pink Fund and PBS’ Those on the Front Lines of Cancer. Molly McDonald from the Pink Fund encouraged me to continue finishing “I Will Rise,’ and filmmaker Keith Famie also used the demo song for his PBS special in Detroit both in 2019.
Carolyn at Max Fisher Music Hall in Detroit with Scott Dailey and Amp Fiddler on Don Was’ Concert of Colors
So I premiered the song live with my husband/guitarist Scott Dailey at The Pink Fund’s Dancing with the Survivors in October just before my new book “Detroit (Maiden Energy) street princess poems and lyrics” came out. It was a great time, and inspired me to record a final version now of “I Will Rise.” I’m also updating my website to include some poems in my blogs and also, photos of my retrospective of posters and Bands I’ve had. Also, I’m doing a new Zoom or Facebook Live event of music and poetry. I’ve been writing, singing and recording for years, working with some of the best musicians in the world for years, and am proud of my recordings and shows and bands.
Photo from The Pink Fund 2019 Dancing with the Survivors – Scott Dailey and Carolyn Striho – (credit: Stacey Sherman)
In other record release news, Orchide Records Detroit released an album with Detroit Energy Asylum which was my band for many years. Featuring Dave McMurray, Luis Resto, myself and many well-known and wonderful Detroit musicians, Patti Smith also makes several appearances. “Recreation” is available on Orchide Records Detroit and for those who liked “Secrets and Space,” “Recreation” features new mixes of several numbers and a never-before-heard lead vocal on Smokey Robinson’s song (sung by The Marvelettes) “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game” by Patti Smith. Patti and I duet on The Four Tops’ “Reach Out.” Produced by Freddie Brooks, it’s a gem! https://orchiderecords.bigcartel.com/product/dea-recreation
Luis Resto, Carolyn Striho, Dave McMurray – by Gary Graff/Oakland Press, photo Bill Schwab and Freddie Brooks 2000
And another record release! I’m featured on Detroit Punks Archive entitled “End of the Night” compiled by Rob St. Mary and distributed by Light in the Attic Records (Seattle) with Record Store Day 2020 U.K. My song “Rockin’ Right” is included with one of my first bands The Cubes. The album includes Don Was’ first band The Traitors and also Hiawatha Bailey and The Cult Heroes “Amerikan Story” with much more! Check it here at https://lightintheattic.net/releases/6628-detroit-punk-archive-presents-the-end-of-the-night-1976-1983
Detroit Punk End of the Night double album Record Store Day U.K. 2020 Photo: Bookie’s Club Sue RynskiCarolyn Striho’s “Detroit Maiden Energy” with Kate Parker’s “Strong is theNew Pretty”, HorizonBooks 2019 Traverse City, MI
And it looks like we have several new livestream shows in late July at Detroit’s Music Hall, Otus Supply in Ferndale, Michigan, and even a new book/Audio livestream show! So that is cheery news in these times. The Audio Book for my book “Detroit (Maiden Energy)” is also coming this summer. My book is at many Michigan bookstores and soon to be in Milwaukee, Chicago and in England. You can buy it on Amazon, too, Aquarius Press, or directly from me https://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Maiden-Energy-Carolyn-Striho/dp/1733089837
Begin Again
All the confusion couches the coast
rocks, rain, ruin return again
inside, harder, happens to me,
but happens to be the one quick avenue of alive in the pain
Birds floating, singing loud, sun shining, seems so rude to leave Detroit’s beginning so fast
hurtling hurdles of hard crunch as shoes hit pavement near the river again
again and again the city won’t end just begging to begin again
scatters our blood and only pretends to not care,
when it’s very soul depends on our love
through the hate we consider,
watching the dove spread its wings over water
and splash as it flies away from the smokestack,
away sunrise… away from rocks, rain, ruin, return again
again and again the city won’t end just begging to begin again
Detroit Energy Asylum w/Patti Smith (Carolyn Striho, Kenny Scott, Pam Marcil, Dave McMurray, Lenny Kaye pictured) Industry, Pontiac, MI 1995
Thanks for the support. Love, and stay safe! xx Carolyn
Carolyn Striho, Sinead O’Connor and Tori Amos, 2005 Royal Festival Hall, London England2005Scott Dailey and Carolyn Striho, Hope and Anchor Islington, London, U.K. 2018
Short of doing a decade overview – and this decade was quite a changing up decade with three albums released, tours of Italy and the U.K. and many awards and videos with great Detroit shows, too (and a wedding and teaching and Wayne State University degrees, health challenges, very challenging and sad loss of my father, but also much grateful love 🙂 – here’s a little recap of 2019
The first book is here! “Detroit (Maiden Energy)” is available now with “street princess poems & lyrics” with some prose, finally done. The next book features much more prose but first things first! Thank you to Aquarius Press/Aux Media and Heather Buchanan, to the great writers who sent me blurbs for the book and fantastic reviews and family, friends and Scott Dailey and the band for the support! And to WDET-FM NPR Detroit’s Ann Delisi for the great interview which ran for 2 weeks on WDET-FM.
One of the bigger highlights was returning to Detroit’s Concert of Colors with Don Was in July at The Michigan Theatre in Jackson, Michigan and the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) Film Theatre for shows filled to capacity.
I was featured in a PBS special “Those on the Front Lines of Cancer” and my song “I Will Rise” was also in the film. Scott Dailey and I performed the song at “Dancing with The Survivors” for The Pink Fund in Southfield, Michigan, a beautiful night!
We performed up at Earthwork Harvest Gathering up in Lake City, Michigan, with Erin Zindle joining on violin and started doing new recording for a 2020 release
The Downtown Detroit Tree Lighting was amazing in November with approximately 50,000 people attending in the freezing just before Thanksgiving with WXYZ-TV Detroit (ABC) and Downtown Detroit Partnership. Thank you!
November also included the first Book Events at the stellar bookstore Book Beat in Oak Park, Michigan, world-renowned for its particular attention to writers, artists and literary fulfillment. We were also at the River’s Edge Gallery for a Book Event reading in Wyandotte.
The packed house with The Orbitsuns at The Cadieux Café in November on my birthday, a May date at Trinity House Theatre with Mary McGuire and Chris McCall and other shows including Focus Hope in Detroit – culminating in a big 4 night stand with EBird and Friends in Ann Arbor in December! Thank you Erin w/ four tremendous sold-out shows at The Ark.
I’m also honored to have one of my poems in RESPECT: The Poetry of Detroit Music and reading at the Book Event at Third Man Records Detroit. I just another great Book/Music Event In Traverse City, Michigan with Horizon Books and a fun interview with DJ Racin’ Jason on WKLT’s Morning Show – thanks to fabulous DJ and friend Terri Ray as well.
Also, there’s a great new album titled “Recreation” produced by Freddie Brooks and Orchide Records – it’s a great, rare 10 inch red vinyl, and it features our celebrated band Detroit Energy Asylum and Patti Smith. Here’s a link https://orchiderecords.bigcartel.com/products
With some nice radio airplay this year – thanks to WDET-NPR Detroit, WKLT-FM Traverse City, WHFR-FM Dearborn, 107.1 WQKL-FM Ann Arbor, Michigan, WAKT-LP 106.1 FM Toledo, Rock-Radio-UK Spins in Porstmouth England U.K., WYCE-FM 88.1 Grand Rapids, Ferndale Radio 100.7 FM, WLNZ 89.7FM in Lansing, thanks!
