We have our 4th new song of the year! “I Will Rise” was recorded at Inner Door Music and Pearl Sound Studio and mastered at Jack White’s Third Man Cass Corridor Detroit. The demo version was in a PBS film “Those on the Front Lines of Cancer” and we performed it at The Pink Fund’s Dancing with the Survivors in Detroit.
I wrote “I Will Rise” after the Women’s March to invoke hope, especially after having breast cancer, but to connect with all people. With so much competition and anger among people, it gives a good focus on love and survival. It seems we can have hope and strength and come together.
“I Will Rise” has a compelling new video that Erin Zindle, Scott and I worked on together. I’m on vocals and piano, Scott is on guitar, background vocals and bass, and Lauren Johnson is on drums, too!
Also, Scott and I will be in Traverse City on northern Michigan’s WKLT-FM KLT The Rock Station’s with Terri Ray’s excellent “Garage” on Sunday evening August 25th at 9 pm EST! Tune in to hear our new music and interview at https://www.wklt.com/kltgarage
Speaking of radio, we are seeing many radio stations pick up my and Scott Dailey’s song “14 Miles of Bad Road” and also “The Bridge” with myself and Erin Zindle, great news! At the beginning of August, we just debuted at No. 163 in the Top 200 on Ocean Beach Americana radio nationally. And in July, we charted at No. 7 on Plaympe for the Americana charts, too! There are many stations to thank including WBZS 101.5 FM The Mountain – Roanoke, Virginia; CHRW 94.9 FM – London, Ontario Canada; KVRM 91.5 – Eugene, Oregon; WHFR-FM 89.3 – Dearborn, Michigan; WAKT-LP FM, 106.1 – Toledo, Ohio; WKTF-LP FM, 97.9 – Harrisville, Michigan; Sonic Coast – Detroit Metro and Northern Michigan; Radio Cobra – Detroit/Washington DC; WKLT-FM/KLT – Traverse City, Michigan
We had an incredible time performing for the fifth time with the amazing Don Was and The All-Star Revue at the Detroit Film Theatre/Detroit Institute of Arts in July. Thank you to Don Was, Ann Delisi, Ismael Ahmed, Gemma Corfield, the beautiful musicians and audience. Peace, Love and Understanding was the theme and “Let’s Work Together” and “People Have the Power” were so timely to sing right now – we had a blast playing these together!
UPDATE – Will be RESCHEDULED due to Coronavirus – Friday night, April 3rd I’m part of the National Book Event at Detroit’s Scarab Club in early April for National Poetry Month with my book “Detroit (Maiden Energy)” street princess poems & lyrics. I’m honored to be on this national poetry show, hosted by Aquarius Press and The Scarab Club, which features Lupe Mendez from Texas, Brian Gilmore, John Jeffire and so many Detroit poets – and with music by me and Scott Dailey on guitar, and Tracy Kash at 6 pm to 8 pm -! https://scarabclub.org/
There’s some super music shows we’re doing in April and May with bigger details next month and specifics. And the U.K. tour is coming this summer. But first, we’re recording new songs and there will also be new Book/Music Event in Grand Rapids this Spring, too, at Schuler Books for “Detroit (Maiden Energy).” https://www.schulerbooks.com/
Good news also on my book: “Detroit (Maiden Energy)” street princess poems & lyrics was just added to Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor and Brilliant Books in Traverse City! You can also pick it up at Book Beat, Dearborn Music, Mayflower Bookstore, Horizon Books Traverse City and Horizon Books Cadillac, Leelanau books Schuler’s in Grands Rapids, at Pure Detroit and in Toronto, Canada. It’s also on Amazon, Target or Barnes and Noble websites. Thank you! https://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Maiden-Energy-Carolyn-Striho/dp/1733089837
Thanks to Jeff Milo from WDET-FM and The Metro Times and Ferndale Library for a great interview for the podcast! https://alittletooquiet.podbean.com/ where I was interviewed recently, – here is the Interview! https://podbay.fm/podcast/1485477183/e/1584098894. Jeff gave me such great press, too! And thanks for the airplay on Local Spins podcast and airplay in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Local Spins WYCE 88.1 FM John Sinkevics – appreciate it! And don’t forget to support Michigan music with this great compilation CD we are on – you can also hear it at all Starbucks (!) – https://localspins.com/product/michigan-music-compilation-cd/
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!
