Copied over from Facebook Live. Hope y’all like this more informal style of video blog! It seemed handy and fast for a time when I have a lot to tell you. 🙂
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Just scheduled my second monthly ConcertWindow broadcast, just in time for Beltane and May Day! I may be a little excited about the fact that I can FINALLY get y’all some live music without leaving the house. Sign on and get comfortable! I’ll start at 7pm Central on Monday, May 1st, 2017.
Join the discussion and make requests on the Facebook event page!
Check out the highlights below from last night’s encore broadcast and my two April Fool’s Day weekend shows, which were all so successful that I can’t wait for the next one! Couldn’t have made it work without friends, fans and family. Thank you SO much, everyone!
Tune in on ConcertWindow at 7pm Central! Click here!
Hi, gang! S. J. here. This online concert will be the third of three that I’m offering up in celebration of April Fool’s Day and my new fancy internet options at home. I may be a little excited about the fact that I can FINALLY get y’all some live music without leaving the house. Even with this being my third online concert in a row, I’ve still got lots to share. Sign on, pay what you want, and get comfortable! I’ve been writing new songs since January, but I have no in-person concerts until May. SO LET’S DO THIS THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WAY, SHALL WE?
The broadcasts I gave over the weekend went SO well! I’m thinking that I will go ahead and schedule the next one after tonight for May 1st. If you like, you can follow me on my ConcertWindow channel so that you don’t miss it!
This online concert will be one of at least two that I plan to offer up in celebration of April Fool’s Day and my new fancy internet options at home – one Friday March 31, one Saturday April 1, and hopefully an encore on Monday April 3. I may be a little excited about the fact that I can FINALLY get y’all some live music without leaving the house. No pressure to watch all three. Just pick the one that fits your schedule best, and get comfortable! I’ve been writing new songs since January, but I have no in-person concerts until May.
SO LET’S DO THIS THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WAY, SHALL WE?
See you then!
Pay what you want, $1 and up!
Go here:
https://www.concertwindow.com/sjtuckermusic
I’m troubleshooting the tech side of things this afternoon. I admit that I get a little bit nervous when things don’t go swimmingly right away, but all is well. I just may end up having to live stream via my smartphone instead of my laptop, as I had planned. But we’ll see. Talk about twenty-first century problems, right? Wish me luck!
Spring is creeping in and things are getting greener by the minute here at home in Arkansas.
I spent a ton of time with my mother last week during her spring break, and that was a delight. We visited our favorite tiny, local museums together and volunteered at two of them. I was in such a happy place that I forgot to mark the birthday of my first album yesterday! Haphazard is thirteen years old!
Mom, if you’re curious, is 67 as of March 27. She is saying she’ll retire from teaching at the end of this school year; we’ll see. 🙂 She’s one of the most generous, dedicated people I’ve ever known. I am a direct product of that generosity and dedication.
I got several mentions in a brand new music column that’s just begun, over at The Wild Hunt! Check it out here. Columnist Nathan Hall was great to talk to, and I think he’s going to do a fine job sharing his observations of our sweet little witchy music scene.
My concert schedule is filling out nicely from May through November! I don’t have any live shows at this point until the first weekend of May, and while this was unexpected, it feels like a huge gift. I’ll have a bit of extra time to keep recovering from my outpatient surgery last month, I’ll have a little more time to work in my recording studio, and I won’t have to fret that my practice time is suffering while I’m getting my taxes done. Ah, responsible adulthood!
As usual, I’ve got more new songs than I have time to record all at once. Part of this is due to my weekly songwriting group, which is going for all 52 weeks of 2017! We’re on week 13, and I’ve got a ton of new pieces already that I’m in love with. I’m strongly considering giving a Concert Window broadcast very soon, so that you can all hear what I’ve been working on. Watch this space. I’ve got to do some troubleshooting to see if my internet capability meets the streaming requirements, but once I have that figured out, I’ll set a broadcast date and post it here.
Have a great week, everyone!
I’m mainly posting today to let everyone know that I’m healing very well from my outpatient procedure last month. My surgeon concurs! He’s a good man, and he took very good care of me, as did my immediate family & in-laws (outlaws, really) and all of the St. Vincent’s staff. For those who do not know, we removed my gallbladder on February 8. I’ve experienced only minor differences in what I can eat after the procedure, which is a big relief considering some of the troubles that other people have gone through. Don’t do that Google search unless you just REALLY want to know.
This month I’m staying at home to record more new stuff for all of you, to wrangle my taxes, and to get some more concerts confirmed! Meanwhile, I had wonderful adventures last month, before and after recovering at home, at Glimmerdark in NJ and at PantheaCon in CA. I’m so very grateful to all the facilitators and friends who helped me get there and back, and to everyone who supported the concerts my bandmates and I were lucky enough to give! Betsy and I also had two little concerts, one at The Sacred Well in Portland, OR and the other at our beloved SoulFood Coffeehouse in Redmond, WA. The Portland show was on the evening of my birthday, and I couldn’t have wished for a better crowd or a sweeter night.
Haven’t been to PCon since 2010, so I’m quite a bit excited about this! Here’s what I’ve got on my very lovely plate.
FRIDAY 7pm, Carmel/Monterey: Celia’s concert!
SATURDAY 3:30-5pm, room 945 (Feri suite): Sooj & the gang will entertain!
SATURDAY 7-10:30pm, Cedar/Pine: Mythpunk Masquerade! This is our BIG show.
SUNDAY 3-5pm, room 1067 (Hexenfest suite): Mythpunk Masquerade Micro! This is our house-concert-style show.
SUNDAY 9-10:30pm, Carmel/Monterey: Sooj’s themed concert, Shapeshifters & Siren Songs!
SUNDAY 11pm-12:30am, Cedar/Pine: Hecate at the Crossroads, Tempest & Nathaniel’s ecstatic musical ritual!
Sister-friends Shauna Aura Knight and Lupa will both be presenting as well- go and find them and learn amazing things!
It’s gonna feel so gooooood to make music with Sharon, Winter, Betsy, Nathaniel, Dogwood, Tempest, and Celia again this weekend. I’ve been laying as low as I can for the past week in order to recover from outpatient surgery and get my energy back, so that I can bring the music and the magick when I get to San Jose. I may not be able to play as hard as I’d like, and I may not be able to play certain requests (“Firebird’s Child”, I’m looking at you), but I will be there, and I will be as generous with my voice, my presence, and my magick as I can. Wish me luck!
I’m heading out to the west coast this month for PantheaCon, a couple of delightful shared shows with Betsy Tinney on cello, and my birthday!
PantheaCon is hosted by the Doubletree San Jose, 2050 Gateway Pl, 95110, and runs from February 17-20.
Ancient Ways’ PantheaCon will experience a full Mythpunk Masquerade invasion this year, thanks to Sharon Knight & Winter, Sooj & Betsy, Dogwood & Johnstone and Tempest!
We have a whole bunch of wild, witchy, folkloric and fun concerts and appearances throughout the weekend. Listen for the siren call and join us! I’ll be presenting a themed concert, Shapeshifters & Siren Songs, on Sunday evening. We’ll also have a big full-band concert together with the whole pack of us, as well as more intimate concerts, some hosted by the CAYA Coven hospitality suite!
From the event website: We are tribes of choice. We come in many shapes, sizes, ages, pasts and futures. We take many forms and many spiritual paths. But we appreciate our variety and glory in it all. In diversity comes strength.
Join our huge and varied Pagan, Heathen, Wiccan, Reconstructionist, Indigenous, spiritual and magical groups in education and celebration. As usual we fill the whole hotel with over 14 function rooms for workshops, rituals, concerts, and presentations including 4 ballrooms for Vendors along with open house parties.
After PantheaCon, Betsy and I have two sweet shared shows together. We’ll be in Portland, OR on my birthday!
WEDNESDAY, FEB 22, 7-9:30pm
Faery Queens & Siren Songs: Sooj’s Birthday Concert!
The Sacred Well, Portland
SE 13th Ave & SE Lexington St, Portland, OR 97202
Get Tickets!
Come celebrate Sooj’s birthday with Sooj & Betsy as they perform together in The Sacred Well’s gorgeous new Portland location! Sooj & Betsy have loved and worked with the Sacred Well team at their Oakland location in past years, and they’re so grateful to have a new Portland location to visit! We hope you will be, too!
PLEASE NOTE: space is limited to 30, and bringing your own chair along just in case is advised. Seating will open at 6:45pm on the evening of the concert.
The Sacred Well Portland, located at 7927 SE 13th Ave at Lexington, proudly serves the spiritual supply needs of Pagans, polytheists, witches, Wiccans, gem & mineral enthusiasts, and metaphysical/new age communities of the greater Portland, Beaverton, Milwaukie, Clackamas, and Gresham areas. Your magic is our mission!
After Portland, it’s back to our favorite small stage for the first time in a long time!
SATURDAY, FEB 25, 7-10PM
Sooj & Betsy Live at Soulfood Coffeehouse!
15748 Redmond Way
Redmond, WA 98052
$20 suggested donation
Special guests are likely; everyone is welcome!
I’ll head home again for a stay-cation, a little remodeling, and some more recording time at the end of the month. Wish me luck on not working through the scheduled stay-cation!
Also please feel free to wish me luck this coming Wednesday, February 8. I’ll be having outpatient surgery that day. No crisis, but my PCP & my surgeon say it’s time for my gallbladder to say farewell. This should be much less invasive than the last time I had surgery, back in 2009. Unlike then, I currently have insurance coverage. Needless to say, after that’s been wrangled, if I need to put out the call for help or healing, I promise you all that I will.
I learned yesterday morning that a project very dear to my heart is gathering a whole lot of momentum.
Most of you will have seen my music videos for “Neptune” and “D&D” on YouTube by now. Film maker Ben Dobyns & Zombie Orpheus Entertainment who helped me bring those videos to life, is now making it happen with a project called Strowlers. The world of Strowlers is a world much like our own- people who are somewhat different, in this case who have magical talent, are persecuted and held in suspicion while just trying to get through their daily lives. Strowlers has the potential to be a very powerful story told on film, and I think it stands a chance at helping a lot of people.
I have seen the pilot episode of the hoped-for Strowlers series, which includes POC in leading roles, a healthy same-sex relationship, AND rebel librarians. I got to stand on a Seattle rooftop one morning and be filmed for a brief appearance in the teaser-trailer for Strowlers – keep reading and you’ll find out where to see this. Lastly, I have written two songs for and about the project so far. I found out today that Ben and his team have launched a Kickstarter for the production of two Strowlers short films: one set in Ireland and one set in Mongolia.
Filming is complete for the story told in Ireland. The story told in Mongolia will be told from the point of view of its local cast, including the shamans of Ulaanbaatar, who fell in love with the concept of Strowlers and invited Ben and his team to create a short film with them.
What I’m telling you is that Strowlers has got representation all over the place, which I think we need now more than ever. Storytelling is a magic that’s been with us longer than any of our nations have existed, and Ben & his team know how to use that magic for good. I believe in this project, and I’m so excited to see where it’s going. I’m also proud to be credited as “songwriter” in the Kickstarter description, something I neither asked for nor expected.
Bonus: if you watch the entire Strowlers pitch video for the fundraiser, you’ll not only see my little cameo, but you’ll also hear those songs I mentioned writing! They’re called “Mirror-self” and “Burn Me Out”.
Check out the Strowlers Preludes Kickstarter here.
TODAY, ALL DAY, Bandcamp.com, where all of my music can be purchased via download or CD, is donating THEIR SHARE of every single music purchase to the ACLU.
Our founder Ethan Diamond made a beautiful statement about this commitment Read it here.
If you’ve been waiting to order or purchase downloads of my stuff or music that my friends make, today would be the perfect day.
Even better is that this has become a call to action for us musicians, also.
I just committed to donating MY share of today’s sales as well, and so have over 400 other artists and labels. I hope you’ll support this cause with me. My download page is here.
This weekend I’m performing Fri-Sun at Glimmerdark in Princeton, NJ! If you’re here amongst the magical creatures, come and see me! The event is hosted by the Hyatt Regency Princeton.
FRIDAY
8:30-9:30pm, WITHERSPOON BALLROOM TECH STAGE:
Themed concert, Mythpunks in Neverland!
SATURDAY
1:30-2:30pm, RUTGERS:
Internal Alchemy workshop/presentation/mini-concert
8:30-9:30pm, WITHERSPOON BALLROOM TECH STAGE:
Themed concert, The Good Witch/Bad Witch Revue!
followed by Frenchy & the Punk!
SUNDAY
3:30-4:30pm, WITHERSPOON BALLROOM TECH STAGE:
Themed concert, Shapeshifters & Siren Songs!