IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:
June 2 - Baltimore, MD
June 18-21 - Las Vegas, NV
June 23 - Vancouver, BC
June 25 - Vancouver, BC
June 26 - Duncan, BC
June 27 - Victoria, BC
June 28 - Port Townsend, WA
June 29 - Bellingham, WA
Complete details of these and all tour dates appear at the bottom of this newsletter and continually update at http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html -- I do my level best to keep this accurate but it's always a good idea to check with the venue to confirm time, etc.
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If you meant to buy a CD at my last show and didn't get to, you can order all my CDs here: http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid
Enjoy!
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30 May 2007
Quiet Valley Ranch
Kerrville TX
Hi there
If this newsletter is disjointed it's because I've been camping in the rain for a week, but I hope you'll make time to read it, there's lots of important news this month..
IN THIS ISSUE:
SINGING WITH PETER YARROW - FREE DOWNLOADS
UNION SUMMER SCHOOLS
COME TO IRELAND WITH ME!!
FAMILY NEWS
STILL BOOKING -- HELP!!
SCANDINAVIA IN SEPTEMBER
LINK OF THE MONTH
Much love
Anne
This has been the rainiest Kerrville Folk Festival ever... we've had record low temperatures .. and some of the greatest music ever... I'm still floating (pun intended, too, I guess) from the fabulous sets turned in by my pals Steve James, Susan Werner, Small Potatoes ... so very much more too...
On Wednesday Chris Chandler does a concert at the beautifully renovated Threadgill Theater. I'll be doing a guest number, as will Adam & Kris, Oliver Steck and Stephanie Corby ... but the real star of the show will be David Morreale, Chris' wonderfullly talented new East Coast partner... this new show sizzles, and if you get a chance to catch Chris on the road ... do it!!
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SINGING WITH PETER (PAUL & MARY) - FREE DOWNLOAD & MORE
The personal highlight of the festival so far was singing with Peter Yarrow during his set last weekend. Besides sharing "Have Have You Been to Jail for Justice?" with him, I got to sing harmonies on one of my favorite songs of PP&M's - Peter's "The Great Mandela" -- I'm going to add it to my myspace for free download... check it out very soon at http://myspace.com/annefeeneyreally
My new song "Recordaremos Santiago Cruz" will be available for download as soon as Jack Erdie sends me the mp3... (hint hint jack) The words and the story are posted on my ( http://fellow-travelers-advisory.blogspot.com/2007/05/song-for-santiago-cruz.html) blog.
And I just put a new jukebox up on my (http://myspace.com/annefeeneyreally) myspace page, on my (http://annefeeney.com/news.html) news page, and on my blog so downloading one song (or several) is easier than ever.
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UNION SUMMER SCHOOLS
Just before coming to Kerrville I was minister-of-culture/faculty at the Regina Polk Institute for Union Women... it's a fantastic annual conference for union women from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and thereabouts... This year's collective bargaining role play was negotiating a contract for migrant workers in North Carolina with the Growers' Association. Leticia Zavala from the Farm Labor Organizing Committee was our most informative advisor on this project and really opened our eyes to the serious problems of migrant workers in the US and the difficulty entailed in their struggle for dignity.
Just before the conference began we learned of the murder of Santiago Cruz, a 29 year old FLOC organizer. Santiago was staffing the FLOC office in Monterrey, Mexico. The FLOC office there is facilitating the process of obtaining H2A visas ... workers getting visas through the office need not deal with smugglers and coyotes ... spending $2-5000 to get across the border.
There were many unethical and corrupt people whose greedy livelihoods were challenged by FLOC's office. Santiago Cruz's murder was meant to deter the quest for justice in the fields.
I'm playing at three more of these wonderful union summerschools.. if you live on the west coast, I hope to see you in Olympia, Vancouver or Berkeley...
check the information in the tourdates section below... scholarships may still be available for those who qualify. don't pass up this great educational opportunity. These summer schools make you better union members, citizens and community members.
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COME TO IRELAND WITH ME!!!
Lots of you wrote to comment on my Irish tour blog... many of you said you wished you could have come along... well, guess what? YOU CAN!!
I've been invited by some very wonderful, experienced Irish-based tour guides to host a tour of Ireland!! I can take a small group (14-20 folks) to Ireland in 2008...
It looks like it would most likely be a nine day tour and cost approximately US $1750 + transportation to Shannon... This includes all ground transportation and accommodations and several meals, as well admission to as a series of terrific cultural events featuring Irish poets and musicians. If you'd like to know more about a tour like this... email me right away to express interest and I'll keep you informed as plans develop.
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STILL BOOKING -- DATES I WOULD LOVE TO FILL
PLEASE help me fill in these empty dates!!
If you would like to host a house concert I'll show you how... If you know of an event (banquet, rally, riot, conference) in progress on any of these dates, please let me know!!
June 30th off near tacoma, olympia - help!!
4th of July - a revolutionary independence day... could be anywhere within 3 hours of portland
Saturday July 7- Astoria, Goble, Corvallis, Bend???
Sunday July 8-
Monday July 9-
Tuesday July 10
I'll seriously consider almost anywhere in Oregon for these dates... Let me know if you can help..
ALSO, Labor Day is still open for me... If you'd like me to sing at you Labor Day 2007 event, drop me a line!
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FAMILY NEWS
My son Dan marries his true love, Monique Murad on June 16th in Pasadena. We're overjoyed. More info at http://moniqueanddan.com
My Aunt Claire turn 88 on June 4th. send cards to
Claire O'Connor
c/o Hitchcock House Assisted Living
102 Crepe Myrtle Court
Aiken, SC 29803
(If you already sent one to the Magnolia Lake Court address that I put in last month's newsletter, it will be forwarded. My sister Kathleen and I are surprising Claire with a birthday visit!)
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OREGON COUNTRY FAIR PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
I'm looking forward to seeing lots of you at the fabulous Oregon Country Fair... Founded by Ken Kesey, this Fair is one of my favorite annual tour stops -- here's my schedule so far... although I'll be doing something at Energy Park and Community Village too -- tba -- and lots of busking along the paths...
Friday, July 13th, 2007 12:15 PM
Blue Moon Stage
Friday, July 13th, 2007 5:00 PM
At the Rabbit Hole
Saturday, July 14th, 2007 12:30 PM
Hoarse Chorale
Saturday, July 14th, 2007 4:00 PM
Kesey Stage/Dancing Maple Theater
Sunday, July 15th, 2007 2:00 PM
Chez Ray's
Sunday, July 15th, 2007 dark:30
Chris Chandler's Library Show
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LINK OF THE MONTH
I'm surprised at how many folks haven't found their way to http://truemajority.org ... it's a great website full of wonderful information and useful items (a ball point pen with a fold-out chart illustrating how our tax dollars are spent)...
They're also running a pool right now.... correctly guess the hour, minute and day that Alberto Gonzales steps down and win a few gallons of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream ... Yummm!
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SCANDINAVIA IN SEPTEMBER
I'm planning on being in Sweden from September 5th through the 27th... I'd love to come sing for you in Sweden or Denmark (or Norway...)
Write me with your ideas..
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Well, that's it... now on with...
THE TOUR
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 8:00 PM
Baltimore United for Peace and Justice presents Anne Feeney with Lea Gilmore
Govans Boundary Presbyterian Church
5210 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21212
Price: $10-20
(Lea Gilmore is a fabulous blues singer based in Baltimore who is disgusted with the war.)
Baltimore United for Peace and Justice wants to raise enough money to send several people to the national assembly of United for Peace and Justice in Chicago June 22-24th. Give more if you can, less if you can't.
Saturday, June 16th, 2007 8:00 PM
Dan and Monique's Wedding
Pasadena, CA
Monday, June 18th, 2007 12:00 PM
30th Anniversary of UAW Local 2320 - The National Organization of Legal Services Workers
Circus Circus
Las Vegas, NV
http://nolsw.org
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 8:00 PM
30th Anniversary of UAW Local 2320 - The National Organization of Legal Services Workers
Circus Circus
Las Vegas, NV
http://nolsw.org
Tim Yeager is the contact
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 8:00 PM
Music for Troublemakers!
Rhizome Cafe
317 E. Broadway (across from Kingsgate Mall)
Vancouver, BC
Canada
http://www.soundsandfuries.com
Price: $12-17 suggested
Pat Hogan is producing this concert
Monday, June 25th, 2007 8:15 PM
CUPE Summer School Performance with Judy Rebick
HEU Conference
Vancouver, BC
Canada
more details soon ... Juli Rees is the education director and coordinator of this conference
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 8:00 PM
Music for Troublemakers Presented by Longevity John
Duncan Garage Showroom
201-330 Duncan St
Duncan, BC V9L-3W4
Canada
250-748-7246
http://www.duncangarageshowroom.ca
Price: $15 at the door
longevityjohn@shaw.ca is the contact
email him for advance tickets, group discounts, etc
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 7:30 PM
House Concert
Ken Orchard and Sharon Hazelwood's
Victoria, BC
Canada
Price: $10-20 suggested
wy234@victoria.tc.ca for more info
Thursday, June 28th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in concert!
Sirens
Water St
Port Townsend, WA
Price: your generous tips!
Friday, June 29th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in concert!
Bellingham, WA
Betsy Pernotto is organizing this show
Sunday, July 1st, 2007 9:00 AM
2007 Summer School for Union Women and Community Activists
The Evergreen State College Labor Center
2700 Evergreen Parkway
Olympia, WA 98505
360-867-6055
http://www.evergreen.edu/laborcenter
This conference begins on June 27th and it's a great opportunity for women activists, union members and community leaders...
•Find your Voice •Become Inspired • Work for Change •Learn by Doing •Connect with Great Women •Have Fun!
"The school was so great - I want to come back next year and the next and the next! --2006 participant
Plan now! • Cost: $500 including room and meals, - $425 if you need to pay for childcare while you are away at the school, - $400 for Commuters (meals only).
• Have your Local/International and Labor Council budget for scholarships now.
• Talk to your sisters about attending.
• Limited number of scholarships available.
Questions? email Nina Triffleman at trifflen@evergreen.edu
Sunday, July 1st, 2007 8:00 PM
Adam & Kris and I do the big Canada Day + Anne's Birthday Show at
Sam Bond's Garage
407 BLAIR BLVD
Eugene, OR
http://www.sambonds.com/
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 9:00 PM
with Adam and Kris!!!
Alberta Street Pub
Portland, OR
more details soon
Friday, July 6th, 2007 8:00 PM
Music for Troublemakers
Cafe Mundo
NW Coast and 2nd St
Newport, OR
541-265-9747
more details soon
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 8:00 PM
House Concert!
Ken and Janet Bates' place
Bandon, OR
more details soon
Thursday, July 12th, 2007 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney "Sing for Justice" Library Concert
The LibraryBromley Room-Siuslaw Public Library
1460 9th St
Florence, OR 97439
997-3132 (Library)- other: 997-2
Price: $donation for justice
Friday, July 13- Sunday July 15
Oregon Country Fair
Veneta, OR
http://oregoncountryfair.org/
complete schedule appears under the OCF story
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 7:00 PM
Summer Institute for Union Women
UC Clark Kerr Conference Center
2601 Warring St
Berkeley, CA
see below
http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/events/siuw/
Contact: Karen Navarro
Phone: (510) 643-0910
Email: navarrok@berkeley.edu
or
Contact: Pam Tau Lee
Phone: (510) 643-7594
Email: ptlee@berkeley.edu
Attend the 26th Annual Summer Institute for Union Women for a week of learning, celebration, inspiration, and action. We welcome all women engaged in action to improve the conditions of working people. The Institute celebrates the solidarity of union and community-based women activists, and crosses the boundaries of age, race, occupation, and nation.
There will be classes and activities for women activists at every level of experience, from beginner to advanced. All classes will be presented in a supportive environment to enable the sharing of ideas, strategies, information, and experiences. Instructors are energetic and highly respected labor educators who understand the importance of providing a hands-on, dynamic educational experience. In addition to classes, there will be cultural events, solidarity actions, free time to sightsee, and exciting keynote speakers and plenary sessions.
Scholarship application deadline is June 15th!
Saturday, July 21st, 2007 7:00 PM
Concert
Watsonville, CA
Price: $10-20 suggested
Amy Newell is coordinating
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 10:15 AM
Live on "Please Stand By"
KPIG-FM - streaming live at the URL listed below
http://kpig.org
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney with special guest Jon Fromer!
La Pena Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94705
510-849-2568
http://www.lapena.org/calendar/2007/7
Price: $10
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007 8:00 PM
Buried: The Story of the Sago Mine Disaster
Jerry Starr's Play in Production!
San Diego, CA
more info soon
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
A SONG FOR SANTIAGO CRUZ
Santiago Cruz at Immigrant Rights Rally in Columbus in March of 2006
A SONG FOR SANTIAGO CRUZ
© Anne Feeney 2007 (BMI)
On April 9th they found him
He'd been beaten, bound and gagged
His lifeless body bore the signs of torture and abuse
Two short months before
He'd come to work in Monterrey
Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz
Santiago Cruz was only 29 years old -
¿Que cobarde apogò su luz?
We demand his murderers be found and brought to justice -
Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz
Each year tens of thousands cross
The border heading north to pick
The crops and labor at the jobs Americans refuse
One man headed south to try to end their exploitation
Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz
Santiago Cruz was only 29 years old -
¿Que cobarde apogò su luz?
We demand his murderers be found and brought to justice -
Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz
The day is coming soon when
All the workers in the fields
Will finally get a living wage for all that they produce
And when all the smugglers disappear
And the last coyote starves
Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz
Santiago Cruz was only 29 years old -
¿Que cobarde apogò su luz?
We demand his murderers be found and brought to justice -
Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz
We will remember Santiago Cruz
¡Recordarèmos Santiago Cruz!
The story behind this song appears in both English and Spanish with pictures of Santiago here.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - MAY 2007, VOLUME THREE, #2
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - MAY 2007, VOLUME THREE, #2
IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:
May 1st - Haledon, NJ
May 4th - Harrisburg, PA
May 5th - Troy, NY
May 11-13th - Darlington, MD
May 19th - Chicago, IL
ACTIVELY BOOKING CA, OR, WA, BC in June/July!! Find a hole in the tour dates below and invite me to play!!!
Do you live near any of these places? I hope to see you at one of these upcoming shows! check out http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html for continuously updating tour dates.
Do you know anyone who lives near any of these places? PLEASE spread the word. This is a word-of-mouth 'career' I have... I count on you to let folks know I'm performing in their hometowns!
I'm very excited about the Darlington, MD Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival... It's a camping-optional festival located halfway between Baltimore and Philadelphia at the charming Ramblewood Resort. This year's lineup is fantastic!
And if you have friends in Chicago, please send them to the People's Church for my May 19th concert. This is the same wonderful room where we had the 100th anniversary of the IWW concert a few years ago with Utah Phillips, Charlie King, Len Wallace, Mark Ross, Rebel Voices, Citizens' Band, Mark Ross -- what a night!!
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Details, details
MAYDAY, MAYDAY!
SPECIAL MAYDAY CONTEST
SUPPORT CONN-SELMER STRIKERS
GOOD NEWS!
MAY BIRTHDAYS
THE TOUR
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Details, details.....
Your interest in my music and your support makes my so-called career possible. Please forward it widely!
BUY CDs at: http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid
I try very hard to keep my tourdates current and accurate. It's always a good idea to check with the venue, though.
Four Dogs Music is a new UK music site operated by Ethical Wares and featuring great music from all over the world... including mine! If you're across the pond, order from Four Dogs for prompt delivery. Click here to visit Four Dogs Music: http://www.fourdogsmusic.co.uk/_P_544_if-i-cant-dance-anne-feeney/
Most of my music is available for digital download at Itunes and dozens of other digital music outlets.
and....
I'VE MOVED!!
New address:
2240 Milligan Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
Same phone: 412.241.7664
Cell Phone: 412.877.6480
Best email: anne@annefeeney.com
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MAYDAY!! MAYDAY!!
(sung to the tune of "Daisy, Daisy")
MAYDAY, MAYDAY that's the real workers' day
Labor's History says, "Don't give our day away!"
It's time that the working class says
"Stick Labor Day up your (somewher appropriate)!"
And ain't it great to celebrate on the glorious first of May!
This Mayday I'll be at the National Labor Museum in Haledon, NJ. The Botto House was generously offered by the Botto family to the strikers during the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913 as a meeting place. You can read a memoir of that strike by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (Joe Hill's "Rebel Girl") here:
http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/njwomenshistory/Period_4/flynn.htm
All over the world today workers will sing "The Internationale" and they will honor the memory of the Haymarket Martyrs. If you don't know the story of Mayday, here's a terrific article I found on Portside, a great digest of labor news. If you like the article, you can subscribe to Portside at http://www.portside.org/subscribe2
THE REAL MAY DAY
By Dick Meister
May Day. A day to herald the coming of Spring with song and dance, a day for children with flowers in their hair to skip around beribboned maypoles, a time to crown May Day queens.
But once it also was a day for demonstrations that were crucial in winning the most important right ever won by working people -- the right demanded above all others
by the labor activists of a century ago:
"Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight
hours for what we will!"
The changing economy has forced many workers in recent years to regularly exceed the eight-hour workday that their predecessors won. But eight hours for work nevertheless remains the standard in the United States and every other industrial nation and at least an aspiration in others.
Winning the eight-hour workday took years of hard struggle, beginning in the mid-1800s. By 1867, the federal government, six states and several cities had passed laws limiting their employees' hours to eight per day. The laws were not effectively enforced and in some cases were overturned by courts, but they set an important precedent that finally led to a powerful popular movement.
The movement was launched in 1886 by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, then one of the country's major labor organizations. The federation called for workers to negotiate with their employers for an eight-hour workday and, if that failed, to strike on May 1 in support of the demand.
Some negotiated, some marched and otherwise demonstrated. More than 300,000 struck. And all won strong support, in dozens of cities -- Chicago, New York, Baltimore, Boston, Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Denver , Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Washington, Newark, Brooklyn, St. Paul and others.
More than 30,000 workers had won the eight-hour day by April. On May Day, another 350,000 workers walked off their jobs at nearly 12,000 establishments, more than 185,000 of them eventually winning their demand. Most of the others won at least some reduction in working hours that had ranged up to 16 a day.
Additionally, many employers cut Saturday operations to a half-day, and the practice of working on Sundays, also relatively common, was all but abandoned by major
industries.
"Hurray for Shorter Time," declared a headline in the New York Sun over a story describing a torchlight procession of 25,000 workers that highlighted the eight-hour-day activities in New York. Never before had the city experienced so large a demonstration.
Not all newspapers were as supportive, however. The strikes and demonstrations, one paper complained, amounted to "communism, lurid and rampant." The eight-hour day, another said, would encourage "loafing and gambling, rioting, debauchery, and drunkenness."
The greatest opposition came in response to the demonstrations led by anarchist and socialist groups in Chicago, the heart of the eight-hour day movement. Four demonstrators were killed and more than 200 wounded by police who waded into their ranks, but what the demonstrators opponents seized on were the events two days later at a protest rally in Haymarket Square. A bomb was thrown into the ranks of the police who had surrounded the square, killing seven and wounding 59.
The bomb thrower was never discovered, but eight labor, socialist and anarchist leaders branded as violent, dangerous radicals by press and police alike -- were arrested on the clearly trumped up charge that they had conspired to commit murder. Four of them were hanged, one committed suicide while in jail, and three were pardoned six years later by Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld.
Employers responded to the so-called Haymarket Riot by mounting a counter-offensive that seriously eroded the eight-hour day movement's gains. But the movement was an extremely effective organizing tool for the country's unions, and in 1890 President Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor was able to call for "an International Labor Day" in favor of the eight-hour workday. Similar proclamations were made by socialist and union leaders in other nations where, to this day, May Day is celebrated as Labor Day.
Workers in the United States and 13 other countries demonstrated on that May Day of 1890 -- including 30,000 of them in Chicago. The New York World hailed it as "Labor's Emancipation Day." It was. For it marked the start of an irreversible drive that finally established the eight-hour day as the standard for millions of working people.
Copyright © 2007 Dick Meister, a San Francisco writer
who has covered labor issues for four decades as a
reporter, editor and commentator. Contact him through
his website, http://www.dickmeister.com.
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SPECIAL MAYDAY CONTEST: NEW FRONTIERS OF CORPORATE PIGDOM
Read the full article at the link below, or the excerpt included here, and then send me your most creative idea for retaliating against this mean-spirited greed machine. Refusing to patronize Circuit City somehow doesn't seem to be punishment enough. The three or five most creative ideas will be published in next month's Fellow Travelers' Advisory, and the person submitting the best idea will win an appropriate prize.
Circuit City Cuts 3,400 'Overpaid' Workers
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 29, 2007; Page D01
Circuit City fired 3,400 employees in stores across the country yesterday, saying they were making too much money and would be replaced by new hires willing to work for less.
The company said the dismissals had nothing to do with performance but were part of a larger effort to improve the bottom line. The firings represent about 9 percent of the company's in-store workforce of 40,000.
"Retail is very competitive and store operations just have to contain their costs," said Jim Babb, a Circuit City spokesman. "We deeply regret the negative impact that was had on these folks. It was no fault of theirs."
The company gave the dismissed workers severance pay and told them that after 10 weeks they were free to apply for any openings. Employees reached by a reporter said they were notified yesterday morning and told to leave immediately.
The firings, along with several other moves, are expected to reduce expenses for the electronics retailer by $110 million in fiscal year 2008 and $140 million a year starting in fiscal 2009. Circuit City said sales would be volatile for the next several months as the company adjusts to the changes.
"It's definitely going to have some cost-savings, but I think the bigger impact could be seen in weaker, poor service," said Timothy Allen, an analyst with Jefferies & Co. "I have a feeling the people they're letting go have probably been there longer, have more experience, more product knowledge."
Steven Rash, 24, said he was one of 11 workers fired at a Circuit City in Asheville, N.C. The store manager broke the news during a meeting at 8:15 a.m. and escorted them out of the store. Rash said he has worked for the retailer for seven years and was one of the most junior members of the affected group.
He said he earned $11.59 an hour and worked from 15 to 20 hours a week. He received four weeks of severance pay. Though he has a full-time job at Bank of America, he said he needs to find part-time work to help pay his student loans.
"It's not just a part-time job," he said. "It's about paying the bills."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for retail salespeople was $11.14 in May 2005, the latest data available.
Circuit City chief executive Philip J. Schoonover received a salary of $716,346, along with a $704,700 bonus last year. He also has long-term compensation of $3 million in stock awards and $340,000 in underlying options, according to company filings.
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HELP CONN-SELMER STRIKERS
My visit to Champaign/Urbana was a total blast... thanks to the very hard work and creative ideas of Dave Johnson and the music of the amazing "Orn'ry Duffers" - the kickass backup band assembled by the wonderful Paul Kotheimer ... It was so much fun to perform with a band!!!
But the most touching moment of the day was when Deneen Sigler of the striking Conn-Selmer workers took the stage.
230 union musician instrument makers at the Conn-Selmer Vincent Bach plant in Elkhart, Indiana have been on strike since April of 2006. This is the longest ongoing strike in the United States. The company which owns this plant, Steinway Musical Inc was taken over by Dana Messina and other speculators who got their "training" under stock manipulator Michael Milken. They have sought to destroy the health care and pension rights of the workers and drive out those workers who were over 50 years of age. In an effort to break the strike, 120 scabs have been brought into the plant and management has obtained injunctions severely limiting picketing by striking workers.
Send your donations to:
Food 4 Strikers
58558 Ardmore Dr.
Elkhart, IN 46517
An injury to one is still an injury to all!
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GOOD NEWS!
A year after their fabulous victory with Taco Bell, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers managed to sign McDonald's on to the Fair Food Campaign. McDonald's will pay an extra penny a pound to the workers who pick their tomatoes, and will be involved in a campaign to improve living and working conditions for tomato pickers. YES!!!
Now, on to BURGER KING!!
more good news...
Chez Panisse among restaurants leading bottled water backlash
BERKELEY, Calif. Bye-bye bottled water. Hello tap.
Chez Panisse (shay puh-'NEES) in Berkeley is among several upscale Bay Area restaurants that are ditching bottled water in the name of conservation.The bottled water backlash is being spurred by environmental concerns over the energy used in transportation as well as the disposal of all those containers.Chez Panisse stopped serving bottled non-sparkling water last year and expects to stop serving bottled carbonated water in a few weeks.
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MAY BIRTHDAYS
May 2 (I think) - High School Sweetheart Bill Deegan
May 3 - Pete Seeger and my sister Kathleen
May 13 - cousin Kevin McCahill
May 15 - Utah Phillips
May 23 - cousin Terry Donovan
and on May 6, my cousin Bill Feeney celebrates 35 years as a Catholic priest!
and coming up on June 4th, my Aunt Claire's 88th birthday! Send her a card:
Claire O'Connor
325 Magnolia Lake Court
Aiken, SC 29803
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The Tour:
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 7:00 PM
Mayday!!! Botto House American Labor Museum
83 Norwood St
Haledon, NJ
Friday, May 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
PA ACLU Statewide Convention
Radisson Hotel
Camp Hill, PA
Saturday, May 5th, 2007 8:00 PM
The Eighth Step@The Sanctuary presents:
A Capital District May Day 2007 Concert
with Anne Feeney and Evan Greer
Sanctuary for Independent Media
3361 6th Ave
Troy, NY
(518) 434-1703
Price: $15
Friday, May 11th-13th
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Ramblewood Resort
2564 Silver Road
Darlington, MD 21035
Saturday, May 19th, 2007 8:00 PM
Benefit Concert for People's Church
People's Church
941 W. Lawrence St
Chicago, IL
773-784-6633
Price: $10-20 suggested
and bring a tax-deductible check to support People's Church - your voice for social justice in Chicago!
Sunday, May 20th, 2007 10:00 AM
Music to Inspire Agitators
People's Church
941 W. Lawrence St
Chicago, IL
773-784-6633
for more information -
inmusunka@sbcglobal.net
May 24th-June 5th
At the Kerrville Folk Festival
Kerrville, TX
this camping festival lasts 18 days. It's mecca for songwriters and a great reunion for us road warriors and veterans of this 36 year old festival.
June 18th-20th
30th Anniversary of UAW Local 2320 - The National Organization of Legal Services Workers
Circus Circus
Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 7:30 PM
Music for Troublemakers
Presented by Longevity John
details tba
Duncan, BC - Canada
longevityjohn@shaw.ca is the contact
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 7:30 PM
House Concert
Ken Orchard and Sharon Hazelwood's
Victoria, BC - Canada
Price: $10-20 suggested
wy234@victoria.tc.ca for more info
Thursday, June 28th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in concert!
Sirens - Water St
Port Townsend, WA
Price: your generous tips!
Friday, June 29th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in concert!
tba - Bellingham, WA
Betsy Pernotto is organizing this show
Sunday, July 1st, 2007 9:00 AM
2007 Summer School for Union Women and Community Activists
The Evergreen State College Labor Center
2700 Evergreen Parkway
Olympia, WA 98505
360-867-6055
This conference begins on June 27th and it's a great opportunity for women activists, union members and community leaders...
Sunday, July 1st, 2007 8:00 PM
Adam & Kris and I do the big Canada Day + Anne's Birthday Show at
Sam Bond's Garage
407 BLAIR BLVD
Eugene, OR
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 9:00 PM
with Adam and Kris!!!
Alberta Street Pub
Portland, OR
more details soon
Friday, July 6th, 2007 8:00 PM
Music for Troublemakers
Cafe Mundo
NW Coast and 2nd St
Newport, OR
541-265-9747
more details soon
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 8:00 PM
House Concert!
Ken and Janet Bates' place
Bandon, OR
Thursday, July 12th, 2007 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney "Sing for Justice" Library Concert
The LibraryBromley Room-Siuslaw Public Library
1460 9th St
Florence, OR 97439
997-3132 (Library)
Price: $donation for justice
July 13th-15th
Oregon Country Fair
Veneta, OR
Friday, July 20th, 2007 8:00 PM
Women United for Action - 26th Annual Western Summer Institute for Union Women
UC Clark Kerr Conference Center
2601 Warring St
Berkeley, CA
Contact: Karen Navarro
Phone: (510) 643-0910
Email: navarrok@berkeley.edu
Saturday, July 21st, 2007 3:00 PM
House Concert
tba
Watsonville, CA
Price: $10-20 suggested
Amy Newell is coordinating
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 10:15 AM
Live on "Please Stand By"
KPIG-FM - streaming live at the URL listed below
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney with special guest Jon Fromer!
La Pena Cultural Center
3105 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94705
510-849-2568
Price: $10
Friday, April 20, 2007
"Born of Fire" - The NewLanders
"Born of Fire" is 11 Songs of Steel and Industry collected by Paula Purnell and innovatively arranged by the NewLanders for this project of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
I should have known that any musical project undertaken by regional treasure Paula Purnell and multi-instrumentalist and engineer extraordinaire Doug Wilkin would be of exceptional quality. In addition to Doug and Paula the NewLanders feature Art Gazdik on mandolin and violins and vocals and Gerard Rohlf on 6 and 12 string guitars. The project is enhanced considerably by the budget provided by several area foundations, enabling the NewLanders to engage the services of a wide variety of talented musicians from around Pittsburgh.
In live performance the songs are accompanied by a powerpoint show of paintings from steel and industry assembled by The Westmoreland. This brilliant recording paints pictures of its own. The recording contains some familiar material - Woody Guthrie's "Hard Travelin'" and a delightful arrangement of "Bread and Roses" using Mimi Farina's melody. Deborah Silverstein's classic song about strip mining - "Draglines" - is given respectful treatment. Gerard Rohlf's original about riverboat captain Spike Crain sits nicely in the project.
The most noteworthy contribution made by "Born of Fire" is the breathtaking arrangement and performance of many largely unknown songs written at the dawn of Pittsburgh's industrial era. "Twenty-Inch Mill" (c. 1870), "Where the Old Allegheny and Mongahela Flow" (c. 1910), "The Altoona Freight Wreck" (1926), "I Lie in the American Land" (c. 1899), "Two Cent Coal" (c. 1877) and "In Soho on a Saturday Night" (c. 1855) are beautifully revived in this recording. The NewLanders vocal harmonies are flawless.
The show-stealer in my opinion is "Coal Diggin Blues," collected by George Korson in 1940, but sung by African-American coal miners as early as 1840. A must for any union member's record collection - and a much more authentic expression of true Pittsburgh than overpriced sweatshop-made sports items. Available at CDBaby ... and while you're there, buy "Where the Allegheny Flows."
Monday, April 16, 2007
Moving Day - April 21 and April 22!!!
I'm looking for someone with an open pickup to come by over the weekend and let us load the couch, china closet, dining room table, etc onto it to go over to the new house. Much of the work is already done. Since I'm renting my old house I'm leaving a lot of the heavy stuff (washer, dryer, frig, stove etc)... but it's still a pain in the butt to move!! If you know someone with an open pickup, tell 'em they wouldn't even have to lift anything... just provide the truck on april 21 or 22 ... and they get a permanent spot on my party list, undying gratitude, 60 days off their time in purgatory, gas money, free beer & food... that's about all the incentives I can provide ... call me at 412.877.6480 ...
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Florida Tour Photos
I had a great time canoeing on the Hillsborough River near Tampa with my friends Phil and Rhonda Cohen, Phil Keyes and Jodi Bikoff, Phil's sister Denise Garrott, and Phil's spirit-goddaughter Savannah... Phil Keyes took these fabulous pictures.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - APRIL 2007, VOLUME THREE, #1
Hudson, NY - March 30
Essex, MA - March 31
Worcester, MA - April 5
Andover, MA - April 7
Pittsburgh, PA - April 12
Urbana, IL - April 28
Indianapolis, IN - April 29
Pittsburgh, PA - April 30
Haledon, NJ - May 1
Camp Hill, PA - May 4
Albany, NY - May 5
Havre-de-Grace, MD - May 11-13
Chicago, IL - May 16-20th
Do you live in any of these towns or know anyone who does? Please help me spread the word... forward this newsletter to folks who might enjoy it ... and invite your friends both far and near to come to my shows. I depend on you all for this favor... you know they won't be hearing about my shows from Clearchannel or Fox News.
details of these and all upcoming gigs continuously updating at my tourdates page.
If you've got an upcoming conference, convention, riot, rally or any kind of event where my music would inspire and fire up people, please let me know!
Now booking:
September 4-26 Ireland?? Denmark?? Sweden??
October Midwest
I'm open to any and all work, though - don't let those suggestions deter you from proposing something else.
See you on the road and in the streets!
********************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
MOVING DAY!!! AND A GREEN MOUNTAIN GRASS HOUSE CONCERT AT MY NEW HOUSE!!
IMMOKALEE WORKERS NEED YOU AGAIN
WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY
BEST SIGNS SEEN ON THE FLORIDA TOUR
COOL LINKS
FAMILY NEWS, BIRTHDAYS
NATIONAL HEALTH CARE NOW
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
THE TOUR
************
NEW HOUSE/APRIL 12th HOUSEWARMING with GREEN MOUNTAIN GRASS
After complaining in last month's newsletter about not having enough to do in April... I happened upon a darling 3 bedroom Victorian house that's twice the size of the house I'm living in - for $37,000!!! It needs some TLC of course, but I closed on March 26th! When I get home from this tour I can begin packing, doing my taxes and moving... that should fill up those empty hours I was worried about...
I'm completely moving in on May 1st, but on April 12th I'm going to have a special housewarming party featuring Green Mountain Grass from Austin, TX.
Green Mountain Grass has been raising the roof at the Kerrville Folk Festival and I know you'll all be enchanted and dazzled by this fabulous young band. Come see my new house and hear some great music starting at 6PM on April 12th. I'll provide some refreshments, but you're welcome to bring some too...
I'm suggesting a $10-20 donation. I'm also signing folks up for a moving crew.
So, you Pittsburgh & vicinity folks come on by. I'll have a virtual housewarming on my blog too, with pictures & such. This is the first of what I hope will be many happy parties at my new house.
Starting MAYDAY 2007, send all snail mail to:
Anne Feeney
2240 Milligan Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
and I may be losing my 412.241.7664 phone number. I'll let you know if I get a new phone number. In the meantime, try 412.877.6480 (my cell) ... I'm on the road with it most of the time anyway...
********************************************
THE IMMOKALEE WORKERS ARE ON THE MOVE!
Stay tuned to the CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) website in the coming two weeks as the national movement for Fair Food gears up for two days of historic action, April 13-14, in Chicago!
It's particularly ironic that Burger King entered into an historic agreement with PETA to purchase humanely slaughtered beef for their fast food chain. If only Burger King had as much interest in the PEOPLE who harvest their tomatoes!!
*************************************
BEST SIGNS SEEN ON THE FLORIDA TOUR --
At the Sarasota Peace Rally on March 17th I saw:
THE RAPTURE is not an exit strategy
PELOSI '07
(I had to think about that one for a minute... this isn't an election year... but she *is* third in line if the offices of the President and Vice President were vacated by impeachment, indictment....)
********************************************
COOL LINKS
If you didn't get enough fun on St Patrick's Day, let me invite you to my blog to check out the photo essay of my tour there last September ...
PART ONE
PART TWO
This year on April 28th there will be events all over the world commemorating Workers' Memorial Day -- the day that recognizes that countless thousands of workers die every year from doing their jobs. Read more about it at the two links below...
AFL-CIO website
My Workers' Memorial Day Page
And if you haven't seen the new Apple I-rack, check it out...
********************************************
GET HUMAN
It's hard to get a human on the line when you call a company. Usually you have to go through a slew of automated call routing. Try this website on for size:
At GetHuman.com, a database of 500 call center numbers and the codes needed to get to a human.
*******************************************
FAMILY NEWS & BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday (belated) to Shirley Shultz, Mary Madeira, Joe McCahill, Bette Jacobson, Ron Berlin and April birthday wishes to Rosanna Lane!
Jon Christian McCahill is studying this semester in Spain and having a ball. Ed McCahill's work schedule has eased up some - he and Terry, Ryan and Collin all doing very well and extended delicious hospitality to me and Julie - including a home made spice cake. Joe and Rhonda served up an exquisite meal for us too.
Karen McCahill is on a 60 mile walking pilgrimage in Spain with Kay and other family members -- I hope to have some details and pictures next month.
Dan and Monique's wedding plans are coming along swimmingly. If you'd love to come to their June 16th wedding in Pasadena, let me know and I'll try to get you an invitation. I'm doing my best to be the low-pressure suegra (mother-in-law)...
********************************************
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
CDBaby has all my CDs. It's a great company - providing super customer service and great treatment of artists and employees. Click here to listen to and buy my recordings at CDBaby.
Amazon is a terrible place to buy music and books. They give authors and artists a terrible deal.
You can also download all my stuff (Ringtones too) at Itunes and most online music sales sites.
Check out my Fellow Travelers' Advisory weblog.
You can read the news there with photos & live links added...If you've never checked it out, you should!
If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe at my website
If you need to unsubscribe, click on the link at the bottom of this email, or write anne@annefeeney.com
********************************************
NATIONAL HEALTH CARE NOW!!
Here's a link to a very coherent article about why universal health care is the only way to go...
In Health Care Reform Debate, Single-Payer System is Labor’s Only Clear Choice — Rose Ann DeMoro
Union members have a huge stake in the present debate on health care reform.
At a time when employers routinely slash or eliminate health benefits for workers and their families or force union members on strike to preserve those benefits, when insurance plans routinely restrict workers’ choice of doctors and prescription drugs, and when more working families declare bankruptcy due to medical debt, only one reform can provide the health care security working people need: single-payer.
Under single-payer, you don’t face the loss of health benefits if you lose your job or are forced out on strike. You don’t face employers constantly shifting costs onto your back. You don’t have to worry about retiree health care if you are able to retire before age 65. And you are no longer at the mercy of the insurance industry predators who routinely deny care.
NOT A DREAM
Single-payer is not a dream. It’s legislation—House Resolution 676, introduced by Congressmen John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich, with dozens of co-authors. It also has the backing of 235 labor organizations in 40 states, including 17 AFL-CIO state federations and 60 county/regional central labor councils. Several states, including California and Illinois, also have single-payer bills in the hopper.
Does single-payer work? Every industrialized nation in the world except the U.S. has either a single-payer system, like Medicare, or a national health system, like our veterans health system. That’s why the U.S. stumbles along at 37th in the world in overall health care quality, according to the World Health Organization.
Under single-payer, all health care revenues go into one publicly administered pool of money that pays for all medically necessary services delivered by doctors, hospitals, and other providers.
Its guiding principles are:
Read the rest on the Labor Notes website..
(By the way, Labor Notes is one of the best sources in the world for what's going on in the labor movement!)
********************************************
THE TOUR
Friday, March 30th, 2007 8:00 PM
House Concert at Melanie's
Hudson, NY 12534
Price: $10-20 pay what u can
more details soon ... email melanie at melanie(@)hudsonholistic.com to reserve a space!
Saturday, March 31st, 2007 8:00 PM
One World Coffeehouse
First Universalist Church
59 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929
978-768-7056
Price: $15
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 1:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert at Worcester State College
Student Activities Building - North/South Auditorium
486 Chandler St
Worcester, MA 01602
508-929-8635
Price: free and open to the public
crice@worcester.edu for more information
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 7:30 PM
Benefit Concert for Lynne Simonds*
Stone Soup Collective Performance Space
4 King St
Worcester, MA 01602
617-298-0388
Price: $20 or whatever you can afford
cdolgon@worcester.edu has more information
Saturday, April 7th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
The Coffeehouse on Locke Street
Six Locke Street
Andover, MA 01810
978.475.4454
Price: $12
Doors open at 7:30pm. Music at 8:00pm
Where: Six Locke Street, just steps from Andover, Massachusetts town center
Who: Families, newcomers, old friends, neighbors
Why: For good music, good company, good grub
Suggested donation is $12. (No one has ever been turned away in the history of The Coffeehouse.) Help yourself to a selection of hot and cold beverages (non-alcoholic) and sweet treats while you enjoy the show.
The Coffeehouse at Six Locke Street is hosted, on the first Saturday of every month, by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Andover.
Saturday, April 28th, 2007 3:00 PM
Central IL Jobs with Justice presents - MAYDAY / WORKERS' MEMORIAL SOLIDARITY DAY
Independent Media Center
202 S. Broadway (corner of broadway and elm)
Urbana, IL 61801
217-356-8247
Price: $5
This event is in honor of the campaign for the eight-hour day ( Haymarket in Chicago 1886 ) and those who died to make the eight hour day a reality. Also honoring those workers locally and nationally who have died on the job-site.
But in particular, this event will also be a living celebration of the recent struggles by the University of Illinois Unions ( IEA ( Illinois Education Assoc. ), IFT ( Illinois Federation of Teachers ), AFSCME, and SEIU ) for a fair and decent contract.
An event to honor these brave and UNIFIED fighting Unions for their struggle and the struggle of ALL Working People in their pursuit of a just and decent standard of living ! Come join us in a celebration of music, food (while it lasts), fun, and solidarity - children under 12 free!
Please contact ; David Johnson 356-8247 or unionyes@ameritech.net OR Germaine Light
Sunday, April 29th, 2007 7:00 PM
MayDay in Indianapolis
Wheeler Art Center
1035 Sanders St
Indianapolis, IN
Ron Haldeman is the contact - ronjane@igc.org
Monday, April 30th, 2007 7:00 PM
The Battle of Homestead Foundation presents Anne Feeney, George Mann and Julius Margolin, and a special screening of "A Union Man"
The Pump House
East Waterfront Drive
Homestead, PA
412.877.6480
Price: $10 suggested
I'll do a set from 7PM-7:30 sharp & then we'll screen "A Union Man," the wonderfully inspiring and touching film about the life of my pal, Julius Margolin. The oldest member of the NYC Labor Council, Julius has been an organizer and activist since before the birth of the CIO. Now 90 years old and going strong, Julius is guaranteed to energize and educate you in both story and song during the concert and Q&A which will follow the screening of the short film. Julius performs with his longtime friend and very talented accompanist and co-writer, George Mann.
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 7:00 PM
Mayday!!!
Botto House American Labor Museum
83 Norwood St
Haledon, NJ
Friday, May 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
PA ACLU Statewide Convention
Radisson Hotel
Camp Hill, PA
Saturday, May 5th, 2007 12:00 PM
Mayday Concert
Steamer No 10 Theater
500 Western Ave
Albany, NY 12203
518-861-5627
margie rosencranz is the contact
Friday, May 11th-Sunday, May 13th, 2007
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Ramblewood Resort
2564 Silver Road
Darlington, MD 21035
Wednesday, May 16th-Saturday, May 19th, 2007
Regina Polk Leadership Institute for Union Women
Pheasant Run Resort
St Charles, IL
Essex, MA - March 31
Worcester, MA - April 5
Andover, MA - April 7
Pittsburgh, PA - April 12
Urbana, IL - April 28
Indianapolis, IN - April 29
Pittsburgh, PA - April 30
Haledon, NJ - May 1
Camp Hill, PA - May 4
Albany, NY - May 5
Havre-de-Grace, MD - May 11-13
Chicago, IL - May 16-20th
Do you live in any of these towns or know anyone who does? Please help me spread the word... forward this newsletter to folks who might enjoy it ... and invite your friends both far and near to come to my shows. I depend on you all for this favor... you know they won't be hearing about my shows from Clearchannel or Fox News.
details of these and all upcoming gigs continuously updating at my tourdates page.
If you've got an upcoming conference, convention, riot, rally or any kind of event where my music would inspire and fire up people, please let me know!
Now booking:
September 4-26 Ireland?? Denmark?? Sweden??
October Midwest
I'm open to any and all work, though - don't let those suggestions deter you from proposing something else.
See you on the road and in the streets!
********************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
MOVING DAY!!! AND A GREEN MOUNTAIN GRASS HOUSE CONCERT AT MY NEW HOUSE!!
IMMOKALEE WORKERS NEED YOU AGAIN
WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY
BEST SIGNS SEEN ON THE FLORIDA TOUR
COOL LINKS
FAMILY NEWS, BIRTHDAYS
NATIONAL HEALTH CARE NOW
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
THE TOUR
************
NEW HOUSE/APRIL 12th HOUSEWARMING with GREEN MOUNTAIN GRASS
After complaining in last month's newsletter about not having enough to do in April... I happened upon a darling 3 bedroom Victorian house that's twice the size of the house I'm living in - for $37,000!!! It needs some TLC of course, but I closed on March 26th! When I get home from this tour I can begin packing, doing my taxes and moving... that should fill up those empty hours I was worried about...
I'm completely moving in on May 1st, but on April 12th I'm going to have a special housewarming party featuring Green Mountain Grass from Austin, TX.
Green Mountain Grass has been raising the roof at the Kerrville Folk Festival and I know you'll all be enchanted and dazzled by this fabulous young band. Come see my new house and hear some great music starting at 6PM on April 12th. I'll provide some refreshments, but you're welcome to bring some too...
I'm suggesting a $10-20 donation. I'm also signing folks up for a moving crew.
So, you Pittsburgh & vicinity folks come on by. I'll have a virtual housewarming on my blog too, with pictures & such. This is the first of what I hope will be many happy parties at my new house.
Starting MAYDAY 2007, send all snail mail to:
Anne Feeney
2240 Milligan Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
and I may be losing my 412.241.7664 phone number. I'll let you know if I get a new phone number. In the meantime, try 412.877.6480 (my cell) ... I'm on the road with it most of the time anyway...
********************************************
THE IMMOKALEE WORKERS ARE ON THE MOVE!
Stay tuned to the CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) website in the coming two weeks as the national movement for Fair Food gears up for two days of historic action, April 13-14, in Chicago!
It's particularly ironic that Burger King entered into an historic agreement with PETA to purchase humanely slaughtered beef for their fast food chain. If only Burger King had as much interest in the PEOPLE who harvest their tomatoes!!
*************************************
BEST SIGNS SEEN ON THE FLORIDA TOUR --
At the Sarasota Peace Rally on March 17th I saw:
THE RAPTURE is not an exit strategy
PELOSI '07
(I had to think about that one for a minute... this isn't an election year... but she *is* third in line if the offices of the President and Vice President were vacated by impeachment, indictment....)
********************************************
COOL LINKS
If you didn't get enough fun on St Patrick's Day, let me invite you to my blog to check out the photo essay of my tour there last September ...
PART ONE
PART TWO
This year on April 28th there will be events all over the world commemorating Workers' Memorial Day -- the day that recognizes that countless thousands of workers die every year from doing their jobs. Read more about it at the two links below...
AFL-CIO website
My Workers' Memorial Day Page
And if you haven't seen the new Apple I-rack, check it out...
********************************************
GET HUMAN
It's hard to get a human on the line when you call a company. Usually you have to go through a slew of automated call routing. Try this website on for size:
At GetHuman.com, a database of 500 call center numbers and the codes needed to get to a human.
*******************************************
FAMILY NEWS & BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday (belated) to Shirley Shultz, Mary Madeira, Joe McCahill, Bette Jacobson, Ron Berlin and April birthday wishes to Rosanna Lane!
Jon Christian McCahill is studying this semester in Spain and having a ball. Ed McCahill's work schedule has eased up some - he and Terry, Ryan and Collin all doing very well and extended delicious hospitality to me and Julie - including a home made spice cake. Joe and Rhonda served up an exquisite meal for us too.
Karen McCahill is on a 60 mile walking pilgrimage in Spain with Kay and other family members -- I hope to have some details and pictures next month.
Dan and Monique's wedding plans are coming along swimmingly. If you'd love to come to their June 16th wedding in Pasadena, let me know and I'll try to get you an invitation. I'm doing my best to be the low-pressure suegra (mother-in-law)...
********************************************
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
CDBaby has all my CDs. It's a great company - providing super customer service and great treatment of artists and employees. Click here to listen to and buy my recordings at CDBaby.
Amazon is a terrible place to buy music and books. They give authors and artists a terrible deal.
You can also download all my stuff (Ringtones too) at Itunes and most online music sales sites.
Check out my Fellow Travelers' Advisory weblog.
You can read the news there with photos & live links added...If you've never checked it out, you should!
If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe at my website
If you need to unsubscribe, click on the link at the bottom of this email, or write anne@annefeeney.com
********************************************
NATIONAL HEALTH CARE NOW!!
Here's a link to a very coherent article about why universal health care is the only way to go...
In Health Care Reform Debate, Single-Payer System is Labor’s Only Clear Choice — Rose Ann DeMoro
Union members have a huge stake in the present debate on health care reform.
At a time when employers routinely slash or eliminate health benefits for workers and their families or force union members on strike to preserve those benefits, when insurance plans routinely restrict workers’ choice of doctors and prescription drugs, and when more working families declare bankruptcy due to medical debt, only one reform can provide the health care security working people need: single-payer.
Under single-payer, you don’t face the loss of health benefits if you lose your job or are forced out on strike. You don’t face employers constantly shifting costs onto your back. You don’t have to worry about retiree health care if you are able to retire before age 65. And you are no longer at the mercy of the insurance industry predators who routinely deny care.
NOT A DREAM
Single-payer is not a dream. It’s legislation—House Resolution 676, introduced by Congressmen John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich, with dozens of co-authors. It also has the backing of 235 labor organizations in 40 states, including 17 AFL-CIO state federations and 60 county/regional central labor councils. Several states, including California and Illinois, also have single-payer bills in the hopper.
Does single-payer work? Every industrialized nation in the world except the U.S. has either a single-payer system, like Medicare, or a national health system, like our veterans health system. That’s why the U.S. stumbles along at 37th in the world in overall health care quality, according to the World Health Organization.
Under single-payer, all health care revenues go into one publicly administered pool of money that pays for all medically necessary services delivered by doctors, hospitals, and other providers.
Its guiding principles are:
Read the rest on the Labor Notes website..
(By the way, Labor Notes is one of the best sources in the world for what's going on in the labor movement!)
********************************************
THE TOUR
Friday, March 30th, 2007 8:00 PM
House Concert at Melanie's
Hudson, NY 12534
Price: $10-20 pay what u can
more details soon ... email melanie at melanie(@)hudsonholistic.com to reserve a space!
Saturday, March 31st, 2007 8:00 PM
One World Coffeehouse
First Universalist Church
59 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929
978-768-7056
Price: $15
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 1:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert at Worcester State College
Student Activities Building - North/South Auditorium
486 Chandler St
Worcester, MA 01602
508-929-8635
Price: free and open to the public
crice@worcester.edu for more information
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 7:30 PM
Benefit Concert for Lynne Simonds*
Stone Soup Collective Performance Space
4 King St
Worcester, MA 01602
617-298-0388
Price: $20 or whatever you can afford
cdolgon@worcester.edu has more information
Saturday, April 7th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
The Coffeehouse on Locke Street
Six Locke Street
Andover, MA 01810
978.475.4454
Price: $12
Doors open at 7:30pm. Music at 8:00pm
Where: Six Locke Street, just steps from Andover, Massachusetts town center
Who: Families, newcomers, old friends, neighbors
Why: For good music, good company, good grub
Suggested donation is $12. (No one has ever been turned away in the history of The Coffeehouse.) Help yourself to a selection of hot and cold beverages (non-alcoholic) and sweet treats while you enjoy the show.
The Coffeehouse at Six Locke Street is hosted, on the first Saturday of every month, by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Andover.
Saturday, April 28th, 2007 3:00 PM
Central IL Jobs with Justice presents - MAYDAY / WORKERS' MEMORIAL SOLIDARITY DAY
Independent Media Center
202 S. Broadway (corner of broadway and elm)
Urbana, IL 61801
217-356-8247
Price: $5
This event is in honor of the campaign for the eight-hour day ( Haymarket in Chicago 1886 ) and those who died to make the eight hour day a reality. Also honoring those workers locally and nationally who have died on the job-site.
But in particular, this event will also be a living celebration of the recent struggles by the University of Illinois Unions ( IEA ( Illinois Education Assoc. ), IFT ( Illinois Federation of Teachers ), AFSCME, and SEIU ) for a fair and decent contract.
An event to honor these brave and UNIFIED fighting Unions for their struggle and the struggle of ALL Working People in their pursuit of a just and decent standard of living ! Come join us in a celebration of music, food (while it lasts), fun, and solidarity - children under 12 free!
Please contact ; David Johnson 356-8247 or unionyes@ameritech.net OR Germaine Light
Sunday, April 29th, 2007 7:00 PM
MayDay in Indianapolis
Wheeler Art Center
1035 Sanders St
Indianapolis, IN
Ron Haldeman is the contact - ronjane@igc.org
Monday, April 30th, 2007 7:00 PM
The Battle of Homestead Foundation presents Anne Feeney, George Mann and Julius Margolin, and a special screening of "A Union Man"
The Pump House
East Waterfront Drive
Homestead, PA
412.877.6480
Price: $10 suggested
I'll do a set from 7PM-7:30 sharp & then we'll screen "A Union Man," the wonderfully inspiring and touching film about the life of my pal, Julius Margolin. The oldest member of the NYC Labor Council, Julius has been an organizer and activist since before the birth of the CIO. Now 90 years old and going strong, Julius is guaranteed to energize and educate you in both story and song during the concert and Q&A which will follow the screening of the short film. Julius performs with his longtime friend and very talented accompanist and co-writer, George Mann.
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 7:00 PM
Mayday!!!
Botto House American Labor Museum
83 Norwood St
Haledon, NJ
Friday, May 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
PA ACLU Statewide Convention
Radisson Hotel
Camp Hill, PA
Saturday, May 5th, 2007 12:00 PM
Mayday Concert
Steamer No 10 Theater
500 Western Ave
Albany, NY 12203
518-861-5627
margie rosencranz is the contact
Friday, May 11th-Sunday, May 13th, 2007
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Ramblewood Resort
2564 Silver Road
Darlington, MD 21035
Wednesday, May 16th-Saturday, May 19th, 2007
Regina Polk Leadership Institute for Union Women
Pheasant Run Resort
St Charles, IL
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - MARCH 2007, VOLUME TWO, #12
IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:
Pittsburgh, PA - March 9
Harrisburg, PA - March 10
Pittsburgh, PA - March 11
Washington, DC - March 12
Jacksonville, FL - March 14
Tallahassee, FL - March 15
Gainesville, FL - March 16
Sarasota, FL - March 17
Clearwater, FL - March 18
West Palm Beach, FL - March 21
N Miami, FL - March 22
Bradenton, FL - March 23
Fort Myers, FL - March 25
Jacksonville, FL - March 27
Hudson, NY - March 30
Essex, MA - March 31
Worcester, MA - April 5
Andover, MA - April 7
details of these and all upcoming gigs continuously updating at my website.
and then THREE WEEKS WITH NO WORK IN APRIL!!! Help! If you've got something going on between April 8th and April 29th, call me!
ESPECIALLY... I'm looking for April 28th - Workers' Memorial Day - in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati or even Louisville or St Louis - Call me at 412.241.7664
If you've got an upcoming conference, convention, riot, rally or any kind of event where my music would inspire and fire up people, please let me know!
Now booking:
May 19-26 Chicago, IL - Kerrville, TX
June 9-14 Kerrville, TX - Pasadena, CA
June 17- July 3 - LA, CA - Seattle, WA/Vancouver, BC
July 4 - July 13 Seattle/Vancouver - Eugene, OR
September 4-26 Ireland?? Denmark?? Sweden??
October-Nov Midwest
I'm open to any and all work, though - don't let those suggestions deter you from proposing something else.
See you on the road and in the streets!
********************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY
FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY
SICK DAZE
WHERE'S THE MONEY??
THE TOUR
*******************************************
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
CDBaby has all my CDs. It's a great company - providing super customer service and great treatment of artists and employees. Visit CDBaby to listen to and buy my recordings.
Amazon is a terrible place to buy music and books. They give authors and artists a terrible deal.
You can also download all my stuff (Ringtones too) at Itunes and most online music sales sites.
You can have this newsletter delivered to you inbox each month by going to my website.
********************************************
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY
It's hard to believe I've been sending out these missives for two years now! Welcome to the twenty-fourth monthly issue of the Fellow Travelers' Advisory.
Let me know what you're up to these days, and be sure to tell folks that you know along my tour route that I'm headed their way.... this is totally a word-of-mouth career I've got! (Better yet, send them a copy of one of my CDs!!)
Your generosity and support mean so very much to me. This is such a precarious, fragile vocation. If it weren't for all the wonderful things that you do for me, I'd have to quit. It's hard to find the words to express my appreciation to all of you who have found me work, presented me in concert, housed me, fed me, told your friends about me, bought my CDs... Thanks for all that, and for subscribing to my newsletter!
********************************************
FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Of course the anniversary that is on all our minds is the fourth anniversary of Operation Quagmire. Much of my March touring is focused on anti-war activities. I'll be doing a show in Pittsburgh at Garfield Artworks and also passing the hat for the Pittsburgh Anti-War Committee when I perform at Jim and LLouise Altes' house concert series on March 11th. (By the way, seats are going reallllllllllly fast for that cozy house concert - reserve right away if you plan on coming!)
I'm particularly excited that Troops Out Now! has called for an encampment on the national mall as Congress debates Bush's budget (be sure to check out the brilliant article on the budget that's clickable a little later on in this newsletter...)
I'll also be at a large demonstration in Sarasota on March 17th. Wherever you are this month, there will be ways to oppose this war. Please call your members of Congress and attend local anti-war activities if you can't come camp out on the National Mall in front of the Capitol.
*********************************************
SICK DAYS
I've really been plagued with a nasty cold/flu/100 days' cough this year... I'm hoping that my March tour in Florida will expiate the last of the demons. A *lot* of people heard me singing through the sickness in January and February. (It's always been a lesson in humility to me that most people can't tell that I'm sick when I sing. I guess there's just not that much difference between my best voice and my worst voice in most people's ears.) As a self-employed person, I don't have much of a safety net. .. and besides - the show must go on, right?
It's been a long time since I was an employee, but every job I ever had (even as a counter worker at Arby's) included paid sick days - usually one per every month worked - and in most places I worked those days accumulated. It was another disheartening bit of news to learn that very few workers have paid sick days any more. Among the lowest wage earners fewer than 1 in 5 have paid sick days. Only 15% of food industry workers have paid sick days. That's not just mean, it's crazy! The Healthy Families Act (S 932 and HR 1902) would begin to address this problem by requiring at least larger employers to provide some paid days off for workers who are sick.
********************************************
WHERE'S THE MONEY?
As Bush continues to get his war on, met with only token "non-binding" opposition to his "surge" in Iraq, he proposes a budget that makes all his tax cuts for the rich permanent, and calls for still deeper cuts in domestic programs. As we witnessed with Hurricane Katrina, those budget cuts have consequences... real life-and-death consequences. The scandalous living conditions provided for our troops at Walter Reed reveal another place where we've been hiding our budget cuts. Maybe you're wondering to yourself it Britney Spears' shaved head was really the most important news story of the past two weeks. I highly recommend this brilliant piece that appeared in Rolling Stone last week... (and thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders for culling and compiling these much-needed examples from the proposed Federal Budget.)
THE LOW POST: Medicare vs. Britney
Why a brainless Mouseketeer gets more ink than the federal budget
MATT TAIBBI in Rolling Stone
If the Estate Tax goes, the heirs to the Mars candy corporation -- (some of the world's evilest scumbags, incidentally, routinely ripped by human rights organizations for trafficking in child labor to work cocoa farms in places like Cote D'Ivoire) -- will receive about $11.7 billion in tax breaks. That's more than three times the amount Bush wants to cut from the VA budget ($3.4 billion) over the same time period.
read the whole article ...
********************************************
THE TOUR
Friday, March 9th, 2007 7:30 PM
All Ages Anti-War Concert
Garfield Artworks
4931 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Vanessa German and Rebecca Cooper will also present performance poetry at this all ages show. Bring a tax-deductible check to the Thomas Merton Center with "anti-war committee" in the memo!
Saturday, March 10th, 2007 7:00 PM
Benefit Concert for United for Progress - Harrisburg's Fabulous Labor Radio Show
Steelworkers' Local 1688 Hall
200 Gibson St
Steelton, PA 17113
717-448-1953
Price: $10
Rick Smith's show on WHYL, 960 AM airs on Saturdays from 2-5 - and also streams on the internet, so you can listen or call in from home - WHYL Call in (717) 960-0960 - all shows are available as podcasts, too, so that you can get your labor news on the run!
Sunday, March 11th, 2007 4:00 PM
Friendship House Concerts Presents Anne Feeney
Jim and LLouise Altes' House
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Price: $10
more details soon.
Monday, March 12th, 2007 3:00 PM
Encampment to Stop the War
National Mall
3rd between Constitution and Independence
Washington, DC
During the week beginning March 12, Congress will begin voting on Bush´s request for $100 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. If Congress votes to cut off funds, they can end the war now and bring the troops home. If they approve Bush´s war funds, the killing, and dying and occupation will go on…it´s as simple as that. This vote will be the most important war related vote since Congress voted to authorized Bush to invade and occupy Iraq in October of 2002. The antiwar movement must be there to let Congress know that we won´t let them get away with it this time. The exact time I'm performing will be posted as soon as I know it.
Wednesday, March 14th - 12-2PM
Music and Art in the Labor Movement- An International Exhibit with Music
University of North Florida - Jacksonville, FL
Building #14/Room #1700
(Student Services Auditorium)
Swedish visual artist Julie Leonardsson will show his extraordinary lithographs of the steel industry and his hilarious satirical cartoons and discuss his work as a left wing political artist in Sweden. His wife, Anne Feeney, will add some songs of the US labor movement, and discuss the anti-globalization movements in North America and Europe.
Thursday, March 15th, 2007 6:30 PM
Concert and Pot Luck!
Imaginary Fool's Juggling, Singing and Gourmet Supper Club
Tallahassee, FL
850-878-4149
Price: $10 suggested
Friday, March 16th, 2007 8:00 PM
Iguana Benefit
The 2nd Street Bakery
1511 NW 2nd St
Gainesville, FL
352-505-5039
Price: $10
discounted advance tickets available at The Iguana
Saturday, March 17th, 2007 1:00 PM
Rally for Peace - Remembering 4 Years of the War on Iraq
Island Park at the Sarasota Bayfront
Sarasota, FL
941-366-5008
with Mindy Simmons, Jim Glover, James Hawkins, Aidan Delgado and other guest speakers and musicians - Rally is from 1-4:30 PM
Sunday, March 18th, 2007 9:00 and 11AM
Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater
2470 Nursery Road
Clearwater, FL 33764
727-543-0288
all welcome
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney CD Release Party - "If I Can't Dance"
Unarmed Underground Arts Center
1148 Okechobee Road, #10
West Palm Beach, FL
561 820 8805
Price: $10
a live acoustic performance of original songs & some classic FOLK favorites. All ages are welcomed.
a modest donation is requested for the artist...$10 suggested. soft drinks and snacks will be on hand, or BYOB - This is an indoor/outdoor venue, rain or shine, hope to see you all then.
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Luna Star Cafe
775 NE 125th St
North Miami, FL 33161
Price: $10
Friday, March 23rd, 2007 8:00 PM
Think Globally - Act Vocally - An Evening with James Durst and Anne Feeney
Fogartyville Cafe
800 17th Avenue W
Bradenton, FL 34205
941-741-9755
Price: $15
James Durst is a fabulous performer and this will be a most memorable evening...
check out http://jamesdurst.com - You can get advance tickets at the club for $12.
Sunday, March 25th, 2007 10:30 AM
Justice Sunday
Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
322 15th Street West
Bradenton, FL 34205
941-746-0067
all welcome - muuf1@verizon.net
Sunday, March 25th, 2007 3:00 PM
Wendyl presents
Manna Reading Center
2040 Collier Ave.
Fort Myers, FL
(239) 277-7866
Price: $10-20 donation
pay what you can... come and enjoy!
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 12:00 PM
Concert at UNF
University of North Florida Campus Theater -- Robinson Student Services Building (Building #14, Room #1700)
4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South
Jacksonville, FL
904.620.1654
sswart@unf.edu is the email contact
Friday, March 30th, 2007 8:00 PM
House Concert at Melanie's
Hudson, NY 12534
Price: $10-20 pay what u can
email melanie at melanie(@)hudsonholistic.com to reserve a space!
Saturday, March 31st, 2007 8:00 PM
One World Coffeehouse
First Universalist Church
59 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929
978-768-7056
Price: $15
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 1:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert at Worcester State College
Student Activities Building - North/South Auditorium
486 Chandler St
Worcester, MA 01602
508-929-8635
Price: free and open to the public
crice@worcester.edu for more information
there will be an evening event, too. check http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html for latest news
Saturday, April 7th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
The Coffeehouse on Locke Street
Six Locke Street
Andover, MA 01810
978.475.4454
Price: $12
Doors open at 7:30pm. Music at 8:00pm
Where: Six Locke Street, just steps from Andover, Massachusetts town center
Sunday, April 29th, 2007 7:00 PM
MayDay in Indianapolis
Wheeler Art Center
1035 Sanders St
Indianapolis, IN
Ron Haldeman is the contact - ronjane@igc.org
Monday, April 30th, 2007 7:00 PM
The Battle of Homestead Foundation presents Anne Feeney, George Mann and Julius Margolin, and a special screening of "A Union Man"
The Pump House
East Waterfront Drive
Homestead, PA
412.877.6480
Price: $10 suggested
I'll do a set from 7PM-7:30 sharp & then we'll screen "A Union Man," the wonderfully inspiring and touching film about the life of my pal, Julius Margolin. The oldest member of the NYC Labor Council, Julius has been an organizer and activist since before the birth of the CIO. Now 90 years old and going strong, Julius is guaranteed to energize and educate you in both story and song during the concert and Q&A which will follow the screening of the short film. Julius performs with his longtime friend and very talented accompanist and co-writer, George Mann.
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 7:00 PM
Mayday!!!
Botto House American Labor Museum
83 Norwood St
Haledon, NJ
Friday, May 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
PA ACLU Statewide Convention
Radisson Hotel
Camp Hill, PA
Saturday, May 5th, 2007 12:00 PM
Mayday Concert (tentative)
Steamer No 10 Theater
500 Western Ave
Albany, NY 12203
518-861-5627
margie rosencranz is the contact
Friday, May 11th - Sunday, May 13th
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Ramblewood Resort
2564 Silver Road
Darlington, MD 21035
********************************************
That's all for now. See you soon somewhere!
Pittsburgh, PA - March 9
Harrisburg, PA - March 10
Pittsburgh, PA - March 11
Washington, DC - March 12
Jacksonville, FL - March 14
Tallahassee, FL - March 15
Gainesville, FL - March 16
Sarasota, FL - March 17
Clearwater, FL - March 18
West Palm Beach, FL - March 21
N Miami, FL - March 22
Bradenton, FL - March 23
Fort Myers, FL - March 25
Jacksonville, FL - March 27
Hudson, NY - March 30
Essex, MA - March 31
Worcester, MA - April 5
Andover, MA - April 7
details of these and all upcoming gigs continuously updating at my website.
and then THREE WEEKS WITH NO WORK IN APRIL!!! Help! If you've got something going on between April 8th and April 29th, call me!
ESPECIALLY... I'm looking for April 28th - Workers' Memorial Day - in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati or even Louisville or St Louis - Call me at 412.241.7664
If you've got an upcoming conference, convention, riot, rally or any kind of event where my music would inspire and fire up people, please let me know!
Now booking:
May 19-26 Chicago, IL - Kerrville, TX
June 9-14 Kerrville, TX - Pasadena, CA
June 17- July 3 - LA, CA - Seattle, WA/Vancouver, BC
July 4 - July 13 Seattle/Vancouver - Eugene, OR
September 4-26 Ireland?? Denmark?? Sweden??
October-Nov Midwest
I'm open to any and all work, though - don't let those suggestions deter you from proposing something else.
See you on the road and in the streets!
********************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY
FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY
SICK DAZE
WHERE'S THE MONEY??
THE TOUR
*******************************************
BUY MUSIC, SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
CDBaby has all my CDs. It's a great company - providing super customer service and great treatment of artists and employees. Visit CDBaby to listen to and buy my recordings.
Amazon is a terrible place to buy music and books. They give authors and artists a terrible deal.
You can also download all my stuff (Ringtones too) at Itunes and most online music sales sites.
You can have this newsletter delivered to you inbox each month by going to my website.
********************************************
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY
It's hard to believe I've been sending out these missives for two years now! Welcome to the twenty-fourth monthly issue of the Fellow Travelers' Advisory.
Let me know what you're up to these days, and be sure to tell folks that you know along my tour route that I'm headed their way.... this is totally a word-of-mouth career I've got! (Better yet, send them a copy of one of my CDs!!)
Your generosity and support mean so very much to me. This is such a precarious, fragile vocation. If it weren't for all the wonderful things that you do for me, I'd have to quit. It's hard to find the words to express my appreciation to all of you who have found me work, presented me in concert, housed me, fed me, told your friends about me, bought my CDs... Thanks for all that, and for subscribing to my newsletter!
********************************************
FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Of course the anniversary that is on all our minds is the fourth anniversary of Operation Quagmire. Much of my March touring is focused on anti-war activities. I'll be doing a show in Pittsburgh at Garfield Artworks and also passing the hat for the Pittsburgh Anti-War Committee when I perform at Jim and LLouise Altes' house concert series on March 11th. (By the way, seats are going reallllllllllly fast for that cozy house concert - reserve right away if you plan on coming!)
I'm particularly excited that Troops Out Now! has called for an encampment on the national mall as Congress debates Bush's budget (be sure to check out the brilliant article on the budget that's clickable a little later on in this newsletter...)
I'll also be at a large demonstration in Sarasota on March 17th. Wherever you are this month, there will be ways to oppose this war. Please call your members of Congress and attend local anti-war activities if you can't come camp out on the National Mall in front of the Capitol.
*********************************************
SICK DAYS
I've really been plagued with a nasty cold/flu/100 days' cough this year... I'm hoping that my March tour in Florida will expiate the last of the demons. A *lot* of people heard me singing through the sickness in January and February. (It's always been a lesson in humility to me that most people can't tell that I'm sick when I sing. I guess there's just not that much difference between my best voice and my worst voice in most people's ears.) As a self-employed person, I don't have much of a safety net. .. and besides - the show must go on, right?
It's been a long time since I was an employee, but every job I ever had (even as a counter worker at Arby's) included paid sick days - usually one per every month worked - and in most places I worked those days accumulated. It was another disheartening bit of news to learn that very few workers have paid sick days any more. Among the lowest wage earners fewer than 1 in 5 have paid sick days. Only 15% of food industry workers have paid sick days. That's not just mean, it's crazy! The Healthy Families Act (S 932 and HR 1902) would begin to address this problem by requiring at least larger employers to provide some paid days off for workers who are sick.
********************************************
WHERE'S THE MONEY?
As Bush continues to get his war on, met with only token "non-binding" opposition to his "surge" in Iraq, he proposes a budget that makes all his tax cuts for the rich permanent, and calls for still deeper cuts in domestic programs. As we witnessed with Hurricane Katrina, those budget cuts have consequences... real life-and-death consequences. The scandalous living conditions provided for our troops at Walter Reed reveal another place where we've been hiding our budget cuts. Maybe you're wondering to yourself it Britney Spears' shaved head was really the most important news story of the past two weeks. I highly recommend this brilliant piece that appeared in Rolling Stone last week... (and thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders for culling and compiling these much-needed examples from the proposed Federal Budget.)
THE LOW POST: Medicare vs. Britney
Why a brainless Mouseketeer gets more ink than the federal budget
MATT TAIBBI in Rolling Stone
If the Estate Tax goes, the heirs to the Mars candy corporation -- (some of the world's evilest scumbags, incidentally, routinely ripped by human rights organizations for trafficking in child labor to work cocoa farms in places like Cote D'Ivoire) -- will receive about $11.7 billion in tax breaks. That's more than three times the amount Bush wants to cut from the VA budget ($3.4 billion) over the same time period.
read the whole article ...
********************************************
THE TOUR
Friday, March 9th, 2007 7:30 PM
All Ages Anti-War Concert
Garfield Artworks
4931 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Vanessa German and Rebecca Cooper will also present performance poetry at this all ages show. Bring a tax-deductible check to the Thomas Merton Center with "anti-war committee" in the memo!
Saturday, March 10th, 2007 7:00 PM
Benefit Concert for United for Progress - Harrisburg's Fabulous Labor Radio Show
Steelworkers' Local 1688 Hall
200 Gibson St
Steelton, PA 17113
717-448-1953
Price: $10
Rick Smith's show on WHYL, 960 AM airs on Saturdays from 2-5 - and also streams on the internet, so you can listen or call in from home - WHYL Call in (717) 960-0960 - all shows are available as podcasts, too, so that you can get your labor news on the run!
Sunday, March 11th, 2007 4:00 PM
Friendship House Concerts Presents Anne Feeney
Jim and LLouise Altes' House
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Price: $10
more details soon.
Monday, March 12th, 2007 3:00 PM
Encampment to Stop the War
National Mall
3rd between Constitution and Independence
Washington, DC
During the week beginning March 12, Congress will begin voting on Bush´s request for $100 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. If Congress votes to cut off funds, they can end the war now and bring the troops home. If they approve Bush´s war funds, the killing, and dying and occupation will go on…it´s as simple as that. This vote will be the most important war related vote since Congress voted to authorized Bush to invade and occupy Iraq in October of 2002. The antiwar movement must be there to let Congress know that we won´t let them get away with it this time. The exact time I'm performing will be posted as soon as I know it.
Wednesday, March 14th - 12-2PM
Music and Art in the Labor Movement- An International Exhibit with Music
University of North Florida - Jacksonville, FL
Building #14/Room #1700
(Student Services Auditorium)
Swedish visual artist Julie Leonardsson will show his extraordinary lithographs of the steel industry and his hilarious satirical cartoons and discuss his work as a left wing political artist in Sweden. His wife, Anne Feeney, will add some songs of the US labor movement, and discuss the anti-globalization movements in North America and Europe.
Thursday, March 15th, 2007 6:30 PM
Concert and Pot Luck!
Imaginary Fool's Juggling, Singing and Gourmet Supper Club
Tallahassee, FL
850-878-4149
Price: $10 suggested
Friday, March 16th, 2007 8:00 PM
Iguana Benefit
The 2nd Street Bakery
1511 NW 2nd St
Gainesville, FL
352-505-5039
Price: $10
discounted advance tickets available at The Iguana
Saturday, March 17th, 2007 1:00 PM
Rally for Peace - Remembering 4 Years of the War on Iraq
Island Park at the Sarasota Bayfront
Sarasota, FL
941-366-5008
with Mindy Simmons, Jim Glover, James Hawkins, Aidan Delgado and other guest speakers and musicians - Rally is from 1-4:30 PM
Sunday, March 18th, 2007 9:00 and 11AM
Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater
2470 Nursery Road
Clearwater, FL 33764
727-543-0288
all welcome
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney CD Release Party - "If I Can't Dance"
Unarmed Underground Arts Center
1148 Okechobee Road, #10
West Palm Beach, FL
561 820 8805
Price: $10
a live acoustic performance of original songs & some classic FOLK favorites. All ages are welcomed.
a modest donation is requested for the artist...$10 suggested. soft drinks and snacks will be on hand, or BYOB - This is an indoor/outdoor venue, rain or shine, hope to see you all then.
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Luna Star Cafe
775 NE 125th St
North Miami, FL 33161
Price: $10
Friday, March 23rd, 2007 8:00 PM
Think Globally - Act Vocally - An Evening with James Durst and Anne Feeney
Fogartyville Cafe
800 17th Avenue W
Bradenton, FL 34205
941-741-9755
Price: $15
James Durst is a fabulous performer and this will be a most memorable evening...
check out http://jamesdurst.com - You can get advance tickets at the club for $12.
Sunday, March 25th, 2007 10:30 AM
Justice Sunday
Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
322 15th Street West
Bradenton, FL 34205
941-746-0067
all welcome - muuf1@verizon.net
Sunday, March 25th, 2007 3:00 PM
Wendyl presents
Manna Reading Center
2040 Collier Ave.
Fort Myers, FL
(239) 277-7866
Price: $10-20 donation
pay what you can... come and enjoy!
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 12:00 PM
Concert at UNF
University of North Florida Campus Theater -- Robinson Student Services Building (Building #14, Room #1700)
4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South
Jacksonville, FL
904.620.1654
sswart@unf.edu is the email contact
Friday, March 30th, 2007 8:00 PM
House Concert at Melanie's
Hudson, NY 12534
Price: $10-20 pay what u can
email melanie at melanie(@)hudsonholistic.com to reserve a space!
Saturday, March 31st, 2007 8:00 PM
One World Coffeehouse
First Universalist Church
59 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929
978-768-7056
Price: $15
Thursday, April 5th, 2007 1:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert at Worcester State College
Student Activities Building - North/South Auditorium
486 Chandler St
Worcester, MA 01602
508-929-8635
Price: free and open to the public
crice@worcester.edu for more information
there will be an evening event, too. check http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html for latest news
Saturday, April 7th, 2007 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
The Coffeehouse on Locke Street
Six Locke Street
Andover, MA 01810
978.475.4454
Price: $12
Doors open at 7:30pm. Music at 8:00pm
Where: Six Locke Street, just steps from Andover, Massachusetts town center
Sunday, April 29th, 2007 7:00 PM
MayDay in Indianapolis
Wheeler Art Center
1035 Sanders St
Indianapolis, IN
Ron Haldeman is the contact - ronjane@igc.org
Monday, April 30th, 2007 7:00 PM
The Battle of Homestead Foundation presents Anne Feeney, George Mann and Julius Margolin, and a special screening of "A Union Man"
The Pump House
East Waterfront Drive
Homestead, PA
412.877.6480
Price: $10 suggested
I'll do a set from 7PM-7:30 sharp & then we'll screen "A Union Man," the wonderfully inspiring and touching film about the life of my pal, Julius Margolin. The oldest member of the NYC Labor Council, Julius has been an organizer and activist since before the birth of the CIO. Now 90 years old and going strong, Julius is guaranteed to energize and educate you in both story and song during the concert and Q&A which will follow the screening of the short film. Julius performs with his longtime friend and very talented accompanist and co-writer, George Mann.
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 7:00 PM
Mayday!!!
Botto House American Labor Museum
83 Norwood St
Haledon, NJ
Friday, May 4th, 2007 8:00 PM
PA ACLU Statewide Convention
Radisson Hotel
Camp Hill, PA
Saturday, May 5th, 2007 12:00 PM
Mayday Concert (tentative)
Steamer No 10 Theater
500 Western Ave
Albany, NY 12203
518-861-5627
margie rosencranz is the contact
Friday, May 11th - Sunday, May 13th
Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival
Ramblewood Resort
2564 Silver Road
Darlington, MD 21035
********************************************
That's all for now. See you soon somewhere!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - FEBRUARY 2007, VOLUME TWO, #11
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney
FEBRUARY 2007, VOLUME TWO, #11
Taken in front of the Fulford Community Hall on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
In this Issue:
Helen Hill
The Curious Case of Jennifer Strange: A Groundhog Day Parable
Molly Ivins, George Becker - Presente!
Family News
Nice Review of If I Can't Dance in Fort Worth Weekly
Great Source for Bumper Stickers, Tees, Posters & more!
Those Oscars
Immediate destinations:
Fort Worth, TX
Denton, TX
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
College Station, TX
Sunset Valley, TX
Steelton, PA (near Harrisburg)
Pittsburgh, PA
and on to Florida--
then New England!
complete up-to-date tour details on my tourdates page
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Thanks for being on my list, coming to my shows & buying my recordings (and in many cases, hosting me at your home, forwarding this email to your friends, telling me about upcoming conferences, conventions and riots in your area)!!! I could not do this without you.
CDBaby has all my CDs. Visit CDBaby to get them.
Amazon is a terrible place to buy music and books. They give authors and artists a terrible deal.
You can sign up for the Fellow Travelers' Advisory at one of my concerts, or online. Click to subscribe
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Here I am almost a week late getting the February news out. I'm back in frigid Pittsburgh after a great tour of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian Southwest. I'm going to put a tour journal up on my news page soon but suffice it to say I am overwhelmed by the generosity, hospitality, solidarity and friendship extended to me on that tour.
I hope you can curl up with a cup of something warm and catch up on my news, and that you'll drop me a line and let me know what's up with you when you've finished reading this.
HELEN HILL
At http://helenhill.org you'll get a belated chance to become acquainted with a dynamic 36 year old filmmaker, songwriter, wife and mom who was senselessly murdered in New Orleans on January 4th.
Those of you who are enjoying my newest CD, "If I Can't Dance" are familiar with the catchy opening number - "Emma Goldman." It was written by Helen Hill and her husband, Paul Gailiunas.
The gunman also shot Paul three times in the course of this random act of violence in the city that America seems to have forgotten. Luckily, their adorable two year old son, Francis, was unhurt.
I hope you will be moved to make a donation to one of the funds set up to memorialize Helen's all-too-brief life.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF JENNIFER STRANGE
While I was in Sacramento I heard a story about a radio contest sponsored by KDND that reveals some interesting truths about America at the dawn of the 21st century.
the background
KDND "107.9 The End" had gotten hold of one of the highly advertised Nintendo Wii game systems. You've probably seen commercials or news stories about the lines waiting to buy these things. KDND's contest was "Hold Your Wee for a Wii."
The winner would be the person who could drink the most water without urinating.
One of the twenty contestants that morning was Jennifer Strange - a married mother of three young boys. She knew that her children really wanted this expensive game system. The contestants were given 8 ounces of water to drink every fifteen minutes for two hours. After three hours of this, all but two contestants had given up... Jennifer Strange and a woman named Lisa.
You can listen to Jennifer joking with the DJs during the contest. She loses the contest to Lisa. A few hours after leaving the station she was found dead from "water intoxication." She had consumed 7.5 liters (almost 2 gallons) of water during the contest.
the reaction
While everyone agrees it was sad that this young mother died, there were many voices (including the Sacramento newspaper) talking about her 'free will,' her 'personal responsibility' and the 'release' that she signed. It set me to thinking.
I think it is our nature to trust others. We think, "Would the radio station invite me to do this if it could kill me?" But perhaps our trust is misplaced.
Every day United States workers are told to do things that are dangerous and unsafe. (Every year 60,000 death claims are paid to the families of those workers.) Every day soldiers are ordered to do things in Iraq, Guantanamo and elsewhere that violate the military code of ethics and the Geneva Conventions. Every day we open the newspaper or turn on the television and we hear about climate change, about the cost of the war in Iraq, about the violence in New Orleans. We certainly have more information about the life-threatening dangers facing us than Jennifer Strange did about the 'dangers' of drinking water.
Do we speak up? Do we refuse unsafe work? Do we support soldiers who are refusing to violate international law and the dictates of their consciences? Do we demand an end to the war? Do we demand responsible planning for a sustainable future? Do we demand housing and social services and law enforcement for the people of New Orleans?
Or do we sit at home and just keep swallowing, swallowing, swallowing the platitudes coming out of the White House? Why? in order to continue our lifestyle? We have the information we need to save our lives and the lives of future generations. If we ignore it and keep swallowing the lies coming to us from Washington and FOX (sic) News, how are we different from Jennifer Strange? How can we expect to avert her fate?
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MOLLY IVINS and GEORGE BECKER
We lost two great fighters.....
Molly Ivins - August 30, 1944 - January 31, 2007
Molly Ivins was one of the brightest, funniest, and fiercest women I have ever known. I only had the pleasure of one evening with her in 2003 at the Debs Dinner ... and she was not well, but she was brilliant. Up until almost the end, Molly was at Camp Casey listening to opponents of the war and offering her own insights. Let's end this war for Molly.
check out this wonderful footage broadcast on PBS
George Becker - died February 3, 2007 - age 78
My friend George Becker led an extraordinary life. He started on a labor gang in the open hearth at Granite City Steel in Illinois when he was 15 years old. He went on to become the President of the United Steelworkers' Union of America in 1993. He became labor's voice in the anti-corporate globalization movement. He brought thousands of Steelworkers to Seattle for the WTO demonstrations in 1999. The USWA presence was essential to the impact we had there.
I performed at the convention where the Rubber Workers Union merged with USWA (on my birthday) ... it was a really close vote. Rev Joseph Lowery spoke. Rich Trumka spoke. In the end, I think that merger was approved by seven votes. My dear brothers from Bridgestone Firestone in Decatur may have cast the pivotal votes... I'd like to think I had a small hand in that outcome.
During President Becker's tenure I worked on the lockouts at MSI and A/K steel. He never failed to inspire and empower his members. And he had a great sense of humor.
George was the voice of the rank and file. He never lost touch with them. Read his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Rest well, comrades.
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FAMILY NEWS
I'm trying to put together a family phone/email/website directory with birthdays, anniversaries and snail mail included. Send me names, addresses, phone, birthday, anniversary, website, blog... and some jpgs...
You can follow Dan and Monique's June 15th wedding plans at moniqueanddan.com
Karen McCahill is planning a move from San Francisco to Park Slope at the close of this school year to be near Kristin & Anthony (expecting in May!!! mazel tov!), Erin & Paul (and Henry and James), and Jody ... all in the Big Apple. I guess I'll be looking for new San Francisco accommodations now.
Cousin Erin Grefenstette and husband Mark are expecting a baby too! Congratulations!
Kevin McCahill has retired from Social Security... Congratulations!
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"IF I CAN'T DANCE" reviewed in Fort Worth Weekly
Tom Geddie wrote a nice review of "If I Can't Dance" which was published in the Fort Worth Weekly. Thanks!
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A GREAT SHOPPORTUNITY
Northland Poster Collective is a great source for posters, buttons, tee shirts and so much more ... and unlike the merchandise available from most suppliers, Northland's goods are sweat free and collectively produced... Shop with a clean conscience!
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OSCARS 2007
What a great year this has been for films! Since last month I saw Pan's Labyrinth, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Children, Running with Scissors, Venus, Volver, The Devil Wears Prada and Notes on a Scandal.
Pan's Labyrinth was my favorite movie of 2006 in a very very tough year to make such a decision. Set in 1944 in Spain, while resistance fighters are still taking on Franco's fascists, the central character is a lonely and frightened 10/11 year old girl. Her father has been killed and her mother is in the last stages of a very difficult pregnancy. The coming baby's father is the fascist military ruler of the village. There were about 4 minutes of this film where I could not look at the screen because of some graphic (but appropriate) violence. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the film beautifully explores the concepts of free will, submission to authority and fascism. It's definitely not a movie for kids, although the young woman in the film is amazing. Should be a shoe-in for best foreign language film (but, alas, I haven't seen any of the other nominees).
Letters from Iwo Jima would be a somewhat formulaic war film if the heros were Americans. As it is, the heros are Japanese soldiers defending Iwo Jima. It makes for a very powerful anti-war film. It is impossible not to realize the ways we are manipulated into believing wars are just. My pick for best film of 2006...
Little Children was a surprisingly good film. Kate Winslet turns in the performance of her career to date. I've always thought of her as kind of a lightweight ... I thought she almost ruined an excellent film - Finding Neverland. She's utterly compelling in this film. And Jackie Earle Haley is fantastic. I still think it's Helen Mirren's year for best actress in The Queen.
I've ordered "Half Nelson" from Buzzflash. I'm hoping that Ryan Gosling is worthy of best actor out of this field. I thought VENUS was little more than an overblown homage to Peter O'Toole - I don't care if he's Irish or that he's been nominated a gazillion times before without winning... I didn't like it. I don't think I'm going to see Blood Diamond in a theater either... The reviews convinced me I would hate it. I usually have no use for Leonardo Di Caprio, but he really dazzled me in "THE DEPARTED." He should have gotten a nomination there.
I loved Volver. It might have been my favorite film of 2005 if it had been released then. This year was just too tough. Devil wears Prada was entertaining, but out of its league here. Sorry, Meryl -- it's Helen.
Notes on a Scandal had me engaged throughout ... but when it was over I felt kind of embarrassed to have been so engaged ... the way you feel if you get teary-eyed watching an AT&T commercial... in the end, I found the plot completely incredible. Judi Dench was great, but it's Helen. Now Cate Blanchett is quite wonderful in this, but I'd rather see Abigail Breslin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - hilarious!) get it. Apparently every TV viewer in America wants Jennifer Hudson. If anyone wins from DREAM GIRLS it should be Eddie Murphy... but that crop of nominees is the toughest pick I think... ALL the supporting actors were terrific!
If Scorcese isn't best director this year I'll be astonished.
Well, that's it for this month. I'm looking forward to the Lone Star State and testing out my daughter Amy's newly acquired massage skills! Let me know what you're up to.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Friday, February 9th, 2007
Live on Voices@Work on KPFT-FM
90.1 FM or streaming at link below
Houston, TX
713.526.5738
listen in to this fabulous labor radio show from 8-9PM and phone in a pledge! 713.526.5738 - KPFT is a great Pacifica station!
Saturday, February 10th, 2007 7:30 PM
Last Minute Add! B-There or B-Square
1919 Hemphill - CD RELEASE PARTY for IF I CAN'T DANCE
1919 Hemphill St
Fort Worth, TX 76110
Price: pay what you can
Don't be late for this show - If there aren't 10 people in the house by 8PM I'm taking the folks who show up on time out for drinks. I love this venue. They're doing great work. Check out the website! and also the review in the FORT WORTH WEEKLY
Sunday, February 11th, 2007 5:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
B@nter
219 W Oak
Denton, TX
Price: $10 suggested
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 8:00 PM
Red Hot (Grand)Mamas (Anne Feeney and Lu Mitchell) do Valentine's Day at
Poor David's Pub
1313 SOUTH LAMAR ST
Dallas, TX 75215
(214) 565-1295
Price: $10 adv/$12 at the door
This show is with the fabulous Lu Mitchell
Friday, February 16th, 2007 8:00 PM
Broken Hearts' Ball with Laura Freeman
Cafe Caffeine
909 West Mary Street
Austin, TX 78704
Price: $10 suggested
possible special guests
Saturday, February 17th, 2007 7:30 PM
House Concert
Danny Yeager's house
College Station, TX
(979) 777-8758
http://brazos_progressives.typepad.com/news/2007/02/anne_feeney_hou.html
Price: $10-20 - pay what you can
email address is touchst(@) cy-net.net
Call or email Danny right away to reserve a seat!
Sunday, February 18th, 2007 3:00 PM
House Concert
Carol and Peter Knight's house
Sunset Valley, TX
512-892-7305
Price: $10-20 sliding-pay what you can
call or email cknight99@mindspring.com to reserve a seat and get directions...
Saturday, March 10th, 2007 7:00 PM
Benefit Concert for United for Progress -
Harrisburg's Fabulous Labor Radio Show
Steelworkers' Local 1688 Hall
200 Gibson St
Steelton, PA 17113
717-448-1953
Price: $10
Rick Smith's show on WHYL, 960 AM airs on Saturdays from 2-5 - and also streams on the internet, so you can listen or call in from home - WHYL Call in (717) 960-0960 - all shows are available as podcasts, too, so that you can get your labor news on the run!
Sunday, March 11th, 2007 4:00 PM
Friendship House Concerts Presents Anne Feeney
Jim and LLouise Altes' House
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Price: $10
more details soon.
Your moment of Zen:
My husband Julie Leonardsson posing with Seattle's underpass troll
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