march 26th/08
all the places we've been….
hello friends,

where to start? the new year has kept us on our toes! we took a little break in december while alli went a a-wassailing with stuart mclean and the vinyl cafe. alli and awna rang in the new year in by retiring poor old shaggy the van, buying a "brand new" secondhand van, touring down the coast, across the southwest into the mid-west and finally out to chicago with our favourite band jt and the clouds. benny spent january finishing a new guitar masterpiece. we all holed up in a tiny chicago sublet for the first two weeks of february and started pre-production for the new po'girl album-wrote some new tunes, did some demo recording, then kidnapped the clouds rhythm man extraordinaire mikey 'lightning" august and headed to memphis. listening to paul simon, arrested development, and elvis all the way. we had six music filled days at the folk alliance, we got to see some old friends(special thanks to peggie jones, the genius behind the sings like hell concert series at santa barbara's historic lobero theatre, whose natural authority and ability to commandeer an elevator, was the only way we made it to any of our showcases on time, it was mayhem! and to our beloved agent susie giang who made sure people came to hear us) meet some new ones -like ottawa's the john henrys who rock hard and make a mean creamsicle, and ny's the paper raincoats who make you clap, sing along, and smile fit to split your face, play an ian tyson song for ian tyson, almost die from lack of sleep and barbque overdose, and go to the civil rights museum… never did make it to graceland though-we'll just have to go back next year! …. we played our way into march and down to sxsw, stopping at some new spots for us like covington, ky--people are incredibly nice there, the cedar cultural centre in minneapolis, now a new fave,--we got to catch a bit of wilco's set at cain's ballroom after our first show in tulsa and then danced the night away with a host of new tulsa friends, all of whom are fine musicians. we revisited places that we love like the arc in ann arbor, where we met the whole fleming artists family, dogs included, schubas in chicago always great, and greg at the blue door in oklahoma who made us wish we could move in. then sxsw madness, our dear peggie jones taking us and jt and the clouds into her south austin haven for the duration, inspiring soup kitchens, impromptu performances with the divine ms carolyn mark, forming a super group with the clouds, too many margaritas, too many fish tacos and music, sunshine, music…then back in the van and up to new mexico. albuquerque was first, where neal copperman a great friend and a great promoter put us on a bill with steve poltz-who blew our minds-the man is lenny bruce with a guitar and songs to sing. we got some real home care, runs along dusty corrales ditches, and furry four footer play time at our friends rick and gail thaler's place, then up to santa fe, for two shows one night at the gig art space. bruce is the best sound wizard in the world, and michael koster, the promoter, treats the artists right, the audiences were the kind you dream of, and we got to go to the cowgirl grill with our friends rick, larkin, and joaquin after. then back in the van for a long hot drive to phoenix, az for the last show of the tour at the rhythm room, there were 7 people there in the dark with us on a sunny easter saturday at 6pm and we loved them for it. the staff were great and our friends destiny and gavin took us to a haunted pub afterward. anti-climax and crowning glory too. this april we are gathering our resources, centering our minds, taking a breather and preparing for the next leg of the odyssey…we'll be touring in may, and heading back to austin for june to finish the new record, we'll keep you posted. hope to see you lovelies somewhere on the road this summer…. more soon,

love to the listeners
po'girl

8 Nov 07
from the southwest...
Hey Folks,

We are having a wonderful time on our fall tour. The southeast was spectacular, meeting and playing with some wonderful southerners. We got some chances to enjoy some nightlife see some great shows. So far the best part of the trip was our getting from Atlanta, Georgia to Anchorage, Alaska. 3 planes and 16 hours later, it was so worth it to be greeted with such open arms and sold out shows. It is one of the most gorgeous places we've been thus far. We left Alaska to fly to Washington State, just in time to back up the lovely Ms. Carolyn mark, whom we just had to kidnap and take with us through the southwest.

It has been so delightful to get the chance to work closely with Benny Sidelinger (of the Shiftless Rounders and Benny and Eleanor). His addition to Po' Girl has been one of the best turns of events yet. We have been working out some really great new material and saucing up some of the old favorites. Stay tuned for our new album, which we will be recording in 2008. Benny has turned out to be a jack-of-all-trades. Not only has he built two of the guitars we now play on stage, (check out sidelingerguitars.com) he has been working really hard to get our website up and going. We are pleased to inform you, there will be a lot of new and exciting aspects of the site. So, make sure you check back soon.

At last, our very own Ms. Allison Russell has been asked to join this year's Vinyl Cafe Christmas Tour. She will be singing and performing along side some of Canada's greatest. Make sure you check our show listings to see where she'll be this December; you won't want to miss it!!! We hope all is well and take good care.

xo
Po' Girl