John Raymond Pollard: News

I spent the day with Mark Christensen, owner and Chief Mastering Engineer of Engine Room Audio, who was mastering my next album, "Deep in the Red; Black & Blue: Songs for a Great Depression." Graphic design for the CD package is under way. Look for the album later this year.

Yes, I have two recording projects recently completed. That means it is time to start another. And I am again working in Michael Gilboe's studio on a set of new recordings. I am enthused about the songs and look forward to sharing them with listeners.

Once again in New York, I am catching up on items that have been waiting patiently for attention during the past four months.
The Clinton Community Garden becomes my refuge when I need to get away for a few minutes or hours.
As has been my habit in New York during the past several years, I have been working in the recording studio -- finishing a few projects and beginning a new recording.

John is thrilled to have been awarded a 2009 Pride in the Arts Music Award. A big thanks to all my fans whose votes landed the honor.

Please join me on March 5th at 7 PM at Casa da Musica, Parque Metropolitano do Abaeté, Itapoã, Salvador. I am honored to have been invited to perform at a venue where so many wonderful musicians, including Grammy winners, have performed. I plan to sing original songs in English, Portuguese, and Spanish – and perhaps struggle to express myself to the audience in Portuguese.

I am much relieved after a visit to luthier Jean Paul Charles. My Martin guitar was not sounding well. But for a guitar going to the luthier can be like going to the chiropractor. After a diagnosis and adjustment there was relief!

Character was among the OutVoice 2009 Top 40 Albums. Thanks to all my fans who voted for my work. My most 3 recent releases (Character, Brasilience, and Dreams) made chart appearances throughout the course of 2009. Dreams is currently climbing the chart.

The Romans had it right: time flies. As the first decade of the new millennium draws to a close, I thank my fans for their support.
I released my first recording in 2000. Another six albums and a few singles followed. I have been very fortunate to work with so many talented artists along the way.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a happy, healthy, and satisfying New Year.

John Raymond Pollard is honored to be Artists for Equality's featured artist during December 2009. Artists for Equality's mission is to provide common ground on which we will build bridges to a social acceptance of real equality in Human rights for all Humanity. For more information, please visit the Artists for Equality web site.

I arrived in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil earlier this week and asked my friends about Brazil’s recent blackout. They said that, happily, the city had not been affected. When I read a newspaper on the last leg of the trip down, I noticed that a new word of English derivation seems to have entered Brazilian Portuguese: “blecaute,” which is how “black out” would be written phonetically.
Since arriving, I have noted the contrast between the jobs situation in the USA and Brazil. Local news stories feature Ford’s plan to expand its factory which, directly and indirectly, is expected to create 11,000 jobs. Prosperity is showing via more traffic jams from more cars on the road!

Many people ask me about the process of recording an album. Knowing that a picture can be worth a thousand words, I have put up on YouTube a number of videos that feature performers at work in the studio. I am pleased to announce that a short video of Monster Horns playing on the song, The Divide (By the Time I Get to Phoenix), is now available for viewing. The Monster Horns trio is:
• Mike McGinnis, who plays saxophones, clarinets, flutes, recorders, penny whistles, and mouth harps on my four most recent releases as well as a few projects still in the works.
• Jeff Hermanson, trumpet and flugelhorn, can be heard on Dreams, Brasilience, and Character albums.
• Brian Drye begins the Dreams album with amazing trombone sounds on the song, Living an Alternative Dream.
You’ll find the one and a half minute video of Monster Horns doing their thing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdDJR81NEs

Today is September 1, 2009, the release date for Dreams. The album is now available from iTunes and in the coming weeks and months, it will be available from additional on-line sources. Of course, you can get CD's from CD Baby. Just click on the link from this site.

Dreams CD's are now available, but not digital versions of songs. I have used CD Baby for on-line sale of my music for the past 9 years. There was never a problem until Dreams!!! After weeks of waiting and numerous contacts, a service rep finally explained that their new system was riddled with bugs and only after they are corrected would digital versions of songs be available from CD Baby and make their way to iTunes and other on-line vendors. Tell me it is just a Dream and that I'll wake up soon to find all is OK.

Tune into WWUH (91.3 FM) Hartford CT on Thursday evening, July 30, at 8:30 PM as Keith Brown interviews John and they talk about Dreams, John's album scheduled for release September 1. http://wwuh.org/

As I prepare for the release of my next album, I invited a few people to give it a listen. Morry Campbell, the originator of Song Talk podcast, accepted the offer last Thursday. Some of his reaction: "From the whimsical, thoughtful Living an Alternative Dream, to the austere, haunting The World of Tarot, to the final rocker The Divide (By the Time I Get to Phoenix), this is a trip worth taking."
If you are a songwriter (or want to be), please check out Morry's Song Talk podcasts.

Last night Boa Noite, Gente Boa, the first cut on my current release, Brasilience, was featured on the Unashamed Faith Cafe radio broadcast. Many thanks to host Arizzona for sharing the music with her audience. Although the song has a Portuguese lyric, language is not necessarily a barrier in communicating the message. The song states that music is spiritual energy that animates dance and ritual...The crystalline water of this capital city blesses love.

Memorial Day weekend and my new single: Not on My Space (the "A" side) and Like a Like a Rolling Stone (the "B" side). Try on the new sounds and let me know what you think.

You probably know that my songs often serve as a vehicle for social commentary. In the next month or two (depending on how fast CD Baby, iTunes et al move) I’ll release a new single. I’ll tell you more as the release date approaches.

Four months in Bahia passed quickly. Tourists, many from cooler climes, take their germs with them on vacation in Bahia each year. This year popular singer Evete Sangalo named the virus that affected people “Dalila.” Well, I admit that Dalila got me and hung around for weeks – but not the worst flu I have experienced. And early in 2009, a hemorrhagic form of dengue arrived in Bahia. So, I thought I would be away from these threats when I returned to New York.

Of course, life is full of surprises. Now that I am in New York, so is swine flu. And mosquitoes here carry West Nile virus.

Seems like these bugs have taken globalization seriously!

You may know that I began the new year in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. From what my friends tell me I have been fortunate to escape some very cold weather in New York. One of the things I enjoy in Brazil is the fruit. In recent years I have become accustomed to capping off my afternoons with a glass of açai juice.
Many people outside Brazil may not have tasted a number of the fruits one can enjoy here. Caja, umbu, cajarana, jambu, cupuaçu … When I heard of a fruit called jabuticaba, I was enchanted with the name. Eventually I wrote a song called jabbticaba that appears on Brasilience. And I have a video to share with you. Watch it and you’ll meet violinist extraordinaire, Joe Deninzon, see images of jabuticaba, learn about blues names, and hear the song. You’ll find the video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6JaYeqUjVk .