Christine DeLeon: Reflections

Performing a co-bill with Spook Handy at the Mountainside Library was the best way I can think of to get out of the winter cold. Spook told some great stories to make us laugh and backed them up with songs. I had more than a few great moments with the audience myself. At the end of the show all sang "Get Together" to sum up the evening. Thanks to the Lynn and the Mountainside Library for running such a great concert series and for inviting me to play!

I had a lovely time joining with all the Newfoundland talent to put on a successful fundraising show at the UMC last night. Maureen Quinnones was the key mover and shaker of the show with included performances by all the members of her family. Quite a family of musicians I'd have to say. There were musical numbers from everythign from Gospel to Hip Hop and everything in between. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next time already!

Happy to have been a part of the Rahway Public Library's new Saturday afternoon concert series! Carol Marlow was a wonderful hostess and the audience was charming. I truly believe that these opportunities to share music are equally great for the performer as well as the local community!

Field of Creams (I LOVE that play on words) was a nice afternoon. Patricia and Greg, owners of the plentiful haven for those tired and hungry from all the outdoor activities in the surrounding ball parks invited me to play a concert for their guests to enjoy. Thanks to them and to the dancing kids too. :)

I had a lovely time this afternoon at the Flanders Swim and Sport Club. The impromptu harmonies, bass played by Clark Paddock and fiddling by Renee Paddock made the show a treat beyond all my expectations. The audience was great, especially since there were some family members there to sing along. We sure ended the summer with a bang, thanks all!

My second trip back to the Jefferson Township Public Library was a wonderful experience yesterday. After playing a a song of mine called "My Darling Marie" I was thanked by a person named Marie in the audience. Then someone found a book called "Blue Earth" - another song of mine. What an attentive and charming bunche of folks!

Thanks to Chris O'Brien for the invitation and for the great afternoon.

It's a lovely place indeed! I spent a couple of the most fun hours of this summer so far at the home of Devah Brinker yesterday. She threw a party in her enormous and beautifully manicured back yard and invited what seemed like everyone she knows to celebrate summer with her. I have it on good authority that the person who was most happy to have been invited is yours truly. :)

Lovely party and wonderful music shared with friends - thanks Devah!

Thanks to Brother Tom who runs the new concert series at the Carmel Retreat Center in Mahwah, NJ. The room where the concert was held was the beautiful chapel with lovely woodwork and lots of windows for natural light. Had some friends there singing along in the audience, which is always a plus. Thanks to husband, Mike, too for so lovingly taking care of the sound. Great night for all!

I couldn't imagine a more enjoyable time since my happy wedding as the one I had last night opening the show for songwriter, James Keelaghan, at the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club. Right in a former home town of mine, the audience was welcoming and they sang with all their might from their seats.

Ron Olesko, as always, was a wonderfully gracious host and all the volunteers at the Hurdy Gurdy were equally charming.

Thanks to Mr. Keelaghan also for a great show and for being such a kind example to a budding songwriting performer like myself.

My song "This Room" got some nice recognition from the judges of the Great Lakes Songwriting Contest. Here are the lyrics:

In this room is where my mother laid me in my crib. And I thought the world was all within these walls, and even that was big. With my tiny eyes I looked around at all there was to see, knowing nothing of the world outside these walls that sheltered me.

For the times that are to come, from the times that were, this room has bound the past together with the future.

In this room I discovered there were things I didn't know ... how to write my letters, tie my shoes and where the puzzle pieces go. I read all my books and heard what all the grownups had to say. When I came back to this room, I'd know a little more each day.

And I remember love was somthing that I'd learn to do but I may have to wait until I'd grown up in this room. I would laugh, I would cry, I would understand after many years of asking why.

In this room is where we talked about how we thought our life would be. Some of that came true and some of that turned out a little differently. In this room is where we shared our first embrace and now there stands a crib and baby sleeping in that same place.

As always, the Folk Project Minstrel's Valentine Extravaganza was a barrel of fun. Hubby, Mike, and I performed a steamy accoustic version of an old Motown classic, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" As it was the ultimate antithesis of a love song, we shook things up a bit.

Many thanks to Mark Schaffer for all the hard work once again organizing this time after time successful event.

Super night at the Minstrel with Gathering Time last night! This marvelous trio for whom I opened was spot on great entertainment. Not only did they invite me up to sing on one of their tunes, but they were so kind as to come up on stage to play "The Dunes of Brigantine" on my set! Glen on bass, Stuart on guitar and Hillary on percussion (even using the little bell that the Minstrel typically uses to alert folks that the show is about to start). Not to mention how swell their vocal harmonies were. What an absolute honor!

Thanks also to a bunch of folks for making the evening so special - Bill for the video, Mike and Carolyn for sound, and all the volunteers in their coordinated labor of love!

Special thanks to the Minstrel ... "This town knows how to make life from dreams ..."

The show at Cafe Zed last night was a treat for all the senses.  The New Jersey Arts Incubator provides a great art gallery setting for this new concert series.  Ah, the warm feel of a hot cup of cocoa in the  hands ... the smell and taste of the baked goods ... the sight of the inspiring works of art ... and best of all, the sound of a room full of people singing together.  Heart felt thanks go out to Joe and Carol, the directors of the gallery for creating such a wonderful space to enjoy all the artistic expressions of the evening.Many special thanks also go to Tom Picard, the producer and host of the series, for inviting me to play to an enthusiastic and responsive audience.  My sixth sense tells me that this new series is going to take off like lightening and become a wonderful addition to the community in no time!

Happy New Year! No one could even guess how great First Night Morris County was! (Here's a hint ... it's well into the afternoon of January 1st and I just got out of bed)

Times Square in New York City has absolutely nothing on First Night Morris County if you ask me. Yeah, they may have a large dropping ball and a couple of million people, but First Night has a wonderful fireworks display and the best collection of up close and personal entetainment all no more than a five minute walk from any event to another.

My performance at the Market Street Mission venue was the stuff from which fond memories are made. Wonderful audience, super helpful and friendly crew and the sing along ... OH the sing along!

Thanks to Dr. Lynn Siebert for inviting me to play at this marvelously organized celebration. Can't wait for First Night 2012!

The new hip acoustic concert series, Cafe Zed, debuted last night with my respected colleague, Kathy Moser. Kathy and her sidekick, Andy Goessling gave a grand performance of her songs which tell of memorable causes and stories of the human condition.

During the last song of the evening, Kathy invited her audience to sing along and even paid me a grand compliment by liking what she heard from my direction so much that she asked me to hop up on stage with her for an impromptu duet. Now that was some fun collaboration with a very talented songwriter!

Check out Kathy's stuff on the LINKS page!

Sharing the evening with a couple of fine songwriters, Sharon Goldman and Joe Iadanza was a treat not even bested by the yummy coffee and desserts at Metuchen's Brewed Awkening (although that's a close call). Great seeing some familiar faces as well as creating connections with new ones is always a good thing. Many thanks!

What a great evening yesterday at the Morristown Green.com Film Festival. Several local movie-makers threw their hats in the ring to showcase their work using music by local songwriters to complement their films.

Good friend and event organizer, Kevin Coughlin, used an instrumental portion of "New Days" in one of his film submissions and new friend, Diana Wilcox, used the entire song as the soundtrack to her work called, appropriately enough, "New Day." Her film took us through a photo journal of the trip she took with her church's Youth Group to a hurricane ravaged home in Louisianna to be a big part of the cleanup effort.

The group did a marvelous job and their labor of love was captured so well that the film was awarded 2nd place of all the films shown.

What a thrill it was to see how someone else interpreted my song about being brave and starting over. I'm truly honored and "thanks" doesn't really say it all.

You can see the full video on the LINKS page.

... and then the corn was a plenty at the Morris Plains Farmer's Market yesterday, not to mention pretty peppers, cute cucumbers and tasty tomatoes. I made new friends and had a surprise visit from an old one. Great, great day!

Thanks to Suzanne McCluskey for inviting me ... we're going to do it all over again next month!

I love Cafe Z because it's a recipe of fun with a side of friends on a bed of music. Lots of singers in the audience last night, making me so glad I planned accordingly. Nothin' sadder than a crowd who wants to sing without an opportunity, I say. Many, many thanks to Tom and Cheryl Picard who lovingly keep the concert series going.

Celebrating the beauty of the Earth on the Morristown Green yesterday was lovely under sunny skies with a gentle breeze. Kevin Coughlin did a marvelous job organizing the music on the stage and I was thrilled to be a part of it. So many great acts enjoyed the afternoon to help bring awareness to the importance of taking care of our one and only planet. The Members and Bill Griese were quite notable. A fun afternoon indeed!