Standing O Project
Sheba and I had some days off on tour up here in New England and things got really fun. Having just listened to Ani DiFranco’s song production of U Utah Phillips’ story, “Mother Jones, the Most Dangerous Woman in American,” we got an email from the Standing ‘O’ Project founders, John Dillon and Vivian Nesbitt, stating that in nearby New Hampshire, Vivian would be performing a sketch of Si Kahn’s play, Mother Jones in Heaven. What?! A chance to meet John and Vivian and also get more edumacated about the great radical fiery labor leader, Mother Jones?! We did it. Sheba drove four hours in heavy summer rain to Central Sandwich, New Hampshire. ( For real! ) We sat in the lovely ooooold home/gallery/theatre, saw the one-woman play in its nascent form, participated in the Advice for the Players Q&A, and then got to meet and even have dinner with John and Vivian. Wow. And I have to really credit the universal mystery for this one also because we had to cancel a show in Connecticut that weekend and allow the great unknown to take us by the hand. We wouldn’t trade this experience, this connection with new friends, these very real people, folks dedicated to the waking and the change and the holiness of now. (The next day, the great mystery took us to the Peacham Acoustic Music Festival in the Village of Peacham, Vermont. Sweetness! Also wouldn’t trade those connections, new friendships, musical jams, and truly great musical inspirations.)
Well, my song for the buffalo and the Buffalo Field Campaign has been chosen Song of the Day for August 28th by Standing ‘O’ Project. I joined Standing O – it’s free – last fall when Sheba and I were driving through Kansas and heard one of their wonderful interviews on their 10-year-old program, Art of the Song. We loved the interview and heard the pitch for Standing O, an online music streaming company that claims to actually support the artists who make the music they stream. Subscribers pay $5 monthly, and can also tip artists on the website.
“Every month, 50% of your membership fee goes directly back to the ARTIST MEMBERS The rest supports this site and the listener-supported radio program that created it . . . We’ve built this community because it is vitally important that young people grow up in a world where being a musician is seen as a viable career path. Otherwise, Don McLean’s classic song, American Pie, where he sings of “the day the music died,” will become a tragic reality.” — Standing ‘O’ Project
Personally, I just got paid $7.62 from Spotify for May 22nd to August 20th, whatever that means. (I added up a long list of payments from Spotify on this statement, payments sized $.32 to $.01, to get that number – $7.62.) The total I got paid on this same statement from all digital and physical sales was $45. . . Anyways, we artists are curious about these things and from time to time actually look into them. I commend Spotify for paying me this bit through CDBaby, and I commend Stand ‘O’ Project for wanting to do better. I signed up with SoundExchange a couple years ago and haven’t received anything from them, but I think CDBaby has me covered. Enough of the shop talk already!
Sheba and I send you love. We are out here in the ‘ole USA on tour, loving harder and praying harder and really trying to look inside ourselves and find more ways to be part of the solutions. Thanks for all y’all are doing to make the world a wonderful place for all the living things. And remember, We are everywhere! There are many many more of us who love and let live than otherwise. Be kind. Stay in prayer. Stay non-violent.
The new record in New Orleans is still getting loved up.I have some more vocals to do. Alice DiMicele recorded lots or beautiful backing vocals. And we’re waiting on a couple more friends to add parts. Thanks to Ani and Mike for hosting us and believing in us. We are blown away by the goodness coming our way through the music. We are, in this moment, headed to Philadelphia to play a show at Ahimsa House, founded by friends Kellie Berns and Meg to be a place to practice peace. Give thanks for the guidance and protection we are constantly receiving.
All Blessings,
Diane and Sheba