March 29, 2008:
As spring is showing her lovely (if moody) face here in the
northwest, Ellie and I are making preparations, once again,
to meet in the middle of the country! We had quite a time at
our last reunion. Our CD release concert on February 16 was
a fabulous party – two of the wonderful musicians who played
on our CD were able to join us for the packed concert and we
folk-rocked out! We debuted our new “Leela and Ellie Grace”
T-shirts and the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune’s Go! Magazine
featured a cover article about us, which you can see
here.
After the concert, we drove down to Memphis, TN for the
International
Folk
Alliance Conference – a gathering of folk musicians,
radio DJs, venue operators, booking agents, dancers, and
other rabble rousers from all over the world. As you can
imagine, there wasn’t much sleeping to be had! This year, we
had the honor of being selected as official showcase
artists. We forged many new musical and professional
connections and had a great time in the process!
After that little whirlwind, we went home to our respective
sides of the country to get some sleep! The cats spent
several days taking turns on my lap to make up for lost
time. Now we are ready to return to the road (although the
cats and dogs are staring daggers at my suitcase) and are
making final plans for our little midwestern tour through
Kansas, Missouri and Illinois starting on April 2! We are
happy to be returning to the wonderful Big Muddy Folk
Festival in Boonville, MO next weekend after a little jaunt
to Lawrence, Kansas. Then we head up to Illinois and swing
back around to St. Louis. Ellie’s little car should get
quite a workout! For details, check out our
Tour
Schedule.
We are also still working on booking our summer tours in
North Carolina (in May), the Northwestern states (in June),
and New England (in August). Please get in
contact with us if you can
recommend us to any venues in those areas, or if you would
like to host a house concert!
In other news, now, not only can you order the
CD at our website,
but you can also order it through indie distributor
CDbaby!
Also, you can now find us on iTunes (!) and you can still
download individual songs or the whole album through
Digstation.com.
It would be wonderful if you have the chance to visit CDBaby
or iTunes and write a review of our CD. Also, if your local
folk radio show is not playing our new CD, please let us
know so we can get “Where
the Waters Run” out to your local community or public
radio stations!
Thank you for your continued support! We hope to see you
soon at a concert near you.
Peace,
Leela and Ellie
February 6, 2008:
Can you believe it is February already? It has been raining
in Portland (snowing in the higher elevations), but the
grass is strangely green all winter here! In Asheville, I
hear from Ellie that the weather changes daily. Now, we are
excitedly preparing to meet in Columbia, Missouri (where it
may be 70 degrees and sunny or it may be icy and snowing –
who knows!) to finally properly celebrate the release of the
new CD,
Where
the Waters Run!
Since the CD came out at the very end of 2007, we have been
getting rave responses from everyone who has heard it! Now,
not only can you order the
CD at our website,
but you can download individual songs or the whole album
through Digstation:
http://www.digstation.com/LeelaandEllieGrace
In a few days, I will be braving the airline system with my
guitar, banjo, and overstuffed suitcase. It will be the
first time that Ellie and I have seen each other since the
CD came out and will be the beginning of a very busy year
for us. On Saturday, February 16, our
Hometown CD Release Concert
will take place at Windsor Auditorium in Columbia, MO! It
will be quite a grand event – we will be joined by several
of the musicians who played on the CD, and we will have our
NEW T-Shirts
for sale! If you are anywhere near Missouri (or know anyone
who is), we hope you can make plans to attend. It should be
a perfect Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend excursion!
Scroll down or go to our
Tour
Schedule for more information about the concert!
After the big Hometown CD Release Concert, we’ll be driving
down to Memphis, TN in Ellie’s little car for the
International
Folk Alliance Conference. We were selected to be
Official Showcase Artists this year! The Folk Alliance
conference is always an exercise in sleep deprivation, but
also a chance to connect with so many amazing musicians and
other folks in the business of folk music!
In April, we’ll be returning to the Midwest for the
wonderful Big Muddy Folk Festival in Boonville, MO and a
tour through Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. In May, we’ll
be in North Carolina. In June, we’ll be in the Northwest.
Check out
Tour
Schedule and keep an eye on the website – we are adding
dates all the time! We hope to see you out there on the road
this year…. This year of change!
Peace,
Leela and
Ellie
January 22,
2008: The long-awaited second CD
from Leela and Ellie Grace has finally arrived. On
February 16th, a concert will be held to
celebrate the release of their stunning new CD,
Where
The Waters Run. These Columbia, MO natives will
collectively travel over 2600 miles (from Portland, OR
and Asheville, NC) to present this concert—it promises
to be a very special night for the Graces and their
beloved hometown crowd. Join Leela and Ellie and
several special guests at Windsor Auditorium in
beautiful downtown Columbia, MO for an evening of music
and celebration.
When: Saturday, February 16th at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Windsor Auditorium, 1405 E. Broadway
map
What: Leela and Ellie Grace's CD Release Concert!
Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for kids!
December 27, 2007: The
new CD is HERE!
On the first day of Christmas, my true
love gave to me…. A Leela and Ellie Grace CD!
That’s right, folks!
On December 20, 2007, our SECOND
CD, Where the Waters Run, arrived on our doorsteps. On that
day, in Portland, OR and Columbia, MO many of these CDs were
immediately thrust into already-addressed envelopes and carried in
laundry baskets to the post office, where (much to the chagrin of
impatient holiday mailers in line behind Leela or Ellie) they were
lovingly stamped and mailed to those of you who had pre-ordered!
We can’t believe it is actually here. We really are rather
surprised. We didn’t begin 2007 with the intent to produce a second
CD. When people would ask us when the next one would come out, we
would laugh nervously and change the subject. You see, in 2006 (as
most of you know), Ellie had moved to Asheville, North Carolina and
in 2007, Leela was planning a move to Portland, Oregon! This
presented a bit of a challenge when it came to considering recording
another CD – 2007 was already looking to be a banner year with much
change afoot for the Grace sisters! A new CD was not on our minds.
However, January had other plans. January deviously made the stars
align unexpectedly and set the wheels inexorably in motion towards
something that would eventually be known to the world as Where
the Waters Run!
It was Leela’s 30th birthday in January, 2007 (yes, that’s right –
she can’t believe it either!). Ellie and Leela’s partner plotted
with friends and family and presented Leela with a beautiful, brand
new Taylor guitar! And then, not knowing the consequences of this
seemingly insignificant action, they bought her a day of studio time
at Pete Szkolka’s studio in Columbia, Missouri so she could record a
little demo for fun. Leela, being the generous big sister that she
is, invited Ellie (who happened to be in Columbia for Leela’s
birthday) to join her! And the rest, as they say, is history. On
those two cold days in January, Leela and Ellie recorded 6 of the 11
songs that would eventually make up the new CD!
Ellie would return to Missouri in May, June, and July to record the
five remaining songs and then to produce them all by adding bass
(played by the amazing Kevin Hennessy), drums (kicked out by the
killer Jake Hanselman), and even electric guitar on one song and
Hammond organ on another (added by our incredible engineer, Pete
Szkolka, who is also one of the most talented musicians we’ve ever
known). Then, after Leela moved to Portland in August, the work
continued long-distance via instant messenger, e-mail, and free
mobile to mobile cell phone minutes. Ellie even came all the way to
Portland from Asheville in September to work on photos and graphics!
2007 did turn out to be quite a year! Looking back, it seems that
these songs were just demanding to be sung to the world and this CD
was more than a little determined to have a birthday of its own
before 2008. We are still in awe of how the whole project came out.
So, all of that to tell you that your wait is over. Our wait is
over. This is the real deal. . . we are talking CD in our hands,
happy dance completed, played it for our loved ones, real deal. No
more bated breath, no more coming soon, no more pre-orders. The
brand new CD is here, really here! And it could be there, really
there in 2-3 business days.
To order your
copy of Where The Waters Run, click
HERE. Also, keep an eye out
for exclusive offers on limited edition Leela and Ellie Grace
t-shirts! And mark your calendars to come celebrate the release of
our CD with us in Columbia, MO on February 16th! We hope to see you
somewhere in the big wide world in 2008, when we will be touring in
support of Where The Waters Run. Watch our
tour calendar
for details! We cannot thank you enough for your support of our
music. . . without you, none of this would be possible.
Peace and Happy
New Year,
Leela and Ellie Grace
www.leelaandelliegrace.com
 December
7, 2007:
NEW CD CAN NOW BE
PRE-ORDERED!
We
hope you are sitting down (we are not sure who checks their e-mail
standing up, but better safe than sorry), because w e have big news:
You can be the very first people in the world to hear our new CD,
“Where The Waters Run”! You can dance about with glee and taunt
other Leela and Ellie Grace fans with your very own pre-ordered
copy. You can pass other cars on the road, roll down your window,
turn up the stereo, and mouth “Leela and Ellie Grace’s new CD” while
pointing proudly at your CD player. Not that we would encourage
such reckless behavior while driving. . . we are just saying it
could happen, because you can now officially pre-order “Where
The Waters Run”! However, we happen to believe that friends and
fans of our music are above average on the kind and generous scale.
So scratch the above image and picture instead. . . you ordering
dozens and dozens of the new CD and dancing about with glee of a
more magnanimous kind, as you distribute them to all of your beloved
friends and family as holiday gifts. Yes, you can bring that kind
of joy to all the good boys and girls in your life because. . . our
CD will be released on December 20th, 2007 and you can
pre-order it online starting today!!
If you are simply unable to contain your excitement for even a
moment more, with no further ado, here is a link to our website
(check out the new address!) where you can read about and pre-order
our long-awaited second release:
www.leelaandelliegrace.com
For the rest of you, here is some further ado. . .
“Where The Waters Run” has emerged as a true labor of love. Although
we now live exactly 2,637 miles apart, we met many times over the
last year in our hometown of Columbia, MO to record this CD. We
produced this very special project ourselves and it features nine of
our own original songs and two of our favorite traditional songs. We
can’t wait for you to hear our new music. . . complete with all the
sweet harmonies, mandolin, guitar, and banjo you could ask for and
supported beautifully by three amazing back-up musicians. A special
thank you to Leela's 30th birthday, Ellie's '91 Corolla, the house
of our first dreams, free mobile to mobile minutes, a popular IM
service, and the undying support of fans, family, and friends
without which this project might never have materialized and this
bi-coastal collaboration would not have been possible. You can go
to our website (www.leelaandelliegrace.com)
to check out the beautiful cover art and song list and, for a very
limited time, you can go to our MySpace page (www.myspace.com/leelaelliegrace)
to hear a sneak preview of four of the songs!
“Where The Waters Run” is projected to be released on December 20th,
2007! Between now and then, you can visit our website and pre-order
the new recording. Pre-orders will be given top priority and, if
possible, will be shipped the day the CD arrives on our respective
doorsteps! We are offering special discounts for a limited time if
you order more than one copy of the CD. If you want to give this CD
as a holiday gift, but are afraid that the post office will not
understand the utter importance of delivering the package with all
due speed, fear no more. . . we are prepared (yes, we were girl
scouts!). On our website, we have provided a special certificate
that you can download, print, and give to the recipients of the
Leela and Ellie Grace CDs in the event that the CDs are not
delivered in time. But what are you doing still reading this
e-mail? Go check out the new CD:
http://www.gracefamilymusic.com/leela-ellie/wherethewatersrunCD.html
While you are visiting our website to find out more about the new
recording, look around a little. We have made some big changes and
are adding new dates all the time to our 2008 touring schedule.
Make a special note of the CD Release Concert in Columbia, MO in
February! We know it has been a long time since the release of our
first duo CD, but we hope you will find that “Where The Waters Run”
was worth the wait! We are simply thrilled to share this new
recording with you and are truly grateful for your ongoing support.
Happy holidays!
Peace,
Ellie and Leela Grace
June 12,
2007: All
has been seemingly rather quiet on the Leela and Ellie Grace
front, but some very exciting work has been happening behind the
scenes! We have big
news and have decided that you, our faithful friends and fans,
should be the first to hear:
We
are thrilled to announce that we have been in the studio recording a
new duo CD!
And according to our family and friends who have heard some
of the initial recording, it is going to be something pretty special
that reaches the true heart of our music.
We are producing this CD ourselves, and it will feature nine
of our own originals, along with two traditional songs.
Several amazing back-up musicians have joined us on this
project, and we simply cannot wait for you to hear our new music!
But alas, we are going to have to wait.
There is still a lot of work to be done!
We promise to keep you apprised on the process and let you
know once we can anticipate a release date.
Keep your eyes and ears open as we may briefly release a new
song from the CD on our MySpace page in the upcoming months: http://www.myspace.com/leelaelliegrace
We
are still working on finding ways to fund the remainder of the
recording process. If
you are excited about this new CD, there are several simple ways you
can help:
1.
Order our current CD at our online
music store!
We have been told that it is a wonderful gift for friends,
family, co-workers, and even perfect strangers!
The money from any CD sales will go directly to funding our
new recording.
2.
Stay tuned for the opportunity to be part of the community
that makes this CD possible! Watch
this website or sign
up for our e-mail list to
receive details on how you can play a special role in this project
by pre-ordering the new CD.
In
the midst of working on this recording project, we are finding a few
opportunities to come out and do what we love best—share our music
with you live and in person! See
our web calendar
for up-to-date information on our 2007 tour schedule. We hope
to cross paths with you somewhere this summer!
Peace,
Ellie
and Leela
April 25, 2006: We know it has been ages
since you last heard of our whereabouts and musical adventures!
For the thronging masses (all one or two of you) who have
been waiting with bated breath for the breaking of our e-newsletter
silence. . . you can at last breathe again!
Read on to find out what surprising adventures we have had
since our last newsletter and to hear where we will be bringing our
music and dance in the upcoming months!
Here’s a brief look at where we’ve been:
Ellie had the immense honor of being invited to go on several tours
as the "super-cool mandolin player" with the nationally renowned Dirk Powell Band!
Then, Embracing her earthy side, she spent last fall working as a
ranger (that’s "Ranger Ellie" to you!) at Great Smokey Mountains
National Park, bringing old-time sounds and songs back to the
mountains where they were born. And,
the most recent news, Ellie has just moved to a veritable hotbed of music and
dance: Asheville, NC. You can read
more about Ellie's recent journey, including reviews of her
performances with the Dirk Powell Band here! While Ellie was away,
Leela kept Central Missouri alive with music!
She inspired many people through her work teaching music
(banjo and harmony singing). She
has also been busy doing solo performances and writing songs that
will have their duo debut this spring.
In October, she was selected to score a professional
children’s theater production of Huck Finn.
In addition to creating the score, she was hired to perform
all of the music for the entire run of the very successful
production.
And here’s where we are going:
This spring and summer will see the dynamic duo back in
action! We are kicking
off a cross-country tour with a hometown concert in Columbia, MO on
May 6th. The
following weeks will see us dancing and singing our way through
Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and
Washington D.C., returning to good ol' MO at the end of May.
We are excited about the music we have to share with you. . .
including our first serious co-write (our previous co-written songs
ended up being rather goofy and, fortunately, never reached the
masses!). Please go to
our web calendar
for details of our upcoming shows! If we are coming to your area, and you are on our e-mail list
(you can join here),
watch for an e-mail with more information about the local
appearances. We truly hope you will come out and see us somewhere
along the way!
Thank you for your support. . . for coming to
our shows, for writing us, for buying our CDs, and for continuing to
care about our music in spite of our sorry communication skills!
Watch for more information in the upcoming months about the
rest of our year—we will be performing and teaching at several
festivals and camps and hope to see you out in the big, wide world.
Peace,
Ellie and Leela
July 26, 2005: Just
announced! Ellie will join the Dirk
Powell Band on a four- to five-day tour of California and
Nevada in September! From the press release: "Dirk's
playing has been featured in the film scores for Anthony Minghella's
"Cold Mountain," Edward Burns' "The Brothers
McMullen" and Spike Lee's "Bamboozled," and on the
acclaimed recent albums of Tim O'Brien. Dirk and his band -- which
features fellow O'Brien cohort, multi-instrumentalist Riley Baugus
-- showcase tunes from far and wide, including his recent album, Time
Again (Rounder), a hard-driving, exciting testament to the power
of the living old-time music tradition. Rounding out the line-up are
Martha Scanlan, guitarist and singer with the supercharged ensemble,
the Reeltime Travelers, Ellie Grace, super cool mandolin player
from the incredibly gifted Grace Family of Missouri, and bassist
extraordinaire Travis Stuart." More info about the
tour: http://www.dirkpowell.com/road.html
April 28, 2005:
The warm days, the green grass, the flowers, and the sunshine
have finally roused us from our long winter hibernation of sorts.
For those of you who wrote to ask, yes you are still on the list,
and yes we are still here! We haven’t actually been hibernating at
all, but have been enjoying some time at home, trying to recover
from the November election, doing taxes (the most fun we’ve had in
ages – NOT!), writing a song or three, teaching many classes and
lessons, and planning our summer (not necessarily in that order!).
We also took an international trip at the end of February to
Montreal, Quebec! The Folk
Alliance Conference was held in that beautiful, snowy city this
year. We made many connections, caught up with old friends,
surrounded ourselves with amazing music from all over the world (and
even played some), and attempted, rather fruitlessly, to recall the
bit of French we once knew (“uh, bonjour . . . parlez-vous
Anglais?”).
Now, we are looking forward to a home-sung spring and
far-flung summer. In May, we will be performing close to home –
taking part in two exciting concert events here in Columbia, MO!
Coming up on Saturday, May 7th, in a rare event
indeed, we will be presenting a Grace
Family Reunion Concert to celebrate the release of a new/old
CD compilation! This CD contains
the best of the first three cassettes/LP’s that our parents
produced (in 1984, 1987, and 1990). Our young voices and percussion instruments “graced” the
1990 recording, “Carved Out of Time,” and the four Graces will
be performing selections from those early recordings and from our
repertoire through the years! For more information about the concert
and the CD (which is available for purchase HERE),
see below and visit our website! Then on May 21, internationally known spoken word performer (and wonderful
new addition to our Columbia arts community), Milbre
Burch, will perform her one-woman show, Mom’s the Word: A
Journey in Meter and Centimeters. In
another uncommon occurrence, we will be opening the show with a
special, one-time mother-daughter concert with our mom, Win Grace!
See our CALENDAR
for more information about both of these shows!
In June and July, we will first go east (North Carolina
coast), then west (Los Angeles area) and finally north (Michigan)!
If you wish we would travel in your direction, send us your ideas
for venues and festivals near you.
See our CALENDAR for more details about all of our upcoming performances far
and near! We hope to see you there!
Peace,
Leela
and Ellie
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