September 2007

Greetings!

I just got back from New York where I was part of a wonderful show for PBS called, Tribute: A Concert Honoring the Teachers of America, which celebrates educators for the incredible job they do with the children of America. It was an honor to be included in this show, which will also feature Peter Paul and Mary, Judy Collins, Odetta, Tom Paxton and Christine Lavin, as well as appearances by Bill Cosby, Rosie O'Donnell, Cynthia Nixon and Elmo from Sesame Street. Each of them appeared in person or filmed a segment with a teacher who changed their lives. It was quite touching. It will air in New York on October 4, 2007 (8 PM on Channel 13/WNET) and will be on nationally after that as part of the Great Performances series. I got to sing three songs, including "Don't Laugh At Me," which I sang with Peter and Paul. I sang Mary's part because she is still recovering from leukemia. (She is doing quite well by the way.) It was a thrill to fill in for her. The school program centered around Don't Laugh At Me continues to grow in its effort to foster a culture of respect and kindness in our schools. I'm proud to be a part of it. For more info about the program and my school performances go to operation respect.org or www.steveseskin.com.

I'm hard at work on a new book for Ten Speed Press featuring 12 of the songs I've written with kids in schools. It will be coming out in the fall of 2008. It will be an illustrated children's book with a CD of all the songs, sung by the kids (with me chiming in as well). It will also include a how-to section to provide kids with the tools to jump-start their creativity and write a song of their own. The world needs more music, especially these days.

Speaking of music: you may enjoy my friend and frequent co-writer Christine Kane's music. Here is a link: www.christinekane.com.

As always, thanks for your support. Take care.....

March 2007

Greetings! It's been awhile since my last email. I've been quite busy with school shows, songwriting seminars and writing songs with kids in schools. A new book with Ten Speed Press is in the works featuring 10 of the songs I've written with kids. It will contain a CD as well as illustrations by 4 of the top illustrators in the country. It will also be a "primer" for teachers and parents to use with kids to inspire them, taking them through the process of writing a song and hopefully instilling a love of creativity and self expression in each of them.

My new CD, "Two Paper Town," is available at www.steveseskin.com. My cowriter, Scott Bomar, has a version that is featured on the Music Row Democrats new CD available at their website, musicrowdemocrats.com. I also have a new single out called Little Red Balloon. The artist is Kristina Cornell. Check her out at www.kristinacornell.com.

I'm not doing many shows open to the public right now, but I will be later this year. For now there are a couple of songwriting seminars listed and two shows, one of which is this Saturday night. I forgot to send it out earlier. Sorry. It's a new house concert series in Tracy, California. Call Sally at 209-830-9531 if you want to come. Hope to see you there.

Speaking of coming to shows, thanks to all of you who attended the January shows with Craig Carothers and Don Henry. We had great attendance and the shows were a lot of fun. We are planning to do it again the same time next year.

Bye for now. Take care ......

August 2006

I have a new CD for you in August 2006 called "Two Paper Town". There is an mp3 of the title cut available for download on my home page - so feel free!

Two Paper Town is a song about choices. I fear we're going down a path where it's exceedingly more difficult to obtain fair and unbiased information not tainted by the editorial opinion of the source. At the same time I relish good editorial writing that provides strong opinion on the news of the day.

I 'm also disturbed by my notion that our country is starting to all look the same and that slowly but surely the uniqueness of the different regions of this great land are disappearing. I'm trying to do my part to embrace people I don't agree with in sincere conversation, with understanding each other the ultimate goal. I'm also trying to support the local businesses in my community because I feel the flavor they bring to the neighborhood is worth way more than the few dollars I might save at a big box store. I hope you will do the same but that's a choice you get to make for yourself.

August 2005

Since this is my first entry, I will approach it in a more general fashion, an overview of this year to date. My travels have been extensive this year, with visits to many wonderful places. The two trips that stand out for me the most are my Alaska trip and my first visit to Italy. I'll never forget flying into Anchorage at 11 pm. The "land of the midnight sun" really exists. Not only was it light out, people were riding bicycles as if it was mid afternoon. Sleeping was a problem the 1st few days. I taught at a song camp in Palmer and had a fabulous time. Alaska is quite spectacular and I look forward to spending more time there next year. I'd like to take the drive down the Kenai peninsula towards Homer.

How could it be that I made it to this point in life without going to Italy? I'm in love with the people, the art, the food and a way of life that seems to celebrate and honor the past. Sometimes I think we're losing sight of that in America. My wife and I spent 10 days in Florence and took day trips to Tuscany and a magical place on the west coast called the Cinque Terra. The people were so nice and made us feel welcome wherever we went.We plan to go back as soon as possible. The only place I've felt as comfortable is where I live, the SF bay area. I highly recommend a visit for your souls well being.

Some films I really enjoyed recently
The Corporation, In America, Spellbound, Supersize Me, The Station Agent and a video viewing of an old film called Cinderella Liberty

Some Cds
The new Christine Kane CD "Right Outta Nowhere," John Smith's "Kickin This Stone," and Craig Carother's "One Revolution."

Books
The Color of Water by James McBride and Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott

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